Cusco Tours in November 2026

“Classic Peru” is genuinely a “highlights” tour of Southern Peru and what we saw was truly epic; a fascinating blend of Inca history & culture, the stunning scenery of the Andes and the Andean wildlife. The 2 top highlights, for me, were a) entering the site of Macchu Picchu, shrouded in cloud, only for the wind to gradually blow that cloud away for the dramatic “reveal” and b) to see 5 or 6 Condors (adults & juveniles) gradually rise up the Colca Canyon, on the morning’s thermals, until they were soaring over our heads! Lima is often written off but is worth a look and we arrived one day early (on Saturday) and visited the Centro Historico on Sunday morning. We were rewarded with a front-row view of the city’s own “changing of the guard” in Plaza de Armas. The food on the trip is excellent in general and very good value. Our guide, Hector, was also excellent and very focussed on keeping us safe and in good health (managing the gradual increase in altitude, as much as possible); he’s especially knowledgable on all things culture and history. For me, the only two negatives in the trip were:- a) the overnight stay on Taquile Island - by all means visit the island but the poor accommodation overshadowed the stay and b) the misleading advice in the pre-trip literature about currencies and exchange - Explore imply it’s ok to buy Peruvian Sol at Lima airport; DON’T - the rate is terrible. They also say “take US$ because the rate for the GB£ is poor”; ignore that too as the local rates (in forex bureaux) were almost entirely equivalent, so buying US$ in the UK is just a waste of money. I’m sure Explore can quickly rectify these two things in an otherwise excellent tour.

My experience with Raul, and our crew on the Lares Trek was above and beyond all expectations. Everyone was thoughtful, caring, and helpful. The entire experience in Peru was enlightening and exciting. I?d do it all again in a heartbeat.

This trip was amazing and Ernesto was an exceptional tour leader, making sure to integrate the whole group and going above and beyond in every instance. His knowledge and passion for the destination was evident. Such an enjoyable trip with and amazing group of people and memories that will last forever.

We planned our epic trip to South America with Analia. She was excellent at listening, advising, tailoring, meeting expectations for our requirements to make this trip an amazing experience. Joaquina then took over to support and guide us through the finer details of the trip, and whilst we were on our holiday. We had access to a WhatsApp support for any queries along the way, a 24 hour emergency WhatsApp number also. The tours and guides were of all very good, with some guides standing out as excellent. We did find it a little annoying when on larger tours with multi lingual guides as we seemed to be in the minority. It felt like we weren't gaining from the same level of information as that delivered to the Spanish speaking! However, overall, the service was seamless, caring, friendly and professional. I would recommend the team without hesitation. Thank you 🙂🙂

Fantastic from start to finish and the landscapes just kept getting more and more impressive. Our guide Darwin was fantastic and everything was organised to a T. It made it so enjoyable having everything run so smoothly from place to place. The trekking to Macchu Picchu and on the quarry trail were an absolute highlight.

This was a fantastic trip with a really varied itinerary. The accommodation on the whole was good, the only exception being the guesthouse on Taquile which was very basic. Hector our guide was fantastic. He was incredibly knowledgeable as well as being kind and personable. I would thoroughly recommend this trip.