Wildland Trekking is a US-based company offering hiking vacations of different styles. I have used them for 3 backpacking trips and 1 porter-style trip with amazing differences. With so many adventure-based companies now offering hiking and other activity breaks, why should you use Wildland Trekking? I thought I would just write my Wildland Trekking review. The answer is simple, for some trips, they are amazing, for others, don't go near them.
I found Wildland Trekking in the Spring of 2016 when I was looking for a trip to Yellowstone National Park, USA. The preparation and vetting they did was responsible and reasonable, the customer service before the trip was good and the trip itself will stay with me for the rest of my life. A huge part of any guided backpacking trip is the guide and the people.
With a great trip behind me, I looked to Wildland for my next adventure to Machu Picchu, Peru and a 4-day hike on the Inca Trail. The Yellowstone trip was such a success I didn't have any doubts, but unfortunately, it wasn't long after arriving in Peru that things went downhill rapidly. The trip was a catalogue of errors with very poor and untested logistical decisions by Wildland management. When arrangements were explained to us, it was very clear Wildland had put no thought into what they had arranged and subcontracted out to a local guide company. With the group spending almost 30K USD the tone was set when we found out even the 4-page PDF document they gave out was wrong sending us to the wrong airport and the trip outline was wrong. Wildland despite knowing it was wrong couldn't be bothered to update it. The list of problems is just too long to list here, but ultimately they gave us a large part of the costs back as a refund.
The local company that actually provided the day trips and the main Inca Trail trek were excellent, Peru By Locals, I would highly recommend them. The Wildland guide was also good, she handled a difficult situation well and tried her very best considering the mess the management had put her in. The place was magical and my walking companions were great company. If it wasn't for such a magical place and the people the trip would have been a disaster.
So some friends from the Yellowstone trip then invited me to 2 hikes in Yosemite, both Wildland. I was sceptical, but my first USA trip was so good, I had done some more investigation on Wildland and their structure since I came back from Peru so I took the gamble and went. I am so glad I did, both hikes in Yosemite were amazing, again bucket list spectacular views, great guides and the trips from Wildland went smoothly.
Should You Use them ?
The answer is simple. The website is split into 2 areas, USA and Global. Although they share a website they are 2 different companies with different management.
The USA destinations are excellent and I have no hesitation in recommending them 5 stars. They look after everything themselves, they have been performing the trips for years.
The Global side is a different company, Wildland International with different management. I do NOT recommend choosing any of the Global destinations on the Wildland website. After many email conversations with them, it is clear to me the management have no idea of logistics and even basic things like, try a trip out first with staff before using customers as a test. They provide nothing and just add a layer on top of a local guide company. All this does is add a layer of confusion and increases the price massively. I am not alone in my views, even Wildland staff have made comments to me about the Global company.
These guys are awesome and if you want to visit Peru, Cusco or the Inca Trail, I cannot recommend them enough. Don't bother going with another company that uses them, just go with them direct. They are 5 stars!
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