Hi Tom,
I believe I speak for all of us when I say: Thank you so much for such a wonderful 2 weeks in Italy! It was an unforgettable experience, and it was so great to make new friends as well! We will definitely book another trip with you again, hopefully sometime next year.
It was great meeting you all and we hope to see you again in the future! If any of you plan to visit New York sometime, please reach out to us, we'd love to show you around.
Florian, thank you so much for making our time in Naples so enjoyable. Please let me know when you find out what the white lines mean.
Regards,
Ali & Gabriela
(from New York, USA, about the Grand Tour to Italy's volcanoes in Oct 2017)
Hey,
Just wanted to say thank you for an incredible trip in Iceland a few months ago, I've been working on the editing all the footage I took, so it kind of felt like I was still there. The weather was great, Chris is a great guide, and Iceland is just insane!
I put together a 45 min, day by day video of the trip, might serve as a good advert for others considering it, feel free to share :)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF0tbHU_f2__RnJaScICd4_gsKCULErIq
Many thanks, looking forward to next years trip with you guys!
-Chris Kay
(from UK, about his Colors of Iceland tour in August 2017)
"Ms. Passariello:
I read your excellent article in today's Wall Street Journal this morning.
Last October, my wife Jenean and I did a grand tour of all of Italy's volcanoes through a group called Volcano-Adventures (www.volcanodiscovery.com). We began our two-week trip in Naples at Mt. Vesuvius, followed it up with Campi Flegrei, took a ferry to Stromboli, sailed to the other Aeolean Islands, and ended up at Mt. Etna. Our trip was guided by a volcanologist who explained all the natural phenomena to us. In between, we were treated to excellent restaurants and wine tastings. We also stayed in excellent hotels.
We spent several days in Stromboli. Our hotel was the Villaggio Stromboli, where we were able to look out over the water to Strombolicchio. Midway up the volcano is a restaurant called Osservatorio, where the only lighting is provided by candles, and each eruption of a lava fountain is punctuated by oohs and aahs from the customers just like during Fourth of July fireworks. From that point, my wife ascended the rest of the mountain to the summit crater. I walked back down to the hotel because my knees can no longer handle steep climbs and descents. She spent several hours at the top of the volcano and got some great pictures and videos of the eruptions. Jenean arrived back at the hotel several hours later, and she said that her leg muscles felt like jello.
We also spent some time at the islands of Lipari and Vulcano. Our small boat took us through places in the Tyrrhenian Sea that was bubbling with volcanic gases. The water was like seltzer, but the bubbles smelled like sulfur. The island of Vulcano is very active, with steam vents and mud baths everywhere. Lipari was enjoyable also. It goes without saying that all these places had excellent food. The Aeolian Islands are unknown to most American tourists, and we didn't see very many.
We have many pictures and videos from our trip. We would be happy to share them with you. Stromboli is but one of many volcanoes in Italy. It is relatively easy to hike to the crater of Vesuvius. Even I was able to do it. Of more significance is the city of Pozzouli, which sits atop Campi Flegrei (a.k.a Phlegraean Fields), a supervolcano above which live about two million people. Mt. Etna is the grand finale. In addition to the activity of the volcano itself, the surrounding area is filled with the marks and effects that the volcano has left upon it. You can truly appreciate the massive power of Mother Nature.
This was a bucket-list vacation for me. I have always been fascinated by volcanoes. ...
Keep up the good work." (Robert B., California, about the Grand Tour to Italy's volcanoes in Oct 2016)
"Tom,
After spending the last 5 days together, our quick farewell seemed a bit anti-climatic. Please know that Mimi and I had a wonderful experience with you and we will treasure it for a very long time!
Your knowledge, guiding and patience makes you stand out as an exceptional volcano/geologist professional!
Mahalo, and please keep in touch, Leland and Mimi"
(Leland L., from L.A. about the Kilauea Volcano Special in March 2017)
Dear Ingrid,
the trip was, simply said, excellent and super including logistics, staff, food, geology, etc. Enclosed you'll find a short excursion debriefing :-). The staff was excellent and I've never met better one. Enku is really great and sensitive person, willing to do whatever for others, and loving geology. He showed us everything he could or we wanted. Demis (our driver) is an even-tempered man all time smiling and was my personal guide on fragile lava. Meski (our cook) is so good in cooking. First day I was a little bit startled of eating unknown meals but next days I was eating so much (big portions of very tasty meals) that my weight increased by 1.5 kg.
Thank you very much for the beautiful trip and I'm looking forward to the next volcano expedition.
Many greetings from freezing Prague.
- Richard (from the Czech Republic) about his participation on our first Erta Ale volcano special in from 14 to 21 January 2017. Fellow traveler Paul shared his photographs of this unique high activity at Erta Ale.
Dear Ingrid,
we – Andrei, Cris as well my person – have had a perfect trip! It was interesting for me to compare the lava level in 2009 when making my first journey to this volcano with Tom and the situation now. It was amazing and an unbelievable experience to stay 1,5 m aside the boiling molten rock.
Enku and his staff had done an absolutely perfect job and with my colleagues I have had so much fun like never before!
With best regards,
- Jens (from Germany) about his Desert, salts and volcanoes expedition in over Christmas / New Year 2016/2017. You can also see some of his Erta Ale volcano photographs as well as read the
eye witness report on Erta Ale´s activity during this expedition
"Hello Ingrid, Tom,
Here is my feedback on the recent trip to DRC. ... I had a wonderful trip (thoroughly enjoyed it). Nyiragongo volcano was spectacular. Although you could see the side vent smoking away, there is no longer a lava fountain running into the main crater. At times there was high activity but you could also see the level of lava going down and then coming up again. Sometimes there was too much cloud/fog to see the crater but then it would clear and it was great to be able to see it in different light conditions. The volcano was a hard climb (~2000m altitude gain in one go is quite a lot), but not too bad. ...the climb down was much harder (due to steep slippery slopes covered in moss), ...
Seeing the gorillas was also wonderful and am glad of having had the opportunity to do so.
- Jay Ramji (UK) about his June 2016 Nyiragongo lava lake and mountain gorillas expedition
"Goedenavond Ingrid,
Thanks for your email! We had a great time and Enku took very good care of us and was a very enjoyable companion/guide with lots of stories and information to share on all kinds of topics. Demis was a wonderful and very careful driver who seemed to have an eagle-eye for wildlife, and of course Meski was such a lovely and cheerful lady, very warm and welcoming to everyone. So we had a wonderful crew with us. And yes the nature was spectacular. Even without Enku's enthusiasm (he couldn't wait to get to Erta Ale and was so happy when we got there and it was even beyond his expectations) we could see that Erta Ale was doing something very special, and we thoroughly enjoyed the many day- and night-shows it gave us. Dallol was stunning, we were immediately immersed by the colours, and amazed to hear from Enku that what we were raving about was normally not active ground, and that the
whole area was far bigger than normal! He was shocked to see that the rocky non-active area where the Flemish crew had done their interview was now bubbling away in white, yellow and orange, such a change in two weeks time..."
- Hans en Jooske about their Desert, salts and volcanoes expedition in November 2016 of which they shared some photographs with us
"Lieber Tom!
David and I apologize profusely for the delay in sending this thank you note for an amazing and memorable trip last month.
It surpassed everything we were expecting, and much of that was due to you — not just your superb knowledge of the subject matter, but your patience, generosity, and your ability to manage a very diverse group of people so effortlessly.
It was, without a doubt, one of the best adventure trips we have ever taken, and that is saying A LOT. ...
Thank you so very much, Tom, and we hope we will have a chance to take another trip with you soon. Just let us know the destinations, and we'll do our best to join! (The only place David is not keen on going to is Ethiopia, as it is too close to Somalia and Ethiopians don't make red wine or cannolis!)
Ingrid — our deepest thanks to you as well for your assistance and help in organizing the trip. Everything was perfect!!! Hope we get a chance to meet you as well.
...
Take care and speak to you soon! Please give Barbara in Stromboli our best regards, too, would you? Thank you!
Warmest regards,
Alisha and David"
(Alisha + David (USA) about the Stromboli to Etna tour in Oct 2016)
"Morning Ingrid/Tom from Australia,
Just wanted to say thank you again for organising such a fantastic alternative tour for me in Bali- had a great time -Semeru was amazing despite the duration on top being cut a bit short due to torrential rain and thunder- (wet season adventures!! :-))
Galih was a fantastic tour guide and a credit to your team wouldn't hesitate to do another tour with him and in fact can't wait to get back to Bali and see some more- he was full of suggestions on other active volcanoes and Ai love the more challenging hikes.... i was a little amazed to see just how commercialized and busy Ijen had become since I went there last (my friend had organised a side trip from Bali- no where near as good as going with volcanoadventures!)
...
Thanks!!!
Kat"
(K. Spruth, Australia about her Bromo, Semeru, Ijen tour in Nov 2016)
"Hi Tom
It has now been a few weeks since we've returned from our amazing Ambrym expedition.
I just want to let you know how much we enjoyed it. The small group in the expedition was diverse and everyone got on extremely well. While the trek up to base camp was an exhilarating climb, it was a pity that our hike up to Benbow was in complete rain. This nevertheless added to the thrill and it sure made up for the great weather we had for the trek to Benbow the following day.
Yashmin was a great expedition leader, very professional and answered with all my volcanology questions with a smile on his face. The locals guides, cooks and porters all looked after us well.
Cheers
Jesmond"
(Jesmond C. from Australia, on our Volcanoes of Ambrym expedition in September 2016)
"Hi Tom
... the trip was perfectly tailored, providing time off between hard treks to recover and enjoy beaches, countryside and markets. The volcanoes were awesome and he explained their particular "personalities" very well.
Andi and Donald both worked extremely hard to ensure that everything ran smoothly for us. I appreciate the difficulties involved in organising reliable porters, drivers, food and accommodation and Andi always managed to keep us on schedule. He went beyond his brief and helped me enormously with my photography, even taking me shopping for essential accessories that I had omitted to bring with me.
On each camping expedition I was the only female with approximately eight men in an isolated area and I never felt uncomfortable, but on the contrary, I felt extremely safe and protected. I had an absolutely fantastic time with Andi, Donald and Thomas and would not hesitate to recommend the trip to anyone who felt they were fit enough to tackle Ibu and Dukono.
Best wishes
(Joy G. from Australia, who participated on our Volcanoes and Spices expedition in September 2016)
"Dear Friends,
Please find below the link to the photos i took during our recent volcano adventure, which I would like to share.
It was a truly enjoyable experience, I am very grateful to all those who participated and facilitated the organization of this trip. Thanks—"
- Fadi A. (Jordan) about his Nyiragongo lava lake and mountain gorillas expedition in July 2016)
"Dear Tom and Ingrid,
Dorothy an I have been home for over three weeks now, so definitely time to write and say thank you for organising such a fantastic trip around Iceland. I really enjoyed it, an experience of a lifetime, something I had never remotely thought about doing.
...
Chris was amazing! Without him the fortnight could easily have been boring and quite a trial. With him it was the exact opposite. His knowledge and expertise was astounding and we were able to understand what he was showing us. The amount of effort he put in behind the scenes each day to make sure everything went smoothly was very much appreciated by all of us. And to top it off, he is a superb cook. At the end of each day, he managed to serve up a superb meal, often under the most trying of arrangements.
So thank you again, it was a great experience. We have already told people to get onto the Volcano Adventures website when they ask "how did you get on to this trip?"
All the best for the future,
Euan and Dorothy"
(from Australia, about their Colors of Iceland tour in August 2016)
"Hi Tom and Ingrid,
Hope you guys are doing fine, perhaps busy with some volcanic adventures!.
I came back to Switzerland well after a great holiday in Indonesia. ...
...This was certainly a superb tour and wonderful exploration of the active volcanoes of east Java within the limits of time and possibility of all that can be done.
Galih did a great job in guiding me well throughout the trip. He was very flexible, open to requests and definitely gave a great company. More so, I enjoyed all those wonderful discussions on Volcanoes with him. It was certainly a very educative trip for me, but all the more a big event in watching a real lava rock fall/partial flow after Semeru's strombolian explosion. ... wow, what a spectacular setting!. I am now even more enthusiastic to explore more volcanoes in the future. I have some wonderful moments to remember from the entire tour. I am convinced that I couldn't have found any better tour option to discover these magnificent volcanoes of Indonesia.
Sincere thanks to the company and Galih and Ganz herzclichen Dank zu Tom and Ingrid! ...
...I now know whom to approach for serious volcanic explorations and ... I am sure to contact you guys again sometime in the future :-).
Good luck for volcano discovery!
best, Aravind"
(Aravind P. from Switzerland, about his private Volcanoes of East Java tour in September 2016)
"Greetings Chris
A belated thank you for a most wonderful 14 days in Iceland. Your knowledge, sense of humour, cooking skills and patience were first class. Norma and I rate this trip as the best guided tour we have yet done.
I hope some day to join you in Vanuatu. Best wishes and again many thanks.
Ric"
(Eric C., Australia about our Colors of Iceland tour in August 2016)
"Hi Tom,
Just want to let you know, that I had a trip of a lifetime, it was everything that I dreamed and even more, Galith was a great guide and we got on well, the volcanoes are out of this world, I got lots of footage, both photos and stills, I've just started producing a short holiday video with timelapses and movie footage, I will share that with you guys.
I'm looking forward to the next!"
(Chris K, UK, about the Krakatau to Bali tour of July-August 2016.
"Dear Ingrid And Tom,
Just a quick note to let you know that the Erta Ale/Dallol trip was absolutely superb. Spending time at Erta Ale and Dallol were the highlights, but I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects.
I love wildlife and bird watching which I wasn't expecting on this trip and was pleasantly surprised at how much of this I was able to do. I found Enku to be an excellent guide; very knowledgeable about the area and as a volcanologist. Him and his team looked after us as very well and please convey my thanks to him.
4 in the group was just the right number and the dynamics worked very well. Thanks goes to you too to set this up at the last minute. The recent overflow that happened about 10 days before we arrived at Erta Ale had changed the landscape somewhat (looking at past photos) such that we had get close to the rim of the crater to get good views.
The lake was particularly active and we enjoyed the spectacle. Also, at Dallol it was a little cooler than I was expecting and I was able to cope with the heat. I'm currently going through my photographs which eventually I'll put on Flickr (however, no photos can ever capture the images I have stored in my mind!)"
-Jay R. (UK) about the Danakil Expedition in February 2016
"Many thanks indeed for allowing the Danakil trip over Christmas to run with just two clients. I am so very grateful to you. It was a terrific experience, and more than met my every expectation. Karen and I got on famously, and Enku rounded out the trio with his own understated but terrific personality.
Everything went well. For so many years I've wanted to visit the Danakil, and you made this possible for me. The highlight of course is Erta Ale which is an experience unlike any other I can imagine. To be able to get so close to a lava lake is stunning in itself; to see the Cauldron boiling and bubbling in front of you is indescribably mesmerizing. The rain we encountered there was both a nuisance and a blessing. Two cold nights with a wet sleeping bag and mattress, bah. But hey, you have the world's best clothes dryer on your doorstep. However the consequent flooding of the salt pans resulted in a surreal experience when apparently driving across the ocean on the way to Dallol. Pure magic. Khellem produced throughout the trip first rate fodder, with the most unusual Christmas Day pudding: three layers of injera sandwiched with marmalade and Nutella. Yum. Plus firework sparklers for all! A Christmas to remember.
You've probably had a report from Enku. The night of our arrival, the lava lake was close to one metre from the rim; we were able to gather some splendid samples of lava-splatter, solidifying in front of us. The level fell with oscillations over the next three days to maybe three/four metres below the rim, but with good bubbles and fountains. My sole regret of the trip: not to witness an overflow!
Thanks again to you and the local support team for making this spectacular trip possible."
-Andrew B., US, about the Danakil volcano expedition of December 2015)
"Hi Ingrid
Good to hear from you! Yes the trip was totally fabulous and I will be uploading some of the pictures which came out brilliantly I am so pleased.
...
I will certainly be booking future trips with you and I would love to go on another trip with Enku - I think we wore him out doing extra walks & we even took ourselves up the big hill surrounding Wukuru as I am not one for sitting around in hotel & neither was he - I think we were both rather fitter than his normal clientele!
I am aware the groups are normally bigger so many thanks for not cancelling the trip - it certainly has been a 20 yr wait for me to go there and I am pleased to have found your company when I was searching around for how to get there! The itinerary was spot on & as I mentioned I could have easily spent another day at both volcanoes - Andrew & I were actually rather keen to do a climb up one of the sandstone rock churches even if just for the view but we couldn't fit that in as well!"
-Karen A. from UK, about the Danakil volcano tour in December 2015)
"Hello Tom,
... We wanted to thank you (as well as Andi, Galih and the team) very much for the formidable trip. It was our first trip with you but we came out very happy with the experience. In particular, we were very pleased with the following :
(1) excellent organization and logistics and good food (especially in challenging Batu Tara conditions) with no hic-ups or problems encountered,
(2) great flexibility to accommodate changes until the last minute (we were very happy to have chosen Rinjani as Andi must have told you),
(3) small groups that make the trip so much enjoyable, and
(4) a very good guide (Andi), knowledgeable, flexible, passionate...
Again many thanks for the trip and we will be looking forward to
joining another trip with you soon. Enjoy Colima and Guatemala and
have a great holiday season and a wonderful New Year!
See you soon,
Judith and Fady"
(from The Netherlands & France, about the Batu Tara volcano expedition in November 2015)
