Like having family plan and guide your trip!
Guatemala
|
Jun 22 - Jun 26, 2024
From the first interaction, the experience was outstanding. I entered the basic ideas around the type of trip, I wanted to plan for me and my nine year old son. Alex took those basic ideas and shaped an unforgettable trip filled with adventure. I didn’t want to stay in “budget” hotels but certainly didn’t have the need to be at glamorous hotels either. Alex found the perfect balance! The hotels were beautiful, amazing staff, great restaurants onsite and amenities.
There were a couple of times that I even went back to Alex and mentioned some other ideas or tweaks we were interested in making to the itinerary. He helped us figure out those adaptations within budget. Alex was a fabulous partner at each stage before, during and after our trip.
Alex was unavailable to be our guide during the dates of our trip but he substituted his brother Viny, who was also fantastic. Although Alex was away from the office, he gave me a proactive heads up about Pacaya being unavailable. This was one of our primary goals for our trip so we were very concerned and were debating to postpone - just as we were getting ready to catch our flight out. Alex, his cousin and brother who all work for OTO, worked to get confirmation about whether we could go to Pacaya or not and how to make it happen safely. It gave us the confidence to continue with our trip and really appreciated their attention to it in short order.
Viny was such a friendly, warm and knowledgeable guide. Since this was supposed to be just a mom and son trip, my son was very concerned that a third person would be with us. The end of the trip my son said he missed a Viny and having a guide was a great idea! Viny made it very easy, taking charge to manage our timeline, transportation coordination with local guides, different sites and coordinating with hotel, concierge and restaurants. He really removed all of the administrative efforts for me so that I could focus on being with my son and enjoying our time together and experiencing Guatemala.
We went the zip lining, hiking Papaya and roasting marshmallows where Viny prepared a nice picnic, and kayaking at Atitlan, and went to Mayan Ruins. We were originally supposed to do more hiking, but my son was all hiked out, so Viny adapted our itinerary last minute so that we could go to textile and a cacao shop.
Then on our last night, Alex got a hold of me to alert me to a local event transpiring that roads were potentially going to be blockaded and we could get stuck potentially missing our flights the next day. I told Alex that I would prefer to leave Lake Atitlan that night and head to Guatemala City. He swiftly arranged transportation, and a safe and comfortable hotel stay in Guatemala City at no extra charge. We caught our flight the next day with no issues.
I’m so grateful for Alex’s attention to detail and genuine concern for us and our trip or we wouldn’t have known in real-time what was happening. I highly recommend Alex, Viny and OTO. This was my second time to Guatemala and we’re already planning the third trip. Definitely will be looking to use them again!
Hotel Reviews
Beautiful experience, great rooms, water filters amongst other amenities, staff offers high service level and the onsite restaurant is fantastic. I needed laundry done before leaving and the staff took it late in the day after the cut off and returned it to me that night. Highly recommended!
Activity Review
I don't know how to thank you enough Nicole, It was a real pleasure to work with you and create a memorable trip for you and Cian, I'm glad Vini was a good fit for you and Cian to enjoy the adventures, the culture, and the beauty of Guatemala. Despite the changes and the last-minute circumstances, you were very kind and understanding with everything.
I hope we get to see you and Cian again in the future. Once again thank you for taking a little part of Guatemala in your memory. Spread the word about Guatemala if you have a chance.
Best from lovely Antigua,
Alex