Patagonia, Argentina

Dear Susan,

What a magnificent adventure we have just had!! It was wonderful in every way, and I want to thank you for making it so. Everything worked out perfectly. The representatives who met us at each place were very friendly and helpful and got us efficiently where we needed to be. All of the hotels were lovely. I especially liked the Sierra Nevada Hotel in El Calafate. It was charming with lovely grounds and a beautiful view of the lake. El Calafate was a fun town with lots of cute shops. Hotel Costas Australis was also very nice with tremendous views of the Strait and surrounding mountains. All six of our tours were fun and very interesting. The guides and drivers were excellent, helpful, and informative. We were very glad we had added the penguins and Valparaiso tours. Both were excellent. My favorite day was the one spent at Torres del Paine National Park. That was a place I had always wanted to see, and I have never seen such magnificent mountain scenery! It far surpassed my expectations. It has been a marvelous adventure in every way!!! Thank you so very much, Susan, for all you did to make it so. Escapes Unlimited is a wonderful company, and the very best way to go!

With much gratitude,
Marilyn, March 4, 2011

BHUTAN AND INDIA TRIP
Dear Roe,

Thank you for all of your help arranging our trip to India & Bhutan.  It was an amazing experience, and we had a perfect time thanks to all of the wonderful people who helped guide & drive us, as well as the wonderful accomodations in both countries.  

In Bhutan, our warm and charming companions were guide Chimi, and driver, Gyembo - just the best!  From day one, they made us feel so comfortable, cared for, and safe as we travelled Bhutan. And I cannot say enough about the accomodations at the Bongde Goma Resort in Paro.  When we first arrived, the beauty of the hotel building and the surrounding countryside amazed us, and we loved our room.  The bed & bedding was the most comfortable on our trip, and the simple but charming room was beautifully painted in traditional Bhutanese patterns, with a gorgeous wood ceiling, and balcony with a view over the rice fields of Paro Valley - heaven on Earth!  The charming hostess, was also the finest cook.  Our breakfast daily was an amazing 4-5 course feast of both American & Bhutanese foods & fresh fruits that both Sam & I loved.  Dinners were equally outstanding, with tea when we arrived back from our day's excursion and so many delicious offerings each evening for dinner.  Never have we in my many years of traveling felt such hospitality as a guests - we thoroughly enjoyed our stay with these warm and generous people, and highly recommend the Bongde Goma Resort.

Thank you again for your expertise and for the excellent agents, guides, drivers, and accomodations that made this experience so memorable.

Sincerely,
Suzanne & Sam, OCTOBER 2010

BEIJING AND TIBET
I was about to send you a message to thank you for organizing another fantastic trip for us. Tibet, Beijing, and Hong Kong were beyond our expectations.  We loved every moment.  We really trust your ability to connect to fantastic guides in all the places we have traveled with your company.  We loved Phubu in Tibet and Mr. Wu in Beijing, both were so personable and kind, both went out of their way for us in every way, beyond punctual and reliable, and so intent on making our time fulfilling and worthwhile. Most impressive, you can tell that both are constantly learning and educating themselves about their countries and sights.  We can't thank you enough for your excellent service stateside and ability to extend that service to the faraway places we have traveled through your company.     

Lily and Bob, November 2010

BALI
The trip was great. We loved everything. It was probably nicer than our trip there 12 years ago. We brought lots of pens, notebooks, etc. Nothing you give goes to waste. The high schools are not set up for receiving visitors to have English conversation with the students. This is unfortunate because this level would probably benefit most. The Puri Santrian and Puri Suraswati hotels were wonderful. They put us always closest to reception and the dining room- very thoughtful. Sanur is peaceful-just what we needed after a long trip. You made great arrangements on our seats. We had aisles across, which was great. The mountain hotel in Munduk was fine- it was better than almost any of the other hotels. They had good food and a took a nice hike and had the best massage there- we did indulge in that a few times. We went to lots of cultural shows. There is more choice and variety now. Recommend the frog dance to your clients- that was our favorite. The cooking class in Ubud was excellent. We were in Bali for 2 weeks and still did not do everything. The NEKA Museum is really good.
Thanks again.

Kevin and Jane, June 2010

ECUADOR AND PANAMA
Our trip was far more than we expected! Everything went smoothly with no unwelcome surprises. Ecuador was wonderful! We want to go back and see more of the country. The Galapagos Legend was excellent in comfort, food, and quality of guides. We also really enjoyed our brief stay in Panama City . We were really happy that we had upgraded to the Country Inn and Suites Amador.

Jane, James and Susan, July 2010

VIETNAM , THAILAND AND CAMBODIA
I've been contemplating our trip since we returned, trying to think of any negatives. I honestly can't think of any. So I'll tell you what impressed us the most:
- the attention we received from all of the guides, but particularly Tumee (Tommy) in Bangkok , Ing in Cambodia , Dung (Zung) in HCM City and Thien in Hanoi . Tumee was so personable and knowledgeable; we felt like we were with a friend, not a guide. Dung probably had the most difficult assignment in taking Richard back to the towns where he was during the war. He was incredible; always patient, respectful, able to give so much information in spite of the emotion of the day AND he went out of his way to find places and roads that Richard might remember. Our driver in HCM City should also be recognized - Mr. Nam . I know that he was also seeking out places for Richard.

Heidi and Richard, July 2010

BALI
The trip was AWESOME!!!!!! Can’t wait to return for an even longer stay. Loved Peneeda View as well.
Everything was so great. You did a super job!

Tom and Julia, June 2010

BALI
Well five trips now and our luck and your planning keeps working. It is amazing how much like clockwork things seemed to work especially considering we were in SE Asia . Possibly the Chinese could even teach the Germans a lesson in efficiency. I have a good friend in the dive travel industry and he is miffed that I won't book our Bali trips with him. "Sorry, but we've got a long history with someone else." Scuba Seraya was absolutely perfect. I just couldn't find any fault with the place. It is small, 12 cottages, and maintained like a Hindu temple. You can't go wrong sending any of your dive oriented folks there. This was our third stay at Mimpi and it is a gorgeous spot as well. Again nothing but accolades. Sanur Beach hotel was quite a shock after Seraya. From 12 rooms to 220+. Really not our sort of place, but we got into the groove of it when the initial shock waned. The beach is the best in Sanur and the pools were great. Though we had ideal weather for the first 8 days, it began to blow and rain. We did not get out to Nusa Penida because of the weather. We got a lot of great diving at both Seraya and Mimpi so we didn't feel we missed too much. It was a great trip and we brought back the usual trove of handicrafts. We really love Bali and keep recommending it to our friends. So, thanks for putting a great trip together on such short notice.

Best, Rick and Brenda, May 13, 2010

PERU
The trip was beyond amazing,the ship was great with 14 people the crew and the guide were wonderful we seen all the wildlife we hoped we would and the weather was perfect! Peru and Machu Picchu were so awesome it is hard to find the right words to explain how we felt it is just so amazing to see what awesome people the incas were! Needless to say even though we came home with some "inca revenge" it was one of our best trips ever! The hotels were great the Haturchay Tower was really nice with a free dinner included that was very very good,probably one of our best dinners ever!The train was good the bus ride from the train station not so good but was worth it to see Machu Picchu! We feel very lucky that the train was running again to get us there! We loved the extra day at Machu Picchu also, a day to hike and explore by ourselves...perfect! So needless to say THANKS so very much for puttting together this awesome trip for us we will remember for a lifetime and hope to visit there again. I see now why you have been 9 times I'm sure there is much more to see then what we seen in a few short weeks! so sad to see in end but it will be in our hearts forever! Highly recommend this trip to everyone! Thanks again

Phil and Pat, May 2010

COLOMBIA

Well, we're back, and we loved Colombia . Bogota was our favorite, and I'm so glad we had more days there. The Gold museum was amazing, and we also took a day tour to the Salt cathedral and a coffee farm that we enjoyed very much. We also took the tram to the top of Monserrate and enjoyed the great view, and a wonderful meal at the San Ysidro Restaurant. . We walked the streets of Bogota and Cartagena after dark, and felt very safe, no one bothered us. The old town part of Cartagena was beautiful, and we enjoyed wandering the streets, and found a great restaurant- Porton de San Sebastian . The Rosario Island tour was very nice- I enjoyed snorkelling, while my wife and son went to the aquarium show and had a great time. The beach across the street from the hotel was nice, but the vendors were very persistent. The people were all very friendly, but very few spoke English.

PS- My wife left her backpack full of valuables at a fast-food place in Cartagena . We went back in a half hour in a panic, but someone had turned it in-so much for Colombia being crime-ridden!

John, June 2010

BALI
I want to thank you for arranging a wonderful, wonderful trip to paradise for my daughter, , and her friend. Beyond the amazingly beautiful scenery of Bali, the pleasant surprise of Singapore , we felt that Singapore offered us tremendous value. The hotel was in such a good location and our room was spacious. The packet we received upon arrival provided free/discount coupons for most of what we wanted to do. Actually food costs (and the Singapore Slings at the Raffles) were our only costs for two days' visit. Our Bali experience was wonderful....thanks in part to your arrangements through your Bali office and their staff. Our guide, Rei, and driver, Mr. Coyo were responsible for allowing us to participate in a Hindu "Baby Ceremony" at their home which was a wonderful, special experience. They listened to what we wanted to do and tailored their services to our desires. Our hotel in Ubud was beyond beautiful and unlike some blogs, the breakfasts were good and adequate. Your advice for a villa at Sanur Beach was so appreciated. It really, really blew all of us away (My daughter’s friend has an ownership interest in a couple of Holiday Inn hotels here in South Dakota and my daughter, has travelled the world, so they are not easily impressed). We've stayed at Intercontinental Hotels in Cairo , Istanbul and other locations around the world. We were so very, very impressed with the Sanur facility, and it provided us all a sense of the "utlimate Balinese experience". So thank you so very much for your help and advice in arranging a perfect, perfect vacation.

Sharon, April 2010

BHUTAN
Well Bhutan lived up to its hype: absolutely wonderful people who go out of their way to help show you their country, dramatic landscapes, festivals bordering on sensory overload, dzongs epitomizing unique and amazing architecture. We felt the 6 days we had were enough to get a pretty good feel of the culture although a few days to spend in the Bumthang area might have been worthwhile. We have only the highest praise for the family that ran Bongdey Gongma. Gembo, Yeshi, and the others let us stay in their house, drove us anywhere we wanted to go, cooked us meals and plied us with moonshine and a hot stone bath. We spent 2 days in and out of the Paro Festival. Everyone had their best dress on and sometimes it was hard to tell who was the most photogenic, the dancers or the locals. Our camera was smoking. The dzongs, especially Taksang, kept the camera busy too.

Stan, March 2010

BURMA/MYANMAR
We had a good trip in Myanmar . Everything was on schedule and all the guides were fine.

We liked our hotels. In Bagan at the Kumudara we had the last bungalow which was very well situated. In Mandalay we had the back, practically to ourselves, out of the traffic areas. The Kalaw hotel was practically deserted, so while we ate, we had 2 - 3 ladies looking at us (disconcerting). I don't know whether they think its good service. The Inle Lake hotel was very good.

In Bagan for our free morning we went to a local park to see birdlife. We saw the eclipse beautifully from our hotel.

In Mandalay it was odd that our free day was the first day, but we just walked around. The teak bridge was a highlight.

By Kalaw we were tired of temples so Win our guide got us a bird guide and we did a 5 hour walk in the hills through farms and a park. Then at Inle lake, Win accommodated our wishes and we went to a bird observation tower with a guide for about an hour, skipped the temples, and got a more comprehensive lake view.

Dorothy, January 2010

BALI AND LOMBOK
Bali and Lombok are indeed heaven on earth. Ubud Village is indeed nice and I am glad you recommended it to us. The rooms are pretty, the service very nice.

Nara was very informative during the tour. We went for the whole day, seeing Bali dance, volcanoes, Batik, rice terraces and much more.

The facility of Alang Alang ( but even more so its neigbour hotel ) is simply fantastic. THe people were exceptionally hospitable, the pool great and the rooms right on the beach.

I definitely would recommend anyone for going there. Heaven !

Hans, December 2006

BALI
Everything went very smoothly. I preferred Ubud. I live in Florida , so the beach was not my priority. I used the services of the guide who picked me up at the airport for the first few days. He took me to the northern parts of the island, so I didn’t spend a lot of time in Sanur. Still, it was nice to see the activity on that end of the island. The next couple of days I used drivers I found on the street in Ubud. I took a day trip to Yogo. ---- that was interesting. I thought Bali was Thailand meets Hawaii . I would recommend folks to visit. I never felt unsafe at anytime. Both hotels were very nice, the A/C smelled a bit mildewy at the Sanur hotel, but everything was clean ---- no bugs.

The stopover in Sing. was nice --- big spacious suite of a room. People say there is not a lot to do in Sing., but I think it easily deserves a couple of days. Since I had been to Sing. before, I didn’t spend the entire time there, I took a daytrip to Malacca in Malaysia . The town is rundown, but interesting for someone like me who is interested in history.

I also stopped over in Taipei on the way home. That city is not clean and cutting edge modern like Sing., and is a bit dirty, but interesting for a couple of days to visit --- the museum, tallest building in the world, night markets. It is accessible to English speakers ---- many street signs are in English, as is the subway. Also, the folks at the hotel, bus station, and tourist places speak English --- a stopover that most travelers could navigate.

Thank you for putting everything together, and thanks for wanting feedback --- not every agent does that

Ian, December 2006

ARGENTINA
We are just stepping back into reality and wishing we could have stayed in Argentina just a bit longer.

We had a great time in Buenos Aires , the SurExpress folks were great and the service at the Castelar was a real treat. After our 5 days there, we went to the coast, to Mar de las Pampas , for a little post-city relaxation before heading back, which was another highlight.

Overall, lots of exploring, lots of great meals, moments, and memories.

Thanks for helping make it happen, it was the perfect "baby-moon"

Amy and Noah, November 06

CAMBODIA AND LAOS
Our trip was fantastic… we really had a wonderful time and all of your arrangements came through very well.

Luang Prabang is a real find… glad that we got to see it before it gets too well known. Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom were amazing… breathtaking. We really had a terrific time and have spoken to all our friends and family about how much we enjoyed it. I may be sending some more business your way in the form of my two brothers and their families.

In sum, the trip was very satisfying and gratifying… thank you so much for the excellent attention you gave us. I took over 800 photos that I need to go through.

I’ll try and write some more later about what all we saw, but I was very happy with the trip and would love to do something like that to other parts of Asia in the future.

Best,

Parag, November 2006

BALI
Bali was wonderful. Thank you for understanding and arranging exactly what we wanted on our trip. Because of the downturn in tourism, both the Watergarden in Candi Dasi and the hotel in Ubud, upgraded us. The rooms were wonderful. At the Watergarden, having our cabins open out onto the Koi ponds was magical. We used the scuba diving facility next door, Yes Dive, bali_yesdive@hotmail.com Nyoman A. Sumiatra instructor, who took us up the coast, for 2 dives of scuba and snorkel. We went to Tulaben, both the shelf and the wreck. The water was so clear and the fish we saw were fabulous. The guide we had, I Putu Artama, was great and we used him to drive us other days. He was very informative and helpful. We loved our hotel in Ubud being so close to the monkey forest, but close to town, and very comfortable rooms. We enjoyed massages at three places. It was a very special trip for my husband and I and my daughter and her boyfriend. We've all been raving about the trip and treasuring the photos and memories. Bali is such a magical, relaxing place. Thank you,

JoAnne and Neal, January 2007

BALI
I wouldn't recommend anyone else but you guys. I would say the snorkeling, value for the struggling American dollar and beauty of Bali would be my strongest ties- it was wonderful. Met lots of Aussie's, not another single American, unless they were at the Sri through Escapes. We're going to look at S. America for Jan. and will be in touch- the 4 of us, we love the trip you put together for us and know you are familiar with Argentina . Minnesota weather is brutal after Christmas so she wants to head south then. Thanks again so very much and if anyone Ever wants a live referral- contact me. address is

Sherry, March 2008

BALI
Bali was fantastic. Loved La Taverna, incredible staff. Took really good care of us. The people of Bali have such a great sense of humor and such a good outlook on life. Couldn't ask for nicer. We had an incredible vacation. Thank you very much for all your work. We are already talking about next year's vacation and will be contacting you again. Singapore was interesting. The city of the future. I am not sure I am ready for it. What a contrast between the 2 places. Singapore all bussiness, Bali so accepting. Any way thank you again and we really look forward to more escapes.

Patrick, October 2008