Rough Guides Reviews 

I would like to sincerely thank your Ms. Camila and her team for planning such a wonderful and unforgettable private trip to Bolivia for me. Though the weather was colder than that I expected, every part of the journey was thoughtfully arranged, and I truly appreciated how smoothly everything went from start to finish. Your care, attention to detail, and support made me feel completely at ease, allowing me to fully enjoy the beauty and unique experiences of Bolivia. It was such a special trip, and I will always remember it fondly. Thank you again for all your hard work and dedication and I am truly grateful for everything you have done to make this journey so memorable.

Rachel listened carefully to our requirements and planned a fantastic holiday for us and our dog touring around Ireland.

We're thrilled to be able to add our voice to the enthusiastic reviews of Rough Guides and Tilila Travel for tailor-made tours of Morocco. From our first interchange with Mohammed at Tilila Travel, we were impressed with his understanding of what we wanted and the way that he accommodated that into an itinerary that really felt tailored to our needs. He also was willing to tweak it as we went along to make it even closer to what we wanted. His welcome call at the beginning and meeting with us at the end made it feel personal indeed.
Yassin was our excellent and knowledgeable guide and companion who drove us on our 13-day trip that began in Casablanca and went up to Rabat and Tangier and down through Tetuan and Chefchouen, on to Meknes and Fes, and finally to Ouzoud Falls and Marrakech. He made sure that our local guides in each place took us to what we wanted to see and that they explained to us what most interested us. He was responsive to our requests for spontaneous experiences along the way and proudly showed us the fine details of his country. A veritable pleasure.
The local guides were well-chosen experts and we particularly enjoyed the ones who led us through Tangiers, Chefchouen and Fes, both because of their knowledge along with their sharing of their experiences growing up in the neighborhoods we were discovering.
We had two great cooking classes, stays in excellent hotels, and wonderful meals in restaurants often recommended by Yassin, Mohammed, or the guides.
A note to Spanish speakers: Even though Yassin and the guides spoke an excellent English, for an extra feel of authenticity we opted to communicate in Spanish with Yassin and the guides in Tangier and Fes, and others in Tetuan and Meknes. It added a sense of the Spanish influence on Morocco...
We would highly recommend both Rough Guides and Tilila Travel to anyone who wants to delve into the culture and history of Morocco with attention to their personal interests.
Memories to be cherished.

Responsible Travel and Rough Guides were awesome. Maria Jose - the best planner. And drivers, guides, hotels and regular contact. On our 38 day tour sde this the best tour for our 8 person custom tour.

We recently completed a 5 week tour of Equador, Peru and Chile. As there were 6 of us in our group (and 2 other friends who joined us for the last leg) the logistics were complicated but handled superbly by Maria (Majo) from the Quito office. Nothing was ever too much trouble for Majo and she honestly seemed to work around the clock! Our local guides were amazing ( thank you Danny and Luis) and when my husband needed medical care in Santiago Solly went above and beyond the call of duty. Thank you everyone involved for making this trip memorable and enjoyable.

We recently completed a wonderful trip through Ecuador, including Quito, Cotopaxi, the Amazon, and the Galápagos Islands, and I cannot say enough good things about Jose and his team.

From the very beginning, Jose was a pleasure to work with. Planning a trip like this can be challenging when you have never been to the destination before. There are countless emails, phone calls, questions, and decisions that need to be made before you finally commit to an itinerary. Throughout the entire process, Jose was knowledgeable, responsive, and incredibly patient. His communication was outstanding.

Once we arrived in Ecuador, the service exceeded our expectations. Jose checked in with us regularly, often sending text messages to make sure everything was going smoothly and to see if we needed anything. He was always available to answer questions and provide assistance. It was reassuring to know that someone was looking out for us every step of the way.

Everything was exactly as promised. The accommodations were excellent and in great locations. Every transfer was seamless and professionally handled. The guides we worked with throughout the trip were knowledgeable, friendly, accommodating, and clearly passionate about their country. The overall flow of the itinerary was very well thought out, allowing us to experience a tremendous amount without ever feeling rushed.

A special mention goes to Napo Wildlife Center, which was absolutely terrific and one of the highlights of the trip. We also loved our time in Cotopaxi, Quito, and throughout the rest of Ecuador. Every destination offered something unique and memorable.

If I were to suggest one thing to future travelers, it would be this: if your schedule allows, try to spend two or three days on Isabela Island in the Galápagos. While all of the excursions we took were excellent, well-organized, and offered incredible wildlife encounters, Isabela provides a more relaxed atmosphere and some truly outstanding wildlife experiences. The rest of the Galápagos is amazing, but if you can fit Isabela into your itinerary, I believe it is well worth the extra time.

Overall, Jose is a true professional, and I highly recommend both him and his company. We had an amazing experience from start to finish. Great trip, great company, great guides, and an outstanding experience working with Jose.

Answered in timely manner

From my first conversation with Effie, to my last (of many whats app texts with Maria, Christos and Mairi). I can not say enough about Rough Guides, the tours, drivers, plans etc. We can not recommend this company enough, and will use again any time we travel internationally! It was the best decision of our trip!

We used RoughGuides to plan the land-portion of our trip in Romania. We discussed our goals and interests and then agreed on the trip plan, the types of hotels we like, etc. After that, Corina took care of everything. Once we arrived in Bucharest, we were contacted via WhatsApp by Alin, who was our guide and driver for the entire trip. He did a great job driving and explaining things, suggesting restaurants, etc. It was our first time using RoughGuides, and we'd be happy to use them again.

Also, we had just finished a cruise where we were often on excursions with 38 of our new best friends - so it was a real joy to be just the three of us (me, my husband, and our guide) in a small car!

They listened to want we wanted to do and see on the trip and put a great itinerary together. They also try to understand budget up front.

We were well looked after on our 12 day trip in Mexico in particular the attention provided by Jose . So much that we would refer him to our friends and come again to Mexico .

This was our first experience with a guided trip. We were very pleased with Rough Guides . All the people involved were friendly, attentive and well organised.
Alvaro at the beginning worked really hard to tailor the trip to our needs . He patiently listened to what we wanted and adapted the trip as the planning evolved. The tour guides (at Palenque, Calakmul, Uxmal)were all exceptional. We thoroughly enjoyed our days out with them.
When there was a hiccup on the last day with one of the taxi companies not turning up and then protesters closing the route to the airport, Benjamin efficiently sorted it all out and organised a refund for us for the missed transfer.
Thank you very much!

This was an unforgettable experience in Peru run by consummate professionals. Our trip with Rough Guides was the most professional well run tour operation we have ever been on. Our initial expectations were typical of our trips to SA. Everyone is late, everything is behind schedule and sometimes you just don't get all of the itinerary completed because the guides and tour operators operated by a different clock. Everything from the time we were picked up at the airport to our departure was ON TIME! Our guides were at our hotel exactly when they said they were going to be. They were all friendly, spoke English well, were informative, just absolute pleasures to work with. Our booking process was just as smooth. We worked with Jeferson to set up our trip. Told him what we wanted to see and do, what our expectations were(culture, sightseeing, nature and history, skip the shopping) and he provided exactly what we asked for. Once we were in Peru, Jose and Ronnie assisted us through text messages, phone calls and WhatsApp guiding us through the whole trip, even through a few vagaries which always turned out in the end to be perfectly fine. Now, there was a downside to this extreme punctuality and organization. There was no room for us to not be ready to go when it was time to go. This is no fault but I hope this helps a future traveler. We frequently were picked up before our hotel began serving breakfast and did not get a good breakfast to start the day. The hotels would provide a "box meal" and no fault of Rough Guides but these box meals were hardly substantive enough to provide you with the energy to do the walking and exploring that we did. Because we did and saw a lot in a short period of time we typically stayed in a different hotel each night. This made our evenings hectic. We had to find dinner in a new town, get cleaned and packed up to be ready to go at 4:30-6:30 the following morning. I wouldn't call this a fault, just something to prepare for. This trip was booked to celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary and neither of us would hesitate to book again with Rough Guides and we will probably go back with Rough Guides on a slower paced trip in the future now that we have seen the highlights of Peru. Peru has so much more to offer than just the highlights too! We had a different guide each day of our trip with Ronnie and Jose informing us the day before who our guide was and when they would pick us up from our hotel. Every guide we had was punctual, friendly, informative and we even had a guide we had some deep philosophical discussions with whose native language is Quechuan and also spoke Spanish and English! What an immersion! Very much looking forward to our next trip with Rough Guides!

Taken care of every step of the way- be it the original planning, the booking or indeed the guides and tours provided nothing was left to chance and made our trip easy, reassuring, fun and interesting. Thank you Jefferson for making this all happen and to our guides too.

We had a great time on our trip to Malta and Sicily. The boat ride to the Blue Lagoon and Gozo and the tour of the ruins of the Valley of the Temple were highlights.

I’ve now used Rough Guides twice first for Oman and now for LATAM and both trips have been exceptional from start to finish.

Our recent LATAM itinerary was incredibly well organised despite involving multiple countries, flights, transfers, tours, and moving parts. Everything felt seamless. We were consistently checked in ahead of flights, boarding passes were shared proactively, and communication throughout the trip was excellent. Jeferson was always available when needed and incredibly responsive and helpful throughout.

Some standout moments included the food tour in Lima, which was honestly one of the highlights of the trip and such a brilliant way to experience a city. Iguazu Falls and Machu Picchu were absolutely awe-inspiring, visiting both a natural wonder of the world and one of the world’s great historical wonders in the same trip felt truly magical.

We did have one minor hiccup with the train to Machu Picchu, but it was handled quickly and professionally. A hotel was arranged immediately, logistics were reorganised smoothly, and everything was resolved with minimal stress on our side. That level of calm problem-solving really stood out.

Overall, the trip was energising, exciting, and beautifully executed. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Rough Guides, and I’m already planning my next trip with them, Sri Lanka next!

Thank you again to Jeferson and the wider team for such a memorable experience. ✨🙌🏾🙏🏾

We went on a 12 day trip that included 3 countries and many 'tours' . All hotels were lovely and well situated. All pick ups to and from the various airports (there were 7 flights involved!) went without a hitch. We had only one problem with train tickets which was dealt with within the hour. In short, we had a really great time and I was very happy that we had used Jeferson's services. Couldn't have been better. Thank you very much, Jeferson and Rough Guides.

We had a wonderful time in Costa Rica, but you do need to be constantly working to get what you want with the fixer provided by Rough Guides. Our schedule of promises included turtle watching in Lirio Lodge between Tortuguero and Limone, and a sunset catamaran cruise in Manuel Antonio. Neither of them actually materialised. No-one said they would be possible when we were there, despite the promises on our pieces of paper. We would have had to pay extra, but we would probably have done so. But no-one gave us the ability to book these potentially wonderful experiences when we were on the ground. Also we were left with two SIM cards with no guidance on how to make them work. They were not the "plug and play" promised. Finally, we were given the wrong baggage allowance for the flight back north from Drake Bay. We had to pay for being overweight. That money is we are promised being refunded, but part of choosing a fixer based in an actual country is that they do not get things like this wrong 😞

Well thought out plan—perfect for our age. Hotels were superb, as well as guides—which included college professors. Not the run-of-the-mill kind of trip, specifically catering our needs. We never ran into a problem—all went really smooth for ten days—they thought of things we didn’t contemplate. Brilliantly planned by Luis of Hidden In Spain. Thank you!

started using Rough Guides guide books years ago back when I was traveling on my own during my 20s. They have evolved into more than just guides and can help connect travelers to local tour companies to create trips. We used them for a 9 day private tour in Morocco and they connected us to Tilila Travel. Mohamed the tour company owner was fantastic, along with our driver Mohamed and our local city guides. It covered most of the main cities and attractions and we had such a great time, exploring and learning about such a rich culture. I would definitely use Rough Guides again - glad it's still around!