Tucan Travel 

I just came back from a 3-week tour to Peru and Chile with Tucan Travel. It was one of the most interesting and well-organized group tours I ever participated in. I really appreciated the company's concern about our security. Even though our tour included visiting Bolivia, we were re-routed due to the heightened risk due to the political situation there. Instead, we were taken to one more place in Peru, which turned out to be a real upgrade. The tour leader was great - took care of all of us with great patience and humor. Would absolutely recommend this company: great itinerary, good hotels, good transportation, even when public transport is used it's of good quality.

Tucan provides a "tour leader" that escorts you from each destination and arranges local tour operators for excursions/day trips. Everything was well organised and we didnt, have to worry about transfers, transport or accomodation unless it was a free day.
Given then language barrier and the political instability the tour turned out to be a great option to have peace of mind/safety. The tour leaders were professional and had local knowledge, you just have to ask them.

Great, everything as expected.

This is a great trip, it covers the essentials of the southern Andes extremely well. The hikes are graded and there is a wide choice from easy through exhausting (but exhilarating).
Well planned with a mix of hotels and camping in one of the most beautiful and remote places in the world make it a must-do.

I did the Cambodia & Vietnam tour, brilliant group and tour guide, highly recommend Tucan everything was pretty much as I expected.
Got to see some fantastic places and meet some great people.
Tour was easy to book and the team were always available to help.

We did the whole trip from Nairobi to Cape Town. The East Africa leg was much better than the Johberg to Cape Town leg. Our main areas of dissatisfaction would be firstly the accomodation and secondly wasted time. Accomodation was Mostly fine however 3 star should have an en-suite, only some options to upgrade only on the first leg (extra $US20 for an en-suite). The location of the accomodation was often a long way from the town, limiting options for food and activities. Trip caters for expensive adventure activities or stay around the accommodation for 2 days. Second leg had too much down time, going to Zambia was a waste of money and time; crossing the border ($US50 visa) from Vic Falls to Livingstone (50km away) and stay in sub standard accomodation for 2 days, why? The same in Swaziland at the private reserve, time wasted which could have been better spent in Kruger. The rhino walk was hardly that, disappointing to walk to 2 rhinos sitting in the bush then drive around All day. Overall an adventure as they say not a holiday. Game drives in the truck/bus where not as good as guided vehicles, restricted access and local knowledge on the day, meant Long days looking for game. The truck/buses are showing signs of wear and tear internally. Having said all that, the staff were great and the adventure worth the effort.

My boyfriend and I had a wonderful time on the Lima to Santiago tour. We saw so many incredible places and the tour was run very professionally at all times.

Our guide was excellent. She put our well-being first always and really cared about us having a brilliant time. Her communication was clear and she provided us some great recommendations. She worked hard to run this tour as best as possible. We hope to stay in contact!

We had a 15 hour flight delay from London and so sadly we missed out on seeing Lima. We called the tour company (Saturday evening) to advise and their London and local reps were very sympathetic and helpful to reassure us about arriving late to the tour.

It was a real adventure at the right pace for us- we saw so much in 16 days and had a good amount of spare time. Excursions with local guides were all excellent, especially our guide on the Inca trail. We were the only 2 in our group to do the trail (vs the train to the top) and so we were lucky to have him all to our ourselves. You see so much on the trail itself before Machu Picchu so we would highly recommend this option.

The itinerary was great, the places we saw blew us away. We absolutely loved Machu Picchu, Cusco and the Salt Flats especially. The only change we would have liked to have seen would be Rainbow Mountain and Nazca lines in Peru if time had allowed. We felt perhaps one day in La Paz would have been sufficient.

In La Paz and Santiago it was a complicated time politically (protests, strikes, closures etc) and the company ensured our safety at all times. To do this they had to make a lot of last minute changes and we really appreciated this as the tour all still went ahead.

We liked all the hotels on our tour (3 star), we found them to be located centrally, clean and friendly. They all had WiFi and most had hot water. We didn’t like the basic accommodation at the Salt flats so much, but that was to be expected (as described in the trip notes) due to limited choices in the area (the views more than compensated!) However the cosy bar the second hostel had was a really nice touch! Our only complaint really was the food there was sub-standard and needs improvement.

All buses, flights and boats were suitable, on time & comfortable. All drivers were professional and helpful with luggage etc.
Some of the transport really exceeded expectations- the Inca suite bus (160 degree recliner) and the fun bike taxis to Lake Titicaca especially!

The Tour group was a perfect size (12) and nice mix of ages, nationalities and singles/couples etc. Our guide organised group dinners every night and we really enjoyed sharing our travel experience with them all.

We would highly recommend this company for their great itinerary, organisation and value for money. We are already looking at booking another tour with them next year!

Thank you very much for a fantastic holiday!

Sarah and Bruno, UK

We did the Colombia Encompassed tour with Tucan in October 2019. Very comprehensive tour of Colombia, wonderful country, well-organised tour and knowledgeable guide. We enjoyed every minute of our holiday and are sad it's over but happy with our unforgettable memories :)

Hi,
Done a tour of Costa Rica Encompassed on the 13th October for 2 weeks, the tour was great and met great people as always, as I've done many trips with tucan travel and always look at their tours first before deciding who to book with..
The trips that was on offer were very expensive compared to the japan trip that I had done with tucan in March which was the most expensive as it was cherry blossoms month. I found out from local people that trips are cheaper, which I had done some of them. The guided night tour which we paid $25 was a complete waste of money as we seen the sloths very close to touch on the beach and in our hotel on the last 4 days of our hotel stays.

The tour leader is the worst I have ever experienced in all my years of traveling and I've been traveling on my own for 14 years on guided tours. She didn't take the time to interact with the group and get to know each one individually like the other guides I've had before. We were sat at the table for breakfast on the last morning and didn't even say anything about the tour or even have a safe journey home.
This is the first trip I didn't leave a tip, which I did feel really bad about but I feel she didn't work for her tip, she just done the minimum that was required.

This hasn't stopped me booking with tucan again.

I'm wanting to go to the Galapagos next and if i book with them I hope the next guide won't be the same.

Great trip! Fun itinerary and wonderful company

Very good guide hotels great Japan was a great experience with Tucson Travel

The guide for Egypt was thoughtful and caring.
He was excellent.
The guides in Jordan were subs. for the original one that lost a brother. 2 were great, and one was lousy. It was difficult for the tour director to find people. The places we visited in Jordan were fabulous, and we had 1.5 days in Petra.

I plan to do this trip again, once the Egyptian Museum is open (Oct. 2020) Seeing the building was wonderful.

Great tour with a great guide!

After a slightly rocky start when the tour in Mexico I had joined was cancelled, I received outstanding service from Tucan Travel and then went on to have a fabulous personalised experience. All the bookings, transfers and accommodation that was pre-booked all ran smoothly so I felt totally safe and could really enjoy my holiday. The places I stayed at were all really lovely - clean, friendly, and close to the main centres. I thought that the trip overall was very good value for money.

good standard of accommodation/breakfasts and travel arrangements

Just completed the tour "Costa Rica Encompassed" run by Tucan Travel.
Costa Rica has exquisite natural beauty and wildlife. (My bucket list was filled when finally saw Sloths and Toucan close up, in Tortuguero and Cahuita National Parks.)

The tour is as physical or relaxed as you personally choose. Getting to enjoy both the beautiful Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, plus central Costa Rica confirmed the very apt name - Costa Rica Encompassed.

Why only 3 stars :
* Costa Rica is decidedly expensive.
We were encouraged to use specific guided excursions by our Tour leader, which sounded like the best way to get the maximum out of our time in each place. However, quickly decided that the guided tours were truly over priced. Just two examples - The guided Night Trail in Monteverde - a total rip off. It was $25-00, excluding the expected tip, and turned out to be a gentle walk with flash lights, around and around a small fenced in portion on a property in the village. The guide seemed to think he could confuse us, as was dark, into thinking we were in the natural bush. (The cultivated areas, tiny coffee bush patch, which we criss-crossed numerous times, and the dog continuously barking very close by, were dead give aways). The second suggested excursion was a Costa Rica Cooking and Salsa class - the cooking part was great fun and we did get to eat the results. The salsa class part was however quite pathetic. The 'teacher' had no idea what she was doing, and kept suggesting that we take a quick break for some water. More time was spent with her taking water breaks than in actual salsa.
To be honest, we saw as much, and at times even more, on the unguided trail hikes than those who that took guided tours.
After a few days in Costa Rica, one started to feel a bit uncomfortable and ripped off by the prices. (I suppose that this is a personal opinion, as somebody must be happily paying the prices asked, as the prices are what they are).
* Our Tour Leader.
Our Tour Leader, from Mexico, was perhaps tired, or has been doing these tours for too long. While well organised, only did the absolute necessary. She was decidedly apathetic and never put in the effort to actually get to understand the tour individuals and their interests. (Her eye rolling when asked questions became a bit much after a while.) Perhaps leader retraining, or a break would be very beneficial.

It is important to note, and certainly something that Tucan should perhaps bring to clients attention is .... Prices displayed in Costa Rica are the base price. A 13% IVA is addled to the total, and more often than not a 10% service charge. One had to thus add 23% above whatever price was shown. This was unexpected, and could have been budgeted for, if prepared.

Would I recommend the Tucan Travel Costa Rica Encompassed Tour? With an enthusiastic and interested tour leader, and very careful research regarding excursions ... yes.

Tucan caters for the energetic and older traveler. We see the countries, environment,scenic and adventurous activities. Its up to the individual to decide how many extra activities they wish to do.

Hands down, best value for the price! This is a physical tour, don’t pack what you don’t wanna carry. There were days where we would walk to a tram, take a bus to a train and then a taxi to the hotel. The pay off was all the best sites with just enough time at each across three countries. We were super impressed with the itinerary and while it was fast, I think the pace was what it needed to be. Obviously, your tour leader plays into how successful you are at getting to see the things you want to within the time allotted. We had an experienced woman who had been on the same route for a year. I have already recommended this itinerary to three or four people.

For the traveler used to 4-5 star accommodations, excellent food, and all the conveniences of home - this is not your tour. If you are looking for an authentic, street-level encounter with the Cuban people - the taste, sights, sounds, and heat of the Cuban soul and countryside, the cobblestone streets, the beat and sweat of a passionate salsa - then this "in support of the Cuban people" tour will work for you. Our local guide was excellent, and the kind, friendly people of this beautiful but somewhat challenged country are a delight. Well worth the short flight and visit to this intriguing if not misunderstood neighbor to our south...