Honesty, pricing, process and quality scores appear once 5 customers have rated them.
About Vaya Adventures
At Vaya we create exceptional tailor-made adventures for travelers in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, South & Central America, and the Polar regions (Antarctica and the Arctic). Each journey is carefully created by our deeply knowledgeable Destination Specialists, who weave in best-in-class private local guides, thoughtfully designed excursions and truly superb accommodations, resulting in one of a kind private tours that get you off the beaten path and in to see the highlights. We carefully handpick top-notch family run properties, boutique hotels, historic haciendas, safari camps, eco-lodges and the finest small expedition ships. Whether you choose one of our suggested itineraries or opt for a completely customized adventure, Vaya will help you get to truly know these extraordinary places and the people that call them home.Since our start in 2004, we’ve been dedicated to culturally and environmentally responsible travel. Vaya is a leader in supporting conservation and community-based initiatives in the destinations we take our travelers. For example, Vaya’s founder and president, Jim Lutz, serves as president of the International Galápagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA), a nonprofit organization of 40 companies that is focused on protecting the fragile Galapagos Islands ecosystems while improving education and opportunities for the people who live there.Check us out on Trustpilot, Google, and Yelp, as well as on our testimonials page to see why our travelers rate us 5 stars. Over 98% of our travelers would recommend us to a friend or travel with us again. Why not find out for yourself why?We look forward to getting to know you and your travel style, sharing more about what sets Vaya apart, and helping you discover some of the planet’s most sensational corners.
Vaya Adventures (vayaadventures.com) has 479 customer reviews on Folks Told, with an average rating of 5.0 out of 5.
Our trip was planned perfectly with our hotels in great locations for easy access to our excursions. Our guides and drivers were always on time and very knowledgeable. Everything ran smoothly and we never had a worry. We would definitely use Vaya Adventures again!
LC
Leona C.
Egypt had been on our wish list for…
Egypt had been on our wish list for many years but to be honest, we were concerned about the safety of visiting there. We worked with Vaya on an itinerary and addressed our concern about the political situation in the Mideast. Heather patiently went through many tweaks of the schedule, the itinerary, how many people would travel together...and we finally went at the beginning of December 2025. And we even had a last minute cancellation by one of our group of 6 on the Friday before our Sunday departure from NYC !
Heather took everything in stride without a sign of frustration and with great empathy, and helped us figure out every possible workable scenario. Five of us ended up going, (3- 65+ years olds, my 36 year old son and 32 year old daughter).
From the moment we landed in Cairo after midnight, we were met by a lovely, welcoming Vaya representative Mohammed. He directed us through the lines and had our visas all ready for us ahead of time! He was kind and understanding, and seeing how tired we were from our travel, suggested that he re-arrange our next day's activities to allow us to get some sleep. An incredibly wise and thoughtful suggestion based on his decades of experience. He continued to appear to help us through check-ins for other flights, for checking into hotels, for getting us through airport security which could sometimes be difficult. He was a welcome face at every point.
Throughout the trip we also had skillful experienced drivers, knowledgable greeters to guide us through the airports and through check-ins at the best hotels, and two amazing professional and highly educated Egyptologist guides, Sharif and Emad. Very quickly, any of the concerns we held about Egypt were dispelled. I wrote home immediately to friends who had expressed concern about traveling there, that we were wrong. I would not hesitate to recommend people to visit! I never felt unsafe. I never felt unwelcome (quite the contrary). I never sensed any anti-American sentiment. The people are diverse and moderate in their beliefs. Their economy also depends on tourism so they are extremely sensitive to tourists' needs.
I learned much about the long history of Egypt and admire their accomplishments even more than I already did. At each stop, our guide would talk to us about what we would see, what it meant, and this way we would understand the meaning of the sight, not just see it. We were also privileged to be taken to some "special" sights - like entering a lesser known off the beaten track nobleman's tomb, riding camels to a "secret" place to go to be photographed at the pyramids without anyone else there, having lunch at a friend's tiny rooftop restaurant with amazing fried eggplant, and even eating the best gelato only in Alexandria!
The trip was packed and in retrospect, I wish we had added a few more days, even just to relax and enjoy the incredible hotels (Especially the Four Seasons Cairo Nile Plaza, Sofitel Old Legend Cataract Aswan). But the inside knowledge and decades of experience of the guides (and of the Vaya partners on the ground) was invaluable. They knew the traffic patterns in Cairo. They knew what time Nile cruise ship passengers disembarked and their time schedules for each sight. They knew the best way to see the GEM and bypass the crowds. They knew what time to start the day to make our day the most efficient.
I have been telling people that this is probably the best trip I have taken - for the adventure, the history, the people and the tour group for making it all so seamless and comfortable. I consider myself to be obsessive and organized especially when traveling, and I was immensely pleased with the quality of the entire private tour. I have not stopped raving about it since I've returned and have already convinced two friends to use Vaya and go!
BC
bonnie C.
the Amazing Egypt truly lived up to our…
the Amazing Egypt truly lived up to our expectations and beyond ! Vaya's staff both the front-end planning team and the local staff were outstanding. Their attention to details and proactiveness and responsiveness made all the logistics seamless and enabled us to thoroughly enjoy the breathtaking sights and the history and culture. Thank you!
KC
Ken C.
Vaya has exceeded my expectations now on 2 trips
I had used Vaya in the past (Galapagos trip) and was very pleased. For this safari trip to Kenya, one of their African specialists was very knowledgeable and was able to customize a trip for us considering our wishes and budget. The process of back and forth was easy and went well. We wound up with an incredible trip with all of the logistics and accommodations planned perfectly.
AS
Arizza S.
Vaya Adventures (Noraly Barillas…
Vaya Adventures (Noraly Barillas specifically) put a 5-star trip together from beginning to end. Exactly what I wanted as a solo traveler going on a once in a lifetime trip to Easter Island!
KG
KG
Heather/Stephanie were awesome - South Africa tirp
Heather/Stephanie took tremendous care and consideration into making our trip very special. They helped plan, coordinated and guided us through the entire process. We had a fantastic time and created a very memorable experience.
BA
Barbara
Our trip to Spain was amazing!
Our trip to Spain was amazing! We stayed at 6 hotels in 5 different cities, with easy transitions between each. The trip was well planned by Vaya, and gave us the opportunity to be deeply immersed in the culture of each of the different regions. We thoroughly enjoyed this trip.
BE
BethAnn
We recently had a bucket list adventure…
We recently had a bucket list adventure in Tanzania and Kenya, superbly planned and organized by Vaya. It was an amazing trip and I can’t thank the staff enough for ensuring safety, fun, adventure, ease of travel and access to mind blowing wilderness. Hopefully there will be a next time adventure and I will definitely use Vaya to make the magic happen.