Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary

We just returned from the Galapagos with our 13-year-old grandson J who is a swimmer, animal lover and fisherman. Allie and her team planned the perfect trip for us. I have worked with many travel planners, and to say that Allie tops the list is not an understatement. She followed our lead—no cruises, fine hotels, kid-centered trips with guides who “get” 13-year-old boys. And she delivered: a day in Quito with Alejandra who took us to the equator, a chocolate tasting, and a visit to a working cathedral where Mass was in session. As this was a Bar Mitzvah trip for our grandson, going to a Mass with a thousand locals and indigenous people was moving and revealing about the power of religion for everyone in every country.

In San Cristobel, Allie surprised us with a delicious congratulatory chocolate cake in our room. When I thanked her, she told me that she had called J’s mother to find out his favorite flavor! That is going well beyond expectations. Finally, she secured for us our guide Christian who spent five days in the islands with us and took care of two older grandparents and an active boy. He was a superb naturalist and fun to be with and really connected with J, diving and snorkeling with their Go-Pros, swimming with sea life and fishing with him on one of our day cruises. When there was something we wanted to do, he made it happen even before we thought of it. I cannot thank Allie enough for seeing to it that we all had a trip to remember forever.

We just returned from an amazing trip to Quito and the Galapagos. From start to finish the planning and execution were perfect. I would use this dream team anytime. Allie did all of the planning and she was spot on—even catching that my husband should get a new passport as his was just a few months from expiration. The team in Quito could not have been better and we enjoyed this charming city. Although it rained every day, it was mostly at night and didn’t slow us down. The local team arranged a cooking class and lunch at a small, new restaurant and it was hands down the best meal we had on the trip. If you go, find it: Claroscuro.

Because getting there is not easy and for most it will be a once in a lifetime trip, I would add two pieces of advice. First, don’t wait too long to do this. At a healthy, fairly active 78, I was a little unsure of one of the hikes. They are not demanding in terms of length or steepness, rather it is because the islands are volcanic, and the lava creates very uneven terrain on some islands. But the guides were very reassuring and helpful. And what you see on the hikes is just what you dream about for a Galapagos trip—incredible creatures everywhere. Go now—you will never regret it. Also, I would say, I think this would be a fabulous family trip, for kids water competent and maybe 10 and over.

Secondly, I would recommend doing the longer itineraries on the ship. I couldn’t talk my husband into that but looking back, I would have preferred seeing more. We were on a five night itinerary on the Infinity, which was super. Our room was big, much to our surprise, the staff spectacular, and the days very busy and well planned. The naturalists really knew their stuff and even more than that, we were impressed by their deep love of place. The food was local, fresh, plentiful and tasty—even the coffee was great! The snorkeling was just amazing—sea turtles, sharks, rays, angel fish, oh my!

The only thing I might do differently, because our flight home was very early, would be to spend the last night in one of the airport hotels. That 3am wake-up call was tough and made for a very long day home.

A giant thank you to Wendy and her team, Allie and her team, and the local crew in Quito, and the remarkable team on the Infinity.

Judy Calvert next to an iguana in Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.

“We were joking that a Hollywood producer was ahead of us cueing all the birds and animals into position.”

My husband and I did a one-week cruise on the Horizon trimaran, 8 cabins. It was 13-14 guests with equal number of crew. Allie and her company had suggested it, and we are very grateful as it was a great boat, superb crew, a fantastic Naturalist Maria, very good food and excellent itinerary. Snorkeling trips were well organized and fairly easy out/in of the zodiac, and all of the excursions were very good, we saw everything you could want to see—we were joking that a Hollywood producer was ahead of us cueing all the birds and animals into position:

*blue footed boobies, red footed boobies, Nazca boobies, babies of all the above, pelicans, male frigate birds with the red swollen neck on trees and flying and mating ritual, waved albatross and babies and juveniles , marine iquanas on land and under water snorkeling, 2 penquins on a rock, hammerhead sharks, white tipped sharks and galapagos sharks while snorkeling, a gazillion sea lions on shore, in water, while snorkeling, tons of mum and pups, huge parrot and king angel fish while snorkeling, large schools of fish, the 2 different types of land iquanas*

The water was cold, around 19C, but the boat had 2.5mm wetsuits which made it perfect. We did a couple of long crossings (7hrs) at night but relatively smooth.

We were supposed to have a full pre-day in Guayaquil with a WOW Moment but due to Hurricane Milton our flight from Miami to GYE was cancelled until the next day. Allie kept in touch with us throughout and ensured everyone knew that we weren’t coming :-(

My husband really wanted to dive, so with Allie’s help, we extended at Puerto Ayora for 3 nights and she hooked us up with a scuba operation and they made arrangements to pick Doug up right from Horizon! Unfortunately, visibility was not the greatest, so even though he got to dive with the Hammerheads, it wasn’t the experience he truly wanted. Weather, what can you do.

Allie was a pleasure to work with. We had an unrealistic expectation/thoughts on Galapagos at first. We were coming at it as a recommended diving/snorkelling destination, so realizing that we can’t do both on a boat— you choose a dive boat OR a tourist/snorkel boat—was an eye opener, but then the compromise of tourist boat and staying on so Doug could dive with the scuba operator. And I was unsure if we were going to enjoy the land excursions—just birds was my thought, try to get photos when they hide in trees and spook easily. We wanted to snorkel with penguins and sea lions (didn’t really happen, just one sea lion). BUT it was actually quite fun each excursion which species we were looking for and how none of them had any fear of humans and you could literally get right in their faces to take photos and watch them. She had great advice to get to GYE 2 days early, obviously helped when Hurricane Milton cancelled our Thursday flight (huge thank you to her for the heads up on what was happening) but Allie got us out on the Friday in time to make our cruise on Saturday.

Overall, great trip, quite a bit of time/work to get there and VERY expensive, but worth it for the overall experience. Horizon was an excellent boat choice and luckily they found Maria, plus we really really enjoyed our other guests! And staying longer in Puerto Ayora was cute.

A red-footed booby sitting on a person's head in El Barranco, the Galapagos, Ecuador.

A red-footed booby “utterly unafraid” of visitors to El Barranco in the Galapagos. Photo: Traveler Rebel Rice.

Allie Almario planned and coordinated a trip of a lifetime for my husband and I, as well as four to six other friends, depending on where we were when. The highlight destinations of the group trip are:

• Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley and Cusco (6 people)
• Galapagos Cruise aboard the catamaran The Elite (8 people)
• Ecuadorian Amazon at La Selva Lodge on Rio Napo (5 people)

I am an experienced trip planner and traveler, but I could have NEVER pulled off this trip with this many people, in this many different places, with such superb guides and outstanding lodging, as well as the many smooth transfers. Our group of travelers changed at every major destination, with one to three friends cycling in or out. What a challenge! Allie and her teams in Peru and Ecuador created and executed a fantastic trip.

We loved her recommendations for every single destination, the most important of which was the Galapagos catamaran, The Elite. She definitely had to talk our group into the smaller boat, as well as the 7-day itinerary, on a zoom call because it was more expensive. However, the benefits of the catamaran Elite, a small boat (16 passengers), were well worth it.

The Elite has large, comfortable staterooms, smooth motoring (except for one rough night), and superbly prepared and presented meals. Plus, they happily accommodated my dietary restrictions, as well as surprising one couple with a wedding anniversary cake, and two of us with birthday cakes.

The guide, Morris, was superb and the crew was wonderful—professional, friendly and helpful. We booked a year in advance, so the pain of the price was long gone by the time we arrived on San Cristobal Island. When we started the booking process, some of us had some specific islands to visit, but most of us were not that well informed. We were all delighted with the itinerary of the eastern islands.

The Amazon portion of the trip started as almost a lark when we asked Allie if we could throw in the Amazon while we were in Ecuador/Peru. She came back with La Selva Lodge on the Rio Napo, a tributary of the Amazon. Fantastic.

The entire trip was seamless. My husband and I were gone the longest (escaping the Phoenix heat), adding 3 days in Lima before and a week afterward in Otavalo, Ecuador and Mindo, Ecuador for a total of 30 days. SEAMLESS!! I am still agog.

Machu Picchu reminds us of the Grand Canyon, in that the photos do NOT do the site justice. The scope of the ruin, as well as the greater insights one gains by being there, are incomparable. We wondered if Machu Picchu combined with Galapagos would be too much, but we loved them both.

If you ever had dreams of going to the Amazon, then visit La Selva, an eco-lodge on the Rio Napo, part of the Amazon basin. The rain forest experience is authentic and remarkable. The food is the highest quality, and they were fantastic at accommodating my dietary restrictions. We spent 4 days/3 nights, which seemed like the right amount of time.

Our favorite activity was the Macaw clay lick, where we saw a large flock of Scarlet Macaws, that were then followed by 2-3 flocks of Cobalt-winged parakeets. The Parrot clay lick is seen from the river (on a boat), but is quite a distance (maybe ½ kilometer). The Macaw clay lick is situated about a 10–15-minute walk from the river. The local indigenous tribe has built a bird blind with benches, and even a restroom, where you can wait for the birds to arrive and then watch them from about 100 ft. Truly astounding to be that close to these magnificent, endangered birds.

One of many wonderful things about La Selva, and the blackwater lagoon on which it sits—no mosquitoes. Really!

We started our trip in Lima, Peru. We found it an interesting, enormous city, whose historical buildings put much of colonial Latin American history into tighter perspective. The food and the restaurant scene are as amazing as reported. The Museo Larco is a must-see for the wider perspective on Peruvian indigenous people. As it was winter there, the city was foggy and chilly. Glad we went, but not sure we will return.

We went to Otavalo, an important market town in the Andes. It was an interesting and fun chance to see the local Andean people. We stayed in an old Hacienda outside of the town. Due to a Covid infection, the other 5 friends of our group did not join us, heading home instead. That left just 3 of us at the Hacienda, which was otherwise empty. We wondered if it were haunted…

My husband and I ended our trip with a few days in Mindo, about 2 hours west of Quito in the cloud forest. We stayed at one of the best lodges we encountered, Las Terrazas de Dana. The staff, especially Marco, extended the warmest welcome. The value for money is remarkable. It’s walking distance from town, but set out in the forest. The birding was excellent, as were the other attractions in town, such as the 3 artisanal chocolate producers, the bird feeding stations, and the butterfly garden. The food in the many restaurants was delicious, as it was at the resort. We found this true throughout our time in Ecuador.

Our most unusual experience is the very reason one goes to the Galapagos: the animals. They are utterly unafraid of humans. Wow. The nesting Blue-Footed Booby or Waved Albatross just sat there as we walked within 2 feet. The bird might calmly gaze at us, but mostly didn’t care. The sea lions don’t even look up.

Allie Almario is THE BOMB! This amazing trip would have never happened without Allie Almario. She is so organized, fun to talk to about the trip, and knowledgeable. Allie prepared us well for this trip. There are so many details—the “visa” to visit the Galapagos islands, what to pack, insurance to buy, the visit to Machu Picchu. Her emails are remarkable.

The guides—we cannot say enough about the extraordinarily high-quality guides that Allie arranged for us. This was our 8th trip booked through Wendy because we know that the guides will be great. Nick at Machu Picchu, Morris in the Galapagos, and Paul at La Selva exceeded great. They were the perfect match for our inquisitive, overeducated group.

And, it is important to add that Allie truly cares about her travelers and the experience that they have. She works hard to make sure that we enjoy the experience; that we are safe; that the transfers and tours run smoothly; and that no matter what happens, she has our back. Don’t even think about using anyone else!

The WOW List: Best Local Travel Fixers Worldwide

by Wendy Perrin | January 20, 2025

How to Get an Extraordinary Trip: Wendy’s WOW Way

by Wendy Perrin | January 1, 2023

Wendy Wants To Amp Up Your Trip!

by WendyPerrin.com | January 1, 2023

Our Latest Newsletters