SA Vacations Omdömen 

I wish l did not have to write this review but in my heart of hearts, l believe l must as sometimes people should try to be courageous. 

This was to be a trip of a lifetime,  21 days touring South America at a cost of over $21000, a top end tour we thought, hoped, but sadly we were wrong. Our experience was nothing short of, at best, being second rate, at worst, well, just that, terrible. 

Albeit SA Vacations has good reviews, with over 65 countries visited thus far and multiple tour companies used, this, by far, is one of the worst experiences we've had. Without knowing or being advised, it appears that Martha onsells all the components of the itinerary/tours you pay her good money for, regarding management, enjoyment and experience. So you are always dealing with 2nd, 3rd and 4th tier parties who owe you, not that much as you are really loyal to SA Vacations and not them. *Which, by the way, is fair enough ...

During all of the 21 days, my experience is about 30% great and the rest, well, let's just say, regrettable.

From hotels being not fit for purpose, dirty towels, dirty glasses, dirty floors, dirty curtains, not being able to enter the room, waiting in a cold loby for hours, one until after 6.30pm, failure to provide breakfast boxes, clean water to brush teeth and it goes on and on. Some hotels were just tired, old, dirty, worn down, furniture torn and broken, the feeling of sleeping in a tent would have been an upgrade. "Oh well, what can you do", as Martha said, words to the effect of, "that's life, things happen", etc, etc..."

From sections of tours being withdrawn without notice, itineraries changed without notice, experiences destroyed without notice and then to be told you would be refunded those portions. But my experience to date is that they were just 'empty' words to appease you at that moment as there has been no sign of any compensation or refund, nor do l expect any ...

Communication with Martha is the worst. I had to insist she contact me by phone as hours of messaging her fell on deaf ears and when we spoke, she basically told me to calm down, shut up and understand that life is not perfect and things happen. I found her to be (I'm sorry to say) somewhat aggressive in her tone and manner, as if your bad experience was your fault and you shouldn't have complained to her in the first place.That may be true but not if you pay her so much money so as to avoid this. Other travel agents albeit don't want to hear from you, are happy to know when things go wrong and mainly to do the right thing, but more importantly promote their company as one that is there for you in times of trouble - we did not feel the love.

If you travel to South America for the very first time and don't speak Spanish or Portuguese, a good travel agent should know this as on many occasions, Spanish or Portuguese was spoken and English was extremely difficult for the locals to understand or speak. 

I would love to go on and on but l think I'll finish up by saying, please check the negative reviews first because if everything goes right, all reviews are usually good, but it is when things go bad that you want your tour company to step up to the mark and take ownership. Sadly this did not happen and, apart from that, when I would complain it was usually met with the fact that if l wanted to upgrade my experience, I would have to pay for it.

The greatest experience for me and my wife is that this nightmare we paid SA Vacations for is over and thank God for that. I hope Martha enjoyed my money more than I did.

But please visit South America,  the people, culture, experience and riches are just "the best."

I wish her well because, in my opinion, she will need it. So please do yourself a favour, consider another tour company or do it on the hock. I believe you will have a better experience and be treated better.

*The above is a reflection of our experience. We have no intention to upset anybody but simply give an overview of our opinion having used SA Vactions. "But Never Again"

I'm sure there are many other wonderful tour companies out there that, in my opinion, care and take ownership of your holiday. After all, it's not always about the money, or is it?

God speed and safe travels to you all. 

God bless you too Martha as l am a God fearing person and to share love is better than the alternative. The world should always strive to love more and hate less...

We had a wonderful trip to Ecuador organized by Alan and Martha Cohen, SA Vacations.
The local recommendations for Quito hotel (Patio Andaluz) and Amazon experiences at the Sacha Lodge and the Amazon Manatee explorer cruise were perfect for our group of 8, ages 27 to 87.

The team of greeters and guides in Quito were perfect. Every connection was easy and clear. We asked to adjust our Quito day to include the botanical garden and they didn't miss a beat setting it up. They also helped us with restaurants and taxis for our free.

Every connection was eased with clear guidance and help.

We are very grateful to Alan and Martha and will certainly reach out to them for any future trips to South America.

This trip was SO well organized and executed. At every stop, we were greeted by a member of their team. The tours were well planned with the guides being very knowledgeable and helpful. A special shout out to Paul in Machu Picchu who helped my husband (who will be getting his hip replaced in July) navigate the steps up and into and out of the Citadel AND Raul in Santiago who we were fortunate to have on every tour and drop off and pick up from the airport. He was so helpful and kind. Our only suggestion would be to have something planned on the last day, so there isn't such a hours long gap before a late night flight out.

So well organized. This was planned in 2019 then the world shut down. Martha was able to get us as many flight refunds as possible and we just kept holding on until finally both Peru and Easter Island were opened up. Not one glitch with all the flights, people to meet and multiple excursions. Everyone was very professional. Everything was planned to the smallest detail so it was a very stress free vacation. This was a bucket list for sure- no regrets. Looking to go back for Galapagos and I am sure she will have a great plan in mind for us. Thanks for making a dream come true.

Martha at South American Vacations put together an amazing trip to Chili and Argentina for my husband and I. We do a lot of traveling and this was by far the easier traveling experience for us. Booking all our flights, hotels and tours with South American Vacations turned out perfect. Martha knew the best locations and the best variety of tours that would be good for what we wanted out of our trip. I would highly recommend this travel company.

With the assistance of South American Vacations, I planned a special trip to the Galapagos and Machu Picchu with my son for his senior year in high school. Unfortunately, the trip was planned for March 2020, just as the world closed down for the Covid pandemic. Alan and Martha were unbelievably helpful. They got us refunds for what was refundable and got us credits for what was not. Two years later, in the spring of 2022, they graciously rebooked the Machu Picchu portion for us, but we had decided to abandon the idea of post-pandemic cruising. They found a way for my daughter and a friend to use our credit to visit the Galapagos islands. Once again, for the Spring of 2023, they rose to the occasion and planned the perfect trip for them. In all, they planned THREE vacations for us, and never asked for an extra dime. I cannot thank them enough. What grace, generosity of spirit and ingenuity! I cannot recommend them strongly enough!!

Our Patagonia trip was fantastic.

First, we needed (as always) more time. I wish we would have had 4 full days in Buenos Aires. The location in Recoleta was perfect and the Westin was fine. The bus tour was only OK. Too much driving and not enough stopping at some of the great spots. Our best day was spent walking and in the cemetery that was amazing.

I had heard so many good things about the Bariloche area. It was beautiful but our days there were jammed with people and traffic. The bus tours were greatly delayed in heavy traffic and we had little time to see any of the sights. The boat trips also had long bus travel but the boat stops and short walks were very nice.

The long travel day with 4 buses and 3 boats from Bariloche to Puerto Varas turned out to be wonderful. Great guides and the entire day was a remarkable adventure crossing the border into Chile.

Puerto Varas/Puerto Montt/Chiloe was fine on our own and the hotel was nice. The town tours were worthless and skipped almost all of the major sites that we enjoyed walking to. Fortunately, our guide for Chiloe was fantastic. He actually asked us what we wanted to do so we skipped what was described and took a boat to see penguins and then had lunch as scheduled - excellent day.

Torres del Paine was just like our dreams. The hotel was wonderful and all of the day activities whether hiking, riding, or boating exceeded our expectations. The guides were some of the best we have ever seen and everything was beautiful beyond belief. We wish we could have had another 2-3 days there - 5 were not enough.

Punta Arenas was a fun, walkable town on our own.

The Australis trip was amazing. We had never been on a cruise and this was amazing every single day. The sights were unbelievable and the guides, programs, food and drink, and meeting others from around the world were highlights of the trip. We made it to Cape Horn and were able to spend the (stormy and windy) day on the island seeing all of the sights. We felt like little children living a dream.

All of your arrangements and the transfers were almost perfect. This is usually the stressful part of travel but all of the transfers were on time and, except for one, we had a text confirmation the night before so communication was perfect.

In retrospect 2 more days in Buenos Aires, 3 more days at Torres del Paine, and skipping Bariloche completely would have made the trip better. Bariloche is a back-packers paradise but it cannot be seen on a bus and the town itself is a touristy dump. Our opinion...

Thanks for all of your help. It was the trip of a lifetime.

We recently took a trip to Patagonia & nearby towns, Iguazu Fall and Brazil and were very impressed with SA Vacations and Martha who put together the itinerary for us.

Since the trip was over 3 weeks long with numerous international and internal flights and hotel stays and tours, we were concerned at first but Martha did an excellent job in organizing the trip.

We were met by courteous and professional guides at various airports who drove us to our hotels and picked us up for excellent tours.

Everything was executed flawlessly and we were very impressed with Martha and the company. Since this was the first time we used SA Vacations, we had lot of questions for Martha and she answered them patiently and thoroughly. We also had to make changes during the planning stage and she was able to modify the trip to fit our needs promptly, thanks to their extensive knowledge and experience on South America.

SA vacations and Martha have far exceeded our expectation and we’ll definitely use the company again for our next trip to Galapagos and Amazon. We highly recommend this company!

On short notice, Martha was able to put together a dream trip all around Argentina. I took 6 different flights just inside Argentina, and every connection, every driver, and every hotel was perfect. I changed my mind multiple times during the booking process, and Martha was able to work around my new wish list. Can't recommend South American Vacations enough!

Fantastic trip! Galapagos has always seemed like an unreachable destination that you only get to hear in the history books. South American Vacations turned that dream into a reality for us and with absolutely no complications or speed bumps along the way! Everything was perfectly executed - from booking us great airfare tickets for a more than reasonable price, offering a full-packed itinerary including a city tour of Quito and providing us with great accommodations for the entire trip including our hotel in Quito and the cruise line we ended up going with to the Galapagos which was a small, intimate but luxury cruse ship, but still for a fair price since the cruises in the Galapagos account for most of the cost for the trip. The cruise was clean, staff was friendly, and the excursions were nothing short of amazing. I highly recommend South American Vacations if you are planing to vacation in Ecuador/Galapagos. Thank you for an epic experience!

My husband and I, with a family friend, traveled to Galapogos and Rapa Nui [Easter Island], with stops in Quito and Santiago. The whole trip was absolutely remarkable! We were amazed by the wildlife and scenery in the Galapogos and enthralled with the history and ancient stones/heads on Rapa Nui [Easter Island]... and Quito and Santiago were bonus sites! I can't say enough. The trip was extremely well planned and organized. The guides were knowledgeable and from the places in which they worked - giving local perspectives. The accommodations were excellent. I don't have anything bad to say. It was just an incredible trip - a quite remarkable journey. I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to see both sites!!

On short notice, South America Tours setup a pre-cruise trip for March 1-4, 2023 in/near the Panama rainforest near Panama City, Panama. Our Norwegian cruise departed Colon, Panama on March 4. South American Tours worked with Panama Trails who picked us up at the airport gate where we received priority exit thru customs which was extremely nice and took us to our rainforest hotel and checked-in without a hitch. Panama Trails drivers picked us up each day on-time and took us to our tour each of the next two days. We toured the canal on the lake one day and using a long-canoe style boat we visited the Embera Quera tribe in the rainforest. We made arrangements and were transported to the cruise ship docks in Colon. We had a great Panama experience. We have previously used South American Vacations to coordinate our 10-day Galapagos trip and 3-week Peru trip in 2018, and highly recommend them and we will continue to use them as we recommend them to our friends and other travelers.

We just came back from a fantastic 2 weeks Patagonia vacation planned and customized by SA Vacations. Everything was well organized and the local agents that they used were excellent. Highly recommended.

Our Travel agency has recently used South American Vacations 3 times for our clients who have wanted a dream vacation. Each trip was different and seemed complicated to put together but Alan and Martha had no problem designing a perfect itinerary. Flights, hotels, tours, transfers and guides were all perfectly planned. Each client raved about their trip. I would definitely recommend this company if you are looking for repeat clients!! It's a win win!!
Joni Cohen ECCS/LCS

Everything was perfectly organized and customized to our interests. The hotels were great. All of the transport drivers & guides were on time and knowledgeable. We flew into Santiago, Chile where we did a city tour, winery visit at Concha y Toro, Maipo Valley hot springs. Next we went to Patagonia hiking in Torres del Paine national park. Then, we cruised from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia through Tierra del Fuego/ Patagonia. We finished in Buenos Aires.. Martha and Alan gave us great advice as to sites, neighborhoods, how far in advance to arrive at different airports (Buenos Aires super inefficient airport where you need hours upon hours!) restaurants, packing for multiple climates etc. Fantastic. They organized trips to Peru (Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Arequipa, Colca Valle), Ecuador (Galapagos, Rainforest Lodge, Cotopaxi, Quito) and Costa Rica (San Jose, Tortuguera, Arenal, Monte Verde, Manuel Antonio). They are truly South & Central American experts.

This last trip to Patagonia was the fourth that South American Vacations has organized for us, and just like the previous three (Peru, Costa Rica and Ecuador) it was perfect. Every connection, every tour, every hotel and flight was perfectly coordinated. Even when we had weather related delays there was a backup plan.
Above all, we always appreciate the great advice that Martha and Alan give us to organize the perfect trip. They know South America like no one else. Their suggestions are always spot on

We booked the Argentina-Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Bariloche in 11 days vacation. Everything went smoothly and we had a wonderful time. All of the guides and airport transfers were on time and friendly. Many of the guides gave helpful travel information for the areas we were visiting, I.e. where to shop, where to eat, where we could exchange money. Alan and Martha Cohen had all of the details planned perfectly so all we had to do was sit back and enjoy our lovely vacation. We definitely recommend this company.

Our trip to Antarctica was the greatest adventure. South America Vacation made sure from start to finish that we would be helped at each stopover. The travel to our final destination was enhanced by setting up mini tours at each location and pickup and stop off at the airport. The expedition ship was the best way to see as much as possible Antarctica close up and often. With two excursions on land a day we were able to see wildlife and landscape up close. The staff on the ship was devoted to us having a good experience. The daily seminars, gourmet meals, and personal support was made possible by the smaller ship experience. They treated us like family. Definitely a first rate vacation made possible by Alan and Martha of South American Vacations.

The tours were really nice and the tour guides really knew there stuff very informative all 3 countries Brazil, Argentina and Peru were fantastic, if you want a fun filled trip book with Alan & Martha Cohen,they are the best!!!!!!

I am a travel advisor who booked two clients for a Peru, Chile, & Easter Island trip in September. I had not used them before but they had been recommended by several colleagues who had high praises for the company. My clients had an amazing time and all went smoothly thanks to Martha and Alan who took care of some date adjustments due to Covid and several major airline schedule changes. I found that they were the absolute best at getting back to me right away with the many questions I had. Martha worked tirelessly on this reservation and I am so thankful that I booked this trip with South America Vacations. I will continue to work with them for all future So. American vacations!