This is the most important person on your tour, this is the person that is going to take care of you, will be after you all the time.

A Tour Leader is that person who is an experienced guide that knows all those places you will visit.

It is not only a companion, is that person who will always be there for you from the beginning to the end of the expedition to solve possible problems en-route.

Tour Leader is that person/guide who is available 24/7 during the entire trip.

Besides having in hand all the documents related to the trip like maps, booklets of all places that will be visited, photocopies of passports, complete list of passengers, he/she will have all the numbers of phones needed to access to medical attention or for instance legal support as well as a complete list of places for that night out with the group.

This expert person knows everything about local people very well and knows that the most important thing is the “Well being” of our clients. He/she is a friend and also  a strict leader in charge of carrying on all activities as promised. He/she will “MAKE IT HAPPEN”

He/she is compromised with our principles and with the “service to our clients”

He/she as well, will be in permanent contact with the head office.

We know exactly that the reason number 1 to book one of our tours is to avoid HASSLE, so, that is something we took very seriously at the time of programming our expeditions. We will make sure everything goes smoothly.

Guaranteed Trip means that the expeditions chosen will run and you will have peace of mind since the moment you book the tour. That means you can plan and rely on the schedule.

We are very glad you are in this section, because it is according to the Service Level you choose, the type of accommodation and transportation you will get during your expedition. However, in all the levels you will get:

• HOSPITALITY

Bolivia in general is a very welcoming country and that will be reflected in your guide’s attention provided to you. They are committed to make of your visit the best experience ever.

• PROFESSIONALISM

Whether you chose a Standard or a 5 star expedition the conduct, quality of guiding of our guides will always be the same, they will behave always adhered to high standards of work.

Our guides are continuously updating their knowledge, meeting all of the requirements we ask at SAEX. They will show their expertise on the field and you will end up delighted.

We know that effective communication, along with the respect for others is the key for interacting, so be sure that our guides will meet up those qualities.

Our guides know that they have to present themselves in a manner consistent with the professional standards we ask them at SAEX. They know that teamwork, collaboration and  punctuality are essential. Therefore, they will always be focused on our customer’s satisfaction by prioritizing and meeting all the needs of our clients.

• 24/7 ASSISTANCE

This refers to that person that is paying attention to all of what is happening during your expedition. He/she will be texting all the time the guide and normally will text you at the end of each single day asking you whether you had a good day or not. This can be annoying at some point, but consider that the only thing that we are after is your satisfaction and if there is something that is going wrong we will very glad to fix or try to fix the problem you may have encountered. So please we will ask you to be in touch with us (Operations Division of SAEX) during your expedition.

• SAME TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
• Attractions themselves will be the same for all Levels of Service

SERVICE LEVELS

STANDARD

Accommodation.- Comfortable Hotels and Hostels class A.

Transport.- Cars in good condition, comfortable.

Eating.- Clean tourist and local restaurants.  

3 STARS

Accommodation.- Hotels 3 stars

Transport.- Only cars 2000 and up

Eating.- Only Restaurants at 3 stars hotels and recommended restaurants.

5 STARS/LUXURY

Accommodation.- Hotels 5 stars

Transport.- Only models 2018 and up

Eating.- Only Restaurants at 5 stars hotels and Top restaurants in the Cities. Chefs on expeditions to the Jungle or mountains.

You don’t have to worry if you are travelling Solo. We will not charge exorbitant prices to run the tour, contact us and we will give you the schedule and budget shaped to your needs.

Minimum members/participants?

No, we don’t a need a minimum of participants. All tours are guaranteed.

WANTING TO JOIN OTHER PEOPLE?

Check out the chapter of Set Departures for each expedition as soon as we get bookings we insert the date of departure so that you can consider join other people for your trips.

Just make sure to send us a request to insert a new departure if the departures advertised don’t suit you.

Our expeditions are unique at the time of talking about food. We have selected a few restaurants for lunch & Dinner where you can access while in the Cities, as you will receive a complete PDF about How to get around in La Paz and other big Cities, small towns or villages.

While in excursions, we always take a cook to ensure quality of the food.

Note: None of the expeditions will include soft drinks, beer, wine, spirits or any other alcoholic beverage.

Bottled water is included during excursions once we leave the cities, small towns or villages.

Sometimes purified water will be provided at remote places where it is hard to get bottled water.

We will need to get from you, your personal info about food preference or allergies so that we can provide the right extra supplies if you are veggie or vegan.

What food is included during the trip?

1. Breakfast: will be provided throughout the entire trip.
2. Lunch: will be provided during excursions outside the cities, small towns or villages. It will not be provided in cities, small towns or Villages. That will be reflected on the detailed day by day voucher/itinerary that will be sent to you at the time of booking
3. Dinner: will be provided during excursions outside the cities, small towns or villages. It will not be provided in cities, small towns or Villages. That will be reflected on the detailed day-by-day voucher/itinerary that will be sent to you at the time of booking

TREKKING

• Single/double/triple tents specially designed for High Mountain, Cloud Forest where camping is involved. Clients must specify whether which kind of tent will use at the time of booking.
• Thick foam mattress for all sizes.
• Kitchen tent
• Dining Tent for 6,9 & 12 pax. Bigger groups get two dining tents.
• Resting camping chairs.
• Camping showers
• Camping pillows
• Sleeping bags

CLIMBING

• Single/double/triple tents specially designed for High Mountain.
• Clients must specify whether which kind of tent will use at the time of booking.
• Thick foam mattress for all sizes.
• Kitchen tent
• Dining Tent for 6,9 & 12 pax. Bigger groups get two dining tents.
• Resting camping chairs
• Camping pillows
• Wind stopper – rain proof jacket
• Under Pants
• Wind stopper – rain proof Trousers
• Balaclava
• Wind stopper – rain proof Gloves
• Snow gaiters
• Head lamp
• Brand new rigid plastic climbing boots
• Crampons
• Ice axes
• Harnesses

RIVER TRIPS

• Traditional camping equipment. Single/double/triple mosquito nets specially designed for Rainforest where camping is involved. Clients must specify whether which kind of mosquito net  will use at the time of booking.
• Thick foam mattress for all sizes.
• Kitchen tent
• Dining Tent for 6,9 & 12 pax. Bigger groups get two dining tents.
• Resting camping chairs.
• Camping showers
• Camping pillows

BUS TRIPS

• Comfortable clean Neck Travel Pillow
• Wool blanket
• Rigid note pad on request

Thank you for joining one of our expeditions.  We want you to enjoy our expeditions the best you can as we will do our best to please you, so please read the following information and make sure you’re fully aware of the kind of expedition you will be undertaking by preferably  having a zoom/meet call with one of our travel consultants.

You  must tell us about your physical condition before you book an expedition so that you can choose the right tour that suits you. While some may be travelling with kids or elderly people, others can have some limited physical conditions. It is also possible to customise the tour to your needs so please feel free to contact us and inquire about it.

An adventure expedition can be quite demanding at some points and there are risks and hazards you may encounter. Long trips can sometimes be uncomfortable and tiring, we made sure to provide the least long trips possible by providing internal flights.

As Bolivians we will show you in some expeditions, parts of our Country that not all the tourists visit, so those facilities you get easily in a 1st world country can be really hard to get them here. We will tell you when is that going to happen.  Whether you take a cultural expedition or an extreme expedition, accommodation can be sometimes a tent in the wilderness or a house in rural areas, we made sure to get the best accommodation for you for each kind of trip accordingly.

Like no other Company and that’s due to our experience in the field we work in, we have included all the best activities for each part of our country on your tour so that the free days at the cities will be entirely to explore the Cities, Towns or Villages or just relax.

All participants who booked for an standard tour must carry their own bag and lift it into the Hotel and to the room or storage areas, or make a chain to unload a boat or raft when in the Jungle (Except 3 stars and 5 stars bookings).

For 3 stars and 5 stars booking there will always be extra staff to do the work.

It is required to be in good physical conditions (50% +) when trekking and climbing are involved, however 90 % of our expeditions include activities not very demanding to your health and body. If some members want to do certain expedition on which is involved trekking or climbing and his/her partner can’t trek or climb, we can always provide alternative activities during the other one is in  the trekking or climbing programme or just have those days free in the Cities or villages where the trekking or climbing programme start or finish, remember we are here to suit the trip to your needs

Inca Trail for instance is that famous trek that finishes right there in Machu Picchu and the trek itself can be demanding on first and second day. So at the time of booking if you are not in good physical condition let us know so that we will arrange that visit to Machu Picchu with no physical effort.

Whilst we don’t want to put anyone off experiencing one of our trips, we ask you to send us emails as much as you can or ask for a live chat/call so that we can clear up all of your doubts about the trip you have selected.

Please consult with your doctor and/or us if you have any doubts.

A positive attitude and an open mind is just as important as your ability to get involved and fully participate on your group trip.

As you may have noticed we have 3 classes of tours: standard, 3 stars & 5 stars tours.

Depending on the class of tour, we will provide while in the cities Hostels Class A, 3 & 5 stars hotels, single, double/twin or triple rooms as required by our clients with excellent private bathrooms. While in the forest or mountains, small towns and villages where it is hard to find accommodation according to the class you have chosen, in areas that you really want to see an attraction but facilities are not good, we will provide instead good quality tents when in excursions and nice conditioned and clean cabins or rooms in the villages or small towns.

Our travel consultant will provide accurate info on accommodation for your trip.

ONLAND

We have chosen very carefully the transport, from basic to luxury minibuses, buses, and 4 x 4 Toyota Land Cruisers depending on the type of tour you have chosen. We know that transport is always an issue that now you do not have to worry about.

Whenever a transfer is involved in order to reach Bus stops or Bus Terminals, all transfers in & out are included.

It is just a matter of organising schedules properly. That’s why all programmes were created to avoid “tiring days” as much as possible. If a tiring trip is involved, we ensured you will always have time to recover from it.

For inland flights all transfers are included!

AIR

All internal flights will be included on your chosen programme.

Tips to your tour leader/conductor/guide are not included. We have included this information based on the fact that while tips are not legally compulsory they are morally compulsory.

But, if you will be on a long trip visiting more than 10-20 places, you just can not be thinking about tipping  all the time as you will have different local guides and different drivers during your expedition. That is why your payment will include tips to luggage carriers at airports and/or bus terminals, personnel of hotels, waiters at restaurants where the company provides the meals, local guides, local cooks and drivers for any kind of transport organised and provided by the company.

Since tips are really greatly appreciated by Tour Leaders, guides, cooks, drivers, porters and all the people at your service, we will make sure through our TC tour conductor, all of those involved in the services get their tip opportunely.

SO WHICH ARE THE TIPS NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE?

Tips to your TC tour conductor/tour leader, tour guide who is from the beggining to the end with you, his/her tips are not included. But wait a second.. Only give tips when you receive excellent service and following is how you can go through it.

TOUR LEADERS TIPS:

Allow 2 to 7 usd per day per person for your Tour Leader who is going to be with you from the beginning to the end of your expedition. Therefore, if he/she did an exceptional work maybe will deserve a 7 usd tip per day per person. You can refuse to give tip if you found the tour leader’s work shabby.

On the last day he will give the group an envelope so that you can put your tip inside, if you prefer giving him/her your tip personally, that will not make any difference.

Tour leaders are prohibited from collecting cash for tipping other service providers.

The list below includes almost all the items you need for our tours, not necessarily for your chosen tour. The things listed below covers all of what is needed when you took one of our complete expeditions. Once you book a tour with us your travel consultant will provide the exact list you need for your chosen tour.

Sleeping Bag 0 C to 10 C.

Cotton sheet Sleeping Bag. Washable sheet keeps your sleeping bag clean.

Day pack 35 lt. Essential for keeping little things during the day.

Wide brim hat or cap.

Warm hat- when trekking is part of your tour.

Comfortable travelling clothes. 2 sets. Light and easy to wash.

1. 1 set of casual clothes for that night out.
2. Shorts
3. Sun glasses
4. Warm sweater
5. Fleece
6. Waterproof/windproof Jacket with hood
7. Hiking boots
8. Sandals – flip flops
9. Head torch/head light & spare batteries
10. Swimming stuff
11. Thermals for legs and upper body.
12. 5 pairs of Socks
13. Underwear
14. Camera with 1 spare battery
15. Toiletries kit
16. Wet tissues.
17. Small mirror
18. Small towels
19. Note book
20. Water bottle.
21. Swiss Army Knife
22. Alarm clock
23. Money belt
24. Writing stuff
25. Passport Color, photocopies
26. Plastic bags (for river trips)
27. Mosquito repellent
28. Hat net (for Jungle Treks)
29. Toilet paper. Have always one roll with you
30. Virucidal alcohol hand gel. For hygienic disinfection of hands.