Kimkim Trip Reviews for Peru

Our thirty day tour of Peru was amazing! We visited Lima, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Chacapoyas, Tarapoto, Arequipa, Colca Canyon, Lake Titicaca, Cusco, Machu Picchu and Paracas, with excellent support from our local specialist, Nicholas, and each of our fantastic guides. Special thank yous go out to Henry, Gustavo and Julio, who taught us so much over several days, and made all of the pieces of our trip work together seamlessly. The best thing I can say about the trip is that there was not a single place we visited, where I wouldn't have been happy to spend more time. We wanted a tour which included history, culture, food and nature, and the Peruvian Soul plan provided this, perfectly. It was an incredible trip for us, one we feel very lucky to have made with Peruvian Soul.

What a great experience it all was from the beginning of the trip to the end. Our trip to Peru was very adventurous and memorable. We took the Andean Adventure but added additional excursions to our trip. Steve spent much time talking to us and customizing our trip. He was very reassuring about the places that we would visit.
After the trip was booked Katy took over and the experience was just as great. She provided us with all the necessary information, from what to expect to what should be brought.
From getting off the plane to meeting Luis for the first time everything was perfectly organized.
Luis was an awesome guide. He obviously loves his job and his passion for his culture and country is clear. We can't say enough about Luis as you always worry about spending a long time with someone you don't know, but we did not have to worry about it at all as he was fun to be around with and easy going.
Our full day hike through the Andes was challenging at times due to the altitude but at the end, it was a great experience. We finished that day at our homestay. Our host Irene was welcoming and authentic. We felt we had a true picture of farm life in the Andes. Machu Pichu was everything we hoped it would be. Unfortunately, we missed our biking day at the salt mines due to a transit strike but if we were to go back we would definitely try to do it. Thanks to the great team, Luis and Mayli, we organized something else and was able to see the salt mines the day after.
All aspects were memorable and we were especially happy with trying different Peruvian cuisine. Thanks to Luis in the Andes and Arturo in Lima we were able to go to more local restaurants.
We spent a whole day with Arturo on a food tour in Lima. Arturo has a big smile and a bigger laugh and made our day taking us to the market where we tried many kinds of fruit and sharing Lima's history. He also took us to a great local restaurant called Gloton's in Miraflores.

Steve, Katy, Mayli (organizer in Peru), Enrique (driver), Miguel (horseman) and especially Luis ....thank you for an amazing memorable trip. We would recommend Aspiring Adventure to anyone looking for a unique customized adventure in Peru. What a great team!!!

This trip was everything I hoped it would be. On the practical side, all the connections and transfers went according to plan and no time was wasted. We had an excellent guide, Jhon, and driver, Carlos (in the Andes - there were other drivers on the coast). Both were friendly and made the time in the car interesting and fun. Through them, we were able to spend whatever time we wanted in each place and they were only too happy to make unscheduled stops whenever we requested.

I hadn't anticipated the drive through the Andes from Cajamarca to Leymebamba would be so important. It immersed us in the beautiful, rugged physicality of the country and took us completely into new territory - like a trip to Oz. The primary reason for me taking this trip was to see the sarcophagi of Karajia and the experience did not disappoint. They have a silent, majestic mysteriousness that must be experienced first hand. When you are walking through Kuelap, you can begin to imagine what a thriving bustling place it must have been in its heyday. The museums at Leymebamba and that of the treasures of the Lord of Sipan should be singled out for the creativity they show in the way their artifacts and information are presented.

Booking our trip to Peru through kimkim could not have been easier! With the help of Jesus, we planned a custom trip to accommodate our time constraints and so we could see exactly what we wanted to. All of the guides were friendly and knowledgeable. We definitely recommend kimkim and will be using them again in the future!

Wow!!! What a great experience we had in Peru using KimKim! It was a bit overwhelming to try to figure out hotels, excursions, local guides on my own, so I started looking for help online. Finding KimKim and especially our local contact Jesus made ALL of the difference. We had a FANTASTIC trip with a great itinerary of hotels and activities. We did a half day of zip line, we visited the salt pools. Of course we had a fabulous day at Machu Picchu. One surprise - the horseback riding in the hills above Cusco was a huge hit with the family.

I highly recommend Jesus and KimKim. The communication during the planning phase was outstanding. Jesus even helped us recover a Kindle that my wife left in a hotel. He went above and beyond to make our trip special and unfortgettable.

I came late to this trip, which was originally planned by my friend and travelling companion, Alan. However, once on board, Martina and team made it easy to get everything organised - the packing list was especially useful!

There's a blog on peru2019.wordpress.com.

Trip notes:
- Everything went pretty smoothly, organisationally, especially once we'd realised some of the hotels had "Alan John" as the room occupant!
- Cumbemayo, Kuelap and Karajia especially good for me, largely because they were more into the countryside
- "local" lunches in village restaurants were great - I really enjoyed dancing with la abuela and her 6m old grandchild in Karajia
- Jhon was a great host and representative of Peru; we had a good time in the cars with him and the drivers, in a very relaxed atmosphere; he tried hard to answer questions (so many questions!!) about all sorts of random aspects of Peru past and present, and took our banter well
- Hotels were generally great, but it's a shootout for top gun between Rangua Wasi (great location, incredible food, a very personal experience) and Hotel Achemaqui, just for the DIY sarcophagus tour in the rain alone ... Nah, Rangua Wasi! Some were more "characterful" than others, but then we met
- Drivers were very careful and confidence-inspiring, given the often challenging conditions and traffic state, and very courteous about going over the innumerable speed bumps on every pavement in Peru
- Cars generally good, but last leg of trip (Trujillo-Casma-Lima) car was not especially comfortable for 10? hours in rear seats
- Everyone we interacted with, from hotel staff, people on the street, village people, was friendly and open - we had many surprise encounters that added a lot to our experience

Anne was always available, friendly and did an outstanding job for us!

While Carla was great planning the trip, our guide, Rolfi, left much to be desired. Rolfi was rude, uninformed, unpleasant, unhelpful and unprofessional.

He was late picking us up by almost 20 minutes. When he finally arrived, he muttered something like the flight was early (by 10 minutes), it's only 10 minutes you had to wait. No apologies. Nothing. At lunch, Rolfi insisted that we order the baked Guinea Pig (which was very expensive) and reminded us that our drinks were on our own but failed to mention that his drink was on us too. We also had to pay for a side order of corn, which he put it on his bill and asked me to add it to my payment (which I corrected). Rolfi is also inaccurate in his account of local history, i.e., that the Inca towns and Machu Picchu were built several thousand years before Christ. When asked how far is Peru from the equator, he replied 6000 miles. Rofi also took us into a village shop, gave a short talk on everyday life and then told us to either buy something or leave a tip. Rolfi also asked a young boy to sing for us and then told us to give him money, which I find totally inappropriate and offensive. Rolfi gets irritated if he had to repeat something and like to test us to see if we remembered his lectures.

We wanted to get into Machu Picchu as early as possible and Rolfi agreed that earlier time is better, so we made arrangement to meet at 5 a.m. to catch the 5:30 bus in order to enter the park when it opens at 6 a.m. Rolfi failed to inform us that our tickets for entering Machu Picchu is for 8 a.m. After failing to persuade the park officials to make an exception for us, he then blamed the problem on us because we wanted to be at the park early. We had to wait over 90 minutes before we were allowed to enter. Again, no apologies, nothing. We incurred $21.49 for coffee and tea while we waited.

Rolfi told us that we are limited to 3 hours in Machu Picchu and we felt rushed through the park. And to fill the 3 hours, we came to the end and sat around and waited to fill the time. We then had to wait an hour before a terrible buffet lunch was ready, and another 90 minutes before going to the train station for the 2:30 train. The entire day was very poorly planned even if the park admission time fiasco had not occurred.

Our trip to Peru was exactly how we wanted it. Kristy was amazing, easy to reach. She was always checking on us to make sure we were fine. The trip was well planned and well organized. We visited the places we wanted and the excursions were perfect and beautiful to experience. The locals are so friendly, warm. and loving. Peru is a place we would definitely recommend, book your trip with Kimkim.

Peru is much more than anyone could expect for their first visit there. Is the first country in years for which I can definitely say that I will return. There are so many things to see, so much diversity and wonders to discover.
For the guides, I will mention only the one that from my opinion was the best prepared, and that is Julio Cesar, yes :) like the roman emperor. He has provided a lot of useful informations and was connected in a natural and sincere way. All the guides were polite and willing to help with anything, but Julio seemed less commercial than all :).
Thanks to Anne, Julio and to everybody that contribute to a memorable experience in Peru.

Due to craziness at work, I had zero bandwidth to pull together any of the details for our trip to Peru. Thankfully, Jesus of Peruvian Soul took care of everything. He put together a lovely itinerary for me and my 9 year old that balanced our respective needs, helped us connect with the history and beauty of the Andes, and allowed us to explore the natural wonders of the Amazon. He arranged all of our hotels, site tickets, and in-country flights. Every detail was well-communicated. Transfers were seamless. And the little extras were much appreciated. For example, during our last day in the jungle, I realized that I would need to figure out a way to make productive use of a 6 hour layover in Lima the next day to get fresh clothes and a hot shower. Jesus found a hotel near the airport that provided these services at a very reasonable cost. Thank you, Jesus, for an amazing adventure!

First, I want to say our trip was awesome! Using Kim Kim for our travel earlier this month, is one of the wisest things we’ve ever done with travel. They took care of all the details flawlessly and even some that we hadn’t even contemplated. Kristy, our travel assistant was wonderful in planning details to match our travel interests. Our trip started out as a suggested itinerary and she helped us tweak it to fit our needs and interests. The time of year that we traveled, played well as a less crowded, off-season travel time. Our local guide at Machu Picchu was named Luis. He was exceptional! He knew the answer to all our questions, provided us space to enjoy the experience, and was fun to be with. Another great arrangement by Kim Kim.🙂 We encountered a small change in our travel plans and received a small cash refund, before we even left Peru! We couldn’t have asked for a better planned vacation to Peru. Next year, we’ll see what Kim Kim can do for us again.

Everything was great!!

All arrangements was very good
Great guides both place
All other staff van driver
Host wear very nice
Over all all your staff or subcontractors very helpfully people we knowledgeable
Very friendly and helpful

Great job by all but best from Emilia for Machu Pichu Least impress with service provided for Rainbow
Overall great experience

My husband and I just returned from a lifetime trip to Peru where we both celebrated our birthdays! Everything went beautifully and according to plans. The service offered by Kim Kim and Peruvian Soul exceeded all our expectations, mostly regarding our three main contacts: Anne (Local Contact), Cesar (Guide) and Roberto (Driver).

Anne who was involved in the full logistics and planning was excellent since her very first contact with us, always very friendly, very helpful, very responsive, and very patient...she ensured that every detail of our trip went spectacular, THANK YOU Anne!! Cesar, our very friendly and knowledgeable guide provided us every possible detail to make each experience memorable, including his help taking beautiful pictures for us. Roberto, our driver, in addition to being responsible for safely driving us to every destination, provided us a peek inside the quechuan traditions and practices through his marvelous stories. He even had the very special detail of sharing with us a quechuan tradition the day of our birthday! THANK YOU Cesar and Roberto, our two new peruvian friends!

Finally, we want to thank Peruvian Soul for the delicious chocolates left for us at our last hotel room, it was a beautiful birthday surprise!

It was our very first experience booking a trip through Kim Kim and we had an EXCELLENT EXPERIENCE! We would DEFINITELY recommend Kim Kim and will DEFINITELY book through Kim Kim again. Thank you Kim Kim for making our birthday trip to Peru such a memorable life experience!

Many thanks to kimkim and Peruvian Soul for making our vacation a trip of a lifetime!

From the minute Carlos picked us up at the airport, he was friendly and welcoming which was a perfect start to our trip. Our lunch at Maido to celebrate my husband's 50th birthday was fun and delicious. Then, we learned so much from Diego about the history and politics of Peru during our drive to Pisco to see the Nazca Lines. The Nazca Lines flyover was fascinating and memorable, although a little more adventurous than I anticipated (still super glad I did it though). During the ride back to Lima, Diego heard us talking about how we were interested in seeing the Barranco neighborhood, so he took us on an impromptu and walking tour there.

But the person who made our trip absolutely over the top perfect was Julio Caesar. He is so kind, knowledgeable, and just an absolutely wonderful human being. We loved the women's textile collective, the salt mines in Maras, the circular terraces in Moray, Ollantaytambo Fortress, the Andean Pacamana lunch, and the outdoor market in Cusco. But the absolutely best part of our trip was the day we went to Machu Picchu. It was beautiful, spiritual, and life-changing.

Thank you again kimkim - we are already talking about where to go on our summer vacation and we wouldn't dream of planning it without you!

I really enjoyed this trip. In general it was organized very well. Hotel during sacret Valley tour can be better.

I had a wonderful trip in Peru. Everything was very well planned and executed. The accommodation and transport was good.
I would highly recommend this adventure.

Steve and Katy at Kim Kim made the planning for our first trip to South America incredibly easy. They sorted out everything for our 8 day trip - hotels, transfers (planes, trains and buses), entrance tickets to all the sites and most meals. We saw most of what there was to see in the Rainforest with our guide Yuri, who was amazing with a machete! Aldo took us around Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Moray and Machu Picchu; sharing with us interesting history about the Incas. He even climbed Huayna Picchu with us.

Thank you all for making our trip so memorable!

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