In need of some wisdom

[Travis]

Hello,

I have been planning a walking trip to Peru this summer.

After some search on the internet, I found this company called ECS Travel . They are quite responsive and have answered all my questions.

Now I need to send them a deposit to secure two spaces in June for me and my wife. I am getting a cold feet since I only met this company through the internet.

Has anyone here used this company before? If so, would you please let me know if this company is legit? Will they take my deposit and simply disappear?

Thank you in advance.

[lightning]

I had similar feelings about my Costa Rica trip, but what helped me is cross-referencing information on the internet with popular travel guides such as Moon Handbooks and Lonely Planet. Seeing the company name repeated alleviated -some- trust issues...

[rickb]

Trivia Warning:

Cotraveler:

Don't you find it ironic that they sell Katadin brand water in Costa Rica, while they sell Pure Life (Nestle) Brand water in the States?

[chris]

A general word of advice: Trust yourself and your feelings. You could be completely wrong about the company. Or, you could be completely right. In the absence of evidence one way or another, I would go with your gut feeling. However, if you want to find out more about the company, go to www.lonelyplanet.com and log into the Thorn Tree. Post the same question in the South America subforum. There are lots of people there who should know. Ignore all the people who will shout at you to organize this when you get to the country (which you should do) and see what, instead, the intelligent types have to say.

[manzana]

Not to brag, but I have been all over the world. OK, maybe I am bragging. Peru was the neatest thing I have ever seen. Machu Pichu blew me away. I have a poster of it behind me here. I hope to go back before too long.
Amazing. Really amazing.


Apple in Austin

[Klaushike]

Dear Travis,

There are a couple of sites on the internet where you can look up customer
reviews about a company. The largest such site I am aware of is Eopinions
(www.eopinions.com). They have consumer reviews for all kinds of products,
including travel.

Another site that provides extensive coverage on tour operators is
InfoHub (www.infohub.com). I just found that ECS is
listed there:

http://www.infohub.com/TRAVEL/SIT/sit_pages/14106.html

Hope this helps.

[Klaushike]

Oops, sorry I gave the wrong link. The reviews can be seen at:

http://www.infohub.com/TRAVEL/SIT/top_pages/3791.html

You are

[MOWGLI]

I was a member of the South American Explorers Club for several years. They are located in Ithaca, NY. I always found the price well worth the investment. Of course, they cater more to the independent traveler.

Here's what I suggest you do if you're the adventurous type. Join the club. They have two clubhuses in Peru (lima & Cusco) where you can stop in and get up-to-date trip reports, hang out, store gear, and meet some cool folks. You can book a local guide, or plan an independent trip, all with the sage advise of recent travelrs. My 28-day trip to Ecuador in 94 was awesome, in large part because of the SAEC. Their website also has a buletin board where you can ask your questions.

If you're looking to walk the Inca Trail or go to Machu Picchu, save the big bucks, and join SAEC.

One last thing about the SAEC. The guy who writes their magazine is one of the funniest bastards on the planet. The price of membership is worth it alone for the magazine.

Have a blast Mate!

http://www.saexplorers.org/

[Travis]

OK, thank you all folks, now I feel much more reliefed. Turns up ESC does earn more credit.

[Klaushike]

I have also find another (TripAdvisor) site somehow similar to that mentioned above. A quick comparison between TripAdvisor and InfoHub, I
found the following:

* TripAdvisor's strength is in hotels, resorts, and attractions.

* InfoHub's strength is in specialty tour and lodging companies, such
as scuba diving operators, hunting lodges, hiking & trekking tour operators,
food & wine tour operators, etc.

TripAdvisor allows you to search based on travel destinations. InfoHub
allows you to search based on travel destinations and your hobbies (diving,
hunint, hiking, bicycle tour, cooking school, etc.).