Expedition Trips - Seattle, Washington

Deborah B.

Our family took an amazing trip to the Galapagos with the help of Expedition Trips. We consider ourselves travel experts, with elite level status with airlines and hotels, and could bot have planned this trip without the support of the Expedition team. The ins and outs of the travel and understanding what our family would want out of the experience was at their top priority and they delivered in a manner that was best in class. We still quote them and say “planning the trip is just as important as the trip itself” in the memory making and we agree!

Wellen -. L.

From the first zoom call with Ashton Palmer and Christine MacAllister of Expedition Trips, we knew we were in great hands for our dream trip to Antarctica. With Ashton’s 50 or so trips to the continent and Christine recently returning from her first expedition, it provided us with a wealth of knowledge when researching how to best plan a trip like this.

After doing our own research, we were, to say the least confused and frustrated, but Ashton and Christine listened to our desires and quickly refocused us on the correct path. Their attention to detail during all the planning stages was excellent and it was shown throughout the execution of the trip.

Ashton’s team also listened to special requests and knocked it out of the ballpark with execution. On this trip, we were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary and I asked if there could be something special I could do to surprise my wife on the trip. They took care of everything. They first surprised us with an anniversary bottle of champagne and a cake at our hotel in Santiago.

One of the things you can do on the ship is sleep in an igloo on the top deck. It was first come, first serve. We were able to get the igloo reserved for one night. When we entered the igloo, the ship’s crew had it decorated with anniversary décor along with champagne and treats. It was so emotional that it brought my wife and I to tears.

Their suggestion to take the Lindblad National Geographic Resolution ship the first two weeks of January 2024 was absolutely perfect. The Lindblad Resolution was spectacular, and we are so thankful Ashton pushed us to take this ship. This is their newest ship and we saw everyday why this is the best ship to take to the Great White Continent. From Captain Heidi to Andy our Expedition Leader to Laura who ran the hotel part of the ship to Evylyn at the reception desk to Alexia who cleaned our room; their number one desire was to make sure we had the best experience of our lives. The passion of the naturalist and scientist on the expedition team made the trip even more enjoyable and educational.

They were as excited as the passengers were about what we were seeing and experiencing.

Also, this ship’s capabilities allowed us to go to the eastern side of the peninsula. Not one of the other sixty ships in the area had the capabilities to do that. It allowed us to sail through the Weddell Sea and see enormous tabular icebergs the size of three or four football stadiums, 100’s of Emperor Penguin chicks, ten of thousands of penguins, pods of killer whales and watched pods of humpbacks eating fifty yards from the ship.
We were fortunate to take a dream trip to Africa last year and thought nothing would ever come close to rivaling that trip. How wrong we were. With the help of Ashton and his team, Antarctica has equaled and, in many cases, beat that trip.

The expertise provided by advisors like Ashton is in my opinion invaluable. THANK YOU EXPEDITION TRIPS!!!

Patricia B.

We have been working with Expedition Trips since 2003. They have helped us find memorable destinations and avoid horrible mistakes on self-booked portions of our adventures.Beginning in 2014, we started taking our daughter and her family on adventures. The guidance from the team at Expedition Trips has helped make these family trips important and amazing parts of our life together. When the day comes I can no longer go on adventures, the memories from trips to the Galapagos, Antarctica, Alaska, Hawaii and so many other destinations will continue to make me smile.

Laura S.

We've used Expedition Trips for our last three vacations. They are knowledgeable, well-staffed and take a personal interest in each client. We had our own contact person who handled the nitty gritty details of the trips and was always accessible.

Judy P.

We had a very rewarding expedition with Lindbad where they got us up close and almost personal with the wildlife.
If you’re looking for luxury book elsewhere as the Sea Lion was very relaxed and comfortable.

Jeanne S.

I was referred to Expeditions by friends who travel a lot. I was hesitant to use an agency versus booking direct with the tour company... but expeditions staff have provided me with excellent service. I have used their services to book lindblad national geographic cruises to Alaska, Panama+Costa Rica , Antarctic+ Falklands+South Georgia and upcoming Singapore to Thailand trip and Arctic trip. They staff listens to your requests and follows up. They make sure I get my Nat Geo Friends For Life discounts or other available deals. I've found their trip insurance and other recommendations to be good advice.

Wendy M. C.

In the process of suing Expedition Trips I discovered not only did they not refund my money for a canceled trip (late 2019) but they also paid themselves an hefty commission of over $5,000 on the $20,000 trip and never refunded that either. They kept the $5000 commission despite the fact that the trip never happened! Prior to contacting Expedition Trips, I'd never heard of the tour operator, One Ocean Expeditions. Expedition Trips recommended them over the well-established Quark Expeditions. I relied on their expertise. Subsequently, when they became fully aware of the risks, they neglected to adequately express them to me. The hefty commission explains their steering me to One Ocean Expeditions in the first place. My friend fully insured a canceled cruise with One Ocean Expeditions with Allianz Insurance. This company refused to pay the claim on the basis that One Ocean was considered 'substandard'. Has anyone been able to file a successful claim? Expedition Trips justifies their dishonest and sleazy behavior stating 'if I had insured the trip....' and in the end this wouldn't have mattered. I was lied to repeatedly on the phone about causes for itinerary changes/departures which I mistakenly didn't challenge and have been subject to Expedition Trip's 'blame the victim' mentality.

Rachel T.

Our Antarctica trip was fantastic as was all of the information, tips and communication with Ashley at Expedition trips. Working with them made everything a lot smoother. Ashley even helped is sort out a miscommunication with the vendor re: an on ship credit and didn’t give up until all was sorted. We will definitely be reaching to Ashley again.