Travendly — Local services in New York

I just finished the 8 day trip in Peru in a group of 9 travelers, and there are many things I liked about Travendly. Just to give some context, I’m in my early 30s, and I have done numerous planned group trips before from my previous academic and professional organizations. I chose Travendly because they were:

At the best price point for an 8-day international trip They seemed super well-planned and organized, taking the planning and day to day logistics worries away. I was under the impression, I would be traveling with other adventurous international explorers in a fun social bonding experience.

The Great: Hands down, the trip was a logistical dream in travel operations. We went to the crème de la crème of Southern Peru’s destinations (yes Machu Picchu, Rainbow mountain, other Incan ruins, and etc.) The transportation, hotels (roughly 2 to 3 star hotels), tickets, guides, and etc. was perfectly taken care of by the company and guide. Even when unavoidable local issues impacted travel, the guide and the support term quickly rearranged logistics for us smoothly. The local guides that were hired were all super friendly, professional, and considerate of our travel interests. They prepared us very well for our hikes and touring (i.e. best places to take pictures, things to pack, how often we should drink water, and etc.) Our Travendly guide was very friendly, approachable, and highly responsive. She seemed to know everything about everything and has simply terrific suggestions.

What Could Have Improved: At least on my trip, I did not sense much thought put forth into enhancing the social bonding of the trip for 9 strangers that didn’t know each other (save the very few that came together). We were pretty much thrown into traveling with each other for all 8 days. Sure there were some cliques that formed, but for the most part, I found the conversations to be rather superficial and for me social cohesion was generally lacking. In my previous organized trips, enhanced social bonding was programmed into the traveler experience with thing such as small groups, scavenger hunts, team building exercises, and etc.. I also found it very frustrating that little effort was made to account for the wide range of travel interests. In my group we had a few very noticeable key ranges: those with very little sense of adventure vs. those with high adventure Those extremely picky with food (i.e. meats/carbs only or strict vegetarian) vs. those open to all food options However, we were ushered to do everything together, so we all had to settle with the lowest common denominator. Sure, we could hypothetically do our own thing, and I did a few times when I could, but leaving a group dynamic was cast as a huge taboo. Had they organized more day/s options whereby people were formally/encouraged to break out into different interest groups, this problem could have been limited.

The Bad: In some ways, this “vacation” (as Travendly tells us we are on vacation) became more annoying for me than real life, because it devolved into a Instagram arms race whereby an enormous amount of time was focused in curating the perfect Instagram photos, attempting to get Travendly to use it on their Instagram.

If you want to travel to focus on your Instagram, Travendly is perfect for you. If you seek to travel to socially bond and satisfy your sense of adventure, Travendly can be especially helpful for that, but you may find some major shortcomings towards that goal.

Overall, I had a good experience, and I would potentially rebook with Travendly if there was another exciting destination. However, knowing what I know now, I would more carefully check out other adult travel programs that are focused more on building meaningful relationships over adventure travel (i.e. Flash Pack).

I think Travendly has a great thing going on, but it would be helpful if they better defined the travel experience they seek to create and tried to curate...

I have taken two trips with Travendly, and both were wonderful, life-changing adventures.

For both trips - This is a top-notch company for the solo traveler who still want a bit of company as well as a bit of help with the logistics. The Travendly staff is communicative and helpful; they answered all questions I had via e-mail very timely and thoroughly. That made me feel good going into both trips that everything would be organized and would run smoothly - which was very much the case. (Obviously traveling is full of the unexpected, and that just can't be avoided, but the company and the guides were there to help every time there was a hiccup.) It was great to have someone else organize rooms, meal times, tours, etc. so that logistics were not something I had to worry about. The local guides were very well chosen; they knew their cities and their histories, in addition to having fun and caring personalities.

Croatia - I took this trip in August/September (before the pandemic), and it surpassed every expectation I had. I knew little about Croatia before I booked the trip, and I'm so happy I chose to go with Travendly. I feel like I got to see a huge section of the country that would have been difficult to traverse on my own. We saw Split, Hvar, and Dubrovnik, as well as the countryside in those areas, and I feel that the mix of planned activities versus free time (during which there was always an option to hang out with the group!) was perfect. Our guide, Morgan, was such a gem, as well. Very kind and easy to approach with any concerns. Though she was not Croatian, she certainly knew how to keep everything running smoothly; and we were hooked up with enough local guides that I did not feel like I was missing out on any insider knowledge.

Morocco - I took this trip in October, as the pandemic was still going on. First, I was very impressed and heartened by Travendly's approach to traveling during the pandemic. There were reminder e-mails about things like vaccine cards and PCR tests, and they even organized a test for us before our return flight to the US. This could easily have been too overwhelming to handle on my own (especially in a place where I don't speak any of the local languages), so I was very grateful. I always felt like our safety was a priority, which is always important during travel and even more vital now.

More than that, Morocco has always been a dream destination of mine - and it blew all my dreams out of the water. It's a gorgeous place with a diverse, rich culture, amazing architecture, and delicious food. I included some photos, but the country really has to be experienced in person. It's a feast for, almost an assault on, all the senses! You'll be awed and humbled by this place, and happy that you were.

Travendly picked amazing accommodations; forget about the fact that they're "three star hotels"; each place we stayed was unique and run by caring and welcoming managers. Our guide, "Ali G," is not only one of the best travel guides I've had but genuinely a wonderful human being and it was a joy to be part of a small group led by such a caring and knowledgeable person. Being part of a group was definitely a huge plus of going with a company on a trip to Morocco. While I never felt unsafe, the conservative culture and language barriers might have been intimidating; and I am a seasoned solo traveler.

Finally I have to shout out to our group. We five became a little family over less than two weeks together. This was unique among all the trips I've ever been on, either solo or group. You'll always forge friendships abroad, but there was something very special about our dynamic. I'm very happy and grateful Travendly put...

I just went on the 11 day Argentina trip Dec 26th-Jan 5th 2020, I cannot recommend this trip enough! If you're thinking about it, don't, just book it immediately! I have mostly done long (1-2 month) solo travels and my budget has always been on the most minimal of funds, so this was huge for me to go outside of that for just 11 days. But honestly, knowing what I now know about this trip, I would have easily paid more! I was initially nervous about traveling with a group because I usually only do solo travel, but I hit a point in my life where I wanted to have shared experiences with others as well as connect with like minded people. It can be tough to find friends and family that are willing to do the same type of travel, so thats when I decided I wanted to be apart of a group travel company. I couldn't have chose a better company. The group was incredible, they perfectly matched us with the roommate survey they did, the itinerary was incredibly planned and executed, you could tell there was so much thought and planning that went into it. We were constantly on the go, which is what I love about travel, as well as there was so much I wanted to see in Argentina and this trip covered it all! Pablo our guide was such a luxury, he anticipated our needs, was flexible and accommodating, was always calm and completely took away any anxiety/fear that could potentially go along with being in a foreign country. Not to mention he was always so much fun and his jokes and humor endless! Bringing in the new year with our group in Buenos Aires was so much fun, truly started off 2020 right with a new travel family that will never be forgotten. I am a huge hiker and adventurer so the horseback riding trip in Mendoza is a MUST DO! I highly advise being in decent shape for the hikes in Patagonia, they were tough, but worth every step of the way. The views were literally to die for! I have never seen such beauty before like I did on the laguna de los tres hike to Fitz Roy, as well as the Perito Moreno glacier hike! This is an adventurers DREAM! The people in Argentina were so warm and welcoming and I always felt like family everywhere we went. The culture is so rich here and not to mention the wine, steak and empanadas were absolutely everything! Honestly, planning my trip back there as we speak so book that...