Whether you’re snorkeling with sea lions in the clear blue waters of the Galapagos Islands, or sipping sundowners on the tan-colored plains of the Serengeti, you know that we are there for you anytime.
Our 24-hour White Glove Service® guest assistance begins before you leave home with our pre-departure documents. You receive a welcome phone call after you arrive at your destination. Our WGS® guest assistance team maintains contact at various times throughout your journey to insure that your trip runs smoothly or address any problem that may arise. WGS® can be tailored to your particular needs and interests. Big Five is leading the way in guest relations for the travel industry.
We love to hear from you.
To be honest we are having the trip of a lifetime. As I write we are sitting in the open air lounge area of Xaranna looking out onto the delta. It’s a paradise. We are the only clients here so you can imagine the attention. Our guide is truly amazing, immensely knowledgeable and charming. This morning’s safari was much longer than at Tswalu, 6 am to 11am. Weather is co operating, lovely and warm but not unbearable. So far we have seen 4 of the big 5, the leopard being the only one not to be found.
Just off on our next safari.
BigFive he has done a fantastic job in organizing the Africa part of this truly outstanding adventure.
L. P
My Clients had an incredible vacation and aside from the screw ups from the airlines (nothing to do with Big Five), I think it’s safe to say that this was a trip of a lifetime for them. They were thoroughly impressed with all the services Big Five provided while in destination and I have no doubt that we will see many referrals from them in the future.
Take care and thanks again for everything you guys did on this trip for them.
B.
My Father was recently aboard on of your tours of the Galapagos Islands.
I wanted to take this time to thank your staff for taking care of him. For as long as I can remember, my father has been an avid bird watcher and my siblings and I were very excited to hear about his plans to visit the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador when he first began to make travel arrangements six months ago. This was the trip of a lifetime for him and it was exciting to hear that he would get a chance to do something he loved in such a unique place. He had not really traveled while my mother was still alive and I was very happy and excited he was going to get a chance to take this trip. He had researched everything about the islands and was looking forward to exploring with you tour group. He also sent a message hone a few days into his trip that he was having a great time and had seen a lot of beautiful and interesting things.
Unfortunately, my father fell and broke his hip while he was on one of the islands. Your staff and and guide on the ground aided him in getting to a medical facility on the islands and your tour guide stayed with him until arrangements could be made to get him back to the United States.
When we first heard, my siblings and I were terrified. Here was my father on an island with no real hospital and it was unclear how he was going to make it back home. He also wasn’t able to finish his trip of a lifetime. Fortunately, a few days and several phone calls later, with the aid of your company, my sisters were able to make arrangements with his insurance to get him air-ambulanced home. He has had surgery and rehab and is now home and walking around a bit (albeit with the use of a walker). The surgery went well and are hopeful he’ll be back to normal soon.
More than anything, my sibling and I wanted to thank you for taking care of our dad. We wanted to especially thank your tour guide and those who helped him get medical care quickly. It really meant a lot to my father that your guide stayed with him until he was able to be back home. He said the tour guide was one of the few at the medical center on the Galapagos who spoke English and it was comforting for him to communicate with someone. Thank you all for making sure that he was taken care of on your tour! It is greatly appreciated!
Thank you also for sending flowers. Your tour group is really a class act and we appreciate all you have done for our family!
Sincerely,
J.N & Family
We were referred to BigFive, and I have to say I was very glad that we went with Big Five. It was just so nice and easy to travel with you. Even with one glitch in Cusco/lima/Quito transfer. Our bags were not checked thru to Quito and there was a long wait for bags in Lima, but our representative had to work hard to get them on the flight to Quito & he Succeeded!
We felt so comfortable with everything that we would travel again with BigFive, maybe to Southeast Asia.
Sincerely,
J.& S.K
Our travel agent recommended Big Five and this was our very first trip to Brazil & Argentina. Everything was excellent beyond our expectations!
I would certainly consider to travel again with BigFive and would like to Visit perhaps. Israel, Asia & Australia.
Thank you for a wonderful trip!
M & L H
Our travel agent was excellent, always available for questioning, very knowledgeable and with prompt service. Also it was very nice to have regular “ Check –ins” from Big Five along the way.
We would like to visit Asia next.
Our trip was Super – Thank you!
E.B
Hi Big Five,
We just wanted to let you know how impressed we were with the treatment and tour arranged by Big Five Tours. Every step along the way, things ran smoothly and efficiently with the only hitch being my leaving my camera bag with camera and iPad in one of the transfer cars when returning to the ship in Mumbai!
We were met in Cochin as expected and the tour of the city although fast (because of time constraints) was good. We were dropped off at the airport in good time and had no problems getting onto the plane to Delhi.
We were met in Delhi by the guide and driver and were driven to our hotel. The guide was very informative and gave us a running description along the way and made all the registration arrangements in the hotel. The accommodation was excellent and after dinner we strolled down the street to observe a religious celebration on the street beside a Temple! We were not bothered and found it interesting to see all the action.
We were met the following morning by our guide, and driver who were very helpful getting us checked out of the hotel and on the road. The guide spoke excellent English and we were at the Presidents Palace when they changed the Guard! We spent some time in Old Delhi and had the experience of a bicycle driven rickshaw trip through the Silver Street, which was quite an experience! Both guest & I were amazed that the driver could pedal a bike with the two of us heavy weights sitting in the seat and guide riding along on the back of the rickshaw! The rickshaw driver earned a well-deserved tip!
We then started the driving trip to Agra during which the guide gave us a detailed description of the Moghul Dynasty and history. Although the drive was on the super highway, we were able to see and view the countryside and observe the many women working the farm fields with very few men in view! The drive through Agra on the way to our hotel was an eye opener as the city is quite crowded and very dirty. I believe we expected more of the same in Cochin & Delhi but Agra was two or three steps behind them. We checked into our very comfortable hotel and had a couple of hours on our own before the driver and the guide were back to take us to the Taj Mahal.
We spend the rest of the day at the Taj. It is quite a structure and the history is amazing. There were many many visitors that day but the guide knew where to go and what to tell us so things worked out quite well. I believe both guest’s and my index fingers on our right hands were sore from taking so many pictures! Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate completely as it was quite cloudy so we did not see the sunset on the Taj Mahal but the day had been so successful that we were not disappointed. Because the same cloudy conditions were predicted for the following morning we decided that we would not go to the Taj for the morning sunrise but spend more time at the Agra Fort. We returned to the hotel, which was as close to Five Star as you could get and had a quiet night with a couple of glasses of wine before we turned-in.
The next morning we were met with the guide and driver early and headed off to the Agra Fort. The Guide knew his stuff and we had a great three hours at the Fort before we started the return trip to Delhi. The one interesting thing at the Fort was that 4 or 5 different Indian females wanted to have their picture taken with the guest – I’m not sure if it was the white hair or white skin that was the attraction! The trip back to Delhi was good and I am glad we asked for and received a guide for the car trips. He was quite informative and tried to answer all our questions. We arrived back in Delhi a little early so the guide decided to give an unscheduled side trip to the Slave Mosque on our way to the airport. This is an old Mosque where they used some Hindu Temple artifacts when building the Mosque. It was very busy with many visitors but the guide did a great job of explaining the history and showing us the defaced Hindu artifacts that were part of the Mosque. From there we headed off to the airport and were dropped off in enough time so were able to go through the process of getting to the gate! Since we were travelling on an Air India international flight (a continuation of the New York through Delhi to Mumbai), we were assisted through the airport, security and customs by an Air India employee which made the check-in quite easy. I know the guides were speaking to each other over the two day period and it all seemed to work like a fine running watch.
We were met with a driver and guide at the Mumbai airport and they drove us to the port. There was a little bit of confusion at the port gate as the first car could not continue onto the Cruise Terminal. We had to get out of the first car (with the beggars tapping at the window and junk sellers showing their wares), go through a couple of stages of security, get into the second car and then drive 250 meters to the Terminal where we got onboard for the night. It was after dinner that I realized I had not brought my camera case with camera and iPad onboard. I contacted the Big Five emergency service (White Glove Service® guest assistance) by email and asked for the name of the company who had driven us from the airport to the Port. Fortunately, the lady who had met us at the Port Gate in the evening and had driven us to the terminal was scheduled to meet us in the morning. She arrive at the ship the following morning to transfer us out of the port to the Mumbai driver and new guide and she had my camera! They realized I had left it in the car the previous evening but did not have permission to re-enter the port so brought it back in the morning. This was my entire fault but the reaction from Big Five and the transfer people were all that you could expect and I appreciate that I still have my camera and iPad even though I lost a fair amount of sleep worrying about the misplacement!
The guided trip through Mumbai was quite memorable with the traffic being the greatest excitement! Unfortunately for us, the Dabbawala workers were on strike so there were no lunches delivered the morning we were in Mumbai! We did see the Dhobi Ghat and guest was amazed that after washing all the clothes in that toxic water, the workers jumped in for a bath after the washing was completed! We were returned to the ship by early afternoon and we decided that we would rest onboard rather than venturing out into the city on our own for the rest of the day.
The arrangements you & Big Five made for our 4 days in India were just excellent and I am happy that we did not rely on the cruise ship to make the more expensive and less detailed arrangements. We had a great time seeing that part of the world and I am not too sure we will be returning any time soon. The tour with Big Five not only met our expectations but exceeded them by a wide margin. You are more than welcome to pass this note along to your contact at Big Five as we thoroughly enjoyed the India experience.
Sincerely,
T.A
Dear BigFive,
You’ve definitely shown these clients what it means to have a Tour Operator on your side – – haven’t you?
Great team and I am very, very pleased.
Cordially,
L.C
You all did an excellent job on our clients tour and went above and beyond to help them not only with their flight issues, but they had a great time in spite of delays and lost luggage.
We will definitely be using Big Five again for their travels. And the good news is they do travel frequently.
Will be in touch and thanks again!!
K.K
Travel Agent
This was a dream trip! The accommodations at all three locations were incredible, as was the service. It was just paradise and well worth the money. Thank you so much!
Sincerely,
J & ST
Everything went as we expected it, our contacts were very helpful and accommodating and our guides in Lima & Machu Pichu were excellent!
Thank you for making this trip so amaizing cant wait to travel with you again.
We would love to visit Egypt in the fueture.
Sincerely,
M & V T
Dear BigFive,
We recently returned home from what was, without a doubt, the best trip ever!!!
We enjoyed absolutely every activity we participated in, every hotel, and
every wonderful location. It was so much more than we expected!!!
All of our guides were pleasant, personable, knowledgeable and
flexible. They certainly did all they could to make this a trip of a
lifetime. They took us to see everything we expressed an interest in and
then some!!
Our hotels were outstanding!!! We were upgraded at nearly all of
the hotels, and they were worth the trip on their own. The Hotel was
so nice, they celebrated my birthday with a cake, a bouquet of flowers, a note
from the manager and head of housekeeping, and finally an invitation to a
cocktail party held on my birthday!! What a memorable day.
The Hotel in Siem Reap was elegant and colonial with the most
amazingly huge pool I have ever seen in a city hotel. The hotel in Luang Prabang was so contemporary and beautiful, it was a real
surprise. In fact Luang Prabang was a very pleasant surprise. Chiang Mai was gorgeous!!! with a room on a private floor with an enormous balcony and an outdoor shower!! All of the hotels were convenient and we were able to do things
on our own because they were close to everything.
I wish I could give you a specific activity and call it the highlight of our
trip but that would be impossible!! There was something nearly every day
that would fall in that category. But there were 2 days that were truly
highlights – the day in Siem Reap when we saw the smaller temples, went on the
tethered balloon ride over Angkor Wat, and then went for an evening cruise on the
moat with cocktails and canapés. What a DAY!!! The second
fabulous day was in Chiang Mai when in one day we visited: an elephant
camp (I love elephants) and went on a long elephant ride through the hills, an
orchid plantation (gorgeous), hill tribes (very interesting), and then Tiger
Kingdom (a sanctuary not on the itinerary). We felt truly lucky to have
been able to enjoy so many wonderful things on one trip.
Thank you so much for everything, it was incredible and I know trips like that
do not just ‘happen’. You did an amazing job putting this together and we
appreciate the effort it took to make this trip absolutely wonderful!!!
Thank you, thank you!!
I just wanted to let you know that we had an outstanding time in India. This trip was truly one of the best trips we’ve taken in the past few years. And, this time around was better than the time my wife and I went in 2001, with help of your company and the tour of course. Your guys in Varanasi were very knowledgeable; and (the guide) that spent time with us in Delhi and Udaipur was wonderful. Also, thank you again for inviting us to your guy’s (country manager) house in Delhi for the festival, we had such a wonderful time. We really enjoyed this trip, and I wanted to thank you for all your help and the services that made it one of the best ever.
M.
Dear BigFive,
I met my clients again this afternoon at the Coffee lodge before heading to JRO for their flight to NBO. They were full of praises for their guide, saying that their a good spotter!
They saw almost everything that they wished for, but the most exiting part of it was the Migration that was all around their camp.
All the accommodations were very upscale and unique. Friendly people / good food. “we will definitely recommend Big Five Tours& Expeditions to our family and friends.”
Best regards,
J.
This morning my client was on Saferi and she had an amazing time and couldn’t thank us enough for all the arrangements. She said they had an amazing game viewing and was sad they decided to miss their last game drive this morning as the other guests saw Lions. She also said the service was superb and couldn’t fault anything. Many thanks
L.
How much do I love working with Big Five and your Destination Specialists. I think we were both in tears as we just had wanted to provide my clients with what they wanted. You all are the BEST as always. Thank you for taking such great care of them and proving why relationships count!!!
M.
Thanks. It was amazing! I wish we could have stayed longer in the islands and done more land touring. The islands really are very different even though they are close together. We saw every creature imaginable both under and above water. Thank you for all your help in making things come together. It really took a lot of the hassle out of it for us. I’m already dreaming up the next big trip.
M.A
We had a really wonderful trips. Pickups and flights were all on time–Wonderful! Our Pre Departure information was very helpful and our quides knew exactly what we wanted to do, they answered all of our questions, defiantly will travel again with Big Five again.
Thanks to your excellent team work & I’m sure my client will continue to explore the world with you . I had mentioned to your Destination Specialiste that he’s intersested in visiting Asia and he will look for your expertise in China at that time.
Regards with thanks,
My Clients arrived from the Galapagos Islands last Friday and raved about their trip. On Saturday they booked a trip to Otavalo and enjoyed their day very much. Overall they had a good time in Ecuador.
