Thank you very much for all your help. It was a great experience and I appreciate everything you did.

Thanks again.

Hi Lori,

This note is a long time coming. Last year my wife and I took a cruise from Ft Lauderdale to Costa Rica. Our travel agent, Joyce Violet of Aircruise & Tours, arranged hotel and private car transferred through you to the Gaia Hotel.

This was our first visit to the country and the hotel. We found the hotel to be first class ( 5 Stars). Firstly the driver was waiting on the pier for us as we departed the ship. As a matter of fact he had made contact with the ship to see if we had disembarked or not. His vehicle was clean and he was courteous although his English was modest, but certainly miles ahead our knowledge of Spanish. While driving to the hotel he stopped at a store for a restroom break. When we got back to the car he was waiting with two bottles of chilled water. We then went across the river and he against stopped so we could walk back on the bridge and view a group of crocodiles sunning themselves on the shore.

Shortly after that one of the owners of the hotel called him on his cell phone to check on our progress and then speak to us and welcome us to Costa Rica. That was a first ever experience like that. Upon arrival at the property one of the owner’s, Thomas, was on hand to greet us and supervise the transfer of our luggage from the car to the hotels carts. We soon found that nearly all of the staff spoke good English and it seemed to us that they had been trained by one of our favorite cruise lines (Regent Seven Seas or Crystal Line). They were most accommodating, knew the property well and were most anxious to make our stay pleasant and comfortable. After checking in we proceeded to our room (suite?) and found it to most spacious, clean, well decorated and first class. We chose the master bedroom and settled in. The living room in the unit had a flat screen TV, music system, lots of comfortable furniture. This unit could easily accommodate 4-6 people without falling over each other. It also had a connecting door in the living room so that two families traveling together could move between the units on that level.

We had dinner in the hotel dining room and had an excellent meal. The 2 or 3 pools were most inviting. The second day we took a shuttle cart down to the main gate and asked for a ride into town. Thomas again was on hand and told us that he would take us in. He took one of the hotel’s cars and drove us around. He didn’t just take us to down, but did a mini tour including detailed information about the area and the development of the property. We did discover that the support staff, maids, bus boys and gardeners did not speak much if any English, but were courteous and helpful.

I would heartily recommend your service and this property to anyone visiting Manuel Antonio area.

Next we had another private car take us to San Jose, the capital where we stayed the Marriott by the airport. The room was small, expensive and there was a charge for everything except water and soap. I later described the property as one step above a homeless shelter. The hotel just had no personality. The reception desk was fine, the food 3 or 4 stars, the waiter 5 stars, but it left us flat. We had an early morning plane and had to be picked up at 0600. While closing one of our bags the zipper failed and the hotel located a maintenance man with a roll of duct tape to solve our dilemma. The day in between we had a Canopy Tour (Zip line) and White Water Rafting trip. The ride was lengthy in the car over not first class roads. The driver was waiting for us and his van was clean. Upon arrival at the base camp we found that we were the only people who had reservations for the zip lines and raft trip. We truly enjoy zip lines this one was very good. Because we were the only ones on the trip there was no waiting and the guides paced it to our desires. The last run was back to base camp over a valley and river. We had a good lunch and then the White Water Rafting. Again we were the only ones so had a personalized trip. Since it had rained the preceding two days we also had a scout guide in a kayak go ahead of us. That guide took my wife’s waterproof digital camera and got some great shots of us. We would give that tour a 4.5 to 5.0.

The only real downer was the $20.00 (cash) ransom the government extracted from us to leave the country.

Thank you again for excellent accommodations at the Gaia Hotel, the drivers and the Canopy/White Water trip.

The honeymoon was great. I would recommend The Springs Resort to everybody going to that area. The volcano walk and zip lining Tour were fun. We got some really good pictures. The canyoneering tour was amazing. I would recommend that one to everybody as well. Lots of fun and good food at the end. The RIU was nice, but not as nice at the Springs. Still, overall a nice resort. All ground services were on time and in nice vehicles.

Muchas Gracias Pacuare Lodge proprietor and dedicated staff! We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here. Our lodge, the food and service were world class! We praise God for creating such a wonderful river, rainforest, the birds, fauna, and all the living creatures within the 340 hectares.

We also thank you for caring so much about preserving the surrounding eco-system and helping the neighboring population and villages. The Pacuare Lodge culture is incredible and will long be one of our fondest memories.

Thank you for being one of the people who made my recent visit to Costa Rica such a memorable event!

This trip to Costa Rica was a dream come true for me. Many years ago, I was provided an opportunity to visit your beautiful country but I became ill and unable to travel at that time. After all these years, the opportunity arose once again and I decided to visit Costa Rica! I have so many wonderful stories to share!

My best to you!

Lori,

Sorry this has taken so long to get to you but I did want to send something in writing even though I have expressed my appreciation to you in person. Trudy and I had a great time in Panama for my 40th Class Reunion in March. Since my mother still lives there, I have been to Panama over ten times after graduation, but this is the first trip where I let someone else make the arrangements. This is definitely the way to go!

The benefits of not having to worry about getting from the airport to the hotel in the incredible Panamanian traffic, especially at night, was worth whatever premium we paid. The accommodations were excellent. We made our own booking for the last night when we returned from David and I must note that we were on the rear side of the hotel, overlooking the gas storage tanks and not on the front looking out over the canal as with your accommodations. You definitely have some connections!

All the activities were well planned and went very smoothly. Having the small bus to take us from place to place with a driver and tour guide was indeed a blessing. Although most of us had grown up in Panama, it was most interesting to have someone explain the changes. The guides and drivers were incredibly courteous, professional, informative and friendly. I realize that you work with some local firms to provide the services, but I would be hard pressed to tell who worked for Condor or for another company. It was all very seamless. We heard a number of complaints from those who did not make the arrangements through Condor, and who, to save a few dollars made their own plans, regarding the royal treatment we were getting which they did not have.

Finally, and I could add a number of other instances where Condor and your staff excelled, I truly appreciated all the follow up before the trip to make sure we had all the necessary paperwork for a smooth trip and stay. I would highly recommend Condor to anyone who is traveling to Panama and I am sure your other excursions are as professional as to this destination. I would certainly consider traveling with Condor again.

Trudy and I thank you and all your staff.

We had a very nice time! It was great to go to the different locations with different climates.

El Otro Lado was very unique and the cottage was excellent. We were right in the water. It was very interesting having meals in the dining room. Very private with so few guests. The food was excellent.

The Panamonte was very nice too. Our room was great. We had a fireplace on our porch. The rafting was great and the zip line was fun. Food was very reasonable.

The Bristol was terrific. The rooms were very elegant. The tour worked out great.

Thanks for everything! Brian

For a five night stay in Panama City, my wife and I used Condor Tours and Travel for hotel & airport transport, arranging tickets for the Partial Canal tour as well as ground transportation to and from Flamenco Pier and a private half day city and canal tour (Miraflores Locks Museum and Observation Building).

Ground transportation was excellent. The driver was punctual and the vehicle very clean. Our driver’s English was on the same level as our knowledge of Spanish and we had fun trying to communicate with each other. Our tour guide for the half-day city and canal tour was extremely knowledgeable and presented interesting facts about the history of Panama City during our tour of Casco Viejo and Panama Viejo. She answered our many questions about life in Panama, other places to visit in the city and was a very good person to have as our introduction to Panama.

We are planning other trips to Central and South America and will not hesitate to have Condor Tours and Travel help us with our preparation.

I want to thank you for putting together an absolutely awesome trip to Panama. Considering that we represented 4 generations, it had to be a challenge and it turned out great.

I did back down on the zip line. Figured at age 77, I didn't need to do that. Shelly and Cody loved it and said that I would have liked it too. On the jungle boat tour we opted for fishing instead of kayaking, and it was good to have a choice that wasn't quite so physical.

Both hotels were wonderful. The Gamboa Resort and Tours were our favorite. Everyone was so nice and accommodating. We got back late from the jungle boat tour and a marina employee actually took us up to the hotel in his pickup.

The Westin Playa Bonita was beautiful and sooo modern. Loved the view of Taboga Island which brought back happy memories.

Again, thank you so much for our wonderful trip to Panama.

Foremost, my family agreed this was one of the BEST family vacations for a host of reasons.

The Panamanians were as I remember - wonderful and cordial. The Canal tour was awesome as recommended by Lori. The last day visiting the Santa Clara Beach was awesome - got burned like I used to when in High School!

We had a great time and everything went seamlessly - great job Condor!

Hi Lori,

My daughter and I are home from South America and I thought I’d write to tell give you some feedback about our trip. First of all, we absolutely loved our hotel in the Sacred Valley, the Inka Terra. The setting was absolutely magnificent and the service was far beyond our highest expectations. Our room was wonderful, the food was wonderful, everything about the place was wonderful. Our next stop was Machu Picchu. When we got picked up by Condor Tours in Cusco we were 2 hours late as we missed our connecting flight in Lima due to delayed baggage. Although we were late our guide had a big smile on his face and was waiting there to greet us. We also enjoyed our stay in Cusco and were pleased with the hotel. We both really loved Peru and would consider returning at a later date. Thanks for everything, Myra

Hi Lori!

Hope you are doing well and that business has been good for you. What a wonderful trip we all had and thanks so much for your attention to everything you planned for us.

I liked the dancing that they do (at the BOMA dinner) and all the drums are great for me…. that part was wonderful. We were unbelievably impressed with the staff at both Makutsi and Chobe and Victoria Falls. The folks were beyond very nice and beyond very helpful. They were exceptional. We could see that some were newer on the job than others, but nonetheless exceptional with wanting to help and service you. Wayne Maddams was soooooooooooo cool! Big kudos to him‼ Capetown was great.

Lori, I even tried warthog and impala‼ - very good and actually I couldn't really tell! Food was great and I didn't walk away from any meal hungry!

Thanks again for everything that you did to make our vacation remarkable and truly memorable.

WHAT A WONDERFUL AFRICAN SAFARI TRIP !!!!!!!

Hello To Lori,

(1) WE LOVED EVERYTHING: OUR BEST PLACE WAS CHOBE SAFARI LODGE. Those Animal Safaris were fabulous and so was staying at that Wonderful Beautiful Lodge !!!!

(2) WE LOVED THE VICTORIA FALLS HOTEL, so gorgeous there. We also loved going to the local "Boma Dinner".

(3) At the MAKUTSI SAFARI FARM… We really enjoyed Heika Weber. She is such a Super Lady. ALL THE WORKERS AT MAKUTSI WERE WONDERFUL & THE SAFARI GUIDES WERE ALL SO SMART ABOUT ALL THE ANIMALS WE SAW ON OUR SAFARI'S & SURROUNDINGS. We were so very very close to these magnificant animals in South Africa. IT WAS AWESOME, but also scary at the same time when these wonderful animals were 3-5 feet away from us !!!!! There were giraffes running and our Safari Guide stopped our jeep and we just watched them run in front of us... The food was also FABULOUS !!!

(4) Lastly we loved our stay in Cape Town at the PROTEA PRESIDENT HOTEL. We all loved Wayne Maddams, who was our Private Guide for 9 hours taking us all around on our Cape Point Tour on Wednesday HE WAS VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE & A SUPER GREAT GUIDE. We all loved the places you picked for us to see while in Cape Town. It was a beautiful day, sunny & 75. The next day they expected more rain...... So it was a super gorgeous day & a great ending for our trip!!!!

IT TRULY WAS A "TRIP OF A LIFETIME"!!!!!

LORI, THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR WORK ON OUR TRIP.