Anne Godoy

In one word: SUPERB!
We had an amazing family trip that showed us many different sides of Peru including cities (Lima, Cusco) and desert landscapes, rainforest and wildlife, history and culture . Everywhere we went the people were extraordinarily nice and the food was always delicious. A special mention goes to the Inca Trail experience culminating in Machu Picchu, led by the wonderful Iza.
We had a packed program with lots of travel and activities in 2 weeks, and all the transitions were managed very smoothly and we never experienced any problems. Really great how the program was designed and executed on the ground.
Would recommend this to anyone.

We had a wonderful family trip to Peru, and the team did a great job making everything run smoothly.

A big thank you to Anne for planning a fantastic itinerary and catering to our family's needs, Jesus for always being available on WhatsApp and keeping everything on track, Blanca for an excellent and engaging walking tour of Barranco, and Julio for being a knowledgeable, caring guide and a great storyteller in Cusco. We would also like to thank all of our drivers for being punctual, professional, and friendly throughout the trip.

We did run into a few unexpected challenges, including train issues to and from Machu Picchu and a family health issue that required us to change plans during our Amazon stay. The team handled everything quickly and efficiently behind the scenes, helping us find solutions with minimal stress.

We really appreciated everyone's support and would happily recommend this team to anyone planning a trip to Peru.

Hotel Reviews

Innside Lima Miraflores by Melia Hotels International

Miraflores

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Los Portales Cusco

Cusco

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Finca Sachabacayoc

Our stay at Finca Sachabacayoc was unfortunately the least enjoyable part of our Peru trip. We understand that staying in the Amazon comes with certain rustic expectations, but there were several issues that made our stay less comfortable than anticipated. The biggest challenge was that we had no running water for the entire morning of one of our days, which made it difficult to shower or get ready for our activities. Even when water was available, the hot water only lasted a few minutes. It was also often difficult to find staff when we needed assistance. The rooms have metal roofs, which made them extremely hot during the day, and the fans were not sufficient to keep the room comfortable. There were also a significant number of insects on the porch, making it difficult to relax in the hammock or enjoy the outdoor space. The food was adequate but fairly average and did not stand out compared to the rest of our trip. That said, we do want to recognize the staff for their kindness during an unexpected family health issue. They arranged breakfast for us when we had to miss one of the scheduled activities and were helpful in coordinating our unexpected return to Lima. We truly appreciated their support during a stressful situation. Overall, while the staff did their best to help when it mattered most, we feel the facilities, amenities, and overall guest experience could be improved.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Walking food tour at Barranco

Lima

Blanca was an excellent guide for our Barranco walking tour. She was knowledgeable, engaging, and shared the history and culture of the neighborhood in a way that made it both interesting and enjoyable. She also introduced us to some amazing local restaurants, giving us a wonderful taste of authentic Peruvian cuisine. It was a great experience, and we highly recommend touring Barranco with Blanca!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cusco Walking City Tour with San Francisco Church

Cusco

Julio was an outstanding guide for our Cusco walking tour. Instead of only taking us to the typical tourist attractions, he introduced us to local gems and hidden corners of the city that made the experience feel much more authentic. He is a wonderful storyteller, incredibly knowledgeable, and genuinely caring, making sure everyone in our family was comfortable throughout the tour. We learned so much about Cusco's history, culture, and local life, and would highly recommend this tour with Julio.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Moray Terraces

Peru

Visiting Moray was one of the highlights of our time in the Sacred Valley, and Julio made the experience even more memorable. His storytelling and knowledge brought the history and purpose of the terraces to life, and he took the time to answer all of our questions. We appreciated that he shared not only the historical significance of Moray but also local insights and perspectives that made the visit much more meaningful. We highly recommend this tour, especially with Julio as your guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Maras Salt Ponds

Peru

The Maras Salt Ponds were a fascinating place to visit, and Julio was an excellent guide. He shared interesting stories and local insights that made the visit much more meaningful. A beautiful stop in the Sacred Valley that we would highly recommend.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lunch at Ama

Peru

Lunch at Ama was one of the most memorable meals of our trip. Beyond the outstanding food, we were inspired by the owner's mission of creating employment opportunities for young people with disabilities and single mothers. It was a meaningful experience to support a local business making such a positive impact on the community. We highly recommend stopping here if you're visiting the Sacred Valley.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our family of 5 had an unforgettable trip to Peru! Anne was very helpful and informative in the planning and booking stages of our trip. She was available during our trip as well to answer any questions or to help things run smoothly.
We had a great time at the Explorer's Inn. The accommodations were very nice and the staff was all very helpful and happy to share their beautiful home with us. Raul was a terrific guide. We really enjoyed our rainforest walks, visiting the tower, night walks, the clay lick and seeing Giant River Otters at the lake.
We were next in the Sacred Valley where we met Edwar and Guido. They took great care of us exploring the Sacred Valley and Macchu Picchu. Guido was a great driver both in the busy towns and on the winding roads of the valley. Edwar has an amazing amount of knowledge that he openly shared with us. The pace of our days was perfect. It was nice to have such an awesome guide to help navigate the train and 1 day hike on the Inca trail. We also went on a beautiful hike in the Colca Valley and saw Andean Condors. Edwar was the perfect guide both on the nature aspects and historical aspects of our trip.
He has a great energy and was a lot of fun to explore with. Edward and Guido make a great team.
Thank you to all the members of Peruvian Soul and the KimKim team!

Our trip to Peru was our third trip with kimkim and it could not have been better! The guides, excursions, hotels, etc. were wonderful. Our guides Martin, Diego, and Wilson were kind and knowledgeable and felt like friends. My husband had stomach trouble on the trip and within an hour of notifying our guide Diego in the Sacred Valley he came to our hotel with medicine and rearranged our schedule the following day so as not to miss anything. Thank you kimkim for another amazing trip!!

This was our first trip using kimkim to plan and book the entire experience. We were connected with Peruvian Soul and rep Anne Godoy. Because of Covid and then variouschallenges on our end, this trip was several years in the making. But Peruvian Soul and Anne really delivered. She helped us create an itinerary combining her recommendations and experience along with our research and goals. It was a true collaboration. And then Peruvian Soul really came through on the logistics. During the trip, their operation manager Jesus Martel, provided us with frequent updates as needed. He was available for questions. And he was able to make happen a short notice changes in our itinerary that became necessary. This was our first time trusting someone to take care of travel arrangements other than ourselves, and I was very impressed.
So many highlights but want to mention several that were suggested and/or coordinated by Anne & Peruvian Soul.
- Home visit and Homestay on Capachica Peninsula, Lake Titicaca: We visited two kind, delightful families to get a glimpse into their lifestays, and share several meals, next to Lake Titicaca. We were shown how they use local plants as everything from soap to medicine. We witnessed (and slightly helped) our host Ruffino fishing on Lake Titicaca by hauling in nets. It was a cool opportunity to get a bit of insight into their lives and to simply get to know them a little. We had a very good guide, Luis (forgive me, I lost his last name), who shared the history of the area and the customs of the people on the penisula.
- El Alberque, Ollantaytambo - in one place we were able to enjoy a Panchamanca lunch; learn about and roast a batch of coffee; and then create our own botanical liquor in their distillery. We had a fun and insightful afternoon.
- Misminay Community, Sacred Valley - We spent several hours in Misminay with were our local hosts showed us about their weaving; demonstrating the process and showing us how they create their colors with plants and minerals. Then we had a short lesson, trying to learn the local language, Quechua. From their compound, we were able to take a short hike to see the Moray terraces.
- Market visit and cooking glass in Cusco - Anne set us up with the restaurant Mama Seledonia to get a educational (and tasting) tour of 2 Cusco markets. From there, we took the purchases back to the restaurant to make our own lunch, cocktails and then to try a variety of fruits we purchased. The chef (Gustavo) was great and it was a wonderful experience.
- Not surprisingly, Cuscuo, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu were trip highlights. But what made it excellent was our guide, Luis Caceres. The poor guy was stuck with us for almost 5 days :) He truly made the trip excellent for us. It was more like travelling with a friend than a guide. (But a friend who knew a ton!)

I enthusiastically recommend kimkim and Peruvian Soul. Anne sincerely created an amazing experience for us and they all (Jesus, our guides and drivers) made it go great. They really took care of us.

Trip of a lifetime!
The organization was very good, the activities were well planned and Jesus' daily updates including with boarding passes for internal flights were excellent. It did not seem to me that Jesus went to sleep.
I thought the guides were very well chosen - Fernando in Quito was an amazing fount of information about Quito, its history and the area. Our guides in the Galapagos, Justin in Santa Cruz and Oswaldo in San Cristobal, were very well-informed and good hike guides, though they was not with us all the time owing to boat trips and island changes. I would like to mention our transport driver (Arturo?) in San Cristobal - he was very courteous and prompt.
In the Galapagos, I would only change our hotel - the Golden Galapagos. It did not meet the standards of our other hotels.
The Indigo seemed much more organized.

In Lima, Nancy was an excellent guide with lots of historical details that we learned from her. However, our guide in Cusco was exceptionally way above the guides we had on this trip (Julio and the driver Robert) were above and beyond. Partly it was due to the elevation and related issues, but they also had really detailed knowledge and insights that were very interesting to hear.

We had a great time!

What could you improve - ditch the Golden Galapagos. Also, I noticed that the company always picked the cheapest room in the hotels. Can you manage to upgrade it a bit, to the second lowest level? At least ask the question!

This trip was a dream every step of the way. I had a lot of questions which were always answered quickly in detail, and with patience. Peru has so many amazing locations and experiences but we were able to narrow them down to a perfect trip, customized to our exact preferences, budget and interests.

Once we got there Anne sent thoughtful notes to our room and checked in periodically to make sure everything was going well.

Everyone we met in Peru was so kind, accommodating and friendly. We spent time with several guides who were very knowledgeable and personable, but I’d give a special shout-out to our Cusco guide, EJ. His background in archaeology made every historical site even more interesting. We saw so many amazing things but wouldn’t have fully appreciated them without EJ’s insights and his photography skills left us with so many great photos and memories to take home with us.