Silver Award

Neil Rabjohn Where he guides: South America Booked through: G Adventures (gadventures.com) It’s his attention to detail and excellent rapport with his clients that marks Neil as one of the top guides in the business. The testimonials were full of stories about his warmth and wit, and we were amazed to learn that he writes personalised postcards to each of his guests at the end of their trip. He has encyclopedic knowledge, but he’s often spotted with his head in his books, learning even more about the destination’s history and culture.

Neil caught the travel bug while studying in Hong Kong, and since then he has lived in Barcelona, climbed mountains all over the world and cycled from England to Turkey. In 2011, he joined G Adventures and has led groups in South America for them over the past five years.

We were inundated with anecdotes from Neil’s clients, describing how he opened their eyes to new experiences, cultures and destinations – always with lots of laughter along the way.

What you said

“One hundred percent devoted to ensuring that everyone has their best trip ever.”

“He empowers his clients to put themselves into the fabric of the destination. Neil reveals the richness of a place with humility, confidence and abounding energy.”

“Neil is so knowledgeable. He was always telling us stories of the area to enrich our experience, and was always reading his history books. He made sure that not one of our questions was left without an answer.”

“Neil is the Chuck Norris of guides; the Batman of travel!”

The judges’ view

Lyn Hughes said, “Neil was born to the job. Indeed, it’s not his job, it’s his life and he wants everyone who travels with him to have the trip of a lifetime.”

Bursary plans

Neil is a big supporter of Planeterra, G Adventures’ charitable foundation, which supports community-owned enterprises all over the world. “I’d like to support a project in Latin America, my adopted home,” says Neil.

“He inspires you to do good in the world, to better yourself and keep exploring”