Cristina we just returned to the US and I wanted to let you know I filled out a review for your travels company on the trip!! And mentioned how very wonderful it was. I mentioned your name and how helpful you were and how organized the trip was. We also had the best guide in the world. I think I shall be friends with him for life. So knowledgeable and helpful and great insight. He made the day super enjoyable. He is a free lance guide and I just want to make sure agencies such as your is aware of how good he was. His name was Henry Haro! He should be booked every chance you guys can.

The trip was wonderful, the hacienda the best!! And the driver came early!! Was reliable. The call in the evening was a nice touch from perhaps the driver or from Henry I am not sure which. They dropped us off at our hotel and even went inside to make sure all was set for our check in with Lundblast (sp?). Greatest travel event of our trip!!

Ps the train was crowded but great!! Thanks for all your help. If there is a manager you would like me to contact and pass this all on to him/her I will. Please let me know. Sue Slone

1-day Avenue of the Volcanoes Train & Inca Hacienda

USA, January 2018

Dear Maria,
I've always told you, "It's lovely to hear from you!"
Thank You! Yes, my group and I arrived home safe & sound in a most timely manner on-board Copa Airlines. The 4 persons who stay back in Ecuador are flying en-route to Trinidad & Tobago as I now email you. Well,......since my Dad died in December 2016, my loved ones on earth to come home to, are my Mother & Brother so good to see them again.

From the first 2 or 3 emails we shared, I told you, I loved your energy and passion for what you do. I'll share a secret with you. I normally send a few emails for quotations to various Tour Operators in a particular country I plan to do an Expedition. With the prompt and professional response I received from you, there was no need for me to request an offer from another Tour Operator so I chose you instantly. After some 7 months of communication and meticulous planning together,  my instincts about You and Columbus Travel were correct.

Maria, everything was perfect as can be under the sun. The Weather, Tour Guides, Bus Drivers, Staff of Tren Crucero, Hotels, Airlines, Restaurants, Klein Tours, Columbuis Travel and of course You  and by extension the lovely people of Ecuador conspired in making our Expedition a huge success, so I cannot be fault anyone in any way.....an absolute 10 outta 10 for services given.

Only one Transfer from Swissotel to Vieja Cuba was a few minutes late, but nothing for me to query. In adventure travel, one must leave room for slight delays and this by no means affected our schedule.

Thing is, when all those elements I listed above play positively in unison, it makes me look and feel on-top-of-the-world also. The attention and support you provide made a huge difference in an average Expedition, verses an excellent expedition we had. Could not have been accomplished  with You and Columbus Travel! Thank You!

So, after countless emails with the honesty and perfection in the manner we worked together, I'm sure you know I'll keep in touch with you. My lifestyle and mode of thinking are very different from most people as I don't need to know what the future holds. I just live for today and make plans to realize my dreams for the future so who's to say if I'll return to Ecuador with another work related Expedition Team? Maybe I will again or maybe not, but either way, I'll definitely recommend Columbus Travel and tell my client/s to ask for Mrs Maria Soledad Loaiza!

Best regards,

Ivan

Tren Crucero

Trinidad and Tobago, May 2017

Good morning Maria,

The trip was exceptional and the guides and train staff were fabulous but Alex deserves special mention for his enthusiasm and knowledge.

Mark

Tren Crucero

England, August 2016

Hi Maria

We can not believe we have now been home for 5 weeks.

Firstly thank you so much for providing us with a great trip to the Galapagos and subsequently the Tren Crucero back to Quito.

Galapagos cruise.

Tip Top 2 was a superb, comfortable & well laid out ship.. Our room with balcony was a great choice.

Tren Crucero 
This trip in many ways was our highlight of our Ecuador holiday. We loved the slow journey, scenery and of course the restored steam engines. We were lucky too that as there were only 12 passengers the train was certainly not crowded which gave the excellent staff more time to spend with us.
The itinerary for off train excursions were very interesting.  The food whilst on the train was excellent & plentiful and the accommodation was comfortable.

In summary we feel that the Tren Crucero has the potential to become one of the world's truly iconic train journeys and is something of which we sense all Ecuadorians can be justifiably proud.

We enjoyed working with Columbus Travel and will have no hesitation in recommending you and your company in the future.

Thank you 

Best regards

David and Gail Ireland

Tip Top II Cruise + Tren Crucero
Australia, April 2016
2 Guests

María Soledad
Tengo que decirte que nuestra experiencia en el Tren Crucero fue Maravillosa. El servicio excelente. Todos los chicos del tren... Alex, Gabi, Anabelle, y los demás cuyos nombres no recuerdo fueon excelentes guías y muy cariñosos y amables con todo el mundo. El servicio de bus excelente y el chófer muy bueno.

Las comidas muy ricas y súper bien presentadas, incluyendo las que fueron servidas en el tren. Los alojamientos muy buenos excepto el último DeFranco que, no es que fuera malo sino que no estaba a la altura de La Andaluza y, por ser el último causó un poco de sorpresa y desilusión, especialmente porque el almuerzo fue en La Danesa, que está muy cerca y es de una calidad muy superior a De Franco. Definitivamente es una excursión que recomiendo altamente a todos mis amigos viajeros y creo que le hace mucha justicia a las bellezas de Ecuador.

Mil gracias.
Sonia

March, 2016
Tren Crucero
Puerto Rico

Dear Maria

We are still travellingin Colombia now. We had a very good time in our train journey. The staff of tren Ecuador was exceptionally helpful and made us feel at home I am also happy with your service.
Best wishes
Mah Hui lim

October, 2015
Tren Crucero
Malasia

Hi Francisco

Just wanted to let you know we had a wonderful time on the steam train. It was one of the highlights of our holiday! It was well organised from the taxi picking us up from the hotel all the way through to the taxi taking us home again. We were the only English people on the train and the guide took special time to explain everything to us in English.

We did a great excursion when we arrived at Bucay and visited the waterfalls in the mountains which was beautiful and the coach back to Duran was very comfortable.

Thank you once again for everything. I hope to visit Ecuador again one day!
Kind regards

Jacqui Sesto

August, 2015
Full day Sweetness Train Tour

Hi Pablo,

I have now been back in Sydney for just over a week, and have eventually settled down after catching up with everyone and settling down back at home.
I apologise that I am only contacting you now, but time just flies.
I just wanted to say thank you for all you did for us while we were in Ecuador and Quito. We all absolutely loved our holiday in your country and I will definitely be back with Denis!
We had excellent service from yourself and your company and it reals makes a big difference to a holiday when everything runs smoothly.

I hope you are well, and not too affected by all that is happening in Ecuador right now... protests, volcanoes erupting!!!!

Keep well and I will be in touch when I can get back to Ecuador again.

Regards
Tina

 

Tina Van Zyl, Australia. August, 2015
La Selva Amazon Lodge & 4-day Tren Crucero Tour

Dear Washington,

Here my impressions on the Quito to El Boliche tour:

I recently had the chance to take the newly renovated train from Quito to the El Boliche station near Cotopaxi national park. It was a great trip for me, my wife and kids and my parents. We hope to take the train again soon!

Departure
We had to get up early: the van sent by Columbus Travel arrived punctually at 6:00. The train doesn't leave that early, but it does leave at 8:15 and they suggest you get there early, so we weren't taking any chances. We got to the Chimbacalle station before 7, so we had plenty of time. Our guide went with us into the station and got our tickets. We were informed that the first part of the track was undergoing routine maintenance and we would have to take a bus around it. Instead of the Chimbacalle station, we boarded the train at Tambillo.

The Trip
For the next couple of hours, we rode the train to the El Boliche station. Along the way, the train stopped at the Machachi station, where we were able to get off, stretch our legs, get a bite to eat and watch some local dancers who came out to put on a show for us. It was at Machachi that I learned that our train ticket had a couple of coupons attached to it, for $1 off at the little snack bars at Machachi or el Boliche. That's enough for a cup of coffee or an empanada. I thought it was great that the train was supporting the local community in this way: everyone used the coupons, because we had already paid for them after all, and I assume the local vendors cashed them in with the train people later.

The train coach was nicely refurbished. I rode on the same route several years ago, and as I recall, the state of the train cars was deplorable. Now the cars are somewhat Spartan but still nice and perfectly comfortable. The clean bathroom inside the train car was a nice touch.

Along the way, our guide, Andres, kept up a running commentary in English and Spanish about the history of the region and the train system. Andres was friendly and earnest and he was good with my two little kids, too. He cheerfully answered any and all questions and seemed to really enjoy his job.

We passed through some incredible scenery that day. It was a little cloudy and gloomy out, so we could not see any volcanoes (Andres helpfully pointed out where they would have been on a clearer day) but we didn't miss them much. The train passed through the rolling hills of Ecuador's agricultural heartland. We saw farms, homes, fields of crops, soccer fields and cows, cows, cows. As we passed, people - mostly little kids - came out and waved and seemed thrilled if we waved back. In fact, the people along the route all really seemed to love the train.

Extras
We did a combination package tour with Columbus Travel. Our guide and van were waiting for us in El Boliche and after exploring for a little while (it was chilly) we rode on to Saquisili. It was a Thursday, so it was market day there. Our guide showed us around and we really enjoyed the market. My parents like to visit Ecuador and we've been to the Otavalo market a million times, so they enjoyed going to a market which was still big and important but not so geared to tourists. Afterwards, we had a nice lunch at the elegant La Cienega hacienda-hotel before heading back to Quito.

We all had a great time: everyone from my four year old daughter to my seventy-four year old father. The van, bus and train were comfortable and accommodating when needed. In particular, I thought Columbus Travel did a nice job of putting the whole itinerary together.

Chris Minster
USA

Dear Elena-

We just wanted to extend our thanks for the good job you did in setting up our cruise to the Galapagos and also for the fast, complete job you did in finding a way for us to experience the Cotopaxi Volcano and the wonderful train trip through the Devil's Nose with Byron.
We also wanted to say that we thought Byron was excellent, friendly, thoughtful, always attentive to our needs and that he even got us a seat up with the engineer during the train trip through the best part of the trip. Not to mention that he even fixed my husband's broken glasses!
Please convey to your superiors that you and Byron did an outstanding job for us while we were in Ecuador. And please foward this to Byron as well.
Thanks again and Good Luck! We would certainly recommend you to anyone who may be interested in a trip like our's. Sincerely,

Andrea & Nathan Carb 

I want to use this opportunity, even if it comes late, to thank your team for supporting us in preparing and making our trip to Ecuador and Galapagos a wonderful experience!Everything really was excellent arranged, all recommended places turned out to be more than worth to visit, including hotels and lodges. The Alta was wonderful, as the week in Galapagos was. All local transports, really everything was perfect! Congratulation for your company and your team, including Angie, who supported us in everything.You can have a look to the photographs for Angie, if you like anything for your website, I will be happy to provide it to you. All pictures (in total 3,500!) were taken in digital, so if you are looking for anything specific, I can look into my data, wether something is available from our trip. We visited La Selva, Equator Monument, Otavalo, Cotopaxi, Riobamba (train drive), Cuenca and finally one week on the "Alta"... So, either by CDR, or by email, if you require something...Thanks again and best regards, especially to Angie, Luisa and Elena.

Thomas Nordhoff, Germany