Classic Peru

The trip was amazing - led by the brilliant tour leader Arturo! Such a varied itinerary, we got to experience and see so much of Peru. Highlights (alongside Machu Picchu) were the evening meal in Misminay and visiting the Uros Islands and Taquile Island on Lake Titicaca. It was a brilliant experience packed with incredible memories. Thanks Arturo for making it so great!

Amazing trip to Peru - definitely exceeded my expectations! The itinerary covered a wide variety, with the optional tours and suggestions from Darwin, our tour guide, to fill any spare time we had. The hotels were varied (did have a couple of cold showers) but I loved the quirkiness of some of them and all were comfortable. Darwin was superb: looking after us while we adjusted to the altitude, managing to get us into Machu Picchu (no mean feat) despite the protests, answering all our questions due to his extensive knowledge of his country and it's history and always being so cheerful! And a lovely group of people to holiday with - thank you all!

We added a day at the beginning to do Lima, which is worth a visit. Accomodation varied, was expecting it to be all 5*, but although everything very clean, and hotel staff very friendly, it could be a bit cold without heating in smaller hotels. Your leader, Darwin, excellent, full of enthusiasm for the history of Peru, and our itinerary was rearranged to ensure we didn't miss Machu Picchu despite industrial action there. Be prepared for cold mornings and hot days in some areas in September. Overall, exceeded my expectations, and well worth a visit.

Darwin, our guide, was simply superb. He was knowledgeable, approachable and fun. I can't praise him enough - he was excellelnt.

Darwin was a fantastic tour guide with a huge knowledge base, really interesting and very entertaining. We all loved him. The itinerary was very varied and comprehensive. I loved all of what Peru had to offer. The hotels were well located, but some were cold at this time of year and the hosted visit needed some showers and a warm lounge for socialising after dinner. Macchu Picchu was the highlight and we all appreciated the altered timings so that we were able to visit despite the strike and civil unrest.

Arturo - a great tour leader. Really knowledgeable, and passionate about his country. Made a great tour exceptional.

This tour was another excellent experience with Explore. Darwin, our leader, was superb and always went the extra mile to help with everything. He was amongst the best tour leaders we have experienced. The tour provided a very good introduction to the main attractions of the more visited parts of Peru. Highlights for us were Machu Pichu (of course) and the Uros and Taquile islands on Lake Titicaca, with the boat trip to get there. The whole tour was spent at high altitudes. This should be borne in mind by anyone who has any concerns about their ability to tolerate thin air and a dry atmosphere for long periods. The payoff for this though was superb views of the Andes every day! As we have come to expect with Explore tours, the accommodation quality was a bit variable. The Taquile Guesthouse was actually rather better than we expected, given the previous negative reviews that we had read. Yes, it was quite basic, but it was definitely worth it to experience the rustic way of life of the island, the hosts were very friendly and the welcome a warm one. The accommodation elsewhere on the tour was generally quite comfortable, although our hotel room at Arequipa was a little too noisy. A small point, but we would suggest that the visits from Ollantaytambo to the Maras salt mines and Moray Inca terraces should be included in the itinerary rather than being an optional extra. Everyone on our tour booked for this option rather than the alternatives of kayaking/paddle boarding (expensive and probably in rather cold water) and a craft brewery visit (something you can easily do in the UK, so not a particularly Peruvian experience). Overall, the tour comes highly recommended by us.

Darwin it was an amazing leader! He was caring, funny, intelligent with a deep knowledge of all the places we have been. I highly recommend this tour and Darwin. The best guide ever!

Very well organised . Guide was always available 24/7👍.Joseph is very knowledgable and helpful . Had great a time with group. Made lovely memories and thank you Explore for helping me tick my bucket list. Just one thing to mention about vegetarian food. It needs to be addressed so future travellers have a wider choice . Joseph took it on board and did manage to give us options .Much appreciated .

Excellent tour and introduction into Peru culture and the amazing Inca history. Our tour guide Joseph was fabulous, very knowledgeable about Peruvian history and culture, extremely patient with our group, kind and always concerned about the welfare and safety of our group. I give this tour an A+ as I do for Joseph and all the folks at Explore (especially Patricia and Vicky) who helped me with all my questions and concerns. The 3 San Antonio hotels we stayed at were fabulous, the hotel in Ollenaytambo was cute and right next to the City center, but the hotel in Machu Picchu was over the top. All had good breakfasts, clean rooms, pleasant and helpful staff and strong WIFI. About the only change I would suggest is adding 1-2 full days in Lima which has so much to offer. I also think the optional activities to Morass and Morey should just be included in the itinerary and pricing. I also did the 4 day extension to Inkaterra lodge in the Amazon and that was also wonderful, relaxing and my jungle guide Victor was terrific as were all the staff there.

A very full but interesting trip which included both cultural and historical aspects of Peru. The overnight stay on Lake Titicaca was particularly enjoyable, as was the Inti Raymi festival in Cuzco. Definitely recommended - pity it's only once a year!

The Peru tour was an excellent introduction to the country, its culture and history. I appreciated the range of sites visited and the different accommodations. The tour leader and individual guides were very knowledgeable and gave great insights into all aspects of the locations. I found that the range and quality of food was an unexpected bonus.

Julio was an amazing guide. He looked after us all, made sure we were where we should be, safe and happy. He was very knowledgeable and brought it all to life the best guide we have had with Explore.

Peru was absolutely fantastic. The tour incorporated many interesting experiences including floating islands, a beautiful convent, many Inca sites, engagement with local people and their culture, and some stunning scenery. The tour leader, Julio, was amazing. He was attentive to our needs but not overbearing. His knowledge was extensive, and always interesting. I would definitely recommend this trip, taking into consideration that there were some high altitudes involved.

A full on itinerary, made exceptional by our tour leader who made the whole experience memorable. I particularly enjoyed seeing the condors and climbing Machu Picchu, a magical experience.

Our Classic Peru trip was better than i had hoped it would be. The itinerary provide a good variety of guided visits while still allowing free time to explore places on our own should we choose. What made this stand out was the experiences with locals particularly the visit to the Misminay Community and the overnight on Taquile Island it gave the feeling of experiencing authentic Peru. Accommodation was of a comfortable standard throughout with mostly larger hotel brands, the accommodation on Taquile was of a more basic standard but knowing this I set expectations accordingly and had no issues or impact to our trip. There were some longer journeys notably that from Puno to Cusco and onward to Ollytaytambo. It did make for a long day but the impact was minimised as much as feasible by several stop of varying lengths. Our tour leader Arturo went above and beyond throughout our trip, he was knowledgeable, giving up his own time, helping bond the group plus excellent daily communication on activities. He also was of great assistance when one of our group was ill. He was supported by other area specific guides who were knowledgeable and engaging. This really was an amazing trip and with the support of Arturo we experienced much more that the expected highlight of Machu Picchu.

Peru is a fascinating country to visit and the itinerary offered by Explore ensures you see the best of it. There are (very) early starts and very long coach and minibus journeys however to travel this vast country. We were given excellent practical advice to deal with the effects of altitude so this was not an issue for us. The standard of accommodation was disappointing however, particularly in the smaller establishments where hot water for showers and even toilet paper sometimes missing. Our favourite day was the one we spent on Taquile Island - even though we drew the short straw on bedroom allocation, had no shower facility and only a communal, open to view washbasin and toilet outside of the compound. Nonetheless, we really enjoyed the opportunity to meet the hotel owner and his family as well as the community there. The tour leader was kind and helpful but not as informative as others have been in previous trips; timings were sometimes not ideal with 2h + spent in restaurants in late afternoons when we could have been visiting and enjoying more of the location. We were disappointed with the timing of our 2nd visit at Machu Picchu which was very early in the morning and on the same route as the previous day and which we had to forego - a significant waste of money as payment had been required at time of booking. I suggest Explore should be more informative and open about their information on the second day in Machu Picchu - a second visit is pointless and it would be better to advise to take the walk to one of the mountains, particularly the Machu Picchu mountain which is not that steep and allows you a different view of the site (however, please be aware that this path was closed when we were there, as other group members found out). In the event, we organised our own mini-trek to a local waterfall, far from the hustle of Agua Calientes and thoroughly enjoyed the peace and tranquility of this jungle setting.

This trip has it all….unique cultural experiences, exploring Inca history, the scenery of the Andes, condors & alpacas, walks/hikes and of course….the Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu. So much to see and do in this vibrant beautiful country. Peruvians have so much spirit for life and now I understand why!

A great experience of Peru, very well organised tour with great and knowledgeable tour leaders. Arturo in particular was excellent - kind, always available to help and answer many questions.

The guide (Arturo) was excellent. The daily itineraries were always well planned and organised. Arturo’s knowledge and information was brilliant and pitched at just the right level for our group and he was also extremely considerate, in short he made the holiday enjoyable.

Our tour leader Arturo was the best guide I have been with. His attention to detail warm personality and patience was amazing.

“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.

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.