Pygmy Elephant - Royal Oak, Michigan

Trent

We just got back from hiking the TMB, which Pygmy Elephant put together for us. They did an excellent job, and as we talked to other people along the hike who used other services, we realized just how fortunate we really were. We had great accommodations, lots of information, and advice and updates that helped make it an amazing trip.

Kara S.

Just returned from a trip planned by Pygmy Elephant. I had originally found the company on Instagram and couldn’t find much on honest reviews. Just wanted to pop on here and say the company is legit and we had the most incredible time. Communication was great, and travel was seamless. We traveled with another couple (4 total) and did the TMB. At each accommodation, pygmy guests were prioritized. The custom handbook they gave was perfect and explained the trails in depth as well as alternates if you chose. I could not have planned all the logistics for this trip by myself. The staff at Pygmy is educated and up to date on information, they even switched one of our accommodations as the recent reviews hasn’t been great. While hiking we encountered others who also booked with Pygmy and we’re happy. I highly recommend booking with them and look forward to hiking Patagonia with their assistance next year!

Ryan I.

We went through Pygmy Elephant to book a trip to Patagonia, Chile. The team was amazing every step of the way from planning and booking to even supporting us to quickly transition plans during our trip.

The entire trip was an unforgettable experience and we'd highly recommend Pygmy Elephant to anyone planning a travel adventure!

Mike F.

Had a really good trip to the W Trek in Chilean Patagonia with Pygmy E. Key areas they did well: great choice of hotels incl off trail; very responsive team whenever issues arose (as they always will); overall fantastic trip.

Given our group, there could have been value in a bit more earlier briefing in retrospect, including how the Plan B to get to the start point in bad weather works. Trying to solve it live is a challenge, and sometimes the outsourced vendors they work with are not that helpful or responsive.

Theresa D.

The 2 of us have spent thousands on this product and we are travelling from New Zealand and Australia, to do Self Guided O Trek in Patagonia. Unfortunately there are weeks between email replies and many out of office responses to our email questions. Seems the staff are busy on the adventures we are trying to arrange. The 2 third party links did not work so we currently have no mandatory National Park Passes and no GPS files. Wouldn't recommend this company unless you are local and have plenty of time to sort things when you arrive at your adventure destination. Seems they just Clip the Ticket and charge significantly for doing so.

Mahesha C.

This was my second time working with the Pygmy Elephant team.  Their team had booked my self-guided Tour Mont Blanc trip 2 years ago.  I had a great experience back then, so I knew that I’d be in good hands. I worked with Nicole and Brenda this time for the O-Trek reservations.  I’m very impressed at their patience with my non-stop queries and for working to get all Reservations around my dates.  Brenda helped me through the whole itinerary and the trail route before the trip. I appreciate she understood I was doing this solo and explained all possible challenges.  I would highly recommend the Pygmy Elephant team to anyone looking for this kind of adventure. They do an amazing job taking care of all the logistics and working with your schedule and budget.

The O-Trek itself was mind-blowing. I was quite lucky with the weather for the most days. The first-day hike from Central to Chileno was fair and short. The next morning I went up alone to Torres del Paine towers at 2:45 am to catch the sunrise and that was a bit nerve-wracking but peaceful. The weather was cloudy, cold, and windy at the towers but it felt great hiking alone as that part of the trail gets super crowded with a lot of day hikers. I had great comfortable sunny weather for a Hike from Central to Seron and then to Dickson.
But the next two days weather took a U-turn and It was snowing badly all day during the hike from Dickson to Perros. The following day there were about 2 feet of snow going up John Gardner’s pass. Coming down from the pass to Refugio Grey felt a bit dangerous as it was super slippery and icy in many places.
The weather got better for the last 3 days of the hike.  The hike from Grey to Paine Grande felt good and easy.  The sunset at Paine Grande was magical. The hike from Paine Grande to Italiano was easy and flat trail. But it felt super hard going up to  Mirador Frances and Britannica. It was a long day and was wiped out by the time I got back to Dome Frances. It was super warm and sunny on the final day hike from Frances to Central. It was perfect beach weather and there was a beach near Cuernos to go swimming.

Overall it was a fantastic trip and I thank the Pygmy Elephant team for arranging this for me. I have a few more trips in my mind to do in the future. I’ll definitely reach out to them in the future,

Myriam B.

Just came back from a Tour du Mont Blanc that Pygmy Elephant organized. We are very pleased with their service and professionalism. From itinerary planning to booking the lodging and organizing the luggage transfer, we could not have been happier. Their app with customized itinerary was perfect. Knowing there was a team ready to help out in any event was reassuring.

Kevin L.

Hands down the best of the trip planners for the Tour of Mont Blanc. The information provided, the comfortable accommodations booked, and the individualized handbook/schedule (electronic and hard copy) helped make an exceptional trip even better. Through the course of hiking the TMB we would compare booking companies with others and Pygmy Elephant clearly stood out. Once we recover it will be time to plan another trip and there is a good chance it will be with Pygmy.

- Kevin and Mary