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Tucan Travel

The History of Tucan Travel: Privately Owned and Passionate

Having worked all over South America in the early 1980’s, Pip and Liliana Tyler founded one of the first ever South American adventure tour operations in 1987, and named their company Tucan Travel, after the famous South American bird (with its traditional Latin American spelling). In 1997, they joined forces with an old adversary and fellow tour operator, Matt Gannan. Together, the owners drew on their local knowledge and experience, and pioneered many of the routes found inside this brochure.

Over the years Tucan has earned its excellent reputation by continuously improving itineraries and services. This has made us the world’s leading Latin American adventure specialists with the widest range of travel styles available. Our professional team has unrivalled experience on the ground locally, as well as full back-up around the world from our offices in London, Sydney and Cuzco. Today, Tucan is still owned and managed by the same people who founded the company, and we are just as passionate now as we were the day we began.

Who Travels with Tucan Travel?

Tucan travellers come from a wide variety of cultures, nations and backgrounds, and they all share an adventurous spirit, a strong sense of fun and a desire to see the world as it really is. Many Tucan travellers are aged between 25 and 45, but passengers of all ages are welcome on most of our tours as long as they are willing to integrate with the group and are enthusiastic.

Solo Travellers
While many people travel as a couple or with friends, around half of our travellers come on their own as they know they will meet friendly, likeminded people along the way. Over the years, many of our passengers have told us that they have made lifelong friends on their Tucan tour. Other companies often charge solo travellers an additional supplement, but we are proud to say that we don’t and never have. There’s no such thing as a solo traveller on a Tucan tour; you won’t be travelling with strangers, just friends you haven’t met yet! Tucan travellers come from all over the world and share the same thirst for adventure.

See Latin America Your Way

Whether you want to travel on local transport with chickens, arrive at each destination by private vehicle, hightail it across the rugged countryside on a powerful, mighty overland truck, or choose your own itinerary, Tucan has a travel style for you. We also give you the choice of travelling with a group size that suits your travel personality, so if you want to meet as many people as possible along the way, or just keep it small and feel like you are on a holiday with a bunch of friends, you will be able to see Latin America your way with our four distinctly different styles. We aim to cater to the wide range of wants and needs of ALL the different kinds of travellers out there. We also have the largest selection of departure dates available to fit in with your holidays so you can be sure to find the right trip at a time that suits you. Why not check out the different types and destinations. 

Choose an Experience, Not Just a Tour
We have carefully chosen departure dates that compliment a wide range of our tours, to allow you to combine trips in various parts of the continent if you want to see as much as possible while you’re there. We also operate Language Schools in five of our popular joining cities, so you can enhance your experience and indulge in the local culture before your tour - and pick up some great phrases along the way!

Don’t Forget To Bring Your Smile

Latin Americans often claim that they operate on a different clock to the rest of the world, and this is just one of the many gems and quirks that you will discover about the region when you visit. Our tours are of an adventurous nature, and you’ll sometimes find that local standards and facilities are quite different to what you are accustomed to at home, so be prepared for the occasional mishap, or lack of service, and always remember to pack your sense of humour!

Free From Hassle
Many travellers choose our tours over independent backpacking because of the freedom we offer. On our tours you are completely free from the hassle of booking your own accommodation, organising your own transport, finding your own excursions with quality guides, and choosing reliable and interesting places to go for dinner and drinks. All of our Tour Leaders speak the local language so they will be able to navigate through every situation smoothly and comfortably. In many places, you’ll have the choice to explore with new friends or independently if you wish. We aim to provide you with all the essentials to make your trip as relaxing and easygoing as possible - the rest is up to you.

Quality & Value

We take great care to ensure that our tours are the best value for money in the business, and we know that outstanding value means ensuring that all of the ingredients are right, not just the price. Many of the inclusions in our tours are the result of years of careful research to get the right balance of quality and adventure that is best suited to our travellers. The vast regional knowledge and local awareness that all of our staff have will help to lift your experiences out of the ordinary. For example, our popular Inca Trail programme utilizes carefully selected and educated local guides, cooks, and porters with top equipment, to ensure your trek will be of the highest quality with minimal discomfort. Our value for money and excellent reputation results in many travellers returning to us year after year.

Get in touch with the Locals
Travelling with Tucan means getting out there, doing it, meeting the locals and having fun! Our itineraries are designed to allow you to become as involved as possible with the local countries and communities we travel to. We also take you to those out-of-the-way local sights that guidebooks don’t know of and many tourists never have the chance to see. We like to encourage our travellers to have a fully interactive experience, all the while respecting local cultures and customs.