HI Travel South America

Hi Lesley, Thank you for sharing your feedback. We're glad you enjoyed discovering Buenos Aires and Colonia, although we're sorry to hear that the experience didn't fully meet your expectations. Our tours are specifically designed for independent travellers, including solo travellers. They combine pre-arranged accommodation, transfers and activities with the freedom to explore at your own pace. Local guides are included during scheduled excursions, but these are not fully escorted tours with a guide accompanying travellers throughout the 4 days trip. We understand that this travel style may not suit everyone's expectations, and we'll take your comments into account to ensure this distinction is even clearer before booking. We hope this experience won't discourage you from exploring more of South America, as it has so much to offer!

Dear Dawson, Thanks for your review, and great to hear that you enjoyed your trip. I just wanted to explain a little more about our role, because there is actually quite a lot more behind the scenes than simply booking the different components. We first travel the region ourselves and look for suitable and reliable providers, which is not always easy in some of the places where we operate. We organize the trip in a way that is reasonable and comfortable to travel, receive the bookings, confirm all the different services and pre-pay suppliers to make sure everything is secured, sometimes even before the customer has made the final payment. This also involves payments in different countries, currencies and forms of payment. For example, it is very rare to be able to pay for the overland services between San Pedro and Uyuni by credit card. Of course you can arrive in San Pedro and arrange it yourself, but you might need to wait for availability. If your plans are open, this can work perfectly well. But if you have further travel plans and fixed dates, it is normally better to have everything pre-booked. Also, when everything goes well, you probably won't notice much of what we do. But when things happen, we are there to help. We have had to find customers in the middle of the road because of blockades around La Paz, change accommodation because of unexpected snowfalls, and even change border crossing points because of sudden closures, always coordinating with the local suppliers and the customers. Of course, it is absolutely possible to book each component yourself, and some travellers prefer to do that. The advantage of booking with an operator is that everything is pre-booked and pre-paid, you have one company coordinating the whole trip and someone to help if something goes wrong. From the customer's side, you just click once and pay once with your credit card. Nice and simple. Regarding your airport transfer being booked for the wrong time, that should of course not have happened, and we apologize for that. Again, thanks for your review. Our intention is not to argue with your comments, but just to explain a little more about the work behind the trip and the value we try to provide. Have a great day, Cristian Calomarde Managing Director HI Travel South America

Thank you for your feedback. We're glad to hear that you enjoyed the tours and learning about the fascinating history of Rapa Nui and its moai. We are sorry that the hostel did not meet your expectations. The accommodation booked was a budget hostel, as clearly indicated in the package description, and we had not experienced similar complaints about this property in the past. Regarding your cat allergy, unfortunately this was not communicated to us before booking. Had we known about this important requirement, we would certainly have checked with the accommodation beforehand, as pets are not uncommon in smaller, locally run properties. We understand your decision to move to another accommodation, but as the original booking had already been confirmed and paid for, we were unable to offer a refund. We take your comments about the hostel's facilities and cleanliness seriously and will follow up with the property. We're pleased that you enjoyed exploring Easter Island and appreciate you sharing your experience.

Hi Anne! It’s good to hear that you enjoyed Brazil so much, we will let the guides know that they were appreciated.

Hi Markus! It was our pleasure helping you throughout your trip, regardless of the whole political situation. You are more than welcome!

Hi Julius! Thanks for the kind words, I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed the trip. I believe that there might have been a misunderstanding regarding the return trip. It is included, but you are also given the option of being dropped off in a traditional Brazilian churrascaria for lunch. That might be the cause of the confusion.

Dear Kelly, Thank you so much for your kind words. It was a pleasure helping you with your adventure, and I’m really happy to hear that you enjoyed your time in Argentina. We’d love to assist you with any future trips you may be planning in South America! Hope to see you again soon!!! Cristian

Hi Ralf! Thanks for the kind words, Montevideo really is a severely underappreciated city.