The South America Specialists Reviews 

We have never used external advisers for any holidays preferring to plan it out ourselves but we thought as it was that special holiday we would just try and see what the fuss was about.

Having planned out a rough itinerary in any case to get and estimate of costing we had a decent idea of what we wanted to do and ball park what our budget should be (including a premium vs booking.com rates). We went online to get a couple of quotes from various providers and some of the responses were either ridiculously over costed or they over-promised and the "refined quote" came in much higher than the agreed budget in typical bait-and-switch sales style!

When we spoke to Ed at the South America specialists the difference was pretty much night and day. During the initial conversation he took on the feedback about we wanted to do, put a few more ideas in the mix from his own experience having actually been out there recently and perhaps most surprisingly was able to deliver an itinerary that was on genuinely budget to what we stipulated upfront

We ended up adding an extra stop, reworking the order of travel and adding a few small luxuries along the way.

The support on the ground was brilliant and would also give a shout out to their local contacts who ensured 24 hour coverage but also gave use really practical tips like how much local currency to carry around at different parts given when it would be easy to get to money changers etc.

All in all we had an absolutely fantastic time. Partially because the country itself is absolutely stunning and can't recommend a visit enough (however you do it) and that's not to take away from the personal touch that Ed and team put in to come up with a genuinely bespoke experience and the holiday of a lifetime!

A final note would be that as it was a honeymoon we did want to do something special with it and was always going to be high end of the cost side compared to a normal holiday but definitely felt between how well everything was organised and executed it took so much stress out of the process that we really did feel we were getting value for money with the service they provided.

I've used the South America Specialists twice now and I've had great service and fabulous trips. I've really appreciated their time to iterate the best plan and what they then promise is exactly what they deliver on the ground. A really good customer-focused small travel company which wants to ensure you have a great experience - I recommend them highly!

The SAS put together a really great trip for our honeymoon in Brazil which was both seamless and high quality. The hotels were very well chosen and the itinerary fitted our time frame perfectly.We felt that we were in safe hands from start to finish.

My family of four spent 18 days traveling Argentina – without a hitch -- on an itinerary mapped out by Ed and his team at The South America Specialists. Ed’s knowledge of the various regions we spent time in was invaluable, as was his logistical skill in setting us up to visit our four must-see regions of the country. He suggested a logical travel sequence that minimized how much time we spent waiting in airports, he arranged quality tours that made the best use of our time in places we wanted to see, he set us up with first-rate vendors (airport transfers, accommodations, tours, car hire, etc.), and he was responsive to my requests to economize on hotels. Ed’s communications were always prompt, on point, and helpful. He listened to our vague ideas about what we wanted from our vacation, and then he delivered advice and service in full. I can recommend Ed and his team without reservation.

My wife and I had a very memorable 17 day tour of Chile that was organized by The South America Specialists. They were invaluable value-added partners who I will use again. I highly recommend their services for the following reasons:

- In depth local market knowledge. They are good planners. They know what to do on the ground, how to get around, where to stay, how long to stay in each area, what's important to see and what's ok to miss

- Knowledgeable, versatile and flexible in recommending lodging choices, providing "good, better, best" options to meet our touring objectives, but also our budget goals

- We were served by a team of specialists, but had single point of contact, and "one version of the truth". I was in contact with multiple members of their team, but had one primary point of contact who was always aware of all of the details of my itinerary. There were no missed hand-offs and no miscommunications among team members.

- Reliable ( a rarely used word in travel) local partners met us at airports, transported us to our destination, provided critical local recommendations, and saved us significant time, toil and trouble by guiding us around tedious check-in procedures and bureaucratic roadblocks. It was invaluable to travel with someone who obviously what they are doing, and who could help with translation. It was hugely satisfying to avoid long lines because I was with a local who knew how to do things efficiently.

- Dependable and trustworthy. Everything was well organized and worked as expected. Planning appointments were on time, even though we were six time zones away. Documents were delivered on time. Local services were delivered on time and as expected. Everything worked well.

- Good communication and organization - Their website was what first attracted me to them. Chile is an extremely large and complicated country. They presented my options in understandable "chunks", how long to stay in each region, the best way (and the best time) to get from one region to another, and how to avoid unwanted dead dwell time (wasted time waiting to get to the next place)

-Execution - We had a complicated itinerary, with lots of moving parts, many flight segments, local transport requirements, and multiple different hotels. There were many points of potential failure, any of which could endanger down-stream activities. Everything worked on time, every time, and exactly as planned.

We plan on returning to Chile next year to see what we missed. The South America Specialists will again be our travel partners. Highly recommended!

We have planned a 11 nights' trip to Chile this April. Nick in The South America Specialists was so attention to detail and patient, gave us great suggestions and tips on the trip, and helped us to book all the services in Chile. The hotels and lodges they recommended on their website certainly represent the best in Chile. Everything went well in Chile, everything was taken care of.

We organised our Argentina trip with Ed from the South America specialists and even though we live in Australia it was a seamless and stress free experience. Making all the arrangements was simple and straightforward.
And the trip was beyond my wildest imaginations - we saw so many things, travelled pretty much the entire country and had a spectacular time. Everything worked - the hotel selections, the transfers, the tours - all A+. i would thoroughly recommend working with this team. suez

Huge thanks to Nick and the rest of the team at The South America Specialists who helped put together an excellent trip to Buenos Aires, Iguazú Falls and Rio de Janeiro. Every aspect of the trip they were involved with - airport transfers, hotel bookings and tours - went really smoothly which is attributable to their great planning and use of excellent local companies / guides.

Excellent service from both Nick and Ed, tailoring our trip to South America; working with our timescales and budget; and never ceasing to respond quickly and positively to our endless queries!

Would highly recommend.

The South America Specialists helped us plan the honeymoon of a lifetime! Ed was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable in the areas of Chile we were interested in. All 3 hotels/resorts we went to were perfectly unique to the region we were in. The quality and hospitality made us feel right at home (in wonderland). They also set us up with a fantastic transfer company who provided kind and helpful staff to talk with us about the regions they were driving us to. Not once was anyone late, always early! The ease of having South America Specialists plan and create a fantastic itinerary made our honeymoon so enjoyable. We can't thank you enough!

I had been looking for a Chile specialist and made website enquiries to a couple. From my first conversation with Nick at South American Specialists I felt I was in good hands, and they didn't disappoint. A well planned itinerary, great hotels and excellent partner organisations on the ground. We had a wonderful three week trip, starting for a couple of nights in Buenos Aires, then on to Ushuaia, Cape Horn and Tierra del Fuego (by Australis cruise), Patagonia, Casablanca Valley, Valparaiso, Atacama and ending in Santiago. Wonderful sights and scenery with endless variety. Great food and wine, and lovely, friendly Chilean people!

From the start of our discussions Nick was informative and honest especially regarding the hotels. We stayed in 3 different countries and 3 very different hotels. Nick chose perfectly for us and made all the transfers seem less and luxurious. I would highly recommend to anyone travelling to South America. Thank you very much.
Jason and Adriane

As per our usual approach to holidays, we wanted a tailor-made trip, with very little notice (a couple of weeks or so) but we did also have a pretty good idea of what we would like to see in Chile. So, when we spoke to Ed to get the ball rolling and the reaction was so positive, despite the huge challenge we’d placed on him, we felt we were getting off to a good start.

The plan was to fit in Easter Island, the Atacama and Torres del Paine, and a little bit of Santiago. Despite the huge distances involved Ed managed to bring it all together perfectly, with just the right amount of time in each location for a first visit to Chile.

The itinerary had a total of 8 flights, 5 different hotels, for just 13 nights in Chile and there was not one problem at all. Even with such a late booking, all the hotels were of an excellent standard. Plus, the planning of the domestic flights worked exceptionally well (flying early or late in the day) in order to maximise the time spent in our chosen destinations rather than “in transit” during daylight hours. Everything was just perfect.

Bottom line, in a heartbeat we would do the exact same trip again, and would go straight back to Ed to bring it together for us. So, this does of course mean that Ed is going to have another mail from us in order to do something similar again this year!

Excellent experience all round from start to finish. Thoroughly recommend the South America Specialists and Ed.

My husband and I had a great experience with The South America Specialists. We only had about a month to plan our Honeymoon to Argentina, so it was much more convenient to have their help in booking our flights and accommodations. Our specialist, Ed, was extremely helpful and understanding. I appreciated that he offered ways to save money where possible (i.e. getting taxis on our own instead of booking private transport). We traveled to Buenos Aires, Mendoza, and Iguazú Falls, and it was extremely helpful to have all 8 of our flights booked for us.

Each hotel that we stayed in gave us the luxurious feeling that we were looking for on our Honeymoon. I would have spent hours reading reviews of where to stay, but I am glad that I put my trust in Ed to book hotels for us! Buenos Aires is such a large, sprawling city, and it would be impossible to pick a place to stay. I'm very thankful that our hotel (CasaSur Palermo) was in Palermo (a very trendy part of Buenos Aires) and was a short walk from the subway that takes you anywhere you need to go. The hotel was very accommodating. We had a late flight after checking out, so in addition to holding our bags for us all day while we went sight-seeing, they even allowed us to use the showers in the spa before heading back to the airport for our long international flight. The staff at CasaSur Palermo also helped us book dinner reservations as well as a Tango dinner show with transportation included.
Mendoza was definitely our favorite part of the trip. Where we stayed, Club Tapíz, had a lot to do with that. There are only 11 rooms here, so your every need is catered to at top notch service (and the property is just beautiful). Every night at 8pm they held an informal wine tasting for all the guests. That was such a great time to meet people from around the world and make friends over a few glasses of delicious wine! As a bonus for us, there were puppies that had recently been born and were living in the garden outside! So after spending each day touring wineries, we'd come back to play with the puppies! Nothing could have been more perfect. And the restaurant at the hotel was superb as well. They even left us a bottle of sparkling Torrontés with chocolate covered cherries in our room as a honeymoon gift!
Our stay in Iguazú gave me the jungle feeling that I was looking for. The pool at La Cantera Lodge was gorgeous and nothing compares to the beautiful falls! If you're considering going to Iguazú, do it! And go to both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides! Both are breathtaking. Ed was able to book our tours for us, and added the cost to our total payment, making it much easier on the day of the tour to not have to worry about anything!

I can't thank the South America Specialists enough for helping us to have the honeymoon of our dreams! Sure, you can do all the research yourself, but it's so nice to be able to put your trust in a reputable company that does all the hard work for you! Everything worked out beautifully, and I am so glad!

As we were researching this vast land called Patagonia in South America we became very overwhelmed with tailoring a trip to our personality. We came across The South America Specialists and reached out to them. We were contacted by Ed who listened to our vision of the ideal trip for my husband, myself and our newly graduated from college son and daughter. We were looking for adventure and relaxation. We wanted to immerse ourselves in the culture and get to know the locals. Ed heard us and helped us plan the perfect trip where we bonded as a family hiking, horseback riding, climbing glaciers, ate at great restaurants and relaxed at great hotels. We made friends with the local guides and met wonderful friends from all over the world. We didn't have to think about renting a car to get from one place to the next. Ed took care of all the transportation as well. It was truly a perfect adventure of a life time and South America Specialists made it all come together.

Seldom does a vacation manage to end up checking off every box. I have to honestly admit that our vacation to Chile was one such! It helped that Chile is such a stunningly beautiful country, but what made it a truly remarkable vacation was that, while I was out there hiking and enjoying the splendors of Chile, everything had been taken care of by South America Specialists to the best of my satisfaction. I could just "be present" and savor every moment!" Thank you for taking care to do such a thorough job.

SAS provided a disparate group of travellers with a fantastic holiday fulfilling all our myriad requests with calm efficiency and a willing smile! Nothing appears to phase Nick and the "in country" associates proved as efficient as the Ampthill team. Many thanks for a memorable trip.

We normally book our own flights/hotels but not having been to South America before, we felt it was wise to book through a company. We came across The South America Specialists on a Google search and Nick has been excellent. He seemed to understand straight away the type of small hotel and areas of cities that would suit us and when Argentina cancelled internal flights over the G20 Summit, he quickly rearranged everything so that our holiday wasn't ruined. We had a month in Chile and Argentina and it was one the best holidays we have had. We have no reservations in recommending this company and we will definitely use them again.

Typically my wife and I have not used a travel agency for vacation planning, but we are delighted we engaged The South American Specialists “SAS” for our trip to Argentina and Chile, specifically Nick French. On the front end, SAS was very helpful in guiding us through the process of building an extensive month long itinerary. We were not traveling with a group and planned stays in numerous destinations requiring lots of logistical support. However, the game changer was 6 days into the trip, there was an unexpected airline strike that caused us to be stranded in El Calafate and miss our flight to meet our cruise ship in Ushuaia for 4 day journey to Punta Arenas. We informed Nick of our situation and he swung into action. Arranging ground transportation from El Calafate to Patagonia Camp (remarkable place) outside of Torres del Paine National Park until we could transfer to Punta Arenas to catch the cruise in opposite direction back to Ushuaia, catching a new flight to Bariloche then travel across the Andes by ship and ground to Puerto Varas to resume our original itinerary. Needless to say, Nick turned around an impossible situation and allowed us to savor a magnificent trip. These folks are the real deal...total professionals. You know what they say...you get what you pay for and it was completely worth it. We’re already chatting with Nick about our next trip!

Our holiday to Argentina was disrupted as a result of the recent G20 summit. Nick was able to "save the day" by changing the itinerary/flights at quite short notice.We had a fantastic time in Argentina and fully recommend this Co. We still had the same experience, just in a different order. Thank You.