South America Explorer with Gapforce

Name: South America Explorer with Gapforce
Brand: Gapforce
SKU: 36413
Rating: 9.09 (34 reviews)

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9.09 Rating

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Location

Multiple Locations +2

Peru
Ecuador

Length

4 - 12 weeks

Program Tags

Adventure Travel Cultural Immersion Language Immersion Volunteer Abroad

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Program Details

Activities

Animal Viewing Backpacking Trekking

Timeframe

Year Round

Housing

Guesthouse Host Family Hostel Tent

Primary Language

English

Age Min.

Pricing

Price Details

4 weeks: £2500.00
7 weeks: £3950.00

What's Included

Accommodation Activities Airport Transfers Meals

What's Included (Extra)

Pre-departure briefing and support
Airport pick-up
Gapforce Leader
Local guides and support staff
Welcome and orientation briefing
All accommodation
Spanish lessons
All tours on itinerary
Project donation
Meals listed in itinerary
Social activities
24/7 UK emergency back-up

What's Not Included

Airfare Travel Insurance Visa

Last Updated: Jul 26, 2021

Last Reviewed: Apr 16, 2021

About Program

Discover the lost lands of the Incas! Whether the awe-inspiring spectacle of Machu Picchu; the sensation of waking up to the sounds and sights of the rainforest; or intimate encounters with incredible animals, you are sure to encounter something to astound you at every turn of this journey across Peru and Ecuador. Volunteering opportunities in wildlife conservation and mean you can leave your mark and give something back as you travel this vibrant, surprising corner of South America.

Conclude your adventure with a tour of the Galapagos Islands, an archipelago of unparalleled marine biodiversity. Hike, sail and snorkel your way round the islands made famous by Charles Darwin, encountering sea lions; dolphin; turtles; sharks and more. Wrapping up with a return to Quito for the nights of your adventure where there is a chance to explore the city and visit the Mitad del Mundo, zero degrees of latitude and longitude - the centre of the world!

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Video and Photos

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Program Highlights

Learn Spanish in the old Inca capital of Cusco.
Trek off the beaten trail to the incredible ruins of Machu Picchu.
Learn to surf in the laid back beach town of Mancora.
Volunteer at an Amazon animal rescue centre in the heart of the rainforest.
Visit the Charles Darwin Research centre on the world-renowned Galapagos Islands.

Program Reviews

9.09 Rating

based on 34 reviews

Leave a Review

Rating Spread Gap Year

9-10 rating 79.41%
7-8 rating 17.65%
5-6 rating 2.94%
3-4 rating 0%
1-2 rating 0%

Housing 8.5
Support 8.6
Fun 9
Value 9.2
Safety 8.7

Good for Solo Travelers, Adventure travelers, Students

Showing 1 - 8 of 34 reviews

I did this trip just before everything locked down and I can safely say this was the best trip of my life. The treks have amazing views and are hard enough to make seeing machu picchu rewarding but not too tough for those who want an easier walk! The itinerary for this trip is completely action packed with ziplining, white water rafting, paragliding, horse riding and so much more and it's all made so much easier by the gapforce organizers who make signing on to these trips safer and much quicker. The way the trip is run is also quite loose in the sense that we generally had one thing to do in a day and could spend the rest of the day exploring. The kinds of people this trip attracts are amazing and I'm sure there will be no issue with making great friends on it!

I would definitely recommend going in for the full 7 weeks you would not regret it!

What was the most unfamiliar thing you ate?

If you're a vegetarian you may not be entirely interested in this but let it be known that cooked alpaca and guinea pig meat is an option!

I couldn't recommend this trip more highly. I was so nervous to go previously as I didn't know what to expect with the people and dynamic of the trip but I can definitely say I have made some friends for life. The trip is well organised with a high standard of accommodation (all the hostels/ hotels were fun and good quality). The trip was a lot less regimented than I expected which was good, there was the perfect amount of free time for you to go and do your own thing and the group leader was reasonable but not strict. All the activities we did were so worth it and were all very well organised. The leader was friendly, fun and organised and kept everyone in the loop about what we were doing or where we were going. South America is a beautiful continent and the experience was made better by the opportunities that SA explorer gave us.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?

As much as it is a trip where you could definitely go with a friend, don't worry about going alone. You'll meet the most amazing people who you'll create bonds with for life.
Don't worry too much on the physical aspect, as much as it was challenging at some points like on the trek to Machu Picchu, it was easy to get through with friends by your side and was so rewarding and worth it by the end.

I chose this program because I wanted to travel through South America, see a lot but also do some volunteering work. This program combines these two aspects very well, with the first three weeks consisting of a lot of travelling, the next three weeks a lot of working and the last week travelling again. You see a lot of both Peru and Ecuador and get a great feeling for each country. The volunteering work was very interesting and you definitely learn a lot. In general the atmosphere on the trip was great, the travel group was pretty small and very nice. I think that this trip definitely helped me growing as a person and learn a lot of new things

What was the most nerve-racking moment and how did you overcome it?

Jumping down eight meters into a tiny pond while doing canyoning

This trip included everything I could’ve hoped for, from Spanish lessons to hiking and volunteering in the animal center. Our guide Colin did everything to make our experience even more enjoyable and was a real asset to making the trip this amazing. He organized extra activities such as yoga in Lima and made sure we had the best busses for each journey. The hostels were great and we got to see the best parts of each city/town. Colin made sure we were safe throughout the trip. Glad I booked it with Gapforce and will recommend it to everyone. I absolutely loved every bit of it!

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?

I would make the Spanish lessons less long. Just 3 days instead of 5.

I absolutely loved this program! I was really scared going into it because I’ve never traveled alone before but I had nothing to worry about. Everyone I met was fantastic. They were down to earth, nice, and so much fun. I can not describe how beautiful Peru and Ecuador are, I’ve never been anywhere like it. There are definitely challenges along the way but they are very “character building” and I am so thankful for them. The trek to Machu Picchu was tough but you get so much closer along the way. Also you get to go to relax in a hot spring and go zip lining! My favourite part was definitely Yanacocha, I could literally stay there forever it was such an amazing experience. Banos pushes out limits as we went rafting and jumped off a bridge! The only thing I’ll say is that the spanish lessons were a bit of a let down. I was in the basic group and we didn’t learn anything. I heard the advanced group did a lot though. I definitely recommend this trip for everyone but especially people who wanna get out of their comfort zone and meet fantastic people along the way:)))

What was the most nerve-racking moment and how did you overcome it?

Jumping off the bridge in Banos. I was absolutely terrified but it was so worth it.

I had a great time on the South American Explorer program. I only did the 4-weeks, but I really enjoyed everything in the program. I’d have to say my favorite activity was the Salkantay trek to Macchu Pichu, despite it getting hard at times, it was a great experience and very rewarding once you stood overlooking Macchu Pichu. The culture is so different from my own and it’s very humbling and exciting to be immersed in the indigenous culture here. The people are very nice and I would one hundred percent recommend it for anyone looking to do it.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?

Bring good hiking boots and lots of sunscreen with insect repellent

I had an amazing time on this trip. I was super nervous about meeting 7 strangers who I had to spend the next 4 weeks with but everyone was lovely and we all got on so well. The places we went were truly amazing and the Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu was a big highlight for me. Even when we were all tired and cold it was still an unforgettable experience and made getting to see Machu Picchu all the more memorable and special. Stefan our guide was great and helped with any problems we had while talking and taking no shit from anyone which was refreshing and meant we all trusted him to take charge when he needed to. We were quite a young group but for me that made it even more fun. I would really push anyone who’s remotely interested to go on this trip.

What would you improve about this program?

I would have loved to spend more time at the animal rescue centre at the end of the trip. The three days we spend there were great but you don’t get to experience everything or really manage to be helpful around the site because you are still learning the ropes. A week there would be amazing. Also potentially spending some time volunteering somewhere else for a week or so would be great to

White water rafting at the end of the trip

Reading the highest point of he trek. It snowed!

I had fun and saw some amazing things such as Machu Picchu. The views on the trek were equsiseite and the journey extremely hard but rewarding with the scenery it offered. One thing I struggled with was the food but this was due to my dietary requirements of being a vegetarian. All the hostels we stayed in were great and all the staff were lovely. Stefan made sure we were always safe and let us know when certain areas were more dangerous than others. Other activities such as white water rafting were reallly fun and memorable, but what I found the nicest was the friends I made along the way. I wish there was more we did in terms of activites as we had many free days, but at the same time it was up to us and go do something. Overall would recommend.

Questions & Answers

Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

water

Why did you pick this program?

After studying Spanish at school for 4 years I thought it was the perfect opportunity to use my so-called "skills". I knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity due to the conservation problems with growing tourism in both Machu Picchu and the Galapagos, and since these were both places I may never get the chance to visit again, I was eager to sign up. I had time in between finishing school and starting at Uni and I wanted to spend it traveling. Gapforce's South America Explore had the best options for what I wanted to do and fit my budget.

What do you tell your friends who are thinking about going abroad?

A gap year is not on the minds of many American high school students as many don't even view it as an option. Since I was attending a school in a different country with a different school calendar, this was the perfect opportunity. All my friends were so jealous of my adventures and I'm sure I've urged some of them to look into study abroad programs before they start a career. It was honestly the best decision of my life (so far) to take this trip. Before this trip I wasn't very independent or outgoing but I can honestly say I saw a change in myself after returning home.

What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

If you are even slightly unsure about going to college or university straight away, GO ABROAD, you will learn even more than your friends at school and have an experience of a lifetime. You can learn so much more about the world while living and exploring it than listening to your teachers tell you about it.

If I could give any advice it would be to live in every moment and don't take anything for granted. 2 months flies by and pretty soon everything will be a distant memory. Take photos and videos of everything, especially the people in your group. Document your time together because it's short. These are the most carefree moments of your life, you have absolutely no responsibilities. I promise you won't ever look back and wish you had less photos. These people will become your best friends and though it seems like 2 months isn't long enough to get to know someone, living with people 24/7 brings out your most authentic self, and these people become your closest friends.

Keep an open mind and open heart and take every opportunity presented to you. You don't want to go back to say that you almost climbed a volcano or you almost went white water rafting in Ecuador, or you almost zip-lined across rainforest. Come back with the shelves in your mind filled with countless stories, live every moment to the fullest and you will have a truly amazing trip.

What's your favorite story to tell about your time abroad?

It's almost impossible to pick one favorite story but my favorite experience was volunteering in the Amazon in Sacha Yacu. We had a rotating schedule everyday where we fed monkeys, ocelots, skunks, birds, turtles, coati, pigs and the kinkajou as well as working in the rescue center fixing up cages, and building a new house for future volunteers. It was truly a unique experience that I will remember forever. We also had to make daily meals for all the volunteers, which proved to be an interesting experience as there was no electricity and we only had light from a generator for 1 hour every night. Living in such close quarters and being constantly dirty made our friendships grow even closer, which I had already thought to be impossible. I even cherish the time we spent just sitting in the hammocks looking over the Amazon rainforest, which is kind of surreal. Even though we played "bumper hammocks" a little too much and managed to break all 3 hammocks, some of my favorite and funniest memories are from the Amazon.

In ten years, what do you think you will remember about this trip?

I want to remember how truly happy I was on this trip, on top of all the incredible things I got to experience like the crazy weird alpacas in Machu Picchu, the huge turtles in the Galapagos, the singing monkey in the Amazon or the thousands of dogs that followed us in Cusco, I have made friends from all over the world that will last a lifetime. The combination of travel and these genuine friendships made my experience the happiest and most exciting 2 months of my life. I will always remember our weird jokes and our gift of clearing out restaurants as soon as we arrived.

Most of all, I will keep my memories of this trip very close to my heart, and I will forever cherish all the amazing places I saw, the things I learned, and the thousands of times I laughed until I could barely breathe. I hope this trip is the first of many adventures around the world.

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Tell us a little more about this program, what makes it a unique experience?

Francesca House

Francesca: The program is such a unique experience because you get to combine all the best experiences of Ecuador. You get great one on one Spanish lessons to help you to really immerse yourself into the South American Culture. You get to experience the amazing South American wildlife up close at the rescue center.

The program enables you to live in the Amazon rainforest. And the extras include going to the Galapagos which is one of the most amazing places on earth. And the history in Quito and Peru are amazing from Beautiful colonial cities to the Ruins at Machu Picchu.

Describe a typical day on this program.

Francesca: There isn't really a typical day on this trip; there is so much variety. A typical day could be waking up
and feeding the animals in the Amazon or walking the Inca trail. Or it could be learning Spanish in the morning and visiting the markets in the afternoon and a great night out in Quito in the evening.

What are some extra-curricular activities participants enjoy on this program?

Francesca: There are some great tours involved. The tour around the old city in Quito, for example, is a great
way to soak up the history of the beautiful old end of town.

What's your favorite story from a program participant's experience on this program?

Francesca: One of the participants gave a great example of a lack of common sense. After leaving a bottle of chocolate milk in their bag on a hot, sunny beach all day, it then exploded in the cabin pressure on a plane back from the Galapagos the next day. The worst thing was that he then drank it! As you can imagine, his stomach wasn't feeling great in the morning.

What is one piece of advice you would offer someone considering this program?

Francesca: Walk in your boots; no one likes blisters. And be prepared to throw yourself into everything. Really
make the most of every experience.

What aspect of your work on this program inspires you the most?

Francesca: I absolutely love the jungle so working in the Amazon is always the highlight of my trip.

About Gapforce

Founded in 1989, Gapforce is a leading provider of structured adventure travel programs, volunteer projects and outdoor training courses. Our wide wide range of global adventures includes marine conservation, wildlife protection, expeditions, and leadership training. Whether you're looking for a short or long break, our programs combine everything...

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