Central American Journey

12 Reviews

Excellent

75%

Good

25%

Average

0%

Rather Poor

0%

Bad

0%

• DH

  Dominic
  Written on May 6, 2018

  5.0 - Excellent

  I went from Playa Del Carmen to SaN Jose, the itinerary and the places are brilliant, but I think I may have got extra lucky as my group and Guides Isik and Victor were amazing. The tour well surpassed my expectations and I would highly recommend to a seasoned or novice traveller.... Pura Vida

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• DK

  David
  Written on March 13, 2018

  4.5 - Excellent

  Overall this trip was fantastic! Seeing Central America was on one of my lists and this was the perfect tour to go see it. Many countries will surprise you and this was a very good introduction to them. I’ve been on a few tours with different companies but found this one to be the best with the 18-39 age group. I was 32 and 95% of everyone else happened to be 18-24 but that didn’t make a difference and they were the best group to travel with. We went from Mexico to Costa Rica and saw a lot. We only have so much time to do everything so after a month you're ‘activitied’ out’ so we all wanted an extra day at each place to relax and absorb it, but we needed to move on to see more and that’s simply part of this trip. So you have to pick and choose your activities wisely. Regarding the optional activities: They had some excellent choices and I’m happy with them but there were a few that I have to say need to be adjusted as they were overpriced for us as tourists. Must Do Activities: Mexico: Tulum Ruins, Beach Time, Cenotes (Take The local Buses for 40 pesos its very easy) Belize: Snorkelling with Turtles, Small Sharks, Rays = Amazing Guatemala: Tikal Ruins, Hot Waterfall, Kayaking were all great Honduras: Luna Jaguar in Copan is worth it (but do it locally for a better price) El Salvador: Waterfall Jumping (but do it locally for a better price) Nicaragua: 5 in 1 Tour was great! Costa Rica: Ziplining (Superman/Tarzan Swing!) was great and Baldi Hot Springs is a perfect place to go and make sure to stay until 10pm and just vibe out (but do it locally for a better price) A Few Comments: #1. Antigua: OX Volcano Overnight Hike. This is a simple 1.5 - 2 hour hike up you can do with another company for much cheaper. We did it with them overnight and were disappointed. Find a local company to take you there and pay $30 USD or so. Go there early morning or at lunch and it increases your chances of summiting. The only option for the Pacaya Volcano should be to go early in the morning or for lunch in order to get to the top. The sunset and sunrise is too risky and common sense tells me now that the weather is better during the day so you can summit. We didn't get to summit and were all very disappointed. They also don't tell you that you may not summit and later said on top at night "Well if we told you that then no one would sign up." The sleep was terrible with wild dogs fighting all night, The matts they give you are very thin and don't provide support to sleep on. I would not recommend anyone to signup with them but to go with a local company instead because its a relatively easy walk during the day to get to the top. #2. Luna Jaguar Hot Springs. I found out after signing up that the entrance fee was $12.75 USD. Many people were on a budget and because of this price decided not go. I went cause I can afford it but it was not worth this price but it was very worth going. G adventures and the CEO should mention that you can go with the local company for $7 usd/person ride and 12.75 entrance fee. We should not be treated like a group of flamingo tourists who get sent to local companies for them to make larger profits of us. I had a talk with the CEO about this and he later gave us more options and offered lower prices on 2 more activities after I mentioned things during a casual and pleasant talk. He was very aware of it and conscious of this and made adjustments later on which was nice to see. We are paying so much to fly and come here that we should be treated fairly with local prices and not be taken advantage of. So next time people can walk 1 min right from the hotel and choose a company that'll take us there for $7 usd and you can choose weather or not we buy food at the restaurant there or not. The restaurant has a nice menu and is open very late all day. They have very cheap options and we should have that choice. The local company I found goes from 1-5pm during the day. For the Gadventure price of $55 usd you get a ride/entrance/dinner and the dinner was good BUT we should be presented with the option for A) $20 usd no dinner or $55 with 4-9pm night time option with dinner for $55. This would be fair and best to simply be transparent with us. Also we are paying for a drive all the way from Antigua to Nicaragua so I wish the driver could drive us as I asked him what he was doing and he said he was sleeping. I asked the guide about this and he said the contract with the bus company is very specific. Its too bad because he had the entire day off and the drive was only and hour there and back. Alberto was our driver and I would be happy to pay him the extra $7 USD to drive us instead of another local company. #3. The Waterfall Jumping in El Salvador. With G Adventures it’s $50 but you can take a bus for $1.50 there and back or $10 per person there with a private driver with a small group (ask the hotel) and then a bus back. Then get a local guide for $5 usd there. Our CEO became conscious of budgets and organized a cheaper option which was very nice of him. G adventures should adjust this price as its just was too much for this no entrance fee trip. Its really just a bus ride there. #4. Costa Rica Baldi. This is an awesome experience and if you get 8 people or more it will be $38 from any local travel company plus $1 each for a taxi ride and it includes a 1 hour all you can eat buffet. G adventures does it for $55 USD. Other than these activities which should be adjusted and you can organize them on your own the trip is FANTASTIC! Both guides Bianca and Cappi were really great! Also the group we had was really amazing and we all had a lot of fun together. Best group I’ve been in on these types of tours around the world. I’ll be very happy to recommend this trip to my friends if they want to experience Central America.

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• JJ

  Jonathan
  Written on February 16, 2018

  5.0 - Excellent

  The trip was great, well organized and the locations selected for stopovers all were really nice especially in Nicaragua. The activity selections were quite diverse so what ever you felt like doing you had many options. Accommodation for the whole trip was fine, all the hostels and hotels were clean and I had no issues. Our tour leader Cappie was quite a character. He did an excellent job of answering all our questions and helping to organize everyone. He seemed to as well really enjoy partaking in activities with us which made it a lot of fun and a overall really enjoyable experience .

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• SL

  Sophie
  Written on January 9, 2018

  4.5 - Excellent

  The tour was far more amazing than what I expected (compared to the one I did in south east Asia). I enjoyed every single day. Sometime the transportation in between to spots were too long but I guess it's part of the experience. I met such great people (I think the G of G'adventure comes actually from there). I had the chance to meet two guides for the whole journey. I have not enough words to tell how amazing they are. Beside their quality and professionalism as guides, they were so helpful, always happy, entertaining and so so so much fun! I truly made friends. They increased my huge appetite of the traveling lifestyle. I can't say enough thank you.

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• 

  Nick
  Written on April 27, 2017

  4.0 - Good

  Great trip, awesome people, would have loved to stay longer in some places and shorter in others but thats the nature of this experience.

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• 

  Alfie
  Written on March 12, 2017

  4.5 - Excellent

  Let's start with what wasn't so good. Firstly there were a lot more girls on this trip than boys. So the dynamic of the group could have been better. I understand this is quite normal to happen - but there must be something the tour provider can do about this.. Maybe give small discounts to boys, or do more marketing towards men specifically, to improve the ratio?! Also this trip is actually two different trips back-to-back. So the groups change half way through. This was a bit of a surprise. Apart from that everything was amazing! Great leaders, accommodation, locations, activities, food, everything! A really good way to see a lot of of Central American in a short time, and get a flavour for each place.

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• 

  Nikita
  Written on November 28, 2016

  4.0 - Good

  This trip was phenomenal and was a great balance of fun, culture, experience, and adventure. I feel very satisfied with how everything went and have enjoy every minute of the trip. Both tour guides were amazing and supportive and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this trip to anyone interested in such.

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• N

  Nadia
  Written on November 26, 2016

  4.5 - Excellent

  Yolo Central American trip from playa deal carmen to San Jose was the best fun of my life! Awesome group and tour leader Rafa- so knowledgable but chilled and fun! Reccomend ++

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• S

  Savanna
  Written on November 5, 2016

  5.0 - Excellent

  G adventures has been an amazing company to travel with. Professional, kind, caring, fun, knowledgable and on the go! Always know where the best party is at and the best sites to see even on a budget!

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• 

  Charlotte
  Written on March 15, 2016

  5.0 - Excellent

  Absolutely fantastic tour! There were always lots of choices for optional activities so there was something to do for everyone. The guides were excellent! They were professional, informative and patient when answering all our confusing and repetitive questions about locations, accommodations and language barriers. If you want to see and experience a lot in a short period of time in Central America – this is the tour for you!

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