
Steve Wilson
I love Peru! Its culture, history, food, people and incredible scenery. And I love talking about Peru with culturally-minded travelers and helping them create an experience that reflects their desires. My travel philosophy is that life and travel are about personal reflection and growth, and I'm passionate about sharing that with our guests.
What places and activities do you specialize in?
"Peru. We specialize in real human encounters, real adventure, and taking our guests off the tourist track and under the surface of these places, meeting locals and sharing their lives. We also run adventure trips in Vanuatu and New Zealand."
How did you get involved in travel?
"Like many young Kiwis, I set off for my big OE (overseas experience) straight after finishing university. By the time I got back from Europe, a year later, I knew I'd found my life's path. The experience of immersing myself in other cultures made my life and the whole world feel so much wider and richer, and I wanted to share that with others so I started guiding adventure tours in New Zealand's rugged South Island.
I rose up quickly in the ranks of New Zealand's adventure travel industry, and soon found myself managing 70 people and an operation that spanned New Zealand, Australia, and South America. Here I met Katy Shorthouse, an Australian travel operator very much embedded in Peru, who shares my philosophy and vision, and is a fount of knowledge about lesser-known things to do in Peru. We joined forces in Aspiring Adventures with a focus on cultural adventures off the beaten track in Peru. We also run - and in many cases, I personally guide - trips in New Zealand and Vanuatu.
I have explored over 60 countries and my favourite activities are hiking, snowboarding, paragliding, scuba diving, motorcycling, and hanging out with my three kids."
Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.
"In 2009 I went to Peru to set up Aspiring Adventures with Katy. Before starting on that she was winding up another project - authoring the Lonely Planet guidebook to Peru - and she invited me along on her travels. In one memorable stint, we got stranded in the altiplano for a night and ended up the main attractions in a local parade, danced with broken glass crunching underfoot at a gangster bar the next night, and in-between discovered an abandoned church with a skull and crossbone-filled catacomb (where we still take our guests!)."
Featured trips & expertise

Sacred Valley Hiking and Homestay - 9 Days
Explore Southern Peru's most famous region through a uniquely immersive local experience. This tour will allow you to experience the trails, traditions, and daily lives of subsistence farmers while still making time for the more well-known highlights of the Sacred Valley.

Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu By Bike - 8 Days
In the span of just over a week, bike across Peru's most famous region and see the Sacred Valley from a different perspective. This itinerary uncovers both the natural beauty of Southern Peru as well as the historical legacy of the Incas.

Peru Family Tour - 13 Days
This 13-day family adventure includes all the top, must-see highlights of Peru. From the Andes to the Amazon, the itinerary is specifically designed to satisfy and accommodate both children and adults.

Peruvian Amazon Adventure - 4 Days
If you enjoy observing animals and birds in their natural environment–along with spending time on the water–this four-day Tambopata trip was designed with you in mind. Explore the incredible Amazon, go fishing for piranha, enjoy a kayaking excursion, and embark on a nighttime nature hike on this action-packed adventure.

Essential Peru - 14 Days
From the Nazca Lines to Colca Canyon, Lake Titicaca, and Machu Picchu, this 14-day itinerary takes you to Peru's major highlights. Fly over the Nazca Lines - some of the world's most impressive geoglyphs, then spend some time exploring the metropolitan city of Lima before heading out to explore the colonial city of Arequipa. Next, explore Colca Canyon, one of the world's deepest canyons, then head out to Lake Titicaca - a place rich with history, culture, and natural beauty. Finally, head to the Inca capital of Cusco and explore colorful textile markets and small towns of the Sacred Valley, and hike the short Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu & Rainbow Mountain Adventure - 8 Days
Explore the essential highlights of Peru on this 8-day itinerary. Begin in the metropolitan capital city of Lima, and explore the vibrant city by bike. Then, head to the ancient Inca capital of Cusco, and get a taste of the local culture on a culinary tour. Next, discover the beautiful textiles and incredible ruins of the Sacred Valley, and spend a full day taking in the majesty of Machu Picchu. Top it all off by summiting the colorful rainbow mountain - the perfect photo op!
Recent trip reviews for Steve
Machu Picchu, Andes Mountains and Coffee Plantation · Peru - Oct 11 - Oct 20, 2019
I think we were very fortunate to have Aldo as our guide. We were a very inquisitive group and Aldo was able to answer all our questions and provided us with educated information and in-depth explanations of what we were seeing. He was always calm and very patient. He had us prepared for all our destinations. Although we did miss seeing the Machu Picchu Temple of the Sun. We arrived 5 minutes after it closed. All our drivers were punctual and transported us safe and sound to our... read more
Aspiring Adventures organized a good customiz... · Peru - Oct 11 - Oct 19, 2019
Aspiring Adventures organized a good customized tour in Peru. Steve and Katie made sure the logistics where well planned. Aldo was a good guide and very knowledgeable.

Trip to Peru · Peru - Jul 25 - Aug 4, 2019
When the weather is great and everything goes smoothly it’s easy to say the trip was great. The true test of a company is when there are problems and in this case Aspiring has really shown top marks. My 9 year old daughter became severely ill and Aldo, Mayli and Katie immediately reacted with not just practical assistance but the emotional support we required to care for our baby. They provided a doctor at our hotel at a critical point and provided excellent assistance to find treatment... read more

Steve, Steve here! I wasn't involved with the last couple of days of your trip, but I heard about it - the whole ground team plus Katy were all about it! I really appreciate you taking the time to recognise their good work. I know they all really appreciated your family's demeanour both before and during poor Gracie's illness, and would love to see you again sometime... I think you should finish what you started, and get to the Amazon!
Seriously, thanks for being great travelers and great people. Cheers, Steve
Trip to Peru · Peru - Jul 3 - Jul 12, 2019
Our trip to Peru was unique and authentic! Our guide Aldo really contributed to make our trip enrichful by sharing with us his knowledge and taking care of us. The itinerary was great, we enjoyed everything. Our most memorable moment was our stay in Amaru where we could experience the authentic village life by being hosted by an amazing Peruvian family. We strongly recommend this destination.

Sandro! Seeing your photos and videos of your trip made me feel like I was there myself - thanks so much for sharing them! You've been a lovely group and we've all enjoyed our time with you. Thanks again!
Trip to Peru · Peru - Jul 3 - Jul 12, 2019
Our local specialist, Katy from Aspiring Adventures, arranged our local experience carefully, based on our preferences as a party of 6 adults with various levels of fitness ability and 2 active children. She got us a trip to experience Peru from the Pacific coast to the Andean mountains to the Amazon jungle. She arranged for us to taste Peruvian local cuisine at luxurious restaurants, a farmer's house, an Amaru village house, a boat picnic setting, and a set-menu dining in a jungle lodge. She... read more

Elisa, thank you for your detailed review and photos.
All your feedback is so very helpful in maintaining and constantly improving our trips, and we take it all on board.
The Family Trip is dear to the hearts of all of us here at Aspiring Adventures and we just love making families like yours happy with it. Thank you so much for trusting us with your family vacation.
All the best,
Steve

Continuing Adventure Machu Picchu · Peru - May 20 - May 26, 2019
Aspiring Adventures (Katy, Steve) did a great job ahead of the trip making sure they knew us and providing 2 itineraries with equipment lists. We were all well prepared. Guide Alex met us the first day introduced himself. You could tell how proud his was of his country (same with Angela), Cusco and the Inca legacy. Right from the start Alex (and Angela) couldn't do enough for us. Whether it was ensuring dietary restrictions were met or getting waiters attend for beer. Note: Angela... read more

Dan, thanks so much for your thoughtful and detailed report!
Katy and I enjoyed working with you in the months before the trip, developing the trip and communicating its details to the members of your group.
Trips like this, where the group is split for several days - in your case most of you went on the Inca Trail with Alex, and two group members explored the jungle and Sacred Valley with Angela - present their own logistical challenges, and I'm proud to see the team carried it off without... read more

Pearce/Patel Trip to Peru · Peru - May 20 - May 26, 2019
We had an amazing time in Peru, largely due to our guides. Alex was fantastic, a fountain of knowledge and very friendly and accommodating. Anjela was very helpful, patient and loved sharing her love of Peru with us. The food, drinks and entire experience was enjoyable. We hiked the Inca Trail with Alex and he let us move at our own pace and had no trouble answering our questions. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who asked.

Great to hear you'd recommend the trip to anyone., Kunal! We worked hard before the trip to communicate consistently with all the members of your big group and I believe we succeeded pretty well, laying the groundwork for Alex and Angela to show you all the best of Peru! Thanks so much for choosing to explore Peru with us, and we hope you had just as awesome a time on the next leg of your trip. in Bolivia!
What a great experience it all was from the beginning of the trip to the end. Our trip to Peru was very adventurous and memorable. We took the Andean Adventure but added additional excursions to our trip. Steve spent much time talking to us and customizing our trip. He was very reassuring about the places that we would visit.
After the trip was booked Katy took over and the experience was just as great. She provided us with all the necessary information, from what to expect to what... read more

Kent, thanks so much for your detailed review and kind words about the team! The behind-the-scenes crew really pulled out all the stops to deal with the strike that day - we're so proud of their hard work, and love to see it recognised! We really enjoyed having you and Colleen - come again anytime!
Trip to Peru · Peru - Jan 29 - Feb 7, 2019
Steve and Katy at Kim Kim made the planning for our first trip to South America incredibly easy. They sorted out everything for our 8 day trip - hotels, transfers (planes, trains and buses), entrance tickets to all the sites and most meals. We saw most of what there was to see in the Rainforest with our guide Yuri, who was amazing with a machete! Aldo took us around Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Moray and Machu Picchu; sharing with us interesting history about the Incas. He even climbed Huayna Picchu with us.
Thank you all for making our trip so memorable!
Sent from my iPad

Thanks for your review Lindy! Great to hear we made planning your trip incredibly easy - those last minute changes getting to the start of the trip due to the polar vortex grounding flights in Canada had us all sweating - fantastic that it all worked out in the end, thanks to our hardworking ground team!
I know Katy is in touch with you about why you saw 'almost' everything in the jungle, not 'everything'; if there's anything else you'd like to add about why you rated your trip only 4.5 stars instead of the full 5, please let us know - we really appreciate your constructive criticism!
Amazon/Manu adventure · Peru - Nov 10 - Nov 15, 2018
Steve was very responsive. Nestor, our guide, Alex and Guido as well as our boat crew were excellent. The trip accommodations were more basic than expected. The definition of our overnight accommodations as lodges was stretching it. Hot water did not exist for the entire trip. The activities were outstanding!

Hi Chris
Thanks for taking the time to review your trip to Manu for us! I’m disappointed you rated your trip only four stars and will be contacting you privately to discuss how we can improve. All I’ll say here is that accommodations in Manu are more basic than elsewhere in Peru, and we do try to set expectations accurately, for example with mentioning there are no hot showers in the introduction to the trip here in kimkim. Anyway, I’m glad the awesomeness of Nestor, Alex and Guido and the activities they facilitated helped make up for the basicness of the accommodations!
Cheers
Steve
The Amazon & Inca Trail - 12 Days · Peru - Aug 31 - Sep 11, 2018
I contacted Steve with KimKim travel after striking out with other agencies who were unable to build an "off the beaten path" adventure to Peru. Steve listed and then executed an amazing itinerary which far exceed our expectations.

Hi Bill!
Thanks for your review, and thanks for being such awesome off the beaten track explorers - it's thanks to you that we discovered an awesome new waterfall to include in our trips to Quillabamba! We loved hosting you, Adam and Lauren, and hope to share another adventure sometime! (In fact Katy said something about joining you in Patagonia?!)
Cheers!
Steve
Trip to Peru for family with two older teenagers · Peru - Jul 22 - Aug 2, 2018
Steve and Katy and the Aspiring Adventures team did a great job. They helped plan and set up a highly custom tour of Peru for us and really dealt with a lot of added complexity and changes when the weather impacted the original trek we had planned; and then when one of us had some health issues and had to change plans. Really appreciated their hard work and expertise. Very happy with the trip.
Our guides arranged by Aspiring Adventures (Arturo in Lima, Justino in Sacred Valley/Trek/Machu... read more

Wow, thank you for the detailed review, and recommendation, David! I'm so happy you and your family had a marvellous time in Peru, especially given the necessary changes from plan A to plan B (because the Lares Pass was impassable due to the snow level during an unexpected cold snap), and then from plan B to plan C when one of your family had a health issue. This kept us on our toes for sure, but I'm delighted you maintained a positive mindset and created such wonderful memories together. And... read more
Peru 2018 Vacation · Peru - Jun 15 - Jun 26, 2018
We were in great hands with our guides Aldo (Sacred Valley) and Yuri (Jungle)! We enjoyed their knowledge of the history, animals as well as what was likely to change given current environmental threats. Since our teenage boys moved quite a bit faster than their parents, they spent a lot of time ahead with the guides on some hikes. The notorious hard-to-please teens were also thrilled with this trip. They really enjoyed the mountain biking and the bits of knowledge they gained along the way in both parts of the trip. We'll be back to Peru!

Hola Leanne,
Thank you for writing a review - I'm delighted that your whole family had a ball in Peru with Aldo and Yuri. Designing and running trips that fit for both parents and teens is a fine art and I'm glad we've succeeded - when the teens are thrilled that tells me we did a great job - yay!
Drop us a line when you're keen to explore Peru again, we'd love to help you explore another region of this wonderful country!
Kind regards, Steve, Aspiring Adventures
Peru 2018 Vacation · Peru - Jun 15 - Jun 26, 2018
Our guides, Aldo and Yuri, were absolutely awesome. They were both very focused on giving us a good experience and sharing the best of their country with us. All of the food we had on the trip was either very good or excellent. Peruvians definitely care about the quality of their food. Yum!
The one area for improvement would have been a little better information on appropriate clothing and expected whether. Our packing list suggested 3 pair of shorts and 2 pair of long pants. We never wore... read more

Hola Jeff,
How fabulous that you enjoyed experiencing Peru with Aldo and Yuri! We take great care in designing the various meal options on each trip so I'm delighted that you loved the Peruvian cuisine - yum alright!
Thank you for your feedback about the packing list, it's super important to me that we get the small details like that correct. I agree with you that pants are the best option when in the jungle. I've taken a look at the list we created for your trip, and it actually says: "2... read more
Group departure - Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu - 5 Days · Peru - May 30 - Jun 6, 2018
Aldo, our local guide, was a wonderful, knowledgeable leader and kept the many pieces of our trip in order while also making sure we were all safe and comfortable and that we learned about Peruvian history, culture and natural resources. I cannot speak highly enough of his skills and what a special person he is.
Our chef, Jonah and his assistant Eduardo, also made this trip memorable. The food that they provided for us could have been served at any top-rated restaurant in the world. This was... read more

Hi Marianne
Yep, Aldo, Yohan and Eduardo are incredible... by sheer goodwill they turn what could be a difficult experience into an unforgettable adventure - exhilarating for you, and for us too, to receive a series of reviews like yours for what was clearly a very special trip!
Thanks so much for your review - we hope to see you again someday!
PS - Thanks for the photos you posted here - there are some real beauties!
Group departure - Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu - 5 Days · Peru - May 30 - Jun 6, 2018
I truly cannot say enough good things about this trip and the people involved in the experience. Before the trip, we coordinated with Steve and Katy and our questions were answered and last minute additions handled promptly and easily. I definitely recommend reading all of the information sent carefully and sticking to the packing recommendations. If you are a high information person, definitely call to get the scoop on when meals are, when you are stopping, etc, if you like that kind of... read more

Christine - wow, thank you! Detailed reviews like these are so helpful for other travellers thinking of taking a trip, and so awesome for us to read! Knowing you experienced and appreciated little touches like hot water bottles and detailed gear lists, makes all the hard work we put in behind the scenes worthwhile! We try hard to exceed expectations and it means the world to us to know we succeeded. Thank you!
Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu - 5 Days · Peru - May 31 - Jun 5, 2018
Aldo was an amazing guide who went above and beyond all expectations!

Thanks for your review Alexie. Yep, Aldo is amazing, isn't he! We know we're lucky to have him!
Machapichi, hiking, adventures, good food. · Peru - Apr 7 - Apr 15, 2018
Tom and I had a wonderful experience in Peru. Every detail was taken care on so we could just relax and enjoy. Luis was very knowledgeable and so easy to be around. He spoiled us! Paul was our driver and he too was very helpful. Aspiring Adventures had every detail planned so that our trip was seamless. Love the bike ride down the Andes and this special group did a great job of making us feel comfortable. The value was terrific! Two recommendations. Try another accommodation in... read more

Hi Donna
Great to hear you and Tom had a wonderful experience - and indeed, how could you not, with Luis and Paul taking care of you!
I'm delighted you appreciated the planning that went into making sure the trip ran smoothly and apparently effortlessly, while avoiding allergens as far as humanly possible.. the Kuychipunku kittycat let us down there!
Thanks for travelling with us and we would love to host you and Tom again!
Cheers
Steve
Trip to Peru · Peru - Oct 15 - Oct 19, 2017
The trek was the highlight of our 3 week trip to Peru. Food, cooks, overall trekking experience was great. All places we stayed were great, especially the overnight at the hot springs. There was an issue with my sleeping bag: The zipper in my $40 rental sleeping bag was broken from day one. I had to put extra layers on to keep warm on the 1st night. In the afternoon the guide was nowhere to be found and I told him at dinner. Someone went to fix it, but they didn't try the zipper and I went to bed and the clasp fell off so the zipper was broken.

Hi Marlynn
It’s taken me a few days to respond to your review because I’ve been getting to the bottom of how this came to happen with your sleeping bag. Simple gear failure is the answer, and I’m so sorry it caused you this experience .
Wilhen, our equipment manager, personally checked your sleeping bag before it went out on your Salkantay trek, but it evidently gave way on the way in and started opening itself. Aldo got it to close again, but then the clasp came off in your hand.
Our... read more
Trip to Peru · Peru - Jun 16 - Jun 28, 2017
Excellent planning! Amazing guides!
Very organized! Well planned

Hola Sandy, thank you kindly for your review! I'm delighted that you and your family had an amazing time in Peru. What a stunning day you had at Machu Picchu - look at that sky!! It was a pleasure helping you design and plan your trip, and Katy and I are glad you enjoyed the company and leadership of Luis, your Aspiring Adventures guide. We hope you'll return to Peru some day!
Kind regards,
Steve, Aspiring Adventures
Archaeological Sites in the Sacred Valley · Peru - Feb 4 - Feb 4, 2017
Steve was good at arranging the trip, dropping off the Tourist Tickets at our hotel the day before our tour, and finding us a good guide. Our guide, Aldo was just great. He was flexible and agreed to take us to Pisac earlier than planned, so we could see it while fresh. When a portion of the Pisac Inca site was inaccessible, he found a way for us to see the site by entering at a different place. No, he didn't break any laws doing so. It was a beautiful day, so he arranged for us to walk down... read more

Hi Jan, I'm delighted that you had a wonderful time exploring the Sacred Valley with Aldo! How terrific that you had a chance to meet the condors up close - they're very impressive birds aren't they?! Thank you for choosing to travel with us and for taking the time to write a review about your experiences. We hope to see you again some day!
Kind regards,
Steve, Aspiring Adventures