Wilderness Travel

The Cuba trip I booked through Wilderness Travel was the most expensive, biggest disappointment vacation I’ve ever experienced. Beginning with finding out that our group was composed of 43 people, 2 of whom were too infirm to walk unassisted, our excitement diminished every day. Because the group was so big, there were meet ‘n greets with shop owners where we couldn’t all fit into the store, much less hear the lecture they gave. The size of the group and the 2 people who needed walkers, canes, and family members to help them walk made for a very slow-​moving group, indeed. Activities were constantly cut short because of it. As well, not a day went by that we didn’t hear: «I’m sorry to inform you, but the _​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​activity we had planned for today is not going to happen. .. that’s Cuba!» This meant the locals that were supposed to give us a dance lesson or the choir that was supposed to sing for us just didn’t show up. Sorry, that doesn’t cut it. This trip is too expensive to say that on a DAILY basis. To top it all off, when we were leaving Havana, we were left at the airport by our local tour guide. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 3:15 p.m. That didn’t happen. Not only did it not happen, we couldn’t get information on when our plane was expected to arrive in Havana to pick us up. And, since our tour guide had already left, we were stranded. Eventually, one of our group was able to reach the tour manager who had stayed with us on the boat. Still, hours went by and we had no information, no one calling to give us a status report, and no local currency with which to purchase food. The vacation closed out with a plane coming to get us after midnight. We finally took off at 12:45 a.m. Needless to say, many, many people were unhappy with this trip. Don’t do it.

This was the first guided tour I had ever traveled on. I wasn’t sure what to expect on the trip to Peru in Oct. 2014. I’ve never had anyone else ever carry part of my pack before, so I felt a bit odd at first. It didn’t take long to realize that WT wanted to keep this trip about the experience and not about who can carry the most or hike the fastest. The pace was great for all levels.
The trip to Peru and the Inca trail was amazing. Not only the standard trip along the trail, but the local guides took us on side journeys that added greatly to the trip. At every stop we were well taken care of. Never a missed connection. The food was outstanding. Our guides were very knowledgeable about all the archeological sites and the flora and fauna.
I would use WT again without question.

Took my first wilderness travel trip in July to the Greek islands. It was fantastic in all details — tour guide was exceptional, the hiking superb and itiniary perfect. Small group — beyond fantastic eating and drinking, fabulous tiny places to stay. Also front office support before during and after trip sets a world class standard. Highly recommended.

I took my first Wilderness Travel (WT) trip almost 25 years ago. It was a trekking trip to Nepal. It was an amazing experience – I had never had a trip like that before. At that time the emphasis was ADVENTURE travel – they really wanted you to be of robust mind and spirit, and there was a guiding principle of flexibility in pursuit of a pure experience. I have to admit that I feel a debt of gratitude to WT from those early days due to the fact that I think my experiences with them taught me a lot – a lot about travel and a lot about things like climbing mountains, kayaking, canoeing, camping, etc. It was really a glorious set of experiences.
Since then, though, I had a series of less than stellar interactions. First, the Berkeley office staff seemed irritable to me. I sensed something akin to them despising their clientele. (Most WT clients are wealthy people, and many are not true adventure-​seeking types.) As I was making one set of arrangements with one of their managers for a trip to Morocco I made reference to the fact that they probably contracted with a local outfitter for camping gear and supplies, etc. (They had obviously done so on my earlier trips to different regions.) Somehow this just set her off and she became toxically condescending and rude. I guess she wanted me to think that WT had their own exclusive and permanent infrastructure in the Atlas Mountains? Whatever… it left a very bad taste in my mouth.
I took a few other trips after that, although I noted that the clients on those trips had had similar experiences with the Berkeley staff. Then, as I was making initial arrangements for an Alps trekking trip a few years ago, the manager gratuitously offered to give me a $ 200 break on the «single supplement» (this is the extra fee you have to pay if you are traveling alone). I was delighted, and the break really meant a lot to me. Well, as I was making my final payment, this $ 200 break was suddenly reduced to $ 100. I told her that she had said $ 200. She very defiantly told me, «No – I made notes, it was only $ 100.» I really don’t like being called a liar. I’d already spent tens of thousands of dollars with this company – why would I want to cheat them out of $ 100?
I t was obvious to me (and others who I discussed this with) that since there was not the sign-​up of clients that they had hoped for, they had less profit margin. If she had just said, «You know, I offered you a $ 200 break, but I thought we’d have more people signing on. Could you live with $ 100 instead?” — I would have probably said that I was okay with her reneging on the entire amount and they could make it up on a future trip. But, no, she played it that I had been mistaken (at best) or was lying.
WT wants a comprehensive review after the trip. I obviously mentioned this incident along with lavish praise for the guides. What bothered me was that I never heard a word from any of the excellent guides from that trip, even though we had gotten on famously and agreed to stay in touch, and I had sent them photos galore and warm notes. Had they been told that I gave negative feedback across the board about my experience? No – it was only the Berkeley manager who received a negative. I deduce that she trash– talked me to the guides (and a guide from an earlier trip told me that whatever feedback you give is directly shared). Anyway, I’m not going to spend thousands of dollars for grief like this. I think I’d be hard pressed to use WT again. There are many companies who do this kind of business and I’ve now had excellent luck with several.
I have noted that WT now seems more focused on luxury trips, where the emphasis is more on the cruise ship or the buffet line than it is the trail or the boots you’ll need to make it to the top. Many of their trips now are extravagantly expensive, and you will likely only find wealthy people able to afford these types of ventures. There is nothing wrong with that – but it is a different type of culture from what I had initially experienced. WT seems to have gotten away from their roots, but perhaps this has been out of economic necessity.
I also noted that in recent years most WT trips are composed of married couples or groups. I typically travel alone on adventure trips as my wife really is not into roughing it and my kids are too young. I was feeling out of place being with all these wealthy older couples. I did meet some great people, but on occasion I felt uncomfortable with the group dynamic.
I now often try to arrange my own itineraries, and I do so with pretty good success. It is cheaper, but it is also a lot more work. Usually you can find travel agents in your destination region who can help you out with logistical particulars. You maintain much more control and autonomy when you structure your own adventure. But I will admit I developed my appetite for adventure travel from my early WT trips and I wish they had maintained their original focus.

I am withholding one star because I haven’t been on any other «packaged» trips. I’ve been on 3 WT trips, and all were great. But it wasn’t just the trips, it was the people, too. Well educated, sophisticated but not fussy, well traveled. I do think they are pricey, though. The small group size is great. The single traveler supplement is a little stiff and unfair, though. I like the fact if the group decides to delete, add, or change up the itinerary, that’s what happens. It’s not set in stone. The hotels have been very good, the trip leaders great, especially Kika in Peru. The Galapagos trip was fun, but don’t expect luxury on board. It was adequate, but the cabins are small. The small group size, the fabulous food cooked out of this impossibly small kitchen, the fresh sushi made from fish caught on the spot by the crew made up for it all. I do want them to be clear about any children on a trip, because on the Peru trip, we had a troublesome 10-​yr-​old. Now, I’m over that part of life, andI don’t want my trip ruined by a pouty, spoiled kid!

I have been on Wilderness Travel trips to Patagonia, New Zealand, Bhutan, French Alps, Amazon, and one in the US. You can’t get better service from their staff. And on the trips, you have the best of everything available in the area you travel. Guides are all experienced and cater to your needs.

Some of the best travel experiences I’ve ever had in my life have been with Wilderness Travel. They include:
The Alps of Japan
Canadian Rockies
Quebec and the St. Lawrence Seaway
Peru
I’ve also been with them to
Costa Rica
Sea of Cortez
Alaska
Every single one of these trips has been an incredible learning experience and something that I never could have done as well on my own.