Port Compass

has anyone ever used Port Compass to book excursions in south america? any comments on the service would be appreciated.

We used Port Compass about 4 years ago for our cruise: Santiago to Buenos Aires. We used them for Ushaia and Buenos Aires. In both cases, they had representatives at the port to meet us. Both tours were private and less expensive then the ship. We were particularly glad we arranged the Buenos Aires tour because it was the end of the cruise. They met us at the dock, handled our luggage and took us on a day tour of Buenos Aires ending at our hotel. We were happy with both tours and would recommend their service

We used Port Compass several years ago for both a transfer from Santiago to Valparaiso by way of Vina del Mar. They supplied an air conditioned van, driver and an excellent guide. The guide was from Valparaiso and she provided excellent commentary in Vina delMar and Valparaiso. Port Compass also assisted us with booking a hotel in Santiago and got us a decent discount on the room, too.

J!m--

I haven't seen any postings from you in ages on our 25 Nov roll call boards! Are you still going to be with us?

Sgcaver (Sheila and Brad) have just put some info re transfer with Port Compass on our roll call. You may want to check that out.

Hope to hear from you soon...

We are using PortCompass for our South America cruise, in Ushuaia, Argentina. They are available for other ports too. We are satisfied with the quick responses we got to questions and the price we thought was reasonable. Even thought I have used their tour services yet, I've been satisfied so far!

Hope this helps!

We didn't have a good experience.

I had requested a private tour from Valparaiso to Santiago, ending at the airport NO EARLIER than 7:00PM (Dec. 3, 2006).

After the initial private tour quote and confirmation, I got email asking if I would entertain the idea of other couples. I emailed back "one or two couples would be fine-no more than 6 people". Next thing I knew, we were on the "grow a group" program, with drop off at the airport between 4-5PM and 14 additional people. I was EXTREMELY po'd- the whole point of the 7:00PM drop off-DH was flying to Lima to meet friends on a 10:00PM flight, I was staying in Santiago for a business meeting. Dropping off at the airport between 4-5PM WAS NOT in the original plans.

I talked to Sue, who stated I stated it was OK to "grow a group". Yes, but NOT BY 14 people and drop off at the airport between 4-5PM. To revert to the private tour dropping off at 7:00PM, the quote was NOW DOUBLE what was originally quoted. Our credit card had already been billed the original amount.

I think Port Compass already had people inquiring about a tour from Vina to Santiago who did NOT want to pay the price for a private tour. But they could accommodate everyone by sticking us in with the other people, who were quite content to get to the airport between 4-5PM. I REALLY felt ripped off and I am a frequent South American business traveler.

I rented a car from Advantage car rentals in Vina del Mar ($10.00 cab fare from ship). Actually booked it while on the ship sailing from Manta Ecuador to Valparaiso. Dropped the car off at the airport about 8:00PM. Cost-about $100.00. We went to two wineries, saw LOTS of Vina in places the tour buses cannot go (high in the hills), went to both markets in Santiago, drove around, had some dinner and went to the airport.

Your experience may not mirror ours-Port Compass has a fairly decent reputation in South America. But MAKE SURE you get what you are paying for.