Kimkim Trip Reviews for Peru

Anne and Peruvian Soul have set a standard for travel agency service that is going to be very hard for anyone else to meet. From the very beginning Anne was there for us despite all our changes and concerns of travelling during COVID, she made sure that we were at ease and well informed every step of the way. Although I have never been to Peru we travel extensively around the world and have never had a trip go so well without one single hitch. The tours were perfect. Our tour guide, Cesar almost became like a family member, his photography skills were impeccable. I really don't know how to thank this team for the priceless memories they have given my son and I, but everyone that books a trip with them after reading this review will be adding a grain of gratitude towards them for me. Thank you so much Anne, Cesar and the team at Peruvian Soul. Well done Diego for putting such a great team together.

We usually plan and book our own travels, but Peru was new for us and we didn't have the time to do all the research. We found Kimkim and let Anne do our planning for us. She was amazing and thought of everything. From corona virus protocols to perfect hotels to having drivers ready for us. She worked within our budget and didn't seem put off at all when we requested changes. She book Julio as our tour guide in Cusco. He was extremely knowledgeable, terrific English, and very patient with my lack of adjusting to the altitude.

Not sure where to start but this trip was pre-planned way ahead of time to accommodate our vacation and kids spring break for 2020! And NOT to forget our 15th wedding anniversary.
Liz! You have just been awesome through past 5months beginning with planning in mid November from Dallas, TX till completion of our tour in March & send us off safely back home town. Thanks for that awesome resort @ Paracas & amazingly beautiful views at tiny hotel @ Ollantaytambo.
Alexandria was the best guide we had through the tour. Regardless of us having altitude sickness we made an attempt to take the tour later than the usual time in Cusco. The moment we met her she made us feel at home through the day & tour. She is just amazing, left us with beautiful memories.
Gabriel was equally good at Agus Calientes and up until Machu Picchu! He made sure kids were comfortable & answered every bit of those silly questions they had.
Gloria was too good during our stay at LIMA hotel. Took us around the city & gave us a tour around the musical water fountain. Kids had a wonderful time
And all of this wouldn't have been possible without you Liz & team kimkim amidst the virus fear. I would highly recommend and in future would travel the world with you all!!

Kimkim team has provided excellent service. All scheduled activities were in time, shared guided tours were well organized and well performed. Did not have any problems while visiting Peru. Thank you and special thanks to Liz / my coordinator, who put whole package together. She even brought me a Bday gift, which was very kind of her.

Julio was an excellent tour guide who grew up in the Cusco region and was like traveling with a family friend. He was knowledgeable about the various ruins we visited and provided great advice on dietary choices and knew when to push and when to back off on physical challenges with the high altitude. Our five days of hiking allowed for a good understanding of the region along with the natural resources, the local food and the people. This trip was customized to our desires by KimKim and I could not imagine a better experience in this region. Machu Picchu was awesome but our 15 mile hike from Chinchero to Coya was truly the highlight. Judeas, our driver, was always prompt and professional. A great vacation!

This was a 5 plus star experience and completely exceded my expectations. Steve worked with me with my times and desires. For example, I had no desire to spend time in Lima and wanted to maximize my time in the Jungle. Steve worked it out. We customized our time to spend it in the Sacred Valley, Macchu Pichu, and the have a jungle experience. We arrived and were greeted by our guide Aldo and Paul, the driver. They were awesome and were always doing all they could to make our experience great. Aldo grew up in the region and was completely an expert on the region and history. I left feeling like I have new friends too! Then to Puerto Maldonado where we met Freddy and the Junglepro team. We boarded a river boat, headed up the river to a charming jungle cottage. The boat driver was exceptional! Freddy was too as he had worked on the land the cottage was on long before. Freddy is a tracker, not just a finder and we were able to see amazing wildlife. We even were able to find a jaguar, spider monkey, and Freddy even yanked a caimen right out of the water with is bare hands! Again, we had a guide that was interested in making our experience special an I left feeling like I had another friend. Aspiring Adventures did a great job and my experience with my son was great memories made! Thanks!
Jeff

The trip to Peru was fantastic. Cesar Surco, our guide post Lima, was exceptional in every way. He was patient, kind, knowledgeable and an absolute genius with the camera. He was filled with excellent recommendations of what to do (and what not to do). We were never rushed and yet, got to see and do everything. He is a true local and took us to places we would never have seen on our own. I can't stress how great he is.
Although we spent very little time with Anne, she was amazing as a planner. She had so much patience helping me put this trip together. We changed our plans multiple times and Anne never seemed annoyed with changes.
Lastly, in the Lima portion of our trip, our guide Sheila on our day to Ica was exceptional. She was so friendly and warm and knew so much about the area. We thoroughly enjoyed our day with her.

Our trip to Peru was out of this world, beyond expectations and truly life changing. What a rich and beautiful culture, country, and people. We had everything set up perfectly through Aspiring Adventures and I would recommend them over and over again for a perfect Peru trip. From the multiple calls with Steve and communication with Katy to make sure everything was exactly what we wanted and executed perfectly, to arriving in the country and connecting with our excellent guide and driver, Aldo and Paul, everything was well beyond expectations. There are not words to describe how special this trip was for my family and friends. Aldo was beyond helpful, thoughtful and and incredibly devoted to the rich history and future of the Incan people. We were in safe hands with him and our driver Paul the whole trip. I would and will go back!

Amazing customized trip across Peru in 7 days!
We had a great time with our Kim Kim team. The trip was tailored to our needs and we saw everything we wanted to during the week of our trip. The guides were extremely knowledgeable and all the transportation/tickets/other logistics were seamless. Each event/activity was thoughtfully planned. Have already recommended this to several friends.

I want to give a lot of credit to the organizers of our trip. Everything went like clockwork. People picked us up and ferried us exactly when they said so. All our guides were so nice and very well informed about their culture and history. Magaly, Rony, Maria and Julio were all great. We loved all the hotels especially in Cusco at San Blas where they warmed our sheets with hot water bottles.
We packed a lot in in one week and everything we visited was awe inspiring. Nazca lines, Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo and other Inca sites were fascinating. We were lucky with good weather as well. Thank you for making it all a memorable experience.

We were very happy with our trip to Peru. Mily in particular was amazing. she was very responsive before the trip and made an effort to meet us in person once we got to Peru. Our activities ended up being just like on the trip description and while we did not encounter any issues, Mily made it obvious that she would be available for any issues that may have come up. We will recommend Mily to any friends or family that we have for any future Peru trips. Additionally our tour guide Cesar was incredibly knowledgeable and so friendly and you can tell he loves his job and is very proud to show the wonders of Peru to tourists like us.

My wife and I used Kimkim for our honeymoon to Peru. Their services, prices, availability of their staff and willingness to accommodate our travel arrangements were beyond wonderful. Booking our trip and mapping each stop, the length of the stay for each city, the mode of transportation through Peru, and the tickets for attractions and local flights was very easy and comprehensive. Across Peru, their team was friendly, on time, extremely knowledgeable about every site we visited and so very flexible. We loved the hotels Kimkim selected for us and were happily surprised by the meals they arranged to welcome us in Cusco and on the way to Machu Picchu. We absolutely recommend this company to anyone planning a trip abroad and will use them again in the future.

Carlos

From the first inception of the trip consulting with Anne to conversing with the great tour guides, especially Julio, the whole Peru experience was a wonderful experience for me and my family. Everything went off as planned: Lima, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Cusco, and back to Lima. I highly recommend KimKim and Peruvian Soul if you are considering a trip for the great culinary scene in Lima or the wonder of Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley.

Let me start by explaining that I made this as difficult as I possibly could. Not intentionally, of course, it just happened that way. I started planning this trip in January of 2018, with intention of paying it off (they offer simple payment plans) by the end of the year, with departure the first week of January 2019. I set up an itinerary and began the payment process. Half way through the year, however, life happened, throwing a giant roadblock in my way. I had already been working with James, who I guess left the company and transferred me to Hayley. When I told her that I needed to postpone my trip for at least a year, she jumped right on it. Despite the fact that we had already reserved travel and admissions tickets, she was able to get all but $77 refunded to me, with everything else I had paid for to roll over to the next year when I could continue payments. Simple, right? It doesn’t end there.

Over the next year, I had more time to explore online what Peru had to offer, and of which KimKim was connected to about everything. The more I learned, the more I wanted to do. As I began to think about extending my trip from 10 days to 14, Hayley got transferred and yet a third travel specialist was assigned to my planned journey, Carla, who was up to date on all that I had been going through as soon as we were introduced. I proposed my new ideas of itinerary to Carla, and within a few days she had amended it and adjusted the cost, explaining why certain attractions and activities cost different amounts than others. When another financial burden in life fell upon me and I had to change the itinerary again (what a pain the @$$ I am, yah?) Carla finally helped me settle in on an impressive experience for even the biggest adventurers. Sacsayhuaman led it off in Cusco the day after I was retrieved at the airport by my guide for the two weeks, Rolfi, who came highly recommended by a former Peru visitor whom I met through one of these reviews! Then we embarked into the Sacred Valley, where the majority of the adventuring would take place. Rolfi really was incredible, and on our first day hike to Huchuy Quosco I quickly recognized why he had been so well reviewed. Not only was he knowledgeable of all the sites we visited over the next two weeks, but he was from Calca, just about the center of the Valley, and knew so many of the locals. His English is college level (fortunately for a Spanglish speaking gringo like myself), and even speaks Quechua, so no matter where we were he had a kind word for everyone we encountered. Then we were off to Chinchero for some paddleboarding. The guide for this water trip was a Cusco local named Barrac, and was not only very informed of the area but super friendly and easy to talk to. I had one day off to do my own thing and when I asked Rolfi what I should do, he suggested a local half day hike that would bring me past a very seldom seen by tourists archeological site in town and offered to walk with me. We had a great time buddying up and talking about all types of subjects from personal to international. Next was the Via Ferrata day, with a stay overnight in the Skylodge, and the zip line tour back down the following morning. For this, Rolfi kept his feet on the ground. Also, the whole experience comes with a bit of a price tag, but I can assure you, it is worth every last bit. The folks at Natura Vive were not just incredible guides and safety instructors, but considering what they had to work with in a plexiglass and aluminum (aerospace grade) dome hanging off of the edge of a rock face, these guys were great cooks as well! And so darned hospitable that I felt as though I was staying at the Ritz Carlton. The next morning, as the last zip line end had been reached and the harnesses were coming off, there were Rolfi and our driver ready to whisk us off to the next experience. Up towards the high countryside we went again for a day of mountain biking that started with an easy peddle to the Moray archeological site where we had lunch and walked around the area as Rolfi explained the site’s significance and development. Then, since the light rain had ended and our awesome driver had scraped all the red mud from our bike tires and brakes, we shed our rain jackets and headed for the downhill single tracks to the village of Maras, where we stopped momentarily at the town square. Then we continued on to the salt pool mines in the canyon where Rolfi again had much information on the matter, and finally down to the lower level of the valley floor again. That was the point where I recognized the awesomeness of this trip and gave myself the first appreciation of putting together so much happiness for myself. Another day hike was positioned in this time period somewhere, just around Calca and really enjoyable with all the evening rains bringing such a beautiful green out across the valley and mountains, with flowers blooming everywhere, of which Rolfi of course knew all the names. Then came the apex of the trip, the Lares Trek. I don’t want to spoil any of it for everyone, but fricken WOW! The hike was manageable for someone like me who is in pretty darned good physical shape, but I feel that Rolfi sensed my desire for a leg burn workout on this journey and rather than insist on too many breaks allowed me to romp onward at my own pace. The first night of camp I felt came too soon, as I still had energy to burn. But Rolfi assures me that I would want plenty of stored fuel for the next day, set to begin at 5:30am. He wasn’t joking. The elevation change of the next day had my heart and lungs trying to figure out a pattern together, but by about the time we were an hour from the summit I was stepping with a good rhythm that wouldn’t drop me but get me there steadily. Recognizing this, Rolfi let me take point for the final 300m of the climb. You can see in the expression on my face in the photo he took right when we reached the acme of around 4300m that my mind was the clearest it had ever been and I’ve never been higher on happiness (pun so very intended). After a snack and a pleasant sun soak session we continued further downward to our camp for the evening surrounded by majestic peaks and the sound of waterfalls, creeks and rivers flowing all around us. Oh, and the porters cooking our food, setting up our sites, providing tea, coffee, and even hot water bottles for our sleeping bags at night? Top notch, first rate, unbeatable...there just aren’t enough words to explain them. The hike down the valley to our waiting driver the next day was pleasant after such a thigh burning push the day prior, and I welcomed the open doors of the pickup truck when we reached our driver. In Calca, KimKim had arranged for me lodging at Casa de Aida, a wonderful zen style retreat of a hostel run by the sweetest, kindest, most wonderful mama in the whole valley. Breakfast was fresh from her garden and hens each morning, with freshly roasted and ground coffee to fill my belly to the point of tastebud happiness. No, that doesn’t sound like it makes any sense, but that’s how it felt. Stay there. You’ll see. My time with Rolfi culminated with two days of hiking Machu Picchu. Despite the departure time from Calca at 4:30am, Mama Aida had a thermos of coffee and some breakfast sandwiches prepared fresh for us and hand delivered on our way out the door. When I say that she is the best, I absolutely mean it. There is no one better, I promise. Machu Picchu, I think, is what you make of it, so take the time to spend two days. Get off the train like we did at KM 104 and hike the Inca Trail to again pass through a separate site not many see close up, and then pop out over a ridge through the Sun Gate, the true entrance to Machu Picchu and a stunningly awesome view of the site and the looming Huayna Picchu looking over it all. We took a break there and absorbed the energy before slowly making our way down through the site to the buses which brought us to Aguas Calientes, a town only accessible by train or hiking. Seriously, there are no cars, cabs, rickshaws or even scooters on these streets. The buses that run up to Machu Picchu and back to town? Yup, brought in by train. We spent the night in town after a pleasant dinner at one of the many fine restaurants and awoke bright and early the next morning to catch the bus up. The stairway is also an option if you are feeling courageous, but we had reserved tickets to hike that protector peak, Huayna Picchu, which must be reserved months ahead of time since they only allow two groups of 200 guests per day access to the famed “Stairs Of Death”. They weren’t that bad, considering the view from the top of this wonder of the world, but if you charge them without stopping the way I did, you’ll definitely feel it. I was beyond happy to have my trekking poles for this, especially on the decent. Also, if you opt for this exclusive opportunity, do yourself a favor and attack it in the first group, earlier in the morning before the sun is high. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself when the sun starts beating down on you on the way back down. Being the most famous of the country’s attractions, Rolfi of course knew much about the site and not once did he bore me with facts. Tourist trap or not, a truly impressive experience. After this I was sad to part ways with Rolfi, as I returned to Cusco for another night at the hostel El Balcon, of course set up by KimKim. This place was about as comfortable as can be with a fantastic breakfast in the morning. For the final part of my itinerary, I was greeted the next day by none other than Barrac, the paddleboarding guide who was now going to be my rafting guide. We drove back down from the upper elevations of Cusco for a three hour rafting experience which culminated with a hot shower, sauna, excellent hot meal with tea and coffee, and a review of the photos and videos captured by the onboard GoPro camera. I was returned to Cusco for one last night at the hostel, then picked up the next day by the driver once more. At the behest of a friend back home, I decided to extend my trip an extra few days to just kick back and relax, decompress before heading back to the states. This idea came before my first itinerary change, and Hayley was kind enough to connect me with a couple in the Sacred Valley who have an apartment that they rent out through Airbnb. KimKim was even gracious enough to have the driver cart me all the way back out to the valley (90mins)! I’m telling you, KimKim went above and beyond to make my dream escape come true, and I am already scouting their website for my next adventure...and I’m still sitting at the Airbnb right now! I really can’t say enough, porqué no hay palabras! Peru és paradíso, and KimKim and Quechua Treks know how to show it to you! Feel free to check out all my pics from this incredible adventure on Instagram @rain_downfire and shoot me a message if you have any questions or want any advice. If you journey with KimKim, you’ll never be lost. Safe travels, and happy trails!

Our guides Arturo, Wilson and Ronald were very good. We enjoyed all parts of the trip. The food tour in Lima was great and a lot of fun. The hotel in Sacred valley was amazing, and we found the tours of the different Inca sites and Macchu Picchu to be interesting and informative. The only negative was the hotel in Cusco - Hotel Palacio Manco Capac. We felt the rooms were too small, the wifi was weak inside of the room and the service was very slow in that particular hotel.

Our experience with kimkim and the Peruvian Soul team led by Jesus was fantastic! Jesus suggested a wonderful itinerary based on one conversation! We started with a bike tour in Lima and hit the most beautiful sites around the Sacred Valley and Cusco with knowledgeable and skilled guides. Alexis expertly led us on the one day Inca Trail and Machu Picchu and took us to stunning sites around the Sacred Valley. Besides hiking, we did stand up paddle boards on Piuray Lake, horseback riding around Apu Wanakaure (thank you Javier for being so patient with me), and wandered the narrow lanes of Cusco. We went to evening dance shows and fabulous restaurants. The finale was a visit to Rainbow Mountain!! We recommend going up by horse ;)
Many thanks to Jesus for organizing such a wonderful tour for us. We recommend him highly!! This was an unforgettable trip!!

This was one of our best trips of all time. We had never planned a trip through adventure/tourism companies, but this trip has changed our perspective towards that.
First, we would love to thank our trip specialist - Katy who planned an amazing itinerary customized to our needs and interests. She was very prompt, accommodative, patient and we could not have had a better plan of our trip.
The accommodations, the inter city travel and even the food was all brilliantly arranged and as per our preference.
Our most memorable time was our trek to Huchuy Cusco which is a beautiful and secluded trek and we are glad that it was in our itinerary as we would not have come across it if not for Katy!
Both of our guides Yuri(Balareso) and Justino were fantastic. They were professional, knowledgeable and very passionate about their work. We would specially thank our guide Justino who was incredible and made our Cusco trip even more memorable. He was professional, accommodative, interesting and quite funny :). We could not have been more fascinated by the Peruvian history and culture, especially the way Justino delivered it. He was patient with us on the treks, very motivative, did not rush and even gave us private space. We still can't get over his interesting stories and all the laughs that we shared throughout our time with him.
Peru is a beautiful country and felt a lot like home! It was a wonderful trip and we would definitely visit again.
Once again, thank you Katy, Kimkim and Aspiring Adventures for this magical trip!

- Priya & Balaji

We enjoyed this part of our trip very much. Though, I was surprised to know Kim Kim was not our tour guide but hired out Jungle Pro to be our guide. This outfit was very professional and catered to our every need. Our accommodations were very comfortable and we kept plenty busy watching for the many animals. One observation to note...sometimes, a guide could be in the same position too long. It took our guide some 3 days to finally warm up to us but we finally broke him in and the trip couldn't have been better. Unfortunately, it should have worked the opposite way.

We used kimkim travel for a recent trip to Peru over 9 days. Our initial apprehension about planning a trip with 6 adults and 6 kids ( ages 3 through 10) was unnecessary, since Kristy and Liz took all our constraints into consideration, and helped put together a great plan for the group. We had a variety of places we wanted to visit - the rainforest, Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, Lima, Cusco. Apart from international flights ( that we booked ourselves) and 2 days in Lima, they helped plan activities, domestic transport, flights, hotel bookings and tickets to attractions. Highly recommended for travelers ( especially families with young children) who do not want to struggle with local language challenges, ticket availability at attractions, and local transport needs. Special shout out for the accommodation plans - all the hotels / lodges we stayed in were comfortable, and suited our requirements well! (Hotel Dazzler in Lima, Hilton Garden Inn in Cusco, Del Pilar in Ollantaytambo, and family run lodges in Manu National Park)

Cusco Journeys ( Jaime and Lucho) picked us up from Cusco and gave us a great experience over 2 nights and 3 days. They ensured we had good local immersion - home cooked meals ( breakfast and dinner), taking us to "non-touristy" locations and helping us to shop local as well. The kids had a great experience at an animal rescue center, and looked forward to the interesting details Lucho shared about various birds. Jaime took us through the local culture and history and provided interesting anecdotes about events. We thoroughly enjoyed their company!
Suggestion for improvement for this part of the trip : Wish we had been warned beforehand about the bad roads + long drive to Manu national park. We were on the road for the better part of 2 days, and though we had a good experience at the end, would have prepared better if we had known earlier.

Andean Travel handled our trip through the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. Alexandra, our guide through the Sacred Valley, answered all our questions very patiently, and she was a treasure trove of information! Also, she was a great hit with the kids since she brought them locally made dolls. Javier was our guide at Machu Picchu; in place of the usual 2 hour tour, he was with us for 4 hours and made sure we didnt miss any aspect of the historic location. Excellent experience!

All in all, would highly recommend Kimkim since they work with the best. Would definitely use their services again!

Dear Anne,
We had a wonderful, without any glitch, well planned Holiday in Peru.
Initially we wanted to visit only Matchu Pitchu, but as we started interacting with Anne, we were encouraged to add many other places and we are glad that you suggested it!
The trip was very meticulously planned and executed. Our itinerary was shared with us with all relevant details, our tickets were printed, guides arrived on time, pick up driver arrived on time and the estimation of time was correct so the we could always adhere to the timing.
The best part was the Guides who were well informed and good people, who shared lot of information and gave us insight into the places as well as into other matters as well
Peru is quite a large country and offers many different options. The tour generally required a reasonable fitness since on many days you end up walking quite a few kilometers
The altitude issue was well planned , starting from lower to higher in gradual way which helped
All in all we had a very good trip and coming all the way from India was totally worth it
Thanks Anne, the support team of peruvian Soul, other agencies and all
Regards
Manoj M Vaidya