Traveler Reviews

“It was a wonderful set of adventures! So wonderful, in fact, that the trip managed to get my husband to love travel. He went from being afraid to fly earlier this year to actively wanting to plan another trip almost as soon as we returned from Iceland. The vast majority of the trip was seamless and each location/segment was delightful in its own way. In all, it was a phenomenal time. Thank you so much for all your hard work making this a wonderful experience for us.”

"Laura and I had a magical time in Kenya! I don't think we realized how beautiful the land, people and wildlife was until experiencing in person. We both agree that it was a life changing experience and will forever hold our trip to Kenya close to our hearts! Regarding logistics to and from lodging, seamless is the best way to describe our experience. There was always a representative waiting for us at each and every stop. Our accommodations at each camp/lodge score a perfect 10! They were all beautiful or unique in their own way. We would recommend and stay at each camp/lodge again in a heartbeat. The service received from ALL properties made us feel like family. Pepo la Tumaini was an amazing experience, but it is truly hard to pinpoint a highlight as we were both in awe of everything we experienced/discovered. We certainly hope to return someday! Thank you for all of the work you put into making this a magical experience!"

"Firstly, thanks again for putting another great trip together. We absolutely loved our trip and couldn't have been happier with the itinerary. New Zealand is simply fabulous. We love the people and the landscape, the food, the wine, etc. A few highlights: We absolutely loved Waiheke. At Lake Taupo, we caught a trout — not bad for us city people to do fishing. The helicopter trip to White Island was spectacular. We loved Wellington and had the best seafood in New Zealand there. The gourmet walking tour with Heather was phenomenal. She was a great guide and person. We felt like we were friends forever after only a few hours. Finally, we continued further west and south. The highlight in this area was our 3-hour helicopter ride to Milford Sounds. Breathtakingly gorgeous. Beautiful landscapes. The last part was Mount Cook, where we stayed at another retreat with a separate villa just for us. It was gorgeous, located right by Lake Pukaki. The 20 days passed in no time and we had a great time thanks to your meticulous planning and attention to detail."

"We enjoyed our trip to Mexico very much. The trip highlighted some of the diversity of Mexican culture, art and cuisine. [Our son] was excited by his first visit to Mexico and enjoyed the mix of activities as well as, surprising to us, the food. It was nice to spend multiple days with each guide in each location. Some of the highlights of the trip for me were the beauty of Mexico City (not what I expected for such a large city), the food!, visiting Bii Dauu (both learning about natural dyes and the home cooked lunch), learning more about Mesoamerican history and visiting the various historical sites, swimming in the cenote (we had it all to ourselves!) and the lunch afterwords at a local home (the wild boar was amazing!), and finally the flamingos. We enjoyed visiting the variety of artists and managed to bring back a number of beautiful pieces. Oaxaca was my favorite city, both for the food and for the beauty of the town. Thanks for arranging this excellent trip. I look forward to working with you again."

"Our 2nd trip with Boutique Explorer was just as magical as the first. This time my wife and I explored and feasted our way through select parts of Spain. We’ll never forget the beautiful experiences, amazing meals, and delightful private tours that were so thoughtfully planned out by Andres and team. The trip was beautifully crafted from start to finish. Now, we’re planning for Italy and can’t wait to see what the team has in store for us!"

"There were many highlights of the trip overall, but the most important thing we want to express are our gigantic compliments to our extraordinary guide in Rome and our favorite guide EVER of all time! Giuilia was truly outstanding. She was particularly great with our kids and made all the historical stuff so much fun. Just as one example, when we went to Ostia Antica, she made up a narrative so the kids would feel like they were traveling from Rome in their chariots as merchants, stopping for a bite to eat, going to the laundry and the baths to spiff up, taking our business associates out to the amphitheater, having dinner in their fancy villa, etc. Her enthusiasm and energy made Roman history come alive for all of us each day, but especially the kiddos. There is incredible wealth of knowledge, of course, but she truly went above and beyond in a multitude of ways. For our anniversary picnic she put together the most unbelievable lunch spread (including getting her dad to go to his local market where they apparently sell yummier fruits than they have in the city) and she also brought toys and games for our kids to play with at the park. Even though the cities we visited were pretty busy, we were able to beat the crowds because we had guided tours and advance reservations. Everything was very smooth and well organized. It was helpful to have in-country support for when we had questions or needed to make changes on the fly."

"In 2019 Boutique Japan organized an amazing trip for me to Japan. Accordingly, trusting their judgement when planning a subsequent trip to Egypt & Jordan, I asked them to recommend a travel agent. That is when I found out about Boutique Explorer (their sister company organizing trips all over the world). The perfect itinerary was assembled tailored to my pace of travel, need to stay physically active most days as well as obviously taking in the must see sites and the rich history. The guides were amazing and every need was seen to including all visas and seamless chaperoning through airports. It was the definition of stress free travel which is normally an oxymoron. As an aside, The Kempinski in Ishtar – Dead Sea and the Old Cataract – Aswan were two of the best hotels I have stayed in in the world."

“So our entire trip was fantastic! Everything was planned perfectly. We also had excellent guides and drivers the whole time. Morocco….what a magical country that far exceeded my expectations. Marbella [Spain] was glorious and the Puente Romano resort was a relaxing paradise. Our day trip to Cordoba was great and that mosque/cathedral in the city is so special and unlike anything we’ve ever seen. That is definitely not to be missed. All in all it was another incredible and meticulously planned trip. So thank you all for your hard work and attention to detail…it does not go unnoticed! I cannot wait to book another trip with Boutique Explorer!"