Viva Expeditions Reviews 508

Great communication, awesome itineraries and great pricing.

Booked the new "Stewart Island Aurora Hunting: Small Group Tour" with Viva which promised tips/assistance to catch the aurora and several guided group tours on Stewart Island which would have been difficult to book independently given the off-season and minimum numbers required for many tour operators. However, the Dark Sky (stargazing) was cancelled due to operator illness and only a water taxi was provided to Ulva Island for reasons still unclear. Viva was fairly apologetic and responsive in refunding the tours within a week.

Our group leader was charismatic and great at flexing to the changes and keeping morale high. However, upon arrival we learned she was technically an "escort" rather than a guide, meaning she lacked the training to guide any activities herself or provide any expert tips or tools to help view the aurora. Fortunately other group members recommended some forecasting/alerting apps.

Overall, Stewart Island is fantastic, and everyone seemed to have a great time despite the setbacks. Hopefully Viva will work out the bugs for future tours.

Very helpful & efficient all the way.
Nothing was any trouble at all someone was there immediately to assist us.

42 days 7 counties 13 flights and everything work like clock work. An amazing experience all our concerns regarding safety could not be further from our experience the people hotel staff,guides were all wonderful. South American is adventure well worth considering. From Inca temples to swimming with sea loins in the Galapagos all made this an amazing experience

Things were constantly changing - even once we had left NZ. We weren't given any options when things changed and I don't feel the Company took recognition of where their clients came from. It makes a difference in some countries.

Our trip to South America was marvellous spoilt only by the very sub-standard cabin we had on the boat around the Galapagos Islands
Sorry Viva you over promised and way under delivered on this one.
It would not have been so bad if we had not specifically enquired about the cabin and then consequently went on your reassurance.
The cabin was dark, cold and damp. We ended up having to wash all our clothing when we got back to Ecuador because they smelt musty and mouldy.
Sorry Viva but you need to do some customer satisfaction work here (read consumer rights)
Other that that, the trip to Sth America was a once in a lifetime experience.

Great communication prior to departure. Excellent hotel recommendation

I was looked after the whole trip from the airport. I was travelling on my own but i felt safe.

Your ground team in South America were exceptional, very quick to respond to any questions and very helpful and caring. Thank you.

My experience with Viva Expeditions was outstanding from the itinerary being put together and then experiencing South Africa i couldnt fault anything. Tanya was excellent

Viva Expeditions organised our trips to Mexico and Cuba from the very start.
Emma was very helpful in getting and organising exactly what we wanted to do in both countries.
Our internal flights, accommodation and guides in both countries were well organised and all went without any problems.
We would highly recommend Viva as a tour company to book through

The trip was super well organised. Everything went off without a hitch and exceeded my expectations!

Viva’s Customer service and knowledge of the area are outstanding. Our rep Pia also had an excellent understanding of our group’s wishes and capabilities. When anything came up that we needed to consult on she had solutions and was always available.

Pia took the effort to create an itinerary that differed from the standard ones but suited what I wanted.

Stewart Island/Rakiura is a small laid back place with good bush walks and lots of native birds. Most people, including me, get to see a kiwi. Mine was fairly close and stayed around for almost an hour.

Being met at Buenos Aries was great.
Jeremiah? Was a great guide.So welcoming.
Gave us so much useful info.Hints & tips.
Chatted all the way to hotel.
Helped us register & got lots of local tips.10/10
Santiago was 6/10

Emma Johnson made it possible for our family to have the best adventure to Antarctica. She totally prepared us with all information and paperwork we needed. She is fantastic at her job! The highly experienced guides made every effort to educate us about Antarctica and safely walk on land there! The entire staff on board was beyond exemplary.

We had a wonderful trip to the Ross sea region of the Antartic. The Le Soleal staff were very helpful and could not do enough for us. The French style fine dining experience was amazing. Sebastian, the cruise director, and his staff were helpful and very informative. The excursions were well planned to keep us safe while providing the best options available on the day. We highly recommend this expedition!

Frequent communication and prompt reply to inquiries.

Our itinerary was custom-made to fit our dates and the bucket list of South American experiences that we wanted to tick off - most especially; Iguazu Falls, Galapagos, and the Amazon Rainforest. The accommodations ranged from standard to superior but all of them were excellent in cleanliness and location. Our Viva agent was knowledgeable about the locations and advised us on many ideas for us to incorporate into our itinerary. She was open to our needs and wants, altering the itinerary many times until we were happy. We appreciated all the extra information both in the itinerary e.g. if you have time... and in the extra notes provided e.g. tips. We felt extremely safe and well cared for throughout the trip, particularly with the excellent pickup/drop-off services at the airports and hotels for all our excursions. The guides and drivers provided excellent quality of care including being timely, knowledgeable, caring, and friendly. Our flights were booked as soon as they were available from the airlines which kept the cost as low as possible especially as we were travelling our the Xmas period. Viva ensured that my husband's dietary needs as a celiac were catered for throughout our trip with excellent communication for all of our providers including the flights and cruise. The use of What's App for on-the-ground contact, communication, and service in each country was excellent and also added to our sense of care/safety so that we could relax and really embrace our journey.

I traveled to Antarctica with Viva aboard a chartered ship in November 2023 and had the most amazing time. Tara and Rachel are fantastic at their jobs and experts at planning, organizing and creating the absolute perfect adventure trip. We came into the trip not knowing much of anyone onboard and left feeling like friends with most of the other passengers. Not only was the ship exquisite but we were well informed of what to expect while onboard the ship and in our travels to Argentina too. If I book another expedition style trip to the polar regions and beyond I will certainly book through Viva.