Avanti Adds New Itineraries and Experiences in Central and South America

WHY IT RATES: Agents now have 13 new itineraries, 46 new hotels and 17 new experiences to create customized vacations. —Janeen Christoff, TravelPulse Senior Writer

With an emphasis on experiences that are cultural, culinary, off-the-beaten-path and community-based, Avanti Destinations has added 13 new suggested itineraries, 46 new hotels and 17 new activities and tours to its Central and South American product lineup that advisors can combine and custom-tailor for independent travel clients and custom groups in 2020 and 2021.

Avanti sells exclusively through travel advisors, who can order Avanti’s new 100-page, four-color brochure, Essence of Central & South America 2020-2021, or download it at AvantiDestinations.com.

The new brochure has been designed to be passed along to their clients, with useful maps, tables of air and car travel times between destinations, and short feature articles by Avanti employees, focusing on select destinations and favorite experiences.

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Trends in Latin American FIT travel

“Argentina has been tremendously popular this past year, and we expect this trend to continue,” said Avanti’s CEO, Paul Barry. “The dollar is very strong, and the average value of bookings to this region has increased substantially, as travelers ask agents for more private tours, private transfers and more luxurious accommodations.

“Now that Brazil dropped their visa requirement for American visitors, we anticipate growth in bookings there in 2020 and beyond,” Barry continued. “Our strongest sellers in South America remain Peru and Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, while Costa Rica and Belize are the most frequently booked Central America destinations.”

Gastronomic, Off-the-Beaten-Path and Community-Based Themes

Barry noted that gastronomic and culinary experiences continue to be popular–running the gamut from haute cuisine to cooking in indigenous villages. The latest additions bring the total number of Avanti’s food- and drink-themed activities to more than 60 throughout Central and South America.

Three of the new experiences directly benefit local indigenous communities and give clients a rare cross-cultural immersion opportunity: one, an overnight stay in Karanki Magdalena village on the slopes of Ecuador’s Imbabura volcano nearly 10,000 feet above sea level; another, breakfast and lunch with the Embera people in Panama’s Chagres National Park; the third, an overnight stay with Misminay villagers outside of Cuzco, Peru, where clients can learn about traditional healing techniques and try their hand at weaving and other crafts.

A private cooking class in Pucon (Chile) focuses on innovative twists on foods of the indigenous Mapuche and Pehuenche peoples using wild, native ingredients, such as the nuts from the monkey puzzle tree.

“Off-the-beaten-path” destinations, some not far from major cities, are featured in many of the new products: Villa de Leyva and Raquira in Colombia; Bucay, Cotopaxi, Riobamba, Alausi and Puerto Cayo in Ecuador; Chiclayo and Trujillo in Peru; Pucon in Chile; and Carmelo and Jose Ignacio in Uruguay.

“Encouraging Americans to go beyond the best-known destinations and gain a deeper understanding of other people and places are among our most important objectives,” noted Barry.

New Customizable Itineraries

The new itineraries range in length from one or two overnights to nine. They may be combined with other short or long itineraries, and agents can add other activities, transfers and destinations to create one-of-a-kind vacations. Examples include:

Argentina: Flavors of Argentina–seven days/six nights in Mendoza and Buenos Aires, learning about the Italian, French, Spanish and Latin American influences on Argentine cuisine and sampling Mendoza wines. Includes private winery cooking class with lunch and tasting; private wine and olive tasting with lunch; gourmet wine pairing dinner; choice of gastronomic or tavern tours in the bohemian San Telmo and trendy Palermo districts (Buenos Aires); private arrival/departure transfers; daily breakfast.

Chile: Puerto Natales–five days/four nights in this town that is an ideal base camp for exploring Patagonia. Includes tour of Torres del Paine National Park, estancia (sheep ranch) experience, tour of Serrano and Balmaceda glaciers, daily breakfast.

Colombia: Villa de Leyva–three days/two nights in Villa de Leyva, a lovely colonial town that is now a national monument. Whitewashed buildings, streets paved with fossil-embedded stones, a fossil museum, winery, Dominican convent, and the unusual “Casa Terracota” inspired by Gaudi are among the attractions. Tour the most colorful town in Colombia, Raquira, which specializes in pottery. Includes private guide and vehicle throughout, all entrance fees, daily breakfast.

Ecuador: Tastes of the Pacific Coast & the Galapagos – 10 days/nine nights in Bucay, Puerto Cayo, Guayaquil and the Galapagos. Highlights include: cooking class, chocolate making, and horseback riding at the Hacienda La Danesa, a dairy farm with a cacao and teak plantation; learning ancestral fishing techniques, lunch on the beach, cooking class, and five-course dinner at the Las Tanusas “gastro retreat”; Guayaquil city tour, four-course dinner at a prestigious restaurant featuring typical Ecuadorian cuisine; all transfers; choice of four-day cruise or “island-hopping” stay in the Galapagos with daily tours; daily breakfast.

Peru: Chiclayo and Trujillo–three days/two nights for those interested in pre-Columbian/pre-Inca ruins left by ancient cultures such as the Moche, Lambayeque, and Chimú, dating back 2,000 years; the regions have more than 250 mud-brick pyramids. Includes private tours of: the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum; the mud-brick pyramid complex of Tucume; burial platform and museum at Huaca Rajada and museum where the Lord of Sipan tomb was discovered; Temples of the Sun and Moon; Chan Chan, ruins of the world’s largest adobe city; Temple of the Dragon. Private guide and vehicle throughout; daily breakfast.

Uruguay: Best of Uruguay–eight days/seven nights in Montevideo, Carmelo in Uruguay’s wine country, and the village of Jose Ignacio, in the Garzon region, called “Uruguay’s Tuscany”. Includes all ground transfers, four lunches, three wine tastings, and tours of: UNESCO World Heritage site of Colonia del Sacramento; Montevideo; vineyards and wineries; the quirky town of Piriapolis; the beach resort of Punta del Este; Garzon town and lagoon nature reserve, where clients will have a day to relax and enjoy this secret paradise. All ground transfers are private and included.

SOURCE: Avanti press release