About Trek TrekAmerica Reviews

From a person who prefers National Parks to cities, I surprisingly enjoyed this trip more than I expected.

Each of the few cities we went to had it's own unique style and made them interesting to explore.

With the drives being short it gave us more time to explore each location. In every place, there was a lot to see and do.

This was my first trip with trek america and to be honest I had no idea what to expect. would i like the people i was on trek with? would i even get on with them? was it going to be all guys or all girls or both? i just had no idea and that was all part of the excitement. Am i even going to like america? or canada? or is the van going to be comfortable! so many un answered questions. But you know what it didn't matter. I had the most amazing time, our leader had the best little local secret spots and tips. We drank, we ate, we partied, we explored, we saw a bear and a moose, a gigantic waterfall and so much more, I could sit here all day and tell you about how amazing the trip was but wouldn't you rather find out for yourself? so be quick and go and book one! I promise you wont regret it!

Acadia National Park was superb, bar harbour on the Atlantic Coast was a great place. Algonquin was so isolated, the skies were bright, it was stunning! Quebec was beautiful, great history. Niagra's maid of the mist was great too although the back drop was not as I imagined.

A very under rated tour, so much variety.

Having finished an amazing trek I expected nothing less from this experience. I couldnt have been more disappointed. I was greatly looking forward to the amazing mix of the outdoor and city experiences. There was none of this. Whilst wondering around the hotel lobby at 7:30 I managed to find 12 fellow trekkers eager and waiting to begin this fantastic two week experience, unfortunately there was no leader... when he finally showed up he was polite and friendly. Thats about all he had going for him though. The first day according to the itinerary should have seen some scenic walks followed by a swim in the finger lakes. Arriving at the camp site and setting up after dark there was clearly no time. The next issue came the following day. I thought it very odd when again, the 13 campers sat packed and ready to go, only to find the trek leader fannying about. We ended up leaving camp well after 10, but I figured he knew what he was doing... apparently, barely! The last maid of the mist cruise left at 5:45... we arrived at 5:40. Ill spare you the rest of the details but the rest of the tour went along the same lines. We never left camp before 10, he knew nothing about any of the cities we visited and he couldnt organise a piss up in a brewery. The only outdoor activities took place on the day we spent in algonquin. We went on a beautiful canoe trip with beautiful scenery followed by an hourlong hike in the woods. We almost had another outdoor experience in Acadia but he refused to book the kayaking trip... fortunately for me (unfortunately for everyone else) I went and found the shop and booked it myself. It was amazing, I recommend everyone doing it. In the cities it was just up to us to find things to do. In montreal i recommend going to mont royal. Its beautiful, I found it on the top ten things to do in montreal.

Aside from the abysmal leadership there is potential here for this trek to be really good, but check whether you are in season or out of season as most of the activities arent available after august. There is also potential for horrific weather conditions. It rained every day of the trek and the ground was saturated. On our final night we pitched our already waterlogged tents in a flooded campsite. Trek pay towards upgrading to cabbins in extreme weather conditions (as I experienced on my previous trek), but for some reason this wasnt considered despite the majority of the trekers asking not to camp here. So after a third night in a row of sleeping in waterproofs in a sodden sleeping bag, i was glad to see the back of this trek...

Following my previous trek I had already begun to look into which trek I would be doing next year. I now doubt whether I will ever use trek again. It's a shame since I honestly doubt I will ever beat the first experience I had with trek, but the chance of getting a trek like this again would be too much to handle.

Reply from TrekAmerica:

Hi Hannah,

First of all I am pleased your Southern Sun tour was rated by you as excellent, it is always wonderful to hear that travellers have had the time of their lives in America.

I am sorry to hear your following trip was not up to the same standards and some of your comments really surprise me, especially considering some of the excellent feedback we received about this tour. No doubt the weather can have adverse effects on the tour , especially on a camping trip and it sounds as though you encountered some fairly interesting weather. Unfortunately, once the camp grounds have been booked it can be hard to reclaim for services when cancelling last minute. We have seen on previous trips, travellers upgrade to cabins to avoid the rain whilst others have accepted it as part of the experience but I can understand a tour full of rain can affect overall enjoyment.

In each place visited, especially on this tour being so heavily city based, a selection of activities are offered to fill the free time. These would have been found in the brochure and online, and helps travellers to plan ahead for activities they wish to take on tour and plan their budget accordingly. Our leaders are always on hand to answer questions and provide information should you have specific options you wish to take.

I am more than happy to look further into this if you can provide some clear details. If is upsetting to hear negative feedback about a tour which has proven so popular and successful.

Should you wish to send any further details, please address these to Iain Shiels [email protected]