Essential Colombia

Customer Reviews

• JOSEPHINE

  · October 20th, 2017
  When my friends suggested an organised tour of Columbia although I accepted, I had many reservations ,mainly the issue of security and my lack of knowledge of the Spanish language. My friends toured Cuba with Exodus, but as I had visited there in 2013 I met them in Bogota two days prior to the commencement of the official tour . My protracted flights Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland and an overnight stop over in Santiago and then the final leg to Bogota were well organised and I was met at Santiago and then Bogota by efficient and friendly Akron representatives. Our accommodation at Hotel Augusta was comfortable and the staff were helpful in assisting us to organise a tour of the Botanical Gardens and then the Emerald Trading Centre prior to our Exodus tour. Taxis are an extremely inexpensive means of traversing this large and busy metropolis. The presence of law enforcement personnel near the hotel and surrounding local was impressive and alleviated many of my preconceived issues The tour was interesting and informative and well organised which provided me with a fabulous photo opportunity. The scenery in the Cocora Valley was stunning and the delightful city of Cartagena was interesting. Our accommodation near Palomino situated in the rainforest and Caribbean Coast was fabulous and the staff obliging and quite delightful Our tour guide Juan Carlos Henao was extremely pleasant and his assistance to us was exemplary and his knowledge of Columbia most impressive and informative. We also visited the world class Gold Museum and inspirational National Museum located near our accommodation. I would not hesitate in recommending Columbia and Exodus Tours to my friends but I would suggest to take a course of Diamox tablets to allieviate the effects of the altitude as the altitude of Bogota is 2640 metres above sea level and may affect some individuals Hopefully I would like to make a return visit in 2018 and participate in another tour JOSEPHINE Goss visited in August 2017
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• Deborah

  · March 4th, 2025
  Absolutely an awesome trip. I love the information on the government, history and the education system. Daniel was fantastic, as was our driver, Ricardo. I also loved all the family owned businesses and restaurants we went to. And the lodging was awesome. Some of the hikes were more strenuous than expected; but we were given options. Overall, the trip exceeded my expectations. The restaurants picked offered a good variety of foods and the prices were fairly mid-priced and fair. The only downside would be one couple, Daniella and David, were on the negative side, especially David. He complained constantly about the rain and many of the places we ate. Daniel went out of his way to accommodate them by trying to find a more economical place for them to eat, while the rest of us enjoyed the restaurants he chose. It's a shame you can't give personality tests before some of the trips! HaHa. Our spirits were not dampened though!
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• Cheryl

  · March 4th, 2025
  First, I want to say that our tour guide Daniel was EXCELLENT in all things! He shared his vast knowledge of all of the beautiful areas that we visited and his obvious love for what he does was contageous! We had one traveler in our group who complained about EVERYTHING and at times was very rude to Daniel and condescending. Totally uncalled for. It made the others uncomfortable at times. However, Daniels patience and ability to handle the situation was very professional. Now as for the trip itself, it was all that I expected! The various areas we visited were beautiful and full of so much "nature" in the form of birds, lizards, monkeys, crocodiles, turtles and other forms of life. The vegetation was mind boggling. As much as I loved the various hikes (thank goodness for my two walking sticks) I had to back out of a couple because of my bad knee. Daniel made sure that I was included at least in the ascent to the top of the hills in a jeep with the others in order to see the area, and while they made the trek back down, I returned in the jeep. He was always watching out for me to make sure that I didn't fall flat on my face! Overall, the meals that were included were good. The restaurants that Daniel chose for our meals that we paid for were excellent and in a fair price range (the complainer thought $6 was too much to pay for a meal and made a big deal out of it, so Daniel took him next door to a far less "expensive" restaurant.). While we were staying at El Establo in Monteverde I missed a step in the poorly lit hallway stairs and had a nasty tumble. Although badly bruised hip, I survived. Daniel made sure the management knew about the poorly lit stairs so that they could hopefully fix it before someone else fell. The various national parks were absolutely beautiful. Seeing the sloths up close in Manuel Antonio Park was a real treat. Great trip! I would highly recommend it to anyone!
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