Elevate Destinations

Experts in socially responsible luxury travel. We design travel experiences that support conservation and local communities without skimping on comfort.

Testimonials from our Travelers

Lana with Elevate Destinations did a great job planning our honeymoon! We advised that we were interested in hiking, bike riding, kayaking, and seeing Southern Chile - and Elevate Destinations put together an itinerary that was a perfect blend of outdoor activities that we were looking for and high end, socially responsible accommodations with amazing service. Vira Vira in Pucon was incredible - the fly fishing, hiking, and hot springs. Their hospitality was top notch. Torres del Paine was spectacular. Beautiful hikes. March was a wonderful time to visit - the weather was good (still warm but not too hot) and the crowds are reasonable in their shoulder season. We absolutely would recommend Elevate Destinations and a trip to Chile.

— Holly and Blaine Murphy, Chile

I loved the perfect mix of learning about Peru and its rich history and spending time in the students homes. We very much enjoyed painting at one home, gardening at the Andean Alliance, having dinner with the Peruvian Hearts girls, and working in the school with the young girls. We really fell in love with all of them and plan to be in contact with them for a very long time.

We came home and immediately made donations to each!

— Melissa Allen, Peru

Everyday was a highlight. From Machu Picchu to painting at a Peruvian Hearts scholar home - we just did not want to leave a country with so much passion for its people and heritage. The accommodations, restaurants, guide, driver - everything was perfect. The girls we met at Chicuchas Wasi and Peruvian Hearts gave us so much more than we gave them. Our scaling the cliff and zip lining down was just the thing to push our comfort zone. Our hearts will forever be left in Peru. So what can we do next year to match this year? Can't wait!

— Julie Marchese, Peru

We had an incredible 25th anniversary trip, planned by Elevate. Though we knew our itinerary, there were surprise experiences along the way as well, like interactions with the native people that were truly special and turned out to be the favorite parts of our trip. In Peru, our guide was among of the best you can have, and we enjoyed every moment with him. The hotels were all first-class, and we enjoyed some upgrades that were unexpected and just lovely. Our time in the Galapagos was perfect as well. Lana and Dominique are incredibly intuitive about what we would like. Can’t say enough really. We will definitely book a trip through them again!

— Dru Lindgren, Ecuador and The Galapagos, Peru

I’m in a new chapter of my personal life. I wanted and needed my travel experiences to reflect a profound transformation that was taking place, but I didn’t know exactly how to achieve a trip that could do this. I’m in my 40s. I’m not on a college gap year, I’m not part of a group, and I was planning to travel alone for the first time.

Enter Lana and Elevate Destinations. She had the wisdom, insight, knowledge, experience and compassion to guide me down the path to the perfect trip to match where I was in my life. She knew this wasn’t a vacation, but in a lot of ways a healing journey.

No detail was left to chance, she took care of every logistical detail eliminating all the worry, she paired me with the perfect hotels and excursions and the volunteer work that filled my soul in a ways I didn’t know possible.

— Stefanie Lerner, Costa Rica

"For the second time in my life, I found inspiration whilst visiting Africa. The last time, it was Kenya, this time it was Uganda and Rwanda. Both times it was extraordinary and led to unimaginable personal growth; where I can connect with how strength works with gentleness in urban, rural, and wild places. The people are open and kind; stunning in their beauty and resilience as are the wildlife. I return with treasures of transcendent moments that nurture my soul and revive my purpose. Thank-you—the words -- don’t make the mark, but I will endeavor to continually express the gratitude I feel going forward, like the 400 elephants I inexplicably stumbled upon striding across the savannah at sundown, they will forever be on repeat in my mind and in my heart."

— Stephanie Brownell, Rwanda, Uganda

"An amazing experience - every place we stayed was magical, each for completely different reasons. Even getting stuck in the mud with a lioness sleeping a few feet away became fun and an adventure. We were well cared- for, welcomed, and well fed! Ready for the next one!"

— Thanassis and Helen Mazarakis, Tanzania

“Our trip to South Africa, Malawi and Zambia was simply amazing. We really experienced what Africa is all about. For our girls, who are still relatively young, an experience like this can and likely is life changing. Not only did we visit a school and meet some local children, but we experienced an entire afternoon with them visiting Victoria Falls and eating together. We also saw where they live and were even invited into one of their homes. We really got a full picture of their lives, challenges and hopes and dreams. This we will never forget. The accommodations on the trip ranged from a plantation estate, to a hotel overlooking the Zambezi River, to camping on a nearly deserted island. We were so well cared for in every place and loved how different each experience was...it felts like 5 trips packed into one. We also had some amazing animal sightings include mating lions which was another highlight. Overall the trip was everything we could have dreamed and doing this together as a family made it that much more special.”

— Sophie Beraznik and family, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia

"It is difficult to put into word the meaning of our trip to Peru. We feel so blessed to have spent time with so many wonderful people. It was the perfect balance of volunteering, getting to know the Peruvian culture, outdoor exercise and history lessons. The hotels were supreme and we always had someone there to guide us along the way. Every activity had special meaning to us. Your planning was wonderful."

— Kathy Sharpe and family, Peru

"We spent three weeks on safari in the beautiful Laikipia region of Kenya. I can’t begin to describe the beauty of the camps and lodges, the kindness of the staff and guides, and the transformative experiences they created for each one of us. No detail was spared in attending to our every comfort and need. Every moment was a gift. We felt a renewed faith in human kindness and communication regardless of culture and geography. The trip surpassed our every expectation and we ended up extending our stay by an extra week because we couldn’t bear to return."

— Leanna McGrath and family, Kenya

"The trip was terrific. As soon as we arrived in the city of Havana from the airport, we felt like we had been transported into a movie set in the 1950s. There are still signs about the revolution everywhere. There are NO American chains. No McDonalds, no Gap stores - virtually nothing familiar to us. This is one of the reasons we chose to visit Cuba now. In 25 years, it will look very different. It is a poor country but the people are kind and proud of their culture and country. This is another reason to visit now if you want to see an emerging country before it is overdeveloped."

— Lisa W and family, Cuba

"I was blown away by how wonderful this trip was. Of course the locations and the animals were amazing. The game drives and the camp locations were beautiful, very exclusive and intimate, not over crowded with cars or anything like that. Service at the camps was seamless, we were perfectly taken care of and the staff went above and beyond. The staff were all so warm, knowledge, open, and became our friends in the end. The other travelers we met were all interesting, adventurous people. Transportation, food, everything was all taken care of which left us to enjoy the animals and our new friends. I would highly highly recommend this trip to anyone!

— Kelly Ward, Kenya

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