Considering 2019 eclipse tour with Astro Trails
 

Hello Fodorites- My husband and I (70 years young) are considering taking a tour to see the 2019 total eclipse of the sun in South America with Astro Trails, a British tour firm. We are considering this company because the tour includes many of our bucket-list destinations for South America. I can find very few reviews of Astro Trails' tours. Has anyone taken a tour with them? I'd be interested in your comments. I'd also be interested in other eclipse tour agencies that you've enjoyed. Here is a link to the tours we are considering... https://www.astro-trails.com/2019-to...pse-expedition Thank you so much.

I have never heard of this company or been on one of their tours but I did take a look at their website.

Two things woud concern me.

1. I could see no evidence of them belonging to any sort of trade body. ABTA etc. Implying that there is no element of financial protection. For this reason, I would be very wary of parting with any cash ahead of time.

2. I googled their office address and it seems to be a residential property in Yorkshire. Again, this causes me some concern.

In the abscence of any legitimate and verifiable reviews I would be very, very cautious.

The only thing I can suggest is perhaps contacting the Royal Astronomical Society to see if they no of them or can recommend any other providers.

Trailfinders and Audley Travel May be worth contacting as well.

Good luck. I hope you get it sorted out.

I would also be wary. They do not seem to have any physical presence in Chile/Argentina/Peru and will therefore be handing on the actual tours to other local companies. A decent company should be able to tell you who you will actually deal with on the ground should there be a problem.

Follow crellston's excellent advice and go with a reputable company. This one may be but there is too little information on the website.

Thank you both for your comments. I will look into this further before I hand over any money.

Hello
I am now considering a tour and wondered if you have learned any more info on Astro-Trails. Are there any other companies that do similar tours?
Thank you so much for update.

Some English friends used them to see this year's eclipse in Chile/Argentina. They went to Lima/Cusco/Machu Picchu/ an overnight in Santiago/San Pedro de Atacama/San Juan for the eclipse - so they covered 3 countries. Hotels varied, the only complaint was no heating in the room in San Pedro but I think if they had asked they would have given them some sort of portable heater. They saw some iconic places they had never dreamed of seeing and all crowned by the eclipse (he is an amateur astronomer). They made new friends and had fun and had no major complaints. Haven't used them myself.

Thank you for info. Happy to hear that friends did ok.