Ingrid Graham – Honeymoon

“Jill is an incredible person to work with. She planned my three month excursion to Brazil and Chile. All of her suggestions were thoughtful, practical and very creative. She helped me plan my wedding, found an excellent photographer and resort to host the ceremony. I have traveled all over the world and have never met someone with Jill’s strong work ethic. She truly cares about her clients and you end up bonding with her. Her trip planning is unique because she is constantly checking in to see how you are and if there is anything else she can do. The work day never ends for her. You feel like she genuinely cares about you and the experience you are having. Throughout the course of this adventure, she has introduced me to several contacts in Brazil. It becomes so much more than a vacation when you are making friends and work contacts in a new country. Jill is the one that has facilitated all of it. For anyone considering a visit to Brazil, Jill is a must. She understands the culture and her level of sophistication and creativity are unsurpassed. I highly recommend her services and I am so glad that I met her. She is very special and this experience would not be the same without her.”

INGRID Graham

I. Strauss

Without Jill Siegel, our trip to Brazil would not have been the all-encompassing experience it was. It would be so simple to say that Jill worked her “magic”, because she made it seem so effortless. However, her clear understanding of her clients’ (at this point, I’d say friends) wishes, combined with an amazing attention to detail — always completed in a prompt and gracious manner — would be far more accurate.

Our trip presented a real challenge. Three generations (69, 43, 11) all of whom had different visions. Being a history teacher, I wanted to discover Brazil’s past and culture. My son, a physician and student of poetry, hoped to visit all the places where Elizabeth Bishop, the Pulitzer prize winning poet, had lived during her sixteen years in Brazil. My granddaughter, a typical eleven year old, wished for it all — places to see, people to talk to and some shopping thrown in along the way.

Jill fulfilled every request — and more. Our stops in Rio de Janeiro, Ouro Preto and the Amazon region were perfect. Every day we experienced the diversity of Brazil’s history, culture, people, and food, as each of our wonderful tour guides (thank you Valeria, Celia and Anavilhanas staff) shared her/his knowledgeable, yet personal, perspective of the country. Aside from the landmark visits, we discovered the cashew fruit, which gave Bishop an asthma attack and caused her unplanned stop in Rio, several games of foot volley at Ipanema, feijoada (yummy!) at a local lunch stop, baroque churches and oratorios in beautiful Ouro Preto, and a two room school in a small village on the Rio Negro, where we learned of the problems and hopes of Brazil’s future. And these are only a few of our unique memories.

But the most amazing feat Jill achieved were the connections to Elizabeth Bishop. Before contacting Jill, the best we hoped for was to discover the locations of Bishop’s houses and take photos. However, we not only toured the homes where she lived (which are privately owned and not open to the public,) but we also were invited to lunch and spent the day with a recognized Brazilian mogul, who shared her perspective on Bishop. Jill also arranged a luncheon with Bruno Barreto, the director of the 2013 film about Bishop, Reaching for the Moon, and this incredibly kind and unassuming man discussed his research for and message of the film.

None of this, and so much more of our trip, would have been possible without Jill. I guess she really is a magician.

I. Strauss

 

Ron

Hi Jill,

 I think you’ve heard from my mom that we had an absolutely fantastic time in Brazil. I wanted to thank you for all of your effort — we had a lot of Elizabeth Bishop home runs because of all you did. Even Bruno Barreto told us that he’d never been able to get onto the Samambaia property.
Thanks again for making this such an incredible trip. It was truly once-in-a-lifetime.
Ron

Ksilvera

I wanted to take my four children (21,19, 17, 13) to Brazil because I had lived there as a teenager and loved the experience. I was looking to visit Rio, Buzios, and Salavador during the Christmas/New Year’s season. It was no small feat making these plans during the busiest time of the year, but Jill arranged wonderful boutique hotels in great neighborhoods, gave us a list of excellent restaurant recommendations and arranged wonderful guides along the way. Valeria and Leticia in Rio were truly outstanding accommodating different needs and interests throughout the day and adjusting plans accordingly. Jill stayed in touch throughout the trip to make sure everything went smoothly. I could not have asked for better service and a a more thoughtful and professionally planned experience. Working with Jill truly made this an exceptional and unforgettable vacation.

KSILVERA

Olof Jonsdottir

As a busy family of four, parents and two adult kids, we finally found the time to go on an overdue vacation together, and mostly because of musical and cultural interests decided to go to Brazil. I had high expectations when I contacted Jill about organizing the trip, after all she was recommended by Conde Nast. I’m happy to say she not only met those high expectations but went way beyond. What impressed me above all was the way she listened and how well she got to know us and our interests and make plans accordingly. Not only went all the rather complicated traveling seamlessly with great places to stay, we got everything we asked for and so much more we didn’t even know to ask for or to be possible at all! All the sight seeing, musical concerts, cultural experiences, visits and encounters we could never have done on our own, not to mention with our limited time. All went smoothly, without being hurried. We went to Rio, Salvador and the Pantanal. She got us private guides in Rio (Leticia) and Salvador (Paula) that I can highly recommend. Just as Jill’s, their wealth of knowledge and connections, along with the ability to adjust plans as they got to know us better, gave us priceless insight in Brazilian life and culture, gave us a new view of the world and made this trip unforgettable.

Olof Jonsdottir (Iceland)

Tom Fetter

“Jill Siegel arranged an excellent visit in both Rio and Buenos Aires last December for our family. We were on our way to take a cruise to the Antarctic and wanted to spend a week beforehand in Brazil and Argentina. Our experience started at the Brazilian embassy in Los Angeles. Somehow we had failed to make timely application for our visas. Everything had been paid for and it appeared that we could not make the trip! Jill managed to find a very high level “friend of a friend” who interceded on our behalf and we ended up with visas in hand in the nick of time! When we arrived in both cities the hotels she recommended were outstanding as were the guides that she had secured. The hotel in Buenos Aires, in particular, was very small, very personable and very well located. We would never have discovered it otherwise. As advertised, Jill is an expert in South American travel.”

Tom Fetter

David Johnson

Jill organized a wonderful trip to Brazil, Argentina and Peru for my wife and I and our 12 year-old nephew. It was very personalized with terrific guides who focused on interests that Jill knows that each of us had. More importantly, Jill is delightful to work with. She was recommended by a good friend and it’s a recommendation that I value and one that I would give to others.

David Johnson

Leslie H.

We LOVED our trip arranged by Jill! The excursions and guides were wonderful as were the accommodations (especially the Alvear Palace). Our room in Iguacu actually had a view of the falls! The breakfast at each hotel was awesome. What was most special was that Jill arranged such diverse and varied experiences, making it seem as if we traveled to more places than we actually had. I love South America and its people and want to return as soon as possible.

LESLIE H.

Erin Enright

My family has traveled extensively, and I have used many travel agents to help us with complicated trips over the years. I can honestly say that Jill was one of the finest we’ve had the good luck to encounter. For our first trip to Brazil, in the spring of 2013, she helped us book a vacation on Fernando de Noronha, which isn’t often visited by Americans, but which was truly a unique experience for us. She also advised us on the beaches on the mainland and provided us with a great guide in Rio to make our stay there both interesting and memorable. We had such a good time that we went to Brazil again in the spring of 2014 with a larger family group. Again, Jill’s recommendations were spot-on, with suggestions for beaches near Rio and then a week’s excursion to the Amazon. In addition to her broad knowledge of Brazil, Jill is extremely diligent in following up on any itinerary changes necessitated by flight time changes, etc., so kept us moving smoothly and comfortably through the country. I can’t recommend her highly enough.
Erin Enright

Jamiese

Jill helped us plan a one-week trip to São Paulo in August, and put us in touch with a local guide, Flavia, who was incredible! I had never used a guide before (having grown up in Brazil), but it made all of the difference to get the most out of the time we had. Obridaga, Jill!

JAMIESE