There’s no better time than now to start planning your escape from its icy clutches.
At Discovery Tours, we develop cultural adventures for those who want a depth of perspective not found on standard travel excursions. Working with local contacts, we create one-of-a-kind experiences that enrich our tours in ways not possible for larger companies or independent travellers. These opportunities to interact with people not connected with tourism provide unique experiences for our tour participants and are often a highlight of the tour. We are always warmly welcomed and leave knowing that we have been allowed a special “peek “inside” that tours visiting the same places week after week would never be able to offer.
What sets us apart?
Small Groups
Travelling in a small group has many benefits – the possibility for more intimate accommodation and restaurants, the ability to have flexible itineraries and make spontaneous stops, and getting to know others on the tour. You feel less intrusive and more like a traveller than a tourist.
Exceptional Value
Our tours are leisurely yet comprehensive. We won’t take you to an area and suggest costly “optional” activities to make your tour complete – we’ve already included them plus much more. Dollar for dollar we offer exceptional value.
Relaxed Pace
We slow it down staying 2 or 3 nights in most locations giving you a better sense of the area. Morning starts are rarely before 9:00, and we finish in time for you to relax or strike out on your own. We promise that you will see and experience much, but not return home exhausted.
Cultural Experiences
This is where we really step it up a notch. We carefully design our own itineraries balancing local culture, history and nature – staying in cities, rural areas, on quiet beaches and in national parks. We visit the “must-see” tourist attractions and then take you off the regular tourist beat to see lesser-known sites and meet with the local people.
We make it easy and affordable
Our tours to Cuba, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Colombia are leisurely but comprehensive resulting in tremendous value. Unlike other companies, we don’t just take you to an area and “suggest” what you should see or do there. You won’t be handed a list of “optional” tours you need to consider (and pay for locally) to “fill out” the tour because we’ve already included many interesting and quirky stops in the original price. Dollar for dollar, we offer incredible value and we encourage you to compare us to other tour companies.
See below for a summary of what’s planned for the upcoming year.
Journey through Panama
January 19th to February 2nd, 2020
Explore the eclectic streets of Latin America’s most cosmopolitan city, Panama City, and admire the engineering masterpiece of the Panama Canal. Dial the relaxation up a notch in Bocas del Toro and discover waterfalls, wildflowers, hot springs and mountains in beautiful Boquete. Tour a coffee plantation, ride a bike along a river or take a relaxing walk through the forest, keeping an eye out for tricky monkeys and tropical birds.
Western Cuba – The Heart of Cuba including Havana
February 1st to 15th, 2020 – Sharon Sawatzky
Beyond what the world’s interpretation of what Cuba has been, lies a country that is full of life. Our Cuba group tours introduce you to a life that has a way of making you tap your toes to the soft rhythm of the salsa beat echoing down alleyways of colonial buildings whose walls are slowly chipping away with the weathering of time. A life that welcomes visitors with a broad smile even as locals fiercely play dominoes outside their houses; where the wafting smell of cigars mix in with the sweet smell of fresh fruit; where the turquoise coloured ocean laps at soft white sand and the sound of laughter is never far away.
The moment you arrive in Cuba it is hard to not recognize both its colonial importance and revolutionary past. With opulent buildings such as grand theatres on elegant boulevards to the ornate plazas, Havana gleams with an old-world charm that hasn’t been spoiled by skyscrapers and new developments. From the tobacco fields of Vinales where karst mountains rise and fall between plantations to the musical soul of Trinidad, a preserved colonial town still standing amongst once the gleaming sugar capital of the country, tours to Cuba show a different side than just the revolution. We venture into the mountains of the Escambray to discover the herbal medicines used historically by Cubans and the biodiversity found in this Caribbean paradise. Our guided tours to Cuba show you that this is a place like no other.
Classic Colombia
February 21st to March 7th, 2020
If there were ever a country that suffered from a case of seriously bad press, it’s Colombia. It’s not well known by travellers, so it feels like crossing one of the last frontiers of travel. Colombia is ripe for discovery, and there is a little of everything: green valleys, golden beaches and snow-capped mountains, charming colonial towns and incredibly friendly laid-back locals. There’s no better place to be if you’re looking to try fresh seafood, hike through the dazzling wax palm landscape, admire some of the best street art in the Americas, trek through a tropical forest where you might find monkeys, and relax on the beach of a Caribbean fishing village. Be a part of the revitalization of this warm, welcoming country and come back with more stories than you’ll ever have time to tell.
Inca Explorer
May 3rd to 17th, 2020
Be dazzled by Peru’s myriad treasures on a 15-day tour of its highlights. Encounter the vibrant local culture of Lake Titicaca, walk the halls of a historical convent in colonial Arequipa, and delight in views of the Sacred Valley from the comfort of the train to Machu Picchu. Marvel at the strange, mysterious beauty of the Nazca Lines, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Whether watching for wildlife or exploring Incan culture, strike travel gold in this incredible country.
Ecuador & Galapagos Highlights
April 10th to 26th, 2020
Discover the magic of Ecuador’s biodiversity and culture on an exploration of the rural and urban charms of one of South America’s most rewarding destinations.
Along the Andean Mountain range, we admire the contrast between the equatorial lushness in the valley and glacial volcanoes. Find treasures at the largest market in South America where numerous Indigenous groups come to barter, and later slip into a world of “ahhh” in a mountain hot spring. Our tour takes us to the Amazon to see jungle wildlife, its impressive landscapes with exotic flora, fauna and a rich culture of all, all these flavours are packed together, so you can be in the jungle in the morning and at the foot of a glacier by the evening.
Ecuador also has one gem found nowhere else: the pristine and fragile Galápagos Islands made famous through the writings of Charles Darwin. The ultimate experience for animal lovers awaits in the Galápagos Islands, where an incredibly diverse and unique array of wildlife prosper among fertile lands and volcanic formations. The most attractive aspect of this trip is that it is not a cruise, but rather a land-based adventure that allows for more time and greater immersion in not only the natural splendour of this special place but also in its unique and little-known island culture.
We invite you to immerse yourself in these destinations to explore new cultures in a way you’d never manage to on your own.
More information regarding the tours can be found at www.thediscoverytours.ca or by calling 1-800-417-0250 and speaking with Cassandra.