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10 of the Best US Tour Operators and Travel companies

Discovering such a huge region often isn’t simple, but these tours do it best, outlining the best spots for going deep or spending time visiting must-see and must-do attractions.

In addition to tour companies that specialize in the region, we’ve put together a list of tours that will take you from coast to coast, focus on the areas you want to explore, cover a vast amount of history, and show you the extreme diversity found throughout these spectacular scenery.

1. Quasar Expeditions

Quasar Expeditions caters to thrill seekers. The advanced travel arrangements are intended to transport visitors to the time of James Cook or Charles Darwin. “The guides from Quasar Expeditions are the absolute, enthusiastic key players to the Galápagos Islands,” one reader wrote.

“Their optimism and appreciation of the islands and wildlife inspires you to connect in their drive and passion to preserve the region’s unique features and habitat while permitting minimal tourist revenue.”  Another person exclaimed, “Outstanding does not begin to explain our experience with Quasar Expeditions. In every way, you are exceptional!” 

While Quasar is famous for its Galápagos trips, it also gets rave reviews for its Patagonia vacation packages, which take guests into the best parts of Chile’s Torres del Paine and Argentina’s Los Glaciares — two of the world’s most beautiful national parks.

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2. Mountain Lodges of Peru

Mountain Lodges of Peru runs four separate lodges along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. All of the lodges, including Salkantay, Wayra, Colpa, and Lucma, have cozy reading rooms, fireplaces, outdoor jacuzzis, central heating, and Peruvian/International cuisine.

The water in all four lodges is safe to drink. The Trekker’s Lodges (Wayra, Colpa, and Lucma) each have six private double rooms with private bathrooms (hot and cold water). Rooms can accommodate a maximum of four people. The lodges are fully furnished and serviced.

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3. DuVine Cycling + Adventure Co.

Colorado, USA. Photo by Alexis Mette

DuVine’s luxe bike tours are differentiated by outstanding food and wine experiences, unique and engaging vacation packages, and high-quality equipment and support. DuVine is connected to family-run restaurants, less-travelled pathways, and boutique accommodations, such as farmhouses or live-aboard yachts, thanks to cycling guides who know each area intimately and and provide their personal community.

The DuVine experience provides a deeper understanding of a location that surpasses tourism, full of simple, authentic, and meaningful memories that you can carry with you forever, with European destinations, the United States, Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

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4. Geographic Expeditions

Extraordinary holiday destinations are difficult to sort, let alone locate.
That is what distinguishes GeoEx. They  can arrange for you to sip sweet mint tea with hijab-clad women in Iran, track lions for scientific research in Kenya, or stretch your own soba noodles under the watchful eye of a master maker in Japan.

They don’t travel to escape. They  immerse themselves in other countries and cultures to appreciate their various points of view. As a company, they carefully consider where to invest and cultivate relationships in order to increase the profit to the local community.

In Tanzania, they work with a camp devoted to supporting community women, and giant tortoise research in the Galapagos is supported by the ships they sail on.

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5. Tauck

Colorado, USA. Photo by Alexis Mette

Tauck now provides more than 150 all-inclusive, guided adventures to over 70 countries and all seven continents. Land trips, European river cruises, small ship ocean cruises, Tauck Bridges family travel journeys, and special Tauck events are among the travel categories provided by Tauck.

Tauck continues to be a family-owned and managed business. The chairman is Arthur Tauck, Jr. Four of Arthur Tauck’s five children have worked for or are directly employed in the company, and his son-in-law is also associated. Tauck’s current CEO and board director is Dan Mahar.

Tauck is a member of the United States Tour Operators Association and the National Tour Association, which was established in 1954 as the United States Tour Brokers Association by Arthur Tauck, Jr.

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6. TCS World Travel

TCS World Travel, the pioneer in the private jet industry, has established and powered nearly 300 deluxe jet expeditions—more than anyone else—as well as over 1,000 luxury custom travel journeys. They have extensive knowledge and a global network for prestigious organizations such as National Geographic Expeditions, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and Smithsonian Journeys.

Circumnavigate the world or discover a continent in they customized Boeing aircraft, which can be equipped with 50 or 80 comfortable seats. Enjoy the convenience and elegance of flying direct between locations. Choose from a plethora of different activities, all of which are limited to small groups of 6 to 12 people.

These specially designed tour packages, formed from the ground up by our specialists for individuals or groups of any size, provide the kind of special access that goes well beyond regular tour company amenities. Travel anywhere in the world with friends, family, or on your own on a custom-tailored, all-inclusive adventure.

You decide where you want to go, when you want to go, and how you want to get there. The rest is handled by they experts.

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7. VBT Bicycling Vacations

Travel the world while keeping your wallet happy. They  low prices provide lodging, most meals (and meal suggestions for Self-Guided tours), free use of a custom made VBT bicycle and helmet, Ride with GPS voice navigation, two local trip leaders and a dedicated support vehicle (Guided tours), a local host (Self-Guided tours), luggage transfers, and bike maintenance—as well as insider access to the area’s best kept secrets.

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8. Wilderness Travel

NYC crowd on the street. Photo by Renan Kamikoga-

There are a few adventure travel companies that truly define the category. Among them is wilderness travel. The 40-year-old company designs extraordinary itineraries, has legions of repeat customers, and has a natural gift for exploring or reconnecting lost corners of the globe.

Clients frequently tell them that while traveling with their guides, they received a spontaneous college course on coral reef ecosystem, the Italian Renaissance, or Inca heritage. They just have that passion that makes you want to sit close to them and listen to stories late into the night.

These are  found  by collaborating with their other guides, asking them to keep an eye out for the next rising archaeologist, marine biologist, or climber who wants to share their “home turf” with others. Many become so common that customers will ‘follow the leader’ on trip after trip to their next incredible journey.

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9. Thomson Family Adventures

They noticed that traveling as a family presents particular problems. So they set out to make family travel as active, educational, and enjoyable as possible. They  strive to be the leading company in the formation, execution, and sale of the best family adventures available.

They distinguish themselves from the rest of the tourism sector by adding new, special, and thrilling family options that enable their clients to experience holidays to areas all over the world in a completely new way.

They customize trip classes to your families’ set age variations and preferences, so they have Multi-Sport Adventures, Cultures & Civilizations Adventures, Natural Wonders and Wildlife Adventures, and trips primarily for Teens and Tweens or Older Teens and 20-Somethings.

They also offer Smithsonian Family Adventures through Smithsonian Journeys, and if any of their preselected travels aren’t precisely what your family is looking for, they can always organise Private, Customized Tours.

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10. Odysseys Unlimited

NYC crowd on the street. Photo by Renan Kamikoga-

Odysseys Unlimited provides a wide selection of tours and small ship cruises around the world, with lengths ranging from 10 days to three weeks: Europe on and off the beaten path; ocean, river, coastal, and private yacht cruises; tours in Africa and The Americas; findings in Asia and the Far East; and far-reaching adventures to South America, Australia, and the South Pacific – all with distinctive features accessible only to small groups.

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