Testimonials
My wife and I had planned a 3-week trip to South America for January 2021 (Patagonia, Atacama Desert, Uyuni Salt Flats), with Jacada's Berni de Luca and Lily Bunker, but it had to be cancelled to due COVID-19. Given the substantial expenses of the trip, I was worried that our prior deposit would be lost. However, Berni was instrumental in ensuring that the deposit could be applied to a re-scheduled trip in January 2022. She and her Jacada team re-engineered our itinerary and reservations for a year later (with special attention to my photography needs and timing of the trip to ensure a new (dark moon) for star photography over Atacama). Berni, Lily, and the Jacada team have been very client-focused, and excellent communicators of travel updates. We used Jacada for a trip to New Zealand in 2017 which was exceptional and we have returned to them as a our travel vendor. Their teams of regional expertise, client advocacy, and attention to detail will have us coming back to them for our future trips.
Our family travelled to the Galapagos over Christmas 2020. We booked our trip in January as the holiday period is in high demand and there are a limited number of spots. Lily Bunker was our agent, reviewed options and steered us to the right vessel and I thought we were done. The world changed with Covid. Jacarda provided us with updates, answered long lists of questions and offered to move our booking into 2021. In the end we decided to go and thoroughly enjoyed the trip (recommend seven days on La Pinta). The covid protocols getting to the boat and onboard were excellent. Transfers are much more complicated due to the covid requirements and we were provided with enough warning and support to ensure it all went smoothly.
We have had the pleasure to work with Lily Bunker on our trip to Costa Rica. Although we haven't traveled yet she has been very patient and kind in listening to what we want and making great suggestions. Because of covid we have had to move our trip back and we're still hoping we will be able to make it work. She has been great about making all the necessary changes and still getting us what we want. Highly recommend working with her! It's certainly challenging times to be making travel plans.
With the world in turmoil and desperate for a week’s break I turned to Jacarda for help organising a holiday. It seemed particularly crucial to have additional support given the potential pitfalls of organising a holiday during COVID. Kate was absolutely fantastic pulling together a fabulous itinerary for a family trip to Sweden. She planned with painstaking care, was incredibly helpful and creative with ideas and suggestions and listened carefully to our requests. Just as we were about to book we went into lockdown and all plans were put on hold. The minute we knew that travel would again be possible Kate sprang into action and with two weeks notice, a few minor tweaks, lots of enthusiasm and with additional support from the wonderful Heather we were good to go. No detail was overlooked, the planning was flawless, every aspect of the trip went to plan, each activity and location were aware of our preferences and requirements, service and accommodation were outstanding and we so appreciated the way they kept tabs on our progress and the personal surprise touches from Kate and Heather at each of our destinations not to mention the brilliant response to short notice requests during the trip. Jacarda smoothed the way so that all we needed to focus on was enjoying ourselves. The activities in remote locations kept us outdoors and away from any COVID concerns. It was a fabulous break and I cannot recommend Jacarda (especially Kate and Heather!) highly enough
My family and I have used Jacada to explore the world on three occasions so far. There is a reason we keep coming back. If you want to hear about how wonderful our trips have been, please look at my previous 5-star reviews.
I would like to share our most recent experience. Due to COVID our summer trip to South Africa and beyond was postponed, then canceled. However, Jacada took care of rebooking our trip for the summer of 2022. The process was seamless and stress-free. We once again have a delightful trip to look forward to.
A special shoutout to Emily Opie and Joyce Choi. They continue to make us feel special and a part of the Jacada family.
I would highly recommend Jacada to fulfill your travel needs. Simply put–they are wonderful.
As Covid-19 unfolded, our Antarctica trip planned for December 2020 was in jeopardy.
Berni and her team were frequently in touch with us through email and video calls. Once it was clear that travelling was not possible, she was very quick in securing places for next year, including transferring security deposits, changing flights etc.
The company was also gracefully postponing payment requirements.
We now keep our fingers crossed that 2021 will be our year to go south, way down south...
We started planning our trip just as the covid virus forced lockdowns. We had We began planning a trip for 8 to Patagonian in January. We had been working with David, but with the covid virus shutdowns everywhere, we paused our planning for several months. When we resumed, Jen Richt took over. The transition was seamless. Jen has very ably completed our plans. She has always responded promptly to every question and has done an outstanding job in getting out trip booked. She has been very professional, capable and pleasant to work with. At this writing, we are now working with Berni de Luca as our concierge. She has also been very responsive, professional and pleasant to work with. She will be our contact in South America while we are on our trip. We are very happy with everyone from Jacada, and we are going to use Jacada again for our next big trip (probably in 2022).
Wish I could do every trip with Jacada. They have the best connections so every trip with them you get to see and do the best activities! I highly recommend them!
Rachel and Gloria at Jacada Travel planned an epic trip to SE Asia for myself and 3 others. They listened carefully to our desires, kept us informed, and developed a perfect itinerary! We were able to make adjustments and suggestions along the way. Recommendations were
shared and I feel as though we were actively involved in the planning of our trip. The trip surpassed what we could have hoped for in every way. The local guides were awesome! They were professional, knowledgeable, punctual, accommodating, flexible, and very kind - all this with an excellent sense of humor. I would definitely consider another trip with Jacada and recommend them to my friends and family.
Jacada does a great job planning and organizing our family trips -- so far we've been on two, one to Malaysia and one to India. Rachel O'Leary is a great help, as is the whole Jacada team. Very well done!
All was great
This is our 3rd trip with Jacada Travel and certainly will not be our last. From start to finish Jacada provided us with the best service, recommendations and information for our 6 week South East Asia trip. Keith, our excellent travel adviser, took all the time we needed to help us plan our awesome adventure. Attention to detail is what Jacada does best, and this trip exceeded our expectations. The pace was perfect for us. I have a slight disability and Keith made sure that we had ample time in each place and tours were booked with pacing in mind. Accommodations were all fabulous. We asked for "down time" and it was built in - strategically placed twice during the trip for 4 days of rest and relaxation on island luxury resorts. The guides provided in all places were excellent and in addition to the regular highlights in each country, we had "off the beaten tourist path" experiences - visited remote villages and interacted with the locals. We would highly recommend Jacada Travel if you are looking for a personalized luxury trip.
Great customer care and personalized experiences!
An absolutely wonderful experience. Everyone we interacted with from Jacada was a consummate professional with great communication and attention to detail. The trip design was exactly what we asked for, 5 stars the whole way.
My one request to make the experience perfect would be increased transparency about the details of the trip. I wholly admit this need might be my own character flaw having difficulty conceding control. I found myself uncertain about what to expect next during multiple portions of the trip. Regardless of that, every single detail was attended to and were we cared for with white gloves the entire way. No ball got dropped.
Highly recommended.
Overall a satisfying and memorable one!
Services were great, able trying their best to tackle and meet your last-minute changes/requests. The land operators at most of the destinations were professional enough to provide information and assistance during the trip. The hotels arranged throughout the entire trip were just terrific - does make the best out of the stay!
Restaurants and gourmets selected were also one fine touch! Though we missed Central in Lima due to late booking but the alternative option in Astrid Y Gaston was definitely worth comparing!
Airstream Campus in Bolivia was an unique experience! Photographer arranged for the day in Salt Flats - FANTABULOUS!
That being said, there are parts to be improved - such as the itineraries selected in Mexico - do prefer more scenic activities rather than shopping in the touristic booths and sheds. Information provided by the Tour Guide was sometimes confusing, giving us a bit of hard time during the application of visa in Bolivia; as well as the pick up transfer to Chile. I believe if these were being attended to for improvement. I'd not hesitate to rate a 5 star in my next trip with Jacada Travel.
We have never had such a thoughtfully conceived itinerary proposed to us and which was executed well beyond even our highest expectations.
The local staff were fully briefed on what was to be included at each stop and (with one minor exception) they flawlessly followed through.
And we cannot say enough about our travel designer, Sarah Kounnou. She really "knows her stuff"! She gave us superb advice and was able to meet our every need. And she monitored how the journey was unfolding each and every day. She is a star and was instrumental in our 5 star rating of Jacada.
We are now in the process of arranging another journey with Jacada and we cannot wait for it to begin.
As first-time travelers to Asia, we were so grateful that we had Jacada to help us with the details. From the amazing hotels to the lovely excursions, we certainly had a memorable trip.
Our guides were very knowledgeable which helped us get so much more out of our Cambodian and Thai experience. Jacada and the people who guided us through our journey were reliable and completely flexible. I’m extremely comfortable recommending Jacada Travel to friends and family!
Our small group of four arranged a private tour of Southeast Asia using Rachel in London and Gloria in Hong Kong as our primary contacts. We gave them a general idea of the countries we wanted to visit, and they set up everything, including timing in each city and activities. The hotels were uniformly excellent, as were the drivers and local guides who really enhanced our experience with their own personal life experiences and intimate knowledge of the local environs, food, culture and politics. We all felt that the trip exceeded our expectations in every way. There was truly value for the money, and honestly we felt the cost was extremely reasonable for the experience we had. We cannot recommend Jacada and these particular representatives strongly enough. It would have been impossible to plan this vacation on our own. We are looking forward to using Jacada in the future and recommend the without reservation.
we felt taken care all throughout the journey.
Jacada was with us.
Communication before the trip was excellent and all guides and excursions were great as well.
Excellent in every respect! Jacob took the time to discern our needs and travel style and crafted the perfect holiday - we were completely spoiled. Thank you very much - we certainly recommend Jacada.
Excellent itinerary; perfectly matched our interest
Provided great accommodation
Staff is very friendly and helpful. Our flight has been cancelled from Cusco to Lima, James who was our local staff provided a good arrangement until our flight was rescheduled.
We appreciated Jacada's flexibility, follow up and attentiveness, our trip would not have been as fantastic as it turned out. The locations, restaurants and hotels were great picks. The itinerary gave us a wonderful taste of the beautiful areas of Chile.
Our guide in Santiago, Juan Manuel, was absolutely amazing. We really felt he went above and beyond taking care of us, through the airport (multiple times), the tour and being accessible throughout our trip. Juan is caring, positive, knowledgeable and just plain fun to be around. He really is a wonderful representative of Jacada. And Susanne, special thanks to you on your insight in planning and Roberto for making the adjustments to our schedule. The attention to detail you provided (including our in country flight seat selection) were spot on, and the bottle of bubbly and massage at our hotel arrivals were greatly appreciated!
We had an absolutely incredible and memorable time in Chile, which was only made possible by “Team Jacada”!
Another excellent Jacada trip . This time we wnt to Thailand . Although we were close to " the eye of the coronavirus storm " it didn't impact our holiday . In fact it enhanced it . No crowds !!! Now is a great time to travel !!
Gordon and Hilary
It's not enough to say perfect because everything Jacada has provided for us on two trips (Japan, Argentina/Chili) has been so far beyond our expectations. And I do mean everything: the hotels, the guides, suggestions, any and all transportation. Most importantly in times of trouble (I broke my leg) the support is incredible.
We wouldn't travel without them again.
Jacada continues to impress with their personal approach to travel planning and their choice of local tour partners. We’ve never had any glitches during our trips with Jacada. They really do go above and beyond. The fact that the travel planners have a lot of local knowledge goes a long way to ensuring a wonderful trip experience.
We, a group of 18 seasoned travellers, have just accomplished our 1-month journey to Antarctic and South America. We have safely returned home - Hong Kong.
This is definitely one of our VERY MEMORABLE travel journey together. Kit, Berni and earlier on, Jobi, the travel planners of Jacada Travel are top on our list of APPRECIATION.
Patagonia, Antarctica (in traveling pass the Polar Circle) and Atacama Desert are three VERY EXTRAORDINARY places on earth, of their habitat, wild life, landscape and weather. Their articulated planning and ground staff support have enabled ordinary travellers like us to enjoy and participate comfortably in all the activities in these places. Also, learnt a lot and gaining new travel experiences.
The stop at Iguazu for the waterfalls and rainforest is a very nice interlude between these unique landscapes and urban settings. Gran Melia certainly provides a relax environment to start winding down.
Buenos Aires is very worth visiting for its beautiful townscape, tango and as well a stop for some urban shopping and nice restaurants, before going home.
The Tierra Hotels that they have arranged are very recommendable, the local guides are highly professional and attentive and the transports are efficient. We also had very good meals and drinks in this trip, yet the activities through the whole trip have kept us in good fitness.
Certainly looking forward to work with Jacada Travel again.
Our trip was spectacular, and every detail organized by Jacada was perfect. I was especially appreciative of the communication during the planning process. We changed our ideas many times and Kit was always helpful and informative with each idea that we had.
Very helpful, knowledgeable and friendly people helped us set up a great honeymoon. We will definitely use Jacada again!
Working with Tess and Angela at Jacada was an excellent experience; they helped my wife and me to design and plan our honeymoon to South Africa. The trip was fantastic and the quality of every component was top notch - five stars all the way, including the hotels, transfers, tour guides, etc. We'll definitely use Jacada in the future to plan our next big trip.
Fabulous vacation, best vacation ever. Every transportation detail was meticulously planned. We thoroughly enjoyed every travel guide and driver, all were very knowledgeable and personable. The accommodations were all luxurious, the staff were all top notch. We especially enjoyed Matetsi on the Zambezi River, the Oyster Box in Durban and Chitwa Chitwa in Sabi Sands.
The safari drives were amazing! The guides and rangers were so knowledgeable. We were able to see so much wildlife. The big five, and the baby big five. Loved seeing a nursing baby elephant, a nursing lion cub, and baby warthogs, rhino, giraffe, and leopard cubs.
We saw lions mating, a leopard who killed an impala pulling it up a tree, a pack of wild dogs and so much more!
Vic falls was incredible! We had a perfect day.
Restaurant reservations worked very well, thank you so much Angela.
Our favorite fine dining restaurant meal was the tasting menu paired with beverages at Epice in Franschhoek. We also enjoyed the Stack, The Harbor House for the seafood platter, MarEsol for chicken peri-peri, The Test Kitchen, and Fish and Shell in the Cape. In Durban we enjoyed the Oyster Box, and also Cane cutters for their fabulous Bunny Chow. The Chefs at the lodges were excellent as well.
We look forward to traveling with Jacada for many more perfectly executed travel experiences.
Thanks so much to Rebecca and Angela, you were both awesome!!
Everything was well taken care of from the start of the trip to the end! Jacada chooses the best guides and they feel more like friends than guides! I love that the trip is Customized and tailored so you can choose what you enjoy at your own pace. There were little surprises left by the JACADA team along the way which has an additional touch to the trip. Thank you JACADA for such a great trip!
PERFECTION. Our African Safari was a treasure. Kit, thank you for an itinerary of magical places and delightful people. Angela, thank you for helping us schedule in country and for getting us to Lion's Head. You are both professional and a pleasure to work with!
Kate and Gilda created the most wonderful, uniquely special, family trip for us to Vietnam and Cambodia. We were active, enjoying the beauty, history, culture, food. Four days before we were due to depart, I fractured my foot and Gilda made seamless adjustments to the schedule for extra assistance; everything was taken care of!! I was able to participate and fully enjoy. We look forward to our next booking with Jacada. Cannot recommend highly enough!
The whole trip was fantastic. The guides were knowledgable, flexible and friendly.
Myanmar was a great family holiday, would definitely go back again.
Our trip to Patagonia was wonderful! Our Jacada travel experts Emily and Berni were always accessible and very accommodating throughout the planning process —answering our questions and adjusting our plans as needed. All of our connections worked flawlessly, and all of our guides were knowledgeable and entertaining. Would highly recommend this company for Patagonia travel.
Handle flight delay and re-book flight and accommodation promptly and nicely.
Good hotel recommendation and arrangement.
Detail and accurate travel information.
Good meet and greet in the airport.
Helpful in airport check-in
We had Jacada plan our trip to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Every step of journey was flawlessly planned and executed by Jacada. Our drivers and vehicles were great. They greeted us at each airport. Hotels were fabulous. The special events planned by Jacada were great fun, and I can't imagine us trying to plan all that Jacada put together for us. The added value of their knowledge and ability to get things arranged is superior. We will be using them on the next planned trip.
Taking care of details and quick response to requests. Good service.
This was an outstanding tour of Spain Every guide, Driver and Hotel were very good. The breakfasts were excellent. The Hotels and the locations were just beautiful You did a very good job of meeting our needs.
I will definitely recommend Jacada Travel and I hope to use your services in the future.
I loved Spain and the cities you picked for our tours.
Thank you
Cathy Bird
It was amazing!
Our trip was well organized,our guide and driver Tohr was excellent!
We did not like the Floss hotel too noisy and busy.
We had a wonderful vacation and everything was taken care of for us! There was unbelievable service with wonderful people!
Amazing experience and great to deal with.
Jacada made our honeymoon to South Africa the most seamless, luxurious experience. Every logistical detail was carefully thought out and executed, and the lodges and hotels were top notch! We could not be happier and are so grateful to Rebecca and the Jacada team for making it so memorable for us. We will certainly be repeat customers!
I used Jacada Travel for 2 overseas trips in 2019 – a couple of the best vacations I've ever experienced. From the trip planning and itinerary selection, to the hotel choices, transportation, tours and chosen guides, Jacada has been nothing short of excellent. Incredible attention to detail and service, courteous and knowledgeable staff who are experts in each area. They listen to what you require from your vacation and are able to craft a highly personal itinerary with activities and meals to make the trip special and memorable. The best part: I barely had to lift a finger. They took care of it all so I had no travel stress. I plan to use their service for many more trips to come.
We recently traveled to Southeast Asia using Jacada and overall it was a great trip. The guides were ALWAYS reliable and knowledgeable, we had an excellent mix of activities and excursions, the hotels were spot on to our expectations. It was a fairly complex trip, 4 countries over three weeks, and all transfers and local flights went off smoothly.
I think what stands out the most for me was that at the start of the planning process I spoke on the phone with our travel planner Sarah for about 30-45 minutes and described to her what we were looking for, what we liked, what we wanted to avoid. And here is the best part: she really listened to what I said and delivered an experience tailored to us. I find this a bit unique these days.
I would definitely recommend Jacada and will use them again.
My husband and I have taken several Jacada trips and we are so spoiled that we cannot book with anyone else. The experiences are unforgettable and the guides are amazingly knowledgeable. If you want a unique, once in a lifetime excursion, look not further. Jacada is simply the best!
The arrangements, accommodations and personalized service is always top notch! Could not have been any better.
Rebecca made great suggestions and worked hard to personalize our plans. We had the trip of a lifetime. The highlighs were her suggestions of Tanda Tula and the trip to the Cape of Good Hope. We were guided to the Cape of Good Hope by Paul who was a font of knowledge and an outstanding photographer. Tanda Tula was also amazing and Chad was another great photographer and helpful tutor. There were a couple of hiccups, one of which was incorrectly scheduling the last full day. Another detail was that the flight out of Hoedspruit was scheduled for the wrong day. This was quickly remedied, but a little disconcerting because they barely had room to get us on the correct flight. So, attention to a few details would have been helpful. Overall, we would love to work with Rebecca again.
