Holidaying with the locals in Brazil; visiting the homes of Bolivia’s wealthy indigenous people; and exploring the America’s Pompeii.
There’s a new personalised, unique and luxurious way to see South & Central America and it has just become available in the Australian market.
DB Americas will officially expand into Australia at Luxperience next week. It’s a Santiago-based luxury service operator run by two passionate Aussies that focuses on offering indivualised luxury tours throughout the region.
While Director Seng Wing Chong and Managing Director Edward Fokin hail from Sydney, the pair have lived and breathed South and Central America – literally – for the past three years to become region experts.
It’s this immersion in South and Central America that sets this tour operator apart from others because they’ve spent years sourcing unique local experiences with touches of luxury.
You probably feel like you’ve heard this spiel before but you haven’t seen it put into practise quite like this.
“We’ve spent a lot of time travelling South and Central America and that’s how we’ve found all these unique offerings.”
Seng Wing Chong, DB Americas Director
“Our general rule is we don’t sell a place unless we’ve been there and personally experienced it and that’s because what a local might think is a great experience actually isn’t for Australians.
“We’ve been to places and areas which officials promote but we didn’t think they fit, but there are places that haven’t been marketed but are still easily accessible and safe.”
Don’t misinterpret that by thinking DB Americas avoids any tourist hot spots. On the contrary, the operator ensures clients tick off all the hot spots (if that’s what the client wants) while also seeing parts of every country that’s not usually accessible to international travellers.
For example, in Buenos Aires a local chef will come to the client and prepare a local dish while interacting with the travellers. This gives them the opportunity to learn about the culture, food and receive a genuinely unique experience.
In Brazil, DB Americas will send clients to Gramado, a holiday place for locals located in the mountains. It’s rich with Brazilian and European history and is famous amongst locals for its month-long Christmas celebrations that feature light shows every month and travellers even have the chance to go inside a large Christmas tree. The area is also full of restaurants, chocolate shops and German bakeries.
Brazilian holidaymakers can also get to stay in a hotel that has the country’s best customer service – this is a pretty big deal because apparently customer service isn’t Brazil’s forte. The pair sourced the property themselves and say while it costs a little extra clients love it.
But nothing quite tops visiting the house of a wealthy indigenous person in Bolivia. They use their traditional bright colours to decorate inside and outside their homes to create a very psychedelic look. They even try to outdo each other and make their properties brighter and more elaborate than their neighbours.
Did you know Bolivia is the only country in the world that legally allows people to work from the age of 10? Children run their own unions and work with the government to establish guidelines and working hours.
For those that say there’s only one way to do Machu Picchu, think again. After a day of hiking, DB Americas sends its clients to a luxurious lodge where they enjoy a three-star dinner and a jacuzzi.
“In every country there are little gems which are not really known and we’ve unearthed these gems by travelling, doing it personally and by talking to people.”
Edward Fokin, DB Americas Managing Director
DB Americas operates small and customised tours but Chong said they can also arrange more regular standard tours. They also offer competitive pricing for the region’s best products, on-the-ground service and 24-hour support for its clients.
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