Shallwegohometravel Reviews 22

We were truly impressed with how Joe organised our trip to Chile and Argentina, thoughtfully considering all our preferences and crafting a seamless itinerary. Highlights included stunning scenery, a glacier boat tour, an island walk with penguins, stargazing in Atacama, and a visit to the geysers. Despite numerous internal flights and coach journeys, everything ran smoothly, and we saved money by booking independently. I highly recommend Joe from shallwehometravel for anyone planning a South American adventure—this was one of our best experiences, and we’ve been happily sharing it with friends.

Even though I had decided very last minute to go to South America and felt a bit paralysed and stressed by the thought of having to plan 5 weeks of a once in a life time holiday with my son, I was reluctant to ask for help. I have always planned my own and family holidays, proudly independent! If your feeling like I was then now, don't delay like me, contact Joe! We had a long "no commitment" video call that made me feel as though all we wanted to do and see was possible and we could even fit in a trip into Bolivia as a bonus! After some further discussion/thought and e mails, Joe provided us with a tailored itinerary to our budget, wants and pace. This provided us with the confidence we needed before and during our trip. Without this planning service I'm nearly 100% certain we would not have had the confidence to have gone last minute or the time spending hours / days researching everything needed for 5 weeks away. I ended up being able to see all those childhood "dream" places - Patagonia, Atacama Desert, Machu Picchu and the Amazon rainforest to name a few. We have great memories now thanks to a big part played by Joe's planning service.

We had an idea what we wanted to do. We had quotes, itineraries from travel agents but felt that they were quite rigid and did not allow us the flexibility that we desired.
We then contacted Joe, had an initial call with him, and then he created a draft itinerary for us. it was more in line with what we wanted, and then after a few iterations we finalised the planning.
As we were going to a lot of destinations, different weathers, hiking in some places, Joe guided us in what clothing / gear would be appropriate. He also encouraged us to self drive in Patagonia and Atacama, which we would not have considered, and that enhanced our travels significantly.
Joe charged a reasonable fixed fee, was quick to respond and it was comforting to know that we could contact him at any time during our travels.

It was our first time planning a trip to South America, we initially tried to DIY all the planning by ourselves but we could not find sufficient information online & was struggling with the massive amount of items to research / figuring out which countries/cities to prioritise and how many days were needed for each, the transport in and out everywhere & of course the safety/packing equipment needed.

We really wanted to make the trip happen, and we were glad to find Joe services online ! He set up an appointment with us, and guided us step-by-step on everything we needed to know. We love the fact that it was a highly reasonable service fee with great value- as his services allowed us to have clarity & confidence in our itinerary - while still enjoying flexibility to customise the trip to our own preferences.

Joe is is also responsive, and kindly helped us out with any questions we had before/during the trip as well !

Made the whole planning so much easier & we throughly enjoyed our South America trip !

Thank you Joe!

Before working with Joe, we were honestly quite overwhelmed trying to plan our South America trip. There were so many countries, routes, and things to consider that we kept second-guessing ourselves and didn’t feel confident we were making the most of our time.

During the planning process, everything became so much easier once Joe got involved. He really listened to what we wanted from the trip and turned it into a clear, well-structured plan. It took all the stress away and gave us confidence that everything was organised properly, while still keeping it flexible enough for us to enjoy ourselves.

After experiencing the trip, we can honestly say it exceeded our expectations. Everything flowed really well, we got to see so many incredible places, and it felt like the perfect balance of adventure and relaxation. We felt prepared the whole time, which made a huge difference to how much we could actually enjoy it.

Overall, we couldn’t recommend Joe enough. He made what felt like a complicated and stressful process feel simple and exciting, and it genuinely improved our whole experience.

I had an idea of some of the things I wanted to do in South America, but no clear itinerary, no real way of putting it all together. I found Joe Bayfield through a web search and after initial emails, and then an extremely helpful video call with Joe, things began to take shape. You give Joe a list of the places you want to visit, and some of the activities you’d like to experience, and he pulls it all together, drawing up a detailed schedule including your internal travel, suggesting routes and modes of transport, whether flights, public transport, or hire car. He came up with suggestions for activities in different places we visited, as well as hotel and restaurant recommendations. Joe doesn’t book anything for you - instead he provides a list of alternatives with links for each stage of your itinerary, taking a lot of the time and stress out of the planning. And when you’ve booked your flights, accommodation, activities, etc, he puts it all into a pdf file for you to print out as your detailed travel itinerary.

Beforehand I genuinely had no idea how to even approach planning out a whole trip by myself and it seem like just a massive task.
With the help provided I now actually understood how much time I realistically should spend in each place and helped me understand what my budget should realistically be. I also knew which hostels to use and what websites to find accommodation and transport.
It helped me feel super confident heading into the trip and the whole thing was super non-stress. Even when a national park had a closure that changed a few things with the trip, it was easy to figure out where to go and what to do since the planning gave me prior knowledge of the area.

Before I asked for Joe's help I was struggling with the overwhelm of planning a trip to Brazil during carnival season with my sister. Joe helped to take the stress out of planning with his expert advice of highlights, top tips and things I can avoid. Joe's daily itinerary helped me feel so comfortable and confident while I was there as I knew what to do and where to go.
Thanks to Joe's help we had such an amazing trip - I'd recommend Joe's trip planning service to anyone vising South America.

We started to plan our month long trip with only a few weeks to go due to hectic life schedules but were overwhelmed with options. We wanted to maximise our available leave to experience as much as possible and came across Joe.

The service was brilliant and responsive. We are so glad we went with his planning. After understanding what we wanted, what activities we liked, where we might want to go, budgets, what sort of places we wanted to stay at, he produced a perfect schedule for what we wanted so that we maximised our available for minimal effort on our own part.

Completely worth it - removed all the hassle and stress of planning and meant we just spent an evening booking everything. And it all worked perfectly. The detailed itinerary in particular was so helpful to maximise the time we had available in each area. Cannot fault and would use again when planning a similar trip. Brilliant service - Thanks a lot Joe!

"My wife and I usually travel independently, so when we decided our next trip would be to South America, specifically Argentina, I started researching, as I do for all my trips, and discovered Joe's service. I contacted him, and he immediately offered his help. This was a real asset to our planning and greatly contributed to making our trip a joy. His advice on activities, restaurants, places to visit, accommodations, and the Google Maps links, along with his availability, allowed us to maximize our time and have a stress-free trip. For anyone wanting to travel to South America without using an agency, I highly recommend Joe's services."

Joe's advice was genuinely really helpful. Trying to plan our trip to Argentina and Chile was initially overwhelming and Joe helped us narrow down our scattergun thoughts into a sensible itinerary.

He was happy to tweak plans when we changed our minds about where we wanted to go. We got a very useful personalised PDF guide and for each city he shared Google Maps lists with attractions, restaurants, and other useful spots, which is a great way of filtering out all the noise when landing in an unfamiliar destination.

What we liked most was knowing the had actually been to the places we visited and stayed in the hotels and eaten at the restaurants he suggested. We ended up following about 90% of his recommendations, including hotels, restaurants, and excursions, and they all worked out really well.

We’d definitely use his service again and would happily recommend him to others.

Joe’s knowledge of Brazil helped us turn a rough travel idea into a perfectly planned one-month trip. He recommended great places to stay, the best routes between destinations, and how long to spend in each location.
The detailed itinerary with booking links for experiences was incredibly helpful and saved us so much time. Even though we didn’t need support during the trip, it was reassuring to know Joe was available if needed.
Fantastic service — we’re already planning another South America trip and will definitely use Joe again.

Had been searching, then found Utopia. Someone guiding, advising me to create my perfect adventure. Joe was fantastic. A real diamond. He listened to my needs, gave me pointers and made my needs make sense. Sadly due to circumstance we didn’t proceed to booking level but I explained my situation to Joe and he said no worries feel free to come back if there were more questions, so professional. He was charming to chat to and not once made me feel a rookie for asking such simple questions. Sad not to continue but happy to know i can return

Joe was very helpful in planning our trip! He knows a lot about the continent of South America and was able to tailor our trip so we could make the most of our time, travel efficiently, and see the best of the countries highlights. He was responsive to requests and when we needed extra support while travelling, he was available and provided advice. Thank you Joe!

Before my four-month adventure to South America, I was drowning in work stress and completely overwhelmed by the idea of planning such a long and complex trip. I knew I wanted to explore the continent’s vibrant cultures, breathtaking landscapes, and iconic landmarks—but I had no idea where to start. Then I found the travel planning service by Joe and after the first interaction I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

From the very first consultation, Joe took the pressure off my shoulders and replaced it with excitement. He listened carefully to my interests and crafted a route that was not only efficient and logical but also packed with the absolute must-see highlights of South America. From the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu to the bustle of Bogota and Medellin, the majestic peaks of Patagonia to the lush Amazon rainforest - Joe gave me a plan to cover it all.

What truly set Joe apart was his ability to transform my vague travel dreams into a seamless, unforgettable reality. An optimised route was planned balancing adventure with downtime, and a list of suggested activities and attractions provided to ensure I didn’t miss anything. His extensive local knowledge and attention to detail meant I could embark on my trip with total confidence, free from the fear of missing out.

The result? An absolutely epic holiday. I came home with a heart full of joy, a camera full of stunning photos, and memories that will stay with me for a lifetime. I met incredible people, saw jaw-dropping sights, and experienced the soul of South America in a way I never could have managed without Joe’s help.

If you’re dreaming of a big or small adventure but feeling stuck or stressed — believe me, this travel planning service is absolute gold. It wasn’t just a trip itinerary; it became a critical part of my travel with no stress and enabling an adventure of a lifetime. I can’t recommend Joe highly enough!

I requested an itinerary for a 10 day trip to Salta and Jujuy provinces in Northwestern Argentina. Having discussed it with me via video call Joe came back with a detailed proposal outlining itinerary options as well as rental car and accommodation booking options . He tailored the proposal to my specifications and fine tuned it via subsequent video calls. While in the end I didn’t stick slavishly to his proposal it did provide a very helpful and cost effective framework for my trip and reassurance that I was covering all the essential elements of a once in a lifetime vacation in that corner of the world.

Joe has a great service. He has a lot of knowledge on all South America routes and was able to recommended us a lot of places. We had a route semi-defined and made loads of adjustments based on Joe’s tips. During the trip we also faced a couple of unforeseen events (typical in South America) and Joe as prompt in trying to help remotely. Great experience!! If we go back to that part of the world we will definitely go back to Joe.

Before I contacted Joe, I was trying to plan a multi week trip to Peru and Galapagos and was pretty overwhelmed. Joe responded to my enquiry swiftly and provided really useful tailored information at a very reasonable cost. I'd thoroughly recommend his service.

We had always dreamed of exploring South America, so we committed to a two-month highlights trip across the continent. The only problem? We had no idea where to start. We didn’t know anyone who had done a trip like this, and our initial searches online were overwhelming. The few options we found involved expensive travel agencies or cruise itineraries that rushed through major cities and offered little cultural immersion. We quickly realized that wasn’t the experience we wanted.

I decided to plan the trip myself, but the logistics were intimidating—countless connections, visa requirements, border crossings, neighborhoods to research, and a general lack of detailed itineraries for independent travel. There were just too many unknowns.

That’s when I found Joe at Shall We Go Home. His approach was completely different—personal, informed, and incredibly helpful. I sent over my rough outline, and he quickly turned it into a well-organized, day-by-day itinerary. One of the most valuable parts of working with Joe was his help with accommodations. With so many large cities divided into very different neighborhoods, choosing the right area to stay in is critical—and Joe nailed it every time.

He also gave us practical, real-world advice on crossing borders, using public transportation, and staying safe. It was obvious that he had been to these places himself—he knew which restaurants were worth it, which activities were must-dos, and which tourist traps to avoid. All the little details that usually take weeks of research? Joe had them covered.

The transformation was immediate. Instead of stressing over planning, we were able to focus on getting excited about the journey. We felt comfortable going to each new location, knowing we had a solid plan that was both flexible and grounded in real experience.

Looking back, I can’t imagine having done this trip without Joe’s guidance. His expertise turned a daunting idea into a very memorable adventure.

The service is 100% worth it!

As we started detailed planning for our trip to Argentina just a few weeks before departure, Joe’s ideas, practical advice, and excellent time management helped us save time and made our three-week holiday in Argentina unforgettable, filled with wonderful experiences and memories.