Seconde the organisation and the tour self was well organized, I can really recommend it. I absolutly enjoyed and... read more was very satisfied.
Many thanks to Mayuru Team, so I could realized my plan. Muchas Gracias
Merece una mención especial Lorena (que fué nuestra guia en "lagunas amtiplánicas" y "geyseres del Tatio" por su profesionalidad y simpatia.
En cuanto al "hotel Dunas", sencillo pero acogedor, tuvieron un tracto muy correcto.
Gràcies per tot, de tot cor.
Família Riutort-Isern.
Superó con creces todo lo planeado en nuestro viaje a Arica.
Conductor profesional y guía... read more bien preparados.
Muy ameno y muy familiar, con todas las precauciones tomadas para no sufrir ningún contratiempo. Todo muy bien explicado.
De verdad se agradece el viaje realizado.
Con desayuno y almuerzo incluidos, todo muy exquisito.
Felicidades y gracias por todo.
Un 7.
The selected restaurant were good, and the hotel in Putre was very nice as well.
We saw many beautiful landscape and wild animals. We ended the tour with a dip in the thermal springs, that was an amazing experience.
Mario, our driver, and guide excelled in every way. He really knew all the areas we went to and knew people at every stop. I have been operating tours in South America and living in Brazil for 43 years, and have had a lot of drivers. I will now insist in having him drive all our tours from Arica!
Preplanning – For our travels through the Chilean Altiplano I was looking for a company to get us from Arica in the very far north of Chile to the popular desert gateway of San Pedro de Atacama. Not many companies service this area and it was difficult to find a company that would answer my emails. Even the folks at Mayuru Tours would take more than a week to respond. With a little persistence, however, we were able to arrange a tour that met our needs. I should also mention that the tour was one of their set itineraries with very little deviation. On the plus side, they do have numerous options to choose from.
Guide – Francisco was extremely professional and courteous. He spoke only Spanish, but spoke slowly and clearly such that even Don who speaks very little Spanish, was able to understand most things he said without my translating them by the end of the trip.
Itinerary – This was a driving tour, so there were a lot of hours in the car. The landscape is beautiful, but it’s a lot of short stops. Many of the sights are not must-sees, but if you are interested in this area of Chile it is a good way to see it. They sent us a detailed itinerary, in English, with what we would see each day. Any minor deviations in this itinerary were discussed with us beforehand. Also beware that several days are at high altitude, so it is wise to acclimate before beginning this trip.
Food and Accommodations – This is not a high-end tour. Hotels and restaurants in this region are basic. I think they arranged the best that they could, but there just isn’t much to choose from. That said, rooms were generally clean and comfortable and the food fine.
Transportation – The vehicle was a 4x4 Toyota Hilux, comfortable, in good condition and able to handle the rough roads. We had no transportation difficulties. Francisco was an excellent driver. In fact he had driven trucks for the mining companies for many years before becoming a tour driver and had an intimate knowledge of the roads, hotels and restaurants along the route.
Cost and Payment – We paid 733USD/person. This covered most everything except for a few small entry fees and dinner in Pica. The same tour with an English speaking guide would have cost 956USD/person. No deposit was required. We paid in cash when we met our guide and driver on the first morning.
Final Thought – I would definitely use Mayuru Tours again and think that overall the trip was a good value for the money.
The service was perfect. They picj-up us at the border with Bolivia, and then we visited all the... read more best places of this area.
The driver was also a guide and he expained us a lot of things.
We had some problems at the beginning to organize the trip (the communication by email was hard ant tey took many days to give an answer) but at the end we figure out all the dtails and we had a really goo service.