Gear Up For Adventure

Accommodations Review

Room was, as expected, tight quarters. It's an old ship, after all. The public areas are great. The upper deck is a beautiful place for cocktails, or just relaxing. Seeing the Sea Cloud under sail is a real treat.

Meals Review

Food was excellent. I think I probably gained weight, but that's my fault. I preferred the buffet dinners to the served ones. Variety was excellent. Lot's of great salads. Good seafood and fresh fish.

Crew & Guides Review

All of the people leading the expedition are true professionals. They know their stuff. One of the regular speakers has her PHD in archeology and is a real expert on the region and Greek history.  I was really impressed with all of them. The two regular guides are Greek and have many years experience in the areas we visited. One of our Lindblad guides, a native Greek, was much too insistent on trying to tell us all about the Greek Orthodox religion. As a non-Christian, I found it a little off-putting. She knew her stuff, but seemed anxious to proselytize...

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Between AdventureSmith and Lindblad, we were well prepared. We made our own flight arrangements, but AS was very helpful. I cannot say enough good about our experience both with AdventureSmith and with Lindblad.

Accommodations Review

The Hilton in Anchorage was okay - seems to need a facelift soon but we weren't there long. The cabin at Kantishna was vey roomy and the beds were really comfortable. We had everything we needed. The Sheraton in Juneau was very comfortable and the staff very friendly. The Westward cabins are so efficient! I was amazed at how much room we had to put our clothes and other items. It was perfect.

Meals Review

I cannot say enough about Tracie's food on the boat. It is truly some of the best food I have eaten anywhere! She also baked me an incredible birthday cake! The food at Kantishna was fine. I know they are very remote, but I was dying for some local fish! The service was good and I enjoyed sitting with other guests. We met some really interesting people. 

Crew & Guides Review

Mary was our favorite at Kantishna. She was so enthusiastic and led us on a wonderful 7 mile hike to Skyline Ridge (I think). She knew so much about the plants and all of the wildlife. All four of the folks aboard the Westward were exceptional. Don't know how I can say enough. Bill, Tracie, Kristin, and Liam. All were people I am very happy to have met.

Transportation Review

I really appreciated the detailed itinerary which I carried with me. Knowing exactly which dome train to check in to, for instance, was wonderful and eased any anxiety I may have had about being in the right place. Same with the buses we were on. I think our flights worked out well, although I am now not a big fan of the Seattle airport - it was a zoo! Glad we arrived early for our flight home. I appreciated the cabs being included as well. 

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

I felt that the support from AdventureSmith while planning the trip and before leaving was outstanding. I had all of the information that I needed. I felt that everyone involved was so friendly and quick to respond to any questions I had. We got wonderful, complete info about packing, etc., and felt very well-prepared.

Traveler Advice

Just do it!  Say "yes".

Accommodations Review

Beautiful lodges, well-equipped for the outdoor adventures, which included canoes and kayaks in Kenai or mountain bikes in Kantishna.  It was really nice that the Kenai Lodge had giant boots and very water-proof pants for all. Our primary interest was to see the wildlife and natural beauty of the Kenai Peninsula and Denali National Park, and we saw everything we had hoped for, and more. The Kenai Glacier Wilderness Lodge delighted us with its isolated lagoon and Pedersen Glacier, otters, seals, black bear and eagles. The road through Denali to Kantishna provided us with many sightings of caribou, moose, 5 grizzlies, a red fox with a squirrel in its mouth, and the lodge was charming. We did not spend much time in Seward or Talkeetna, but the accommodations in both were great.

Meals Review

Lovely little appetizers were a nice treat before dinner. All meals were outstanding!

Crew & Guides Review

Leigh L. and driver Jeff were fantastic!  Well-prepared, interesting, fun, patient, knowledgeable, warm: they made the trip even more memorable and special! We all hated to say goodbye to them at the end of the trip! The guides in Kenai (Taylor, Riley, Randy, Rainy, Dina, Mia,) were all enthusiastic, interesting, well-prepared, and willing to quickly look up anything on the slight chance that we asked an unusual question.

Emmet, in Kantishna, spoke of his father's winning Iditarod teams, and showed us how the dogs train in the summer time. His presentation was really interesting and fun.  Everyone was very engaging and clearly loves being there!

Traveler Advice

We were not able to spend more than 10 days, but if you can stay longer in Denali it would help to break up the long travel days!  Be prepared for any kind of weather since it can change quickly.

Accommodations Review

The hotels in Quito and Cuenca were very nice - particularly the one in Cuenca, which like many hotels there is a converted home of some wealthy resident. The accommodations on La Pinta were roomier than I had expected, with a large bed, big window and a bathroom with excellent water pressure and plentiful hot water. The boat, with 41 tourists on board, was just the right size.

Meals Review

The meals we had on our own on the mainland were good, particularly the breakfasts in Quito. On the boat, we enjoyed the meals very much, though breakfast and lunch buffets were clearly the highlight and the sit-down dinners were less impressive. We also had salmon our first night on the boat that could have been fresher. However, the lunches more than made up for the minor glitches.

Crew & Guides Review

All of our guides/naturalists on La Pinta were good. They were very knowledgeable, friendly and enthusiastic. In Quito, we had a good guide, notwithstanding she had a limited palette of locations to work with. Our guide in Cuenca was excellent too. All guides and naturalists were very proficient in English, though when we were off the boat, we tried speaking Spanish as often as we could.

The arrangements were perfect. Not a glitch in the entire nearly two weeks. I was so pleased that drivers and guides were always there when they were supposed to be there and made us feel like we were in good hands.

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Andrew was great. That's why I'm planning a trip to Peru through him. Information was provided in a very clear and relatively concise manner. We kept the trip instructions close at hand, particularly when on the mainland. The only thing I did on my own without instructions to prepare for the trip was to visit the Mayo Clinic's travel clinic, where they made sure certain vaccinations were up to date and prescribed Diamox for altitude sickness in case I had an issue, as well as something for stomach upset (which was really not an issue).

I am just very happy to have found AdventureSmith. The agency and agent, Andrew, were recommended by friends of ours who were on the same boat as we were some years ago. I am looking forward to working with Andrew and AdventureSmith again when my younger daughter and I travel to Machu Picchu. I have already mentioned AdventureSmith to several people.

Traveler Advice

Just that they should do their homework to get the most out of the trip, bring the proper clothes (we traveled very light but were just fine), and check in with a doctor to make sure you don't spend days dealing with altitude sickness or have some other issue (after visiting the doctor, we bought DEET mosquito repellent which was not necessary all that often, but we are glad we did). I took Diamox and my wife (who did not take any meds) had just one day on arrival in Quito when she had a splitting headache, but then we both hiked for a couple hours at nearly 13,000 feet and we were both fine. I will definitely make sure my daughter and I have Diamox before we land in Cusco.

Meals Review

Food was excellent.

Crew & Guides Review

Napo Wildlife Center: Remi - an exceptional guide who went above & beyond - very passionate and knowledgeable - great sense of humor.

Galapagos: Pepe & Fabrucio - very enthusiastic, knowledgeable with great sense of humor.

Cusco/Machu Picchu: Elizabeth was fantastic - very knowledgable and enthusiastic.
Quito: Katya - very helpful and knowledgeable.

Transportation Review

At every leg we were met promptly and efficiently (Metropolitan Touring) and travel arrangements organized seamlessly

AdventureSmith Explorations Review

Andrew is an excellent travel consultant who solved our cancellation problems very well and kept us well informed. Thanks to Andrew we were able to enjoy a wonderful cruise on Origin (after Eclipse cruise was cancelled). Andrew was very quick to secure our cabin at very short notice (I'm sure there were many disappointed travelers from others places). Can't thank you enough Andrew!!