Why use a tour operator firm in your South America journey…

Anybody who has tried is aware of that planning a journey in South America is usually a daunting expertise. Whether or not you purpose to participate in a Brazilian carnaval or simply lay again and luxuriate in an enriching Galapagos cruise, numerous elements are concerned in touring round this huge, primarily Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking continent. So, when arranging your superb South American journey, precisely how are you going to keep away from getting misplaced in all the small print and complexities?

On the subject of planning a visit to South America, you often have three choices:

• You’ll be able to attempt to do all of it by yourself (a doubtlessly disastrous DIY method)
• Undergo a journey company, or
• E book your journey via an skilled tour operator

Earlier than going additional, although, observe that journey brokers and tour operators play two totally different roles. A journey company acts as an middleman; they buy tickets from airways and safe reservations from inns. Nonetheless, a tour operator designs and manages your whole keep. “Land-only operators,” specifically, concentrate on the elements of your journey when you arrive at your vacation spot—overseeing the whole lot from home flights, transfers, lodging, eating, native bilingual guides, leisure actions, and web site excursions, to all of the “little particulars” that may make or break a once-in-a-lifetime journey expertise. In brief, a journey company helps get to your vacation spot, whereas a tour operator goes additional: they be sure you expertise it.

With that stated, let’s see why selecting a tour operator is often the wisest transfer in the event you’re searching for a rewarding and hassle-free journey expertise. 

The first benefit: Homegrown experience

The advantage of native data is sort of inconceivable to magnify on a continent as various as South America. Tour operators sometimes have workplaces or companions in nations the place they function, which provides them a leg-up in comparison with journey companies missing such an on-the-ground benefit.

Contemplate the case of the Amazon. By reserving your rainforest journey by yourself or via a journey company not intimately acquainted along with your vacation spot, you possibly can simply wind up housed at a corny jungle lodge vacationer entice catering to oblivious vacationers and offering a clichéd keep – your vacationer guidebook however.

Counting on a tour operator, nevertheless, it’s a lot safer to imagine your keep will probably be at a extra genuine, Indigenous-run lodge the place your guides are native inhabitants who know the rainforest inside out. They’ll have the ability to lead you to the highest trails for wildlife watching and take you to the most effective beneath-the-radar eating places on the town. By tapping right into a tour operator’s native data, you’ll expertise the native tradition and lifestyle in an genuine and worthwhile method. Your chosen actions organized by your tour operator may vary from a standard ceremony led by an Amazonian shaman to studying to make empanadas from a grasp chef in Colombia.

Stress-free journey

A journey agent can certainly reserve a flight and your lodging. Nonetheless, after that, it’s on you to determine tips on how to get round and discover out what to do when you get to your vacation spot. This already irritating scenario is barely made worse by any language barrier.

Against this, a tour operator could have ready your most popular itinerary upfront, which implies you’ll be geared up with an in depth but versatile plan of expertly guided actions upon arrival. Saving you time and avoiding hassles, your tour operator could have even organized easy accessibility to a few of the hottest websites.

As for lodging, remember that tour operators work with numerous varieties of lodging — from ocean-front guesthouses to luxurious eco-lodges — in order that they know which of them provide the most effective consolation, companies, and worth. Additionally, most of your meals will probably be organized by your tour operator, which is very handy in additional remoted South American journey websites the place native decisions are fewer.

Those that have ever tried, understand how a lot time, effort, and trouble is concerned in making an attempt to coordinate all of the separate components of a visit your self. Counting on a tour operator, the whole lot is taken care of via this all-in-one service from the moment you contact down till the second you’re taking off. A tour operator takes that stress off your plate so you possibly can simply present up and benefit from the journey.

Customized-designed/personalised actions

Reasonably than off-the-rack packages offered by journey companies, an skilled tour operator will craft a tailored itinerary based mostly in your tastes, pursuits, and preferences. A tour operator is aware of that in the event you’re a nature lover, as an illustration, your itinerary may embody Chile’s breathtaking Torres del Paine reserve, the ethereal Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia, or Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, with every vacation spot crammed with actions starting from A to Z, from archeological web site exploring to ziplining.

For adventure-seeking adrenaline junkies, a tour operator can provide you with experiences like sandboarding within the beautiful Atacama Desert or trekking to distant Inca ruins. And for these fascinated by a vacation spot’s historical past, tradition, and traditions, custom-made excursions can encompass color-filled markets in Ecuador, meals courses in Lima, or a sensual tango present in Buenos Aires.

One of many elements you’ll love on the subject of working with a tour operator is that you simply received’t be tied to rigid schedules or have actions imposed on you. Reasonably, they work to search out out what you favor to do after which tailor a personalised itinerary only for you. 

Security and peace of thoughts

Journey in South America is an enthralling combine of pleasure, journey, surprise, and awe. Nonetheless, just a few important points must be thought of, notably security and well being dangers. For this reason it’s reassuring to know that your tour operator will at all times “have your again,” notably when exploring extra distant or unfamiliar areas. Tour operators are higher ready than journey companies to cope with questions of safety.

For one, they’ve native contacts and on-site groups which might be conversant in the ins and outs of the vacation spot and have contingency plans and protocols in place ought to something go south.

Additionally, tour operators always monitor conditions that – although unlikely – can disrupt journey plans. Even in situations of political unrest or pure occasions like landslides or flooding, tour operators have backup plans to switch or re-route your itinerary as wanted.

The benefit of a tour operator turns into particularly clear within the case of medical emergencies. Do you have to get sick or injured whereas trekking the Andes or exploring the Amazon, for instance, your tour operator is able to find the quickest entry to well-qualified medical help and getting you to the most effective clinic or hospital.

In the end, utilizing a tour operator offers you peace of thoughts, realizing you’re in good arms it doesn’t matter what may occur. 

Unique experiences

Sometimes, tour operators can present experiences unavailable to the everyday traveler. For instance, a tour operator may prepare immersive experiences for you corresponding to a day with a Kichwa household within the Ecuadorian highlands or an opportunity to be taught conventional weaving methods from a neighborhood artisan. These perks are because of the relationships they’ve shaped with native institutions, service suppliers, and native communities.

It’s tough to search out these sorts of distinctive off-the-beaten-path experiences whenever you’re reserving via a journey company, and nearly inconceivable when making an attempt to drag one thing collectively by your self. 

A surprisingly higher bang for the buck

One would assume that organizing a visit with a tour operator would price greater than planning that journey your self or reserving it via a journey company. Assume once more. Should you analyze the actual prices, you may simply discover that touring via a tour operator is definitely a lot better worth for the cash.

For one factor, as tour operators keep relationships with inns, transportation firms, and exercise companies, they have a tendency to get higher offers than what you may discover on-line or via a journey company. Added to this, all-in-one pricing for excursions is obtainable by many tour operators, with the elements of those together with the whole lot from lodging and meals to excursions and even entrance charges. Not solely does this simplify budgeting your journey, however it will possibly additionally prevent cash on condition that a few of these companies will be bundled, which equates to a reduction for you.

However let’s step again and assume. Even in the event you may save a couple of dollars fastidiously patching collectively your journey your self, you’ll spend an outrageous period of time researching, evaluating costs, and making reservations. The time and work saved by going via a tour operator provides as much as hours – if not days! Comfort comes within the type of the tour operator’s single worth for a whole journey, which frequently interprets into much less stress and extra worth. 

When touring in South America with a tour operator – particularly on a gaggle tour – you’re most likely going to satisfy different vacationers with comparable pursuits and who actually communicate your language.

Having enjoyable and sharing new adventures develops a way of group and camaraderie with group members and sometimes leads to buddies for all times. Time and time once more, this has proven itself to be true, whether or not within the instances of solo vacationers or selecting to share their journey actions with different individuals, or smaller circles of household or buddies open to connecting with others to make their journey that rather more fulfilling and rewarding. 

Go away the small print to specialists, sit again, and benefit from the experience

Planning and organizing a visit to South America isn’t any stroll within the park. Certain, you possibly can attempt to DIY-it or go along with the storefront journey company; nevertheless, by working with an skilled tour operator, the promise of your journey will rocket from simply OK to fully wonderful.

With benefits corresponding to native experience, stress-free planning, and custom-designed journeys, working with a tour operator is your finest wager for a protected and rewarding South American journey. Regardless of in the event you’re crusing the glimmering waters off the Galapagos Islands or eating at a tango membership in Buenos Aires, a tour operator will be certain that you do it with the utmost satisfaction, security, and elegance.

Alfonso Tandazo

Alfonso Tandazo is President and CEO at Surtrek Tour Operator. Surtrek Tour Operator is a well-established agency, specializing in custom-designed luxurious excursions in Ecuador, the Galapagos and all through the remainder of South America. If you want to be a visitor blogger on A Luxurious Journey Weblog with a purpose to elevate your profile, please contact us.