Almaz Journeys
Almaz Journeys is a boutique tour operator specialized in unforgettable, custom deluxe itineraries in Latin America. From Havana's old city to Machu Picchu, and the lush mountains of Colombia’s coffee region to the mighty Amazon river basin and beyond. Our team is passionate about Latin America after years of living and traveling throughout the region. Every day, we leverage this passion together with our expertise and connections to create unforgettable private journeys for our clients, featuring top-notch local guides and often limited-access experiences. For particularly complex destinations such as Cuba, our team takes all the guesswork out of planning and navigating often confusing U.S. regulations, and once you are on the ground we take care of all the details. From private shore excursions to multi-day land-based journeys, and from couples to multi-generational families and private cultural groups, we offer highly personalized service and expertise to combine the best of a traditional tour operator and a Destination Management Company.
Our Experience
Our founder Joe Sandillo’s passion for Latin America long predates his entry into the travel industry 20 years ago with Exeter International. Joe is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese after living in Brazil and traveling extensively in Latin America including Cuba, Colombia, Panama, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Guatemala and Paraguay. Joe specifically launched Almaz Journeys with Exeter’s Greg Tepper in order to put his regional expertise, language skills and passion to work developing and planning extraordinary journeys. Joe travels extensively to stay abreast of changes in the region as well as personally develop new product offerings for to help our clients have a more personal and lasting connection with the destination.
We know our destinations intimately, taking the guesswork out of planning for you. In Cuba, we closely monitor and are well-versed in the current rules on legal travel to Cuba, the burden from advisors to ensure their clients have a trip that is both legal and tailored to their interests.
Joe is building a team at Almaz Journeys with his same passion for Latin America and high level of service and destination knowledge. We are not a call center, and we invest great time and resources into training and travel for our team. Almaz Journeys is not a generalist tour operator, but rather dedicated to places we know and love – seeking not to grow beyond Latin America but rather to constantly improve and enrich the experiences we offer in our corner of the world.
