My first exotic vacation travel suddenly became affordable when I scored a 9 day/8 night trip to Ecuador and Galapagos Islands with flight on Living Social from Classic Escapes! Their promotional price got me no less than any other trip I plan myself. It was absolutely wonderful and hassle free. I received a nice book of information from them in the mail before my trip. The itinerary was very well planned out with the perfect amount of activities leaving a little leisure time to myself. Many tour options were also provided at the time of my booking to fill 2 leisure days. Their representatives were very responsive and easy to get a hold of when I had any questions or concerns. Everything was executed very smoothly as I did not have to worry about booking my flight, airport transfers or hotel stays. I was a bit confused at first not knowing where to go but the moment I passed through customs in Ecuador, a middle aged man greeted us with a big "Classic Escapes" sign. Each guide after him who did the airport pick ups were very prompt and quick to get everyone together. I stayed in Quito and Guayaquil in Ecuador for half my trip. The other half was spent on a small cruise boat in Galapagos. Quito, Ecuador: - Hotel stay was at the Hilton Colon Quito. It was very spacious, and I had a superior view of the El Ejido park. (I was told to not venture there at night but with my view - who cares? haha). Checking in and out took less than 5 minutes total since there was always a guide that did everything. Although wifi is not free - when I asked to purchase, they just handed me a login. - A short 3 hour bus/walking tour was included. The guide was very knowledgable, and knew a lot about politics. This short tour basically gave an overview of what the city offers. - Breakfast buffet included (all days). Galapagos Islands: - THE HIGHLIGHT! I had just as much leisure time as I did expedition time. I LOVED IT!! - The expedition leader, Vanessa was splendid! She had a great sense of humor and all her overviews (of the next day's activities) were very detailed. She spoke German and English! Swimmers and non-swimmers alike, she planned great activities whither it was snorkeling, beach walks, or glass-bottom boat tours. Early morning hikes to avoid the sun, lunch/leisure time, snorkeling time, then dinner! Plenty of time to chill in the jacuzzi on the boat. - Everyone was split into smaller groups of 5-10 people and had equal time to spend looking around. There was a sign-in, sign-out bulliten board to keep track of everyone. No one got lost or hurt, and each excursion was very orderly (by groups). - There were 6 naturalists I believe (I didn't count)? Each naturalist had their own speciality but was equally as knowledgable about every animal and plant. One naturalist even offered camera advise to a lady in my group. They were such passionate people! They were also very friendly - almost everyday, a different naturalist joined my friend and I for breakfast and sometimes lunch because we had extra seats at our table. - At one of the islands, the hike was on a volcano - which I'm not very fond of - but the naturalist helped me all the way. The hike was not long nor had any steepness - I just don't like volcanos! But he made sure the paths were easily to walk on. - SNORKEL! I highly highly recommend it! They picked absolutely stunning locations to snorkel! There were different trips to shallow and deep water on different days. The naturalists will go in water with you and will help you if you are not comfortable in the water. They were very big on safety first. I swam with sea turtles, galapagos sharks (harmless they say), stingrays, galapagos penguins (they are so adorable, and swim so fast) and many other fishes I don't know the names of. - Each island hike lasted 1-3 hours - plenty of time to take pictures. Sea lions and Iguanas are everywhere! Wear good walking shoes - I only had a pair of crocs which did ok except for the hike on the volcano because I was afraid my shoe would fall off. - Every naturalist took pictures (they will dive down to take a great shot of a shark for you!) and in the end, the expedition team presented a slideshow for everyone at the end of the trip. They even gave the option to those who had USBs and SD cards to take a copy with them. - Food: Delicious! With the exception of dinner, everything was buffet style. Try their yogurt and cheeses. Banana cake is excellent! For dinner options, I preferred the fish options. They cook their meats well to prevent food problems which is understandable but is not my taste. Guayaquil, Ecuador: - Hotel stay was at the Ore Verde. Beautiful hotel!! Right next to the US Embassy! This was more like a layover day to await for the flight at night. - A female guide picked us up to and from the airport. She was very nice and gave us suggestions for our leisure day. - Breakfast buffet included. Excellent guides and all around service. Will definitely come back for more. read more

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CE has room for improvement. According to the founder, the company prides itself on 'personal touches' of travel; however, my trip seemed run of the mill. A group of 14, including myself and three friends, traveled Jan 06-13, 2012 to Delhi, India. The trip was priced in the low 2k plus an addition $595 for taxes and fees. The four of us shared a Living Social deal which cancelled out the $595. Pros: The hotels were excellent: Oberoi Maidens (B/B+), Trident (A), and Crowne Plaza Today (A+) The guides were knowledgeable and relatively personable: Preva aka Pia (B), Andural (B+), Sanjay (A-) The food (at the hotels) were the best meals on the trip next to Air India meals. The bus driver was stellar. How he avoided accidents in that traffic is a mystery to me. The tours were regular tourist spots but well worth visiting. Cons: Time: The first and last day of travel are inflight. Do not expect to spend 'actual' time in India on those days. The marketing is duplicitous. So a 10 day trip is actually a 8 day "on land" trip. Also, our daily trips seemed to start way too late considering we had 4-6 hour bus commutes. Perhaps the guides took into account the fog and traffic, but it seemed as if we could have a few extra hours to explore during the week had we departed an hour or so early each morning. Hotels: The Oberoi Maidens is not modern like the others although its nice enough. It, like some of the others, was located in exclusion. I guess this is the nature of visiting countries like India. Don't expect to see much on your afternoon stroll, if it is even safe enough. Guides: Assuming some topics were not P.C., one guide more than the others didn't care to talk true "India" talk. Our group was very interested in socio, eco, political nature of India. It would have been nice to engage in these convos more often. This would add a personal touch. Safety: Although I felt safe within the guides and group, the amount of (male) gawking and street haggler aggression were definitely disconcerting. Sites: There could have been time made for small excursions like a food or walking tour or Bollywood movie visit. This would add a personal touch. Verdict: While the experience was positive overall, I will use another tour group in the future, one that focuses on the details. read more

Everything about our trip to the Galapagos was wonderful except our accommodation on the Coral I ship. The accommodation was so bad Personnel on the ship was very nice, the food only ok the naturalists: one was fabulous the other one not to par at all. The cabin horrible. WC not working for the entire stay except the last night!, no air, no room and overall the bathroom was inhabited with very foul, almost toxic smells . Jenny F. read more

This company is a scam, absolutely a scam. You pay an exorbitant amount of money ($10000) for a membership that basically does nothing for you. Any tour that they claim to offer on their "membership price" will be more expensive than the exact tour that you can find either on the tour company or on expedia. Do not waste your money and effort dealing with these people! read more

we just got back from an 8 day vacation in Morocco. there were 4 of us and later 2 of us, because of an illness. The tour actually starts when you arrive in Morocco; we visited all the major imperial cities and spending one or 2 nights in each city. An excellent guide and an English speaking driver accompanied us throughout. we had a luxurious MBZ vehicle with padded seats. Hassan, our guide, was full of information and taught us about the history and culture of the country. Highlights for us were the big Mosque in Casablanca and Fes and Marrakech. the last 2 are a joy to dawdle in and because we were a private tour our schedule was flexible. Volubilis, the old Roman city, is something you can skip; if you have seen one, you may have seen enough. The guide was USD20 per head. We had just been to Pompei. Everything else was beautiful and detailed. You do not have to see every palace. Fes and Marrakech were our favorite cities. The biggest joys were the riaads in hidden places, even in souks, that served the most elegant meals, in visually stunning settings. Read up on Marrakech; go to the worlds oldest tannery and to the ceramic coop. The latter is very well run and seeing the men and women bake and paint and glaze the pottery was a delight. Enjoy the souk; you must bargain. Buy yellow Berber resin big bead necklaces, black soap, amber blocks to keep in your linen closet, saffron, aromatherapy oil, jewelry made of silver alloy, and silver necklaces. Have the pleasure of a Hammam, where you will be massaged with black soap, made from olive kernels, in a sauna like room. All our accommodations were good, but i would not stay in the Devan hotel again, in Rabat. Reading material and a very organised handbook were helpful. Stacy also provides a Travelguard insurance policy, for evacuation during the trip. Please buy a trip cancellation policy. Alia from the local agency called us to confirm that all was going well. Hassan was always ready to assist and teach and we never felt there were commissions involved. I have traveled with Classic Escapes before, when they ran a trip for our local zoo, in Kenya. It was also excellent. They can also be reached if there is a problem during the trip. All in all, excellent. read more

Our family of four, including our two sons ages 9 and 6, enjoyed a uniquely memorable, diverse, and delightful nature travel experience in Costa Rica thanks to Classic Escapes. We are thrilled to have chosen Costa Rica for our first overseas family nature journey. And we are glad to have chosen Classic Escapes, a company that specializes in "nature and cultural journeys for the discerning traveler," a motto that fits our family well. Like Ulysses, each of us returned home richer from the Costa Rica travel experience. Among the countless memories that will stay with us, a few stand out: gliding on a small boat along the inland canals of Tortuguero, awed by the richness and diversity of life we saw above and around us including howler monkeys and rare bird species; watching under a full moon gigantic turtles as they washed ashore by the waves; hiking up the steep slope of dormant Arenal Volcano; crossing the hanging bridges of Monteverde Cloud Forest, surrounded by exotic leaves and fruits of an enormously tall canopy and among the mist and fog of clouds; sensing the reality and hardship of life in rural Costa Rica from the one-room huts we saw along the canals and inland dirt roads; talking with local villagers at every stop; and being in the company of others on our trip, including our experienced and helpful guide, Jose, and our patient and safe driver, Marco. With respect to accommodations, we loved staying at the Arenal Observatory Lodge, the most environmentally aware and responsible accommodation we've ever stayed at. We also found very comfortable El Sapo Dorado and were delighted by the exquisite tropical gardens of Bougainvillea boutique hotel. Classic Escapes was extremely thorough in providing us with highly informative and well presented trip guides ahead of our trip, along with attractive backpacks, caps, and water bottles. We used all of them extensively throughout our trip! We were impressed by the company's flawless organization and execution of all aspects of our 10-day stay in Costa Rica. We were blown away by the world-class service provided to us by Classic Escapes throughout our trip, including its hand-chosen guides and drivers. And we appreciated the company's post-trip follow-up to seek feedback on our travel experience, an exceptionally satisfying and memorable experience. We give a solid five-star rating to Classic Escapes for organizing and providing our family with a smooth, seamless, perfect-in-all-respects travel experience to Costa Rica, an experience that instilled in us awe for the richness and diversity of plant and animal life in this ecological gem of the world, as well as appreciation for its people and culture. We look forward to traveling with Classic Escapes again to another of our planet's must-see nature and cultural journey destinations! Julie R. and Family Westchester, New York read more

We signed up for a trip to the Crane Trust. They sent the final information about the trip only days before, confirming that the trip was actually on. During this entire trip Classic Escapes never showed up or called. We arrived and 15 people met each other for the first time. Dinner was paid for and since no one showed up or called the 15 people had to figure out what was going on but we made it to the restaurant. The next day lunch was included but no one ever told anyone where, when or how (I actually think it was a typo on their part). So we rushed out to find lunch at Arby's. Then they sent a tiny van for 5 people. The group refused to split up and strand the rest of the group in the lobby so we waited 2 1/2 hours for them to send a slightly bigger van that squeezed in all the people. The driver had very little idea of what was going on. Once we actually got to the Crane Trust and the Crain Trust took over everything went great! However Classic Escapes never showed up or coordinated much. They just cashed our check and spent as little money as possible to do their part and it showed. read more

As the completion of the probation period of my first job was nearing, I was already desperate to unwind on a venture getaway. My dilemma was that I have never traveled anywhere remotely outside of the country and my geographic knowledge was that of a 10 year old. Working 60 hours a week in and out of the office provided me with barely any time to plan a dream vacation. Through a friend, I was referred to Classic Escapes and I can say that my overall experience with them is nothing short of exceptional. They were very helpful and patient with me in taking the time to listen to my bewildered explanation of my hopeful expedition and offered great suggestions. They did an excellent job coordinating the trip for me; the lines of communication were always open; the guides were on point and were very knowledgeable; in the end everything went smoothly. The pricing seemed fair especially for a headache-free getaway. read more