I saw the collection of letters under the heading “Rating Foreign Tour Companies That Customize Tours” (Aug. ’14, pg. 42). As a tour operator here in the US doing customized tours to China and Tibet for the past 25 years, I wanted to provide my perspective and some insight for travelers considering planning private tours with foreign firms rather than those based in the US.
Yvonne Richter of San Diego, California, wrote (Jan. ’14, pg. 29), “My husband, Juergen, and I like to take customized private tours, and we prefer to use tour companies and guides that are local to the destinations. I would like travelers to write in about foreign tour companies and guides they’ve used for private tours, including as many of the following details as possible:
Carolyn Jones — Bend, OR
I spent 11 nights in Nepal, Oct. 22-Nov. 2, 2012, and four in Bhutan, Nov. 2-6, with a private guide and driver in each country. The trip was arranged by Himalaya Holiday Service (G.P.O. Box No. 9831, Kathmandu, Nepal; phone/fax +977 1438 9594), and I was very happy with its itinerary and organization.
Marcia Brandes; Atlanta, GA
We traveled in Bulgaria with a private guide, Patrick Peneff (phone +359 887 364 711), July 27-Aug. 9, 2013, and had a wonderful time. We discovered Patrick through an article in ITN (Jan. ’13, pg. 32).
by Bill Altaffer; San Diego, CA
If you’re planning to visit the Greek island of Rhodes on your own, my husband, Don, and I can recommend the guide services of Manos Sabanis, the owner of Manos-Going Travel Agency (Hotel Bel Air, City of Rhodes, Isle of Rhodes, Greece 85101; phone/fax +30 22410 25418, e-mail info@manosgoing.com).
My husband, David, and I wanted to see more of Latvia than just its capital. About six months before our June 27-July 1, 2012, visit, we contacted the guide Ieva Sala (email ieva-sala@inbox.lv) through Tours-by-Locals (Vancouver, BC, Canada; 866/844-6783).
