Tucan Travel Reviews

Name: Tucan Travel
Rating: 4.00

4.0 Rating 257 Reviews

75 %

of reviewers recommend Tucan Travel

Company Reviews

Questions

Visit Website

Phone:

+44 (0)20 8896 1600

Email:

uksales@tucantravel.com

Write Your review

Tell us how Tucan Travel made you happy

Minimum 10 characters

Would you like to add a photos or videos?

Strengthen your review by uploading photos & videos.

Drag files here or browse

(Supported files: jpg, png, mpeg, ogg, mp4 & webm)

What's your name?

Leave this blank if you'd like to publish your review anonymously.

(Optional)

What's your email?

We need your email address to verify that your review is genuine

Please note that we may share your email with the company to verify your order.

South America Express Excuse the length - hope it is of value to someone. An introduction - we are a couple in our sixties with quite a bit of recent travel experience. We went on the South America Express tour (adventure tour) of 26 days from Rio to Lima departing Rio on November 8, 2016. Went on an African adventure tour a couple of years ago (different company) so had something similar to compare this tour with. First point - we did not find Tucan very forthcoming with any additional information. What is in the brochure/website is about all you will get. They told us we would receive all the information we would require for the tour 30 days before the tour began, but it arrived about two weeks before, and turned out to be just a rehash of the brochure! They told us they couldn't tell us in advance who our tour leader would be or any of the accommodation during the tour. Having read some of the reviews relating to tour leaders, this was a concern. Also, we found out during the tour, that Tucan basically uses the same accommodation in all the places we stayed (or no more than two different venues), so we could have been given the accommodation information in advance, with the qualification that things can change at the last minute. This was a complaint from other members of the tour as well. This information can help travellers plan activities on the tour (regardless of the help that tour leaders may/may not provide) as you can find the accommodation's proximity to points of interest and what specific facilities it provides. Second point - we asked Tucan to organise a taylor-made add-on into the jungle at the completion of the adventure tour. This was done extremely well, with all transfers and information really well organised and presented. Just a shame that the same attention to detail is not given to the main tour. Third point - coming from Australia, it was important to organise visas in advance, particularly for Brazil. This added a significant cost to the trip. Also, another additional cost can be the injections and medications (malaria tablets and altitude sickness tablets). More of the hidden costs of travelling! Fourth point - if you are considering this tour, and wondering which direction to travel, we found that the more physically demanding section (Bolivia and Peru) came at the end of our tour. However, whichever direction you choose, we would recommend extra days at the beginning and end - both Rio and Lima are worth it! Fifth point - consider carefully what clothing you take. Although our tour was at the end of Spring/beginning of Summer, it got very cold at times. On the Altiplano it got down to below freezing, and some of the days were very cold as well. There were laundries close to our accommodation in many of the places we stayed, but didn't always fit in with our schedule. In La Paz we got back from an activity after the laundry had closed and we had to leave the following morning before it opened. Would recommend good quality, lightweight, quick-dry travel clothing. Sixth point - luggage. Tucan makes a big deal of what luggage you should have on the tour. As a result, we bought two-wheeled with handle, soft woven-nylon bags which included a backpack harness. We didn't once use the backpack capabilities - wheels were able to cope easily with all terrain we encountered. It is certainly easier towing 20kg than carrying it on your back! All up on our total trip we had 15 take-off and landings and only finished with a small cut on one of the bags. More solid bags may have saved a couple of our more delicate purchases, however, and would not have been an issue on the tour. We also had a travel backpack each. Seventh point - safety. Having read the travel warnings about many of the places we were visiting, we must say that not once did we fell threatened or concerned about our safety or our possessions. One member of our group had a camera bag stolen in a restaurant in Rio, but this was before the tour actually started. Eighth point - altitude sickness. We would recommend taking tablets and making sure that you adhere to the recommendations when at altitude. Members of our group were affected in different ways and at different times - regardless of age and fitness levels. Persevere - don't let it spoil your trip. Ninth point - additional activities. Certainly consider what additional activities you would like to do on the tour. We would certainly recommend - Iguazu Falls boat trip (forget about trying to stay dry; try to organise a water-proof camera); white-water rafting in Mendoza (an absolute blast); tour to Valparaiso and Vina Del Mar when in Santiago (long day but worth it, plus it gets you out of Santiago's smog); Death Road in La Paz with Gravity (Wow!!); chocolate making in Cusco (how sweet it is!); Magic Water Circuit in Lima (was a great way to finish our tour). The tour itself - having read quite a number of Tucan reviews, so much of the success of a tour of this type, depends on the tour leader. We could not have been happier with our leader, Manny. Although the youngest person in our tour group, he had you feeling very confident about his commitment and ability from the outset. He had outstanding language and communication skills, as well as excellent knowledge of all the places we visited. On arrival at a new destination, we had a very informative orientation walk (with our maps) so felt relatively confident proceeding on our own. He was always available for help or advice, and even when we had free days, he usually accompanied all or some of the members of the group to different points of interest or on additional activities. He is definitely a "foodie" and recommended different restaurants/cafes in all the places we stayed. As a result our group normally ate together, with Manny, at one of his recommendations - although this probably added quite a bit to the budget. However, with one exception, all the restaurants were excellent. He was invaluable in organising taxis, and could provide a very good idea as to how much a particular trip should cost - we are sure this saved us quite a bit on the trip. Discovered Manny's work ethic early in the tour when, going to the front desk of our accommodation at Iguazu Falls after midnight to pick up a DVD of our days boat trip under the falls that I had forgotten to collect, found Manny at the desk organising our itinerary for the following days. We began our tour with 12, plus Manny - which was a good sized group. Three left the tour in Santiago with another two joining there. We had a very friendly, easy-going group which did lots of activities together. Overall, the accommodation was as expected for an adventure tour, and as was explained by Tucan. Once again, any particular problems were sorted out by Manny immediately. There was no tea/coffee making in any rooms; no room west of Mendoza had a fridge; hot water was not always available all the time; lifts not in all hotels (it's hard work carrying bags upstairs at altitude!). Although it's not clear in the information, breakfast is included each day. However, sometimes we had quite early starts and even Manny wasn't able to organise anything before we left - but generally we were able to get something fairly soon afterwards. You can't get to see all the things in South America in the time we did without a lot of flights. However, Manny was generally able to get us through check-in together quite quickly, usually jumping the queue (which sometimes contained other tour groups). Don't be surprised to not be sitting next to your partner for the flight! The tour itself was very spectacular - seeing so many iconic sights and discovering lots of unexpected gems. Yes, some days required a lot of sitting in some form of transport, but there was always plenty to see, or possibly catch up on a little sleep. The bus trip over the Andes from Mendoza to Santiago was brilliant - some amazing scenery and roads - and they even feed you all the way! 4WD's in Bolivia were all part of the adventure, as was the accommodation there and dealing with the altitude - photos from this section are wonderful (especially when viewed from sea level). There are things that Tucan can do better but, overall, I would certainly recommend this tour. We would have loved to have done Patagonia as well but the length of the tour was a factor. If we can help any potential fellow travels with information regarding this tour, we would be happy to oblige. Remember, it is an adventure tour - go with the flow and enjoy the experience!

Tucan Travel 4 star review on 11th January 2017

Dave Adams

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Sort by: Most Recent Most Recent Highest Rated Filter: None None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“Keeping the price of these tours affordable, so retires can afford to travel.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Should have written right after our wonderful trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, the end of last year. We were a small group of 4 women Three of them in their early forties and myself far in the 70th!! There are no words to describe each of the countries, how lovely, how friendly they were, specially Vietnam and Cambodia. We ate their food, drank their drinks, many times on a sidewalk on a rickety stool and wobbly table! The food was always delicious, oh how we talked about the meals we had! Our guides took good care of us, pointed out interes- ting things, they were always in time and so friendly! My main interest was Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Angkor Tom was so beautiful and it all exceeded my expectations. When I go over the hundreds of pictures taken, I sometimes get tears in my eyes. Hanoi was lively and exciting, good feeling in the air! Halong Bay so lovely and serene, would love to repeat. Hoi An such a jewel! Our hotels were superb, first class, the breakfasts fabulous! When I think of the passion fruit halves that we had...... In all, Tucan Travel, it could not be better and I thank you for the wonderful experience Pauline Box Margate, Fl USA”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Rajasthan is wonderful, but Tucantravel is not. Do not book with Tucantravel. Tucantravel explicitly states on their website what is and isn't included on this tour. One thing included is breakfast every day. However, when we arrived in India, we were told that some breakfasts weren't included and some trips weren't included, so we had to pay for them ourselves. I had a printed out dossier from the company clearly stating that all breakfasts were included and that certain excursions were included, but our tour guide said that the dossier was wrong and "that's how it's always been." I understand that tours can change slightly, however, you can't simply make people pay for something and then tell them they're not going to receive it without refunding them. That's dishonest and false advertising. When I got home, I emailed the company to tell them that some of the included things were actually not included. A month later, I got this response: http://imgur.com/a/2wgxS. Basically, they said I was lying and refused to acknowledge that we hadn't received everything the tour said we would. The line from this letter that is particularly worrying is the following: "The Amber Fort in Jaipur was not visited as it was closed due to a security issue. The guide purposely did not explain this fully to the group because he did not wish to worry his clients." ?!?!?!?! Tucantravel thinks it's ok to simply not tell the group when there is a security issue? And guess what... this was also not true. The Amber Fort was definitely open, and we visited it ourselves (transportation set up by our guide, paid for by us, and entry fee paid for by us. Proof: http://imgur.com/a/TcYDz So basically, Tucantravel is lying about the Fort being closed, because I clearly went there. And, they think it's ok, because "there was a security issue we didn't want to tell you about" How on earth is that proper safety etiquette for a tour company?!? I want to stress that Rajasthan is a wonderful place to visit. Go there, but there are plenty of more honest companies you can use who actually fulfill what they promise on their dossiers.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

Hi Robin, Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback and we are so pleased you enjoyed Rajasthan. Your tour leader was informed that the Amber Fort was closed on the day you were scheduled to visit the site due to a bomb threat in the area. He chose not to tell the group of the reason for the site’s closure to not upset or scare you and instead, he arranged a guided tour of the City Palace and entry to Jaigarh Fort to compensate you for not being able to visit the Amber Fort that day. The combined cost of these alternative sites ended up being more than the cost of entry to the Amber Fort. We believe that the following day, the Amber Fort was open to the public again, deemed safe by security in the area. We have been in communication with your tour leader who has assured us that you received all meals that were included in your itinerary. We are sorry if there was any confusion over these. Thank you again for leaving feedback and we wish you all the best in your future adventures Kind regards Jess @ Tucan Travel

Posted 8 years ago

“We travelled throughout South America in January 2016 visiting Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina & Brazil finishing the Rio carnival for a total of 30 days. We travelled with Tucan Travel on their South American Express group tour & have the following comments on our experience. We knew we had 7 flights within South America but had not realised in addition the amount of coach journeys (most 8hrs long) to get around the country. Instead of taking the bus journey of 10 hrs( turned out to be 16 hrs for the group due to border crossing ) from Santiago to Mendoza we booked a flight which took 55mins leaving us a full day in Mendoza. mornings leaving at 5.20am & often missing breakfast due to the early starts so would highly recommend taking snacks with you all the time as it is hard to plan timing of food stops or whether you will like the food. • Tour leader inexperienced affecting quality & trip experience – Danea did not instil confidence in any of our group that she knew her job as a tour leader. She was often hesitant in manner & came across as lacking confidence in dealing with issues that arose or making decisions. We as a group were also concerned about information been omitted due to inexperience of our tour leader which became obvious when we saw the level of interaction & detailed information been provided by Heidi, who has 12 years tour leader experience, exclusively to her own group. Heidi spent all her time looking after her own group exclusively & her group kept to themselves & even though we observed her & her group in hotels, our groups were very separate. It was obvious by their actions that each tour leader took responsibility for their group only. Danae admitted this was her 1st time out of Peru, that she was only a short time a tour guide. Our expectation was that Tucan should have ensured a fully qualified, professional guide for our tour which would have taken away the worry we experienced about the logistics & details on the trip. • 4x4 land cruiser conditions for 3 days– 1) Fitting 5 to 6 people in each cruiser, the two back seats are v small & cramped, suitable for small children only definitely not fit for adults whose legs were cramped. Health issue in cramped conditions, possible clots in legs due to long drives in cramped position. 2) Seats behind the driver were only 2 seats but 3 people were expected to sit with the 3rd person sitting in the middle on a crack which is part of another seat, not suitable or comfortable for long days traveling. 3) Some seat belts were not working. 4) The handholds above the doors were only available at 3 doors so people in seats with no handholds were thrown around when off road which was quite a lot of the time. • 4x4 Basic share accommodation same gender rooms not provided. One of the nights at the basic accommodation we were sharing a room which had 6 people (4 male, 2 females). Your own information states "Travellers will share rooms with other group members of the same gender" http://www.tucantravel.com/travel-styles/dossier/adventure-tours • Altitude sickness tablets should have been strongly recommended. For everyone to start taking a few days before the trip as this trip is 12 days at high altitude (up to 5000m) from Cusco to Santiago. Many individuals on our trip were very unwell which hampered their experience of the trip. • Two separate Tucan groups competing for available resources. Our trip had Two Tucan groups of 16 people each in the same location at the same time for 80% of our trip. Staying at the same accommodation, requiring transportation (whether coaches or planes) in these countries means trying to find decent facilities & transport for 32 people. As our group of 16 was nearly always 2nd leaving everywhere to the point we were told we were not meant to be the “2nd class (inferior) Tucan group as Heidi’s group from our assessment got to the accommodations before us so hot water was used up before our group arrived. Heidi’s group rooms in Igazu hotels were in the refurbished part of the hotel with our group in the old grim part of the hotel ( ants in shower..). In the Don Raul San Pedro del Atacama hotel when we arrived after a hard day driving over the mountains the only Tucan booking at the hotel was for Heidi & her group, our groups accommodation did not exist. Luckily for us as we arrived for once at a hotel before Heidi’s group & as her rooms were Tucan rooms we took them, Heidi’s group had to be accommodated elsewhere in town. Transportation vehicles that Heidi’s group had available were better quality than ours which we could see with our own eyes. The above information is the reason for the ‘2nd class comment to us from our tour guide to try to say to us that our group were not an afterthought when this tour was been put together by Tucan trying to manage two groups of 16 people at the same places. We should have had equal treatment & quality on our trip to Heidi’s group which all of our group felt was not the case. All of our group felt the same way, the majority of our group members having experience of travelling with other group tour companies to other destinations in the past. All of us will not be traveling with Tucan again & would not recommend them as a company.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

Hi Caroline, Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. You raise many issues and I will try and comment on as many of them as possible, however I know that our Customer Relations Manager is currently investigating your case. Transport The tour you took through South America was designed with as many flights in as possible in order to limit the number of long travel days and make as much use of your time as possible, giving you more time in the exciting destinations the continent has to offer. Despite this, your tour still covered vast distances in a relatively short period of time and it is impossible to travel from A to B without long bus journeys and early starts sometimes. The early morning departures in particular are chosen to allow you to enjoy your destination as much as possible and the long bus journey between Santiago and Mendoza is meant to be one of the most beautiful in South America. When the road is open, we always take this route rather than flying as the views are exceptional and not to be missed. The 4WD’s we use on the Uyuni Salt Flats sit 8 people comfortably. This is the best way of driving over the salt pans and covering the huge distances required. Accommodation The accommodation we use varies throughout the trip but we always try and use hotels with the equivalent comfort of a three star hotel. Your tour included one night in basic, multi-share accommodation on the Uyuni Salt Flats. This accommodation was clearly described in your itinerary and we choose these style of hotel due to the lack of affordable options in the region. We have never had any complaints about this accommodation before as it is clearly described online and part of the authentic travel experience we advertise. If you had any other issues with your accommodation, we always recommend raising it with your tour leader at the time so that they can work with the hotel to make changes. We block book hotel rooms and services up to 12 months in advance and the hotels we use are used to accommodating up to 36 of our clients at any time on some popular tours. There was one incident where half of the booking was lost but the hotel admitted responsibility and found somewhere of a similar standard for the rest of the group to stay very quickly. We are unable to control which rooms the hotels use and a lot depends on other guests Your Tour Leader Throughout your tour, your tour leader Denea was assisted by a much more experienced tour leader, Heidi who was running the tour alongside yours. Denea also had the support of our office in Peru who she was in contact with on a daily basis. Denae had plenty of experience that qualified her as a tour leader. She has been working for Tucan Travel for several months now and before that, ran tours for a volunteer company for over a year. Other As a tour operator, we are unable to provide medical advice. We always recommend that you visit a doctor before travelling, particularly if you are worried about altitude sickness. Altitude sickness can affect everybody in different ways so it is important that you understand the illness and take whatever precautions you are comfortable with depending on your doctor’s advice. I am sorry that you feel that you would not travel with us again and we wish you all the best in your future travels. Kind regards, Jess @ Tucan Travel

Posted 8 years ago

“The tour leader was the best I have ever had.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Our tour guide was inexperienced and her knowledge was poor. As we found out this was her first time at being a tour leader outside of Peru! Throughout our tour we were never given all the information or the correct information for that matter for any additional activities. We were only ever given the information the tour leader wanted to give us eg. Being given only the expensive option that tucan travel provide! We were mislead with information for activities in San Pedro therefore not being able to bring the appropriate equipment with us eg. Being told we were going on a trip to the caves to watch the sunset bring drinks and dinner, when in fact it included a 1x 35min hike up a sand dune with sand storms piercing our bodies as we were not dressed appropriately due to nil information, 1x 20min hike along another sand dune and a 45min climb through caves. By this time majority of our group were now sitting on the bus due to illness (asthma attack), heat stroke from hiking in 40°C weather or were exhausted and in pain! On several occasions we were given information regarding currency and roughly how much money we would need. You could almost guarantee that every time we would get money out of ATM's and it was either $500 too much or $500 too less in that specific currency. I get that it's an approximate but again why does the tour leader not know this information! I understand that there was very basic accommodation during the 4wd days but not once has it ever been mentioned from Tucan Travel that there would be unisex rooms! Myself and friend were forced to share a 3bdm room with another male we'd known for a week! This is inappropriate and unacceptable! When the issue was raised to the tour leader we were pretty much told to deal with it. As per your information provided it clearly states "same gender rooms" http://www.tucantravel.com/travel-styles/dossier/adventure-tours On 2 occasions we had issues at our accommodation. We had items stolen by cleaning staff and were accused of deliberately bending an electronic key. We were not only shocked but discusted to hear our tour leader question us in regards to actually seeing the maids steal our items before accusing them of it!! In regards to the electronic key, we were not supported by our tour leader at any point, instead we were told by her that she didnt know whether we were lying or the key was in fact bent on arrival! We were then directed by our tour leader to sort this out ourselves with staff that ONLY spoke Spanish!. I would like you to Never allow an inexperienced and unprofessional leader take control of a group when they have no idea what they are doing! I paid for a tour as I didn't want to have to worry about the details and organisation that goes into making a tour what it is. Instead I would of been better off saving thousands of dollars and choosing independent travel as this is pretty much what our group have been provided with this whole trip! We will never travel with your company again, nor will I ever recommend your company to anyone! I sincerely hope no one has to endure this poorly ran and organised trip that we have encounted on.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Enjoyed the trip. Have travelled with Intrepid and they supply very specific trip notes .Tucan's trip notes are very generic. This trip had long days on the bus and also required a degree of fitness.Would have appreciated an extra day in the Fitzroy National Park as had to choose between walking and spending time on a glacier. The accommodation was better than I expected and the guide Kym did a good job as did Richie the driver.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“The activities were very interesting and appealing for a wide array of ages. However some of the restaurants we visited were sort of pricy. Our guide was very understanding, helpful, patient, and fun.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Cristobal was lovely - always smiling and cheerful so lovely to be around :)”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Keith and I were delighted with our Tucan trip to Peru. We were introduced to other group members, escorted to flights and hotels and on tours. We had ample spare time and were also given the opportunity to have group meals and or to spend time apart from the group if we required. All activities were well planned in advance and ran to time . Thank you for a great holiday and and oppportunity to learn about the wonderful history and geography of Peru”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“I really enjoyed the tour. The Tour leader Danny did a fantastic job especially considering the changeable nature and demand on tourism currently for Cuba. I do think that Tucan Travel have to manage peoples expectations because there were a couple of woman who had unrealistic expectations of the Tour leader. I also think that Tucan need to give an honest viewpoint of Cuba and not just highlight the fabulous things about Cuba, which are true but not always how Cuba works. People need to know that at times you will spend a lot of time waiting and that things change for no reason sometimes. Our flight from Santiago de Cuba to Havana was a nightmare of waiting. We got to the airport in a timely manner but the plane was delayed and delayed and delayed, so in all it took 15 hours to get form Santiago de Cuba to our Hotel. This meant that my husband and I missed the show we were wanting to see on our last night in Cuba. My understanding is that these delays are a regular occurance and think that Tucan travels need to review the order of the 2nd part of the tour by perhaps started with a flight from Havana to Santiago de Cuba. I also think that Tucan need to consider more Casa accommodation especially in Havana. Our hotel changed in the middle of our tour while in Havana and really the hotel was awful but not disgusting. The casa are wonderful.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“A very unprofessional company, who once have your money, don't particularly care for your needs and concerns. They hire the wrong people for the job and have terrible equipment (old trucks that break down etc). Worst holiday I've ever had and I wish I never booked with Tucan Travel.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“This was one of the best tours I have done. Our guides were friendly, approachable, knowledgable and helpful. I felt confident that any question or request I had would be met fully. I did the Southern Sri Lanka tour. I thought the itinerary was well balanced and interesting.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Tucan travel did everything they could to make our 3 week Peru trip an enjoyable adventure. The trip exceeded my expectations.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Leisure and fun. Hotels are good generally in this tour. Reasonable price.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Nice guide, felt very save all trip long , Room very more comfortable then expected.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“People where very nice, Danae was especially very good and always helpful and friendly. Hotels could have been better in Cusco, the Hotel in Ollantaytambo was of a good standard.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“The tour was great! It was a tight schedule which allowed us to see as many things as possible. The tour guide was very eager and helpful. We had a great time.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Tour leaders were friendly and very helpfu , their local knowledge was excellent and they really knew their job. Excursions were very good, hotels, supplied meals and accommodation were very good. I will defiantly travel with Tucan tours again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“A fantastic tour. A fantastic tour guide, informative and helpful. Would highly recommend.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

Tucan Travel is rated 4.0 based on 257 reviews