Kimkim Trip Reviews for Peru

great staff and attention to detail!

the tour itself in the air is very long and was a bit too much with all the flying back and forth for each side

Again, Carlos was an excellent tour guide.

Carlos was a great tour guide.

An oasis in a jungle setting. Be aware that this is truly a jungle retreat. Enjoy the hammocks outside your bamboo room for a good nap or a good book. Definately try the shamanic yoga and remember that the bats flying overhead are friends eating bugs. The scents and sounds of the jungle surround you with some of the best vegan cooking we have ever had. And the massgae/acupressure treatment was amazing! We also enjoyed the medicinal plant walk - we learned so much!

What a great getaway right in downtown Cusco. A fantastic breakfast set up with an open patio in the center of the building.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! The food was amazing, the service was stellar and the ambiance could not be beat! Did I mention the spa? Wowza! What a great time. Next time, we will stay much longer!

Very modern design. Great selections and spread for breakfast. Fun rooftop bar. Bartender was great!!

A staff member was suppose to meet us and guide us to the hotel, but no one showed up. The hotel wasn't that far, so we were able to Google it and walk there. So not that big of a deal. Thought I'd mention it sice our instructions said someone would be there.

Beautiful place and location.

Place was pretty, staff nice and breakfast good. However, the bed and pillows were hard and not comfortable.

There was a mix- up in our departure time. We contacted KimKim about it and they made appropriate arrangements within minutes.

This is a hidden gem! Garden is beautiful. Museum was cool. Make sure you go into the erotic select. Pretty entertaining.

Lima is a big coastal city. Busy and on the cool side. It was our least favorite place, but still enjoyed our stay.

Very cool place!

Beautiful place

Beautiful cabanas. Gorgeous place.

The hotel is beautiful and the restaurant is good, though I felt very much like a tolerated tourist here. We were 2 of only 24 people staying at the hotel in off season, and while the staff wasn’t exactly unfriendly, I didn’t feel as welcome here as I did at other hotels throughout the country. All prices were shared in USD vs local currency. The hotel had an interesting smell and we left congested. Not sure if that was from the desert dust or something in the rooms.

This is my new favorite hotel, ever. Not only is it beautiful, in a great location, but the service and the staff is truly incredible. Our room was beautiful and the hotel provided so many helpful amenities including water in every room and plenty of it (unlike most hotels that give you one bottle per day…). They offered a turndown service each night with tea, chocolates, and a warm water bottle to make our beds cozy. The restaurant on site is truly delicious (the stuffed peppers and ceviche were AWESOME) and the breakfast includes the buffet and a menu to choose from. When we checked out for a night during our stay to camp at Machu Picchu, they provided breakfast to go for our 4am pick up and loaded us up with snacks for our full day hike. They managed our bags too so we didn’t have to lug them from our rooms so early. I can’t say enough about Katie, Kevin, and Michael. Excellent service all around. I encourage everyone to stay here!!

Brand new hotel in Lima.

Very nice and peaceful hotel in the heart of sacred valley.

Very cute boutique hotel two blocks away from the main Plaza

Very nice hotel in the center of Arequipa

We absolutely loved this hotel. The staff were so welcoming and it was extremely comfortable and cosy. The restaurant was excellent, the beds were extremely comfortable and the decor was beautiful. We will be recommending this hotel to any friends who are planning a trip to Cusco.

The 10 hour duration of this train journey was a little daunting but it flew by. The seats were comfortable, the food was excellent and we loved the added touches of the dances and music in the lounge car. The observation deck was fantastic and we felt really looked after.

We had a wonderful stay at Refugio Amazonas. We were there for three nights and took part in a variety of activities. The lodge was fantastic, we really enjoyed our stay, you really felt part of nature whilst still being comfortable. Highlights of the activities were the trip to see the macaws at the clay lick, the oxbow lake, sunset cruise, night walk and mountain biking. We also really enjoyed the pre-dinner Wired Amazon talks. We are a family with two boys aged 14 and 15 and it was the ideal location for us.

The hotel was fine. located all the way at the top of the hill so quite a hike up but near the thermal pools which was convenient. and a bit quieter up there. The hotel was very basic. could be a little more updated and more comfort. breakfast was basic. rooms were average. would opt for a different hotel with upgraded rooms and amenities in agua calientes.

this was an amazing resort in an extremely remote location. The accommodations were special and lovely. we had a warm and personal greeting and reception with a pisco punch when we arrived that really set a nice mood of specialized comfort. the main restaurant/bar etc was absolutely beautiful. the food was average. we unfortunately had a later-than-expected arrival so we missed truly taking advantage of the whole resort. the spa/sauna was already booked when we got there which my adult kids were looking forward to. We left at the crack of pre-dawn for machu picchu so missed really enjoying the place. Got a great view of the milky way before we put our heads down! and we had a lovely boxed breakfast waiting for us to take on our early early train. Lovely service and lovely resort. spend more time there. FYI Ollantaytambo looks VERY touristy and almost honky tonky.

a bit more of a budget hotel but good location. we stayed, left to sacred valley, and stayed on our way back. first room was small and incredibly noisy all night on the plaza. the second time we had a much bigger room in the back of the hotel and much less noisy. The breakfast oddly on the top floor was good, basic. the bellhops/porters and cleaning staff and breakfast staff were all extremely friendly and helpful. oddly the front desk staff was less so. they did not go out of their way to be helpful but were fine. the location is great and central. and they do a great job of taking care of your bags while you're in between coming/going. Might have looked for a bit more luxury but great location and served our needs at a great price.

Solid, comfortable hotel in the heart of miraflores. Not a beautiful part of Lima but accessible. The hotel had a nice lobby and bar and a very extensive breakfast spread. The rooms were fine, small, serviceable. Nice service.

We did Circuit 3 i believe and it was extensive! we got a great view of how MP worked as a city and educational and cultural center. Again Edwin was an amazing guide loaded with even more insights and facts and history. He made MP come alive. Edwin met us early in the morning at a time we all agreed upon - the hotel did a great job of getting our bags to the train later. Edwin knew to hurry is to the very long, waiting morning bus line - went up by bus (made us appreciate how special the hike was the day before) and came down by bus. had lunch in town with Edwin before catching the train to Ollantaytambo where David was waiting with the rest of our luggage and the van back to Cusco. Again would NOT have wanted to manage logistics on this trip without KimKim/Cusi Travel. Made it absolutely stress free and delightful.

My family of adult kids were ready for this from the get go. My husband (2 total knees) was upbeat and optimistic. Me, with an 8 month old total knee was optimistic but nervous - would i make it? would i hold everyone back? could i still do this at 62? well the answer was a resounding SO GLAD WE DID IT! not for the faint of heart for sure but you don't need to be an endurance athlete to make it. And there's something special about CLIMBING your way to Macchu Picchu. It was challenging for sure but the views are great and making it to the spectacular but less visited Winya Wayna ruins made it all worth it. Breathtaking! And coming through the Sun Gate and seeing MP from on high was also a real treat. It was long, the steps are hard, listen to your guide and when he tells you to pack and carry 3 liters of water - do it! we started the day on a very early train - lovely ride - a boxed breakfast from the hotel and a little pre-hike snooze. was so glad we had Kim Kim book everything ahead - transport, train, hiking permits. would not have wanted to arrange everything myself. Edwin made sure we got everywhere we needed to be. Again, Edwin was an amazing guide and, on this trip, cheerleader! He never peeped when i needed to stop and catch my breath. he never pushed, only encouraged and distracted with interesting asides about local flora and fauna and history. The team packed a phenomenal travel lunch for us that was enormous and delicious! And Edwin made it a point to take lots of picture for us, even when we were wondering if we'd make it. So glad we did it and proud that we accomplished it. The target is 6-8 hours, we took 7.5, my kids could have done it in 5.

Without a doubt one of the highlights of our trip. Everything we put into the itinerary was spectacular and we had a nice mix of Incan sites, markets, llama and alpaca "farms", textile demonstrations (not touristy, felt authentic, spent time with wonderful and interesting local weavers) and lunch in the middle of nowhere in a gorgeous eco-restaurant with amazing vistas and llamas and alpacas to visit with freely roaming the place. The salt mines and moray were our favorites and not to be missed. And extra kudos to Edwin and David who were cool, calm and collected when we realized we had left passports in Cusco and had to retrieve them. They made up the time and we still got to pack everything in without a worry. They could not have been nicer.

We had the extreme pleasure of having Edwin as our guide from Cusi Travel. He is a proud Quechuan who loves his history and culture and language and added so much to our trip. The half day tour was great after we had already spent a day in Cusco and found the market and some restaurants and some shops. he delved into some of the more notable historic sites in town and then we went just outside town to some near by ruins where we started to get immersed in the Incan culture. Edwin is informative and goes at the right pace. He is knowledgeable and was great connecting the dots for some of my family who had done some studying on the Incas in preparation for our trip. He was kind in letting us practice our spanish and filling in some gaps. A great afternoon!

Fantastic intro to the city and to Peruvian foodie culture. We had Amy who was SPECTACULAR! loads of energy, attentive to everyone, loaded with history and current events in Peru. The places they took us were each so different from the lucuma milkshake shack to the market with a box of fresh produce to Limana Bar which was a fantastic high end restaurant to the restaurant inside the ruins - it was top notch and interesting and FUN! Do NOT eat breakfast if you're doing a morning tour! Can't recommend the tour and AMY enough!!

Location was great! The plaza was up the road a few blocks and it was very walkable to all things we wanted to do and see there. The rooms were clean and comfortable. They had the tea in the lobby and O2 for those struggling with the altitude. I will say it was pretty cold in the lobby, hallways and rooms. Rooms did have portable heaters though so we were warm enough when sleeping. Staff was very nice but as we don't speak great Spanish, communication was sometimes a little tricky for us. There was a great breakfast spread but we preferred the coffee from the little cafe next door. Overall, it was a great place. We stayed there three nights, two night then left for two days and then came back there for our last night.

Clean, spacious, comfortable. Nothing over the top but very good.

I cannot describe how much we loved this place! The photos don't do it justice. Amazing design, big beautiful rooms, gorgeous greenery, restaurants and coffee shop on premise, we took so many pictures here. This is no standard hotel experience, it was something different. I can see why they have weddings here. Gorgeous!

We had two (altitude) sick kids so I missed this but my husband and older son said it was amazing! They recounted all they saw and learned and later that afternoon, when the kids felt a bit better, we all went back to the museum together and it was great.

What's not to love? It's Machi Picchu! We will the third one, seeing and going into many of the structures. It's incredible.

Chef Fernanado taught us about local ingredients, cuisine, etc. We got a lot of history, information, samples and then fully made two dishes with the Chef. Food was delicious and Chef Fernando was very knowledgable and entertaining. My family loved this!

We have ziplined in other amazing places and countries but haven't done the climbing like we did here. It was exhilarating and the views were over the top! Guides Brian et all were great. Our day happened to be stunning and perfect weather too. Highly recommend!

Amazing! Knew nothing of these places before going and loved every bit of this day. Our guide, Adriel, was the best! We learned so much and had so much fun!

The location was very good. We walked about with ease. Hotel had modern elements, and again the staff was very welcoming and helpful. One of the bellhops gave us directions to a famous restaurant where we got the best empanadas. All within walking distance. The room and bathroom were fine except that the half glass on the shower could be extended. No matter how careful we were, the floor still got wet. All in all it was a good experience.

The staff was very friendly and accommodating. The location was good. Breakfast choices could be upgraded. Bathroom shower had a plastic curtain and the shower did not drain properly. It looked and felt like a low priced hotel.

Lovely hotel and very accommodating staff. Centrally located. Great breakfast spread. Beautiful appointments. The only reason we didn’t give it five stars was because our room was one of the ones overlooking the reception area and so all the noise from there traveled up to our room. People coming in late or staying up to drink and meet with friends, all that noise went straight into our room. Apart from that we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. Maybe noise canceling windows could be a suggestion?

The hotel was located essentially in a train station. The views of the mountains some of which seemed close enough to touch and then the snow capped peaks in the distance were simply magnificent. We enjoyed the flora in and around the hotel, and totally appreciated their excellent attempts at protecting the environment, growing their own organic and ecologically friendly produce, as well as fostering sustainability. The food was delicious, and the staff everywhere was excellent and very accommodating. The only fly in the ointment were the fumes from the trains. It was supremely convenient to have the trains stop there, but their fumes remained in the air for a while. Nothing that the hotel can control, but the only fly in the ointment as it were. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at El Albergue, and would recommend it to family and friends despite the caveat mentioned above.

The tour was fine. We enjoyed walking about. Highlights were the Francis of Assisi Monastery and the Larco Museum. We gathered nuggets of interesting information from each place.

Kimberly did an excellent job of selecting restaurants and dishes on the food tour. All the dishes were tasty and reflective of the Peruvian cuisine… an amalgam of many… and we thoroughly enjoyed her explanations. She gave us the cultural contexts for the different dishes, and the restaurants also reflected the culture.

This was quite a fascinating experience. We enjoyed learning about how the Uros made and maintained their island. We also admired how they have adapted to changing times and are now seeking other avenues of income including their gondola like reed boats and their weaving and crafts. We also liked learning about their cooperation with the other islands to determine which one would be visited by tourists. Paquile was also quite interesting and we learned about their local customs as well. We enjoyed a simple but delicious lunch afterwards. Our guide was excellent and knowledgeable and the boat drivers were competent and careful. Overall, visiting both islands were wonderful experiences.

The train ride was enjoyable. There was good entertainment on board…we particularly enjoyed the fashion show and the local dances. The views were lovely, and the service was excellent. Felix, our particular waiter, was outstanding. The food was great. Embarking and disembarking was also well organized.

At Tipon, we managed to get there before the hordes, and found it amazingly quiet and calming. The fountains flowed behind us while we looked at the mountains in front of us. Again the Incas hydraulic prowess was once again on full display. The four fountains expelled water at exactly the same rate. At another point, the force of the water coming from higher elevations was mitigated by the placement of a stone at exactly the right height. Piquillacta … the visit to this Wari walled city was different from the first site. In direct contrast with the peace and calm of the first site, this site was more oppressive due to its emphasis on protection and its multiple layers of walls, some of which were quite high. Andahuaylillas was a lovely Andean Baroque church and the insertion of Arabic influence in the decoration of the ceiling was illuminating.

Sacsayhuaman was another example of Incan engineering ingenuity. Those massive stones aligned at well calculated angles to lessen the overall impact of earthquakes. Absolutely fascinating. Cusco City was also interesting and we had the good fortune to witness even more of the Peruvian culture as we encountered groups of costumed school age children performing a variety of dances which illuminated the cultural heritage of Peru. San Pedro market was intriguing. While we saw some familiar items, many of the goods were unusual. We enjoyed a delicious drink made from the lucuma fruit which is only found in Peru. This was altogether an interesting and fascinating day.

Again this was very informative and enlightening. Again Juan was excellent. Learning about the strengths and weaknesses of the various groups who preceded the Incas was completely fascinating. The different customs of each group including unusual burial practices, and seeing how some of them carried on through the Incas was really wonderful. This was a thoroughly worthwhile tour.

Machu Picchu was interesting. Maybe because it is so well known our expectations were too high. Still very interesting to see and to learn more about the use of astronomy and its relationship to worship.

Learning that this was essentially a botanical laboratory for the Incas, and learning how incredibly knowledgeable about thermodynamics, physics, botany, and engineering they were was simply awe inspiring.

I was pleasantly surprised by our stay at Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo. We were originally supposed to stay at El Mapi by Inkaterra, but we got an upgrade, and the hotel was just spectacular. The setting was beautiful and the service was exceptional. My wife unfortunately got food poisoned, but it wasn't from the hotel. Despite that hiccup, the stay was one of the highlights of our trip.

Great hotel! Fantastic way to finish a long and exhausting trip.

Great location, staff and rooms.

Excellent location and nice staff. But Very loud night club next to our room.

Our day trip to Colonial del Sacramento was an unexpected highlight. Although there was initially confusion with the booking and we ended up paying extra due to a mix-up, the day turned out exactly as we had hoped. The rustic charm of Colonial and the overall experience made it memorable.

This tour is worth doing, but with very low expectations. The park is an odd cross between some water fountains and a children’s amusement park. The main event is an impressive fountain, visual show, but not worth driving across the city for.

This was a really cool way to see Lima. It was much better than riding around in a van. Italo is a great guide!

This was truly an unbelievable day full of surprises and amazing Incan ruins. Probably our favorite activity of the entire vacation, which is really saying something.

The local tour operator did not take us on a grill tour. This was very disappointing! He took us to a fancy lunch in a different neighborhood. So we just made the best of it.

Did not have a city tour. The tango spot was quite good.

While the hotel was great, the shuttle was infrequent and left us on the curb for over 30 minutes before arriving and having no space for us. So rather than wait another 30 minutes we took a cab... that was a huge bummer for a place touting convenience. There were no adjoining rooms and we had to get two rooms- so we would have rather stayed at the Wyndham which was on site and walkable from the airport.

This hotel was well located and nice staff. It was a fine place to land after a day of travel - served its purpose. The breakfast was meh and it felt dated. Noticed some rooms with no windows. It was also very loud.

This hotel across from the train station was great. Surprisingly quiet, with a huge organic garden. We really enjoyed the Pachamanca and the food in the restaurant. The staff was great.

Our favorite hotel of the whole trip. This place was pristine, well located, great food, friendly staff and great courtyard!

This lodge was great. It was definitely an experience for our family. The hours without power may be an inconvenience to some, but we loved that we were forced out of our rooms and into the beautiful grounds. The guides were incredible and food was good! Only thing missing was... real coffee.

This hotel was well located, but was really underwhelming. Our room smelled of mildew and it just felt really dated and tired.

The kids absolutely LOVED the animals and feeding the llamas and alpacas. The pachamanca was so fun to watch and learn about.

Charles was an incredible guide for our family. He kept our kids entertained and we saw so many incredible things- anteaters, giant river otters, caiman and macaws! So fun.

Loved this day. We learned so much and saw beautiful sights that honestly rivaled Machu Picchu. It was really incredible and we learned so much.

We would have preferred a free evening to this planetarium. It was more of a slide show and less of the actively looking at the night sky- which is what we had expected. Underwhelming.

It was so very beautiful!!! Very difficult hike as you are very high altitude with very big incline but so worth it. The locals do rent horses, so if you don’t think you can hike it, definitely suggest getting there early so that way you can get a horse :)

Gringo Bills had the most comfortable bed and pillows. I wanted to stay longer just for the bed.

The courtyard is beautiful! This is a great hotel to have a quiet day relaxing. The rooms are nothing special, but comfortable enough. The breakfast is great.

We stayed here twice. The first room was barely a closet, we couldn’t move with our luggage in the room. The bed was small and not very comfortable. The second room was so much better. The bed was large and comfortable. We were able to move around. The hotel provided water refills, which is very helpful. The breakfast is good. The staff is helpful and friendly.

The food was incredible! It was amazing to learn the process and watch them do it. The farm is gorgeous to walk around.

This was a really fun class! We had a great chef helping us. The food was delicious!