The Lure of Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua)

Customer Reviews

• 

  Ned

  · April 29th, 2024
  There were only three of us on this trip. One guide handled Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador; the second guide met us in Nicaragua. The first guide was quite good--a guide who also drove. The second was not as good--a driver who also guided. We had local guides throughout, and they handled the details, especially in Nicaragua. I understand that this is a low-to-moderate trip, but still our introduction to Nicaragua came as a surprise. We made a "beach landing," wading in from about eight inches of water. In general, I got what I paid for.
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  Trip date: March 2024
• 

  Katherine

  · November 27th, 2023
  We have just returned from the Central America tour run by Penguin Tours. This was a 13-day tour, although since the first & last day were just pickup/return to airport, there were actually 11 days touring across 4 countries. Although the sites visited were excellent and well worth visiting, the guides, transport & hotels were definitely lacking. SITES: The cultural tour included a number of Mayan ruins (Iximche & Copan), several walking city tours (Antigua, Suchitoto, Leon, Granada) and several boat tours, nature visits etc. Unfortunately, parts of the tour were changed without the group having been notified in advance, and in fact even when this was pointed out to the guides, they were unresponsive. HOTELS: The hotels that are provided in the tour description are NOT the hotels where we stayed. A revised list of hotels was provided a few days before we left. They were almost all further away from the centre, and in some cases (such as Omotepe Island), far away from available restaurants etc (lunches & dinners were not included on the tour). Facilities were inconsistent (some rooms had AC, some only fans, some nothing). In some cases, drinking water was provided, sometimes not. In some cases, the reservations (number of people per room, etc) did not match what was required. TRANSPORT: We were 10 on the tour, and had a minibus provided for most of the time. In some cases, the transfers were not ideal: having to take our suitcases off the minibus to take a ferry & reload the suitcases on another minibus on the other side for example. However, the biggest problem with the transport was the lack of organization: we regularly left on VERY long drives after noon, stopping for needlessly long lunches (because nothing was pre-ordered and we had to wait 30-40 minutes for service), arriving after dark too many times at the hotels. This was a lack of organization on the guides’ part, and we were never given detailed info to know what to expect. GUIDES: We had 2 guides for 10 people: 1 guide from Penguin travel, the other a local Guatemalan guide. The guide from Penguin was responsible for our check-in at the hotels. The local guide provided info on Guatemala for the first few days, but for the rest of the sites in the other 3 countries, local guides from Honduras, El Salvador & Nicaragua provided local walking tours. Other than that, our 2 guides were busy talking (Spanish) with the driver and having beer at every rest stop & lunch. Many times, we weren’t told in advance where/when we were stopping for lunch, and they did not provide guidance/suggestions for dinner or free time. Fortunately, most of the group were seasoned travellers, and could adapt. This was very disappointing, since we had heard excellent reviews about Penguin Travel for other (European) tours. WE WOULD 100% RECOMMEND A TOUR OF CENTRAL AMERICA, BUT NOT WITH PENGUIN TOURS.
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  Penguin Travel commented on this review

  Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear you were not completely satisfied with our services. We will consider all your comments and will make sure we do better in the future. Best regards, Penguin Travel Team
  Trip date: October 2023
• KM

  KELLY

  · November 18th, 2023
  Very UNORGANIZED and SUBSTANDARD accommodations. EVERY single hotel listed was changed to a lower class/cost place. Itinerary was changed from what was advertised. Tour leader and tour guide (two people) for a group of 10 was overkill and we never knew who was actually leading our group. Our tour guide always stayed at a different location than us and we all wondered why. Why did our Guatemalan guide accompany us during the entire trip when we had local guides in the other countries? We had to collectively ask for the boat tour on Lake Suchitlan as advertised and then were expected to thank our tour leader!
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  Penguin Travel commented on this review

  Hello Kelly, we appreciate your feedback. We’re very sorry to hear that this experience did not meet your expectations. We will look into the issues you mentioned and will make sure we do better in the future. We wish you safe and happy travels. Best... Show more
  Trip date: October 2023
• 

  Katherine

  · November 13th, 2023
  We have just returned from the Central America tour run by Penguin Tours. This was a 13-day tour, although since the first & last day were just pickup/return to airport, there were actually 11 days touring across 4 countries. Although the sites visited were excellent (5 on 5) and well worth visiting, the guides, transport & hotels were definitely lacking (2 on 5). SITES: The cultural tour included a number of Mayan ruins (Iximche & Copan), several walking city tours (Antigua, Suchitoto, Leon, Granada) and several boat tours, nature visits etc. Unfortunately, parts of the tour were changed without the group having been notified in advance, and in fact even when this was pointed out to the guides, they were unresponsive. HOTELS: The hotels that are provided in the tour description are NOT the hotels where we stayed. A revised list of hotels was provided a few days before we left. They were almost all further away from the centre, and in some cases (such as Omotepe Island), far away from available restaurants etc (lunches & dinners were not included on the tour). Facilities were inconsistent (some rooms had AC, some only fans, some nothing). In some cases, drinking water was provided, sometimes not. In some cases, the reservations (number of people per room, etc) did not match what was required. TRANSPORT: We were 10 on the tour, and had a minibus provided for most of the time. In some cases, the transfers were not ideal: having to take our suitcases off the minibus to take a ferry & reload the suitcases on another minibus on the other side for example. However, the biggest problem with the transport was the lack of organization: we regularly left on VERY long drives after noon, stopping for needlessly long lunches (because nothing was pre-ordered and we had to wait 30-40 minutes for service), arriving after dark too many times at the hotels. This was a lack of organization on the guides’ part, and we were never given detailed info to know what to expect. GUIDES: We had 2 guides for 10 people: 1 guide from Penguin travel, the other a local Guatemalan guide. The guide from Penguin was responsible for our check-in at the hotels. The local guide provided info on Guatemala for the first few days, but for the rest of the sites in the other 3 countries, local guides from Honduras, El Salvador & Nicaragua provided local walking tours. Other than that, our 2 guides were busy talking (Spanish) with the driver and having beer at every rest stop & lunch. Many times, we weren’t told in advance where/when we were stopping for lunch, and they did not provide guidance/suggestions for dinner or free time. Fortunately, most of the group were seasoned travellers, and could adapt. This was very disappointing, since we had heard excellent reviews about Penguin Travel for other (European) tours. WE WOULD 100% RECOMMEND A TOUR OF CENTRAL AMERICA, BUT NOT WITH PENGUIN TOURS.
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  Penguin Travel commented on this review

  Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear you were not completely satisfied with our services. We will consider all your comments and will make sure we do better in the future. Best regards, Penguin Travel Team
  Trip date: October 2023
• 

  eve

  · March 16th, 2023
  It's adventure travel
  

  Penguin Travel commented on this review

  Thank you for your feedback, Eve. We are looking forward to having you on another trip with Penguin Travel in the future.
  Trip date: March 2023
• 

  Jeanne

  · March 15th, 2023
  Central America is a third world location with incredible scenery and great people. But be prepared for cold showers.
  

  Penguin Travel commented on this review

  Hello Jeanne, thank you for your feedback. We hope you enjoyed the trip overall and the issue mentioned did not ruin the overall experience for you. We wish you safe and happy travels and look forward to having you on another one of our trips in the... Show more
  Trip date: February 2023
• A

  Anonymous

  · March 13th, 2023
  very well organized with enough space for own discoveries
  

  Penguin Travel commented on this review

  Thank you for your feedback. We are looking forward to having you on another trip with Penguin Travel in the future.
  Trip date: February 2023
• CS

  Cathy

  · March 9th, 2023
  Diverse and well traveled group. Some of the hotels were sub standard. Tour guides were excellent. Accolades to Eli, especially. Itinerary could use a little tweaking to break up the long travel days. Overall, a 4.5 out of 5. Would definitely use Penguin again.
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  Penguin Travel commented on this review

  Hello Cathy, we are happy to hear you enjoyed your trip with Penguin Travel. We appreciate your feedback and suggestions. We are looking forward to having you on another tour of ours in the future.
  Trip date: February 2023