Peruvian Soul

I am so incredibly grateful for the expert planning and support of the kimkim team and the local partners they worked with in Peru. Our family of 6 had an incredible trip over Spring Break. We loved the family friendly food tour in the Barranca neighborhood of Lima, where we also learned about the local culture and art scene.

After Lima we spent a few days in the Amazon jungle where our guide, John, led us on very memorable excursions - fishing for piranhas, searching for anacondas, finding tarantulas at night, hiking the jungle, climbing the viewing tower, enjoying the boat rides and most of all sight-seeing. We saw several types of monkeys, macaws, parrots, capybaras, caymens, and much more. His expertise not only made it educational - he made it very fun! The Finca lodge was perfect with sweet staff and enjoyable community meals.

After the jungle we flew to Cusco and enjoyed the Sacred Valley for a few days before spending a day at Machu Picchu. Out guide Willy was phenomenal! He took us to various stops - salt quarries, llama farms, forts, trains and more - and excellent restaurants. He was following our tour schedule, but when he learned of my affinity for Catholic Churches, he adjusted the schedule so we could see the Cathedral in Cusco, which was a highlight for me! I was so grateful for his in-depth knowledge and proactiveness to suggest this schedule change. And his positive attitude kept all my kids engaged. Our family was definitely feeling the altitude, and we were all struggling with some stomach issues. Willy helped us find electrolyte drinks and other remedies to help quell our issues and get back to enjoying the trip. He was truly excellent!

Hotel Reviews

Sonesta Posadas del Inca Yucay

Urubamba

The hotel was so wonderful. I was genuinely surprised by all of its offerings. The rooms were large, clean, very modern and well decorated with great character. The kids love the lofted bed section. The building and grounds were stunning with old, well-maintained walkways, architecture, beautiful plants, eye-catching lighting , unique chapel, and more. The different restaurants and food spots offered a variety of options for our family. We enjoyed a high-end gourmet dinner one night, Pisco Sours at the bar, and homemade Italian pizza the next. My family also loved the breakfast buffet with the made-to-order omelets and fresh juices. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone. It has a traditional local Peruvian flare mixed with modern amenities and a stellar staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

There is nothing really around this hotel. So if you like to take off walking, this isn't really the place for you. We found so many things to do in this former monastery that we didn't need to leave it!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Finca Sachabacayoc

After a 2 hour boat ride we pulled up to a steep set of stairs that led in to the heart of this beautiful oasis in the middle of the amazon jungle. It features several cabins and a main lodge. The lodge includes a bar, hammock area, sitting area and the main dining hall where we enjoyed community meals. Our cabins were large with screened in walls, beautiful wooden furniture, poster beds with mosquito nets and private bathrooms. The staff was incredibly friendly and quickly came to remove a large frog that made its way into my children's cabin. I would highly recommend this place for people who are ready to have a jungle adventure.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Walking food tour at Barranco for families!

Lima

Nancy led our family on a fabulous walking tour of Barranca. We love the ceviche at awhich, the fish sandwiches at Horneando and of course, making our own chocolate!! Her knowledge of the history and culture of the area was great and helped us better understand the neighborhood. We also enjoyed checking out the street art from Jade and other local artists.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Exploring the Sacred Valley: Maras, Moray, Ollantaytambo

Peru

Really enjoyed learning about the Inca empire - from the salt quarries and agricultural testing to the fort and Inca trail, this was an educational day.

Pass by Pisac Market & an Andean camelid Farms

Peru

The kids just absolutely adored feeding the llamas and learning about them. The tour guide was a young local man who was learning English and seemed to really enjoy engaging with us. Great way to open up our trip to the Andean region.

Full Day Machu Picchu Exploration

Peru

Definitely a highlight of our trip. We woke up early and took the van to the train station. Our train stopped halfway through, and the last three cars joined together for live music, drinks and dancing! Felt like we were in a movie - it was so magical. We arrived at the train stop and took a bus up a very steep switchback road until we reached the top. Our prebooked tickets put us on the second circuit, and we saw some of the most incredible views. Our tour guide Willy was very knowledgeable and helped bring the Inca empire to life for our family. We were amazed by their planning, building and craftsmanship. Highly recommend this adventure!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The train ride with live music, free hats, Pisco Sour tastings, dancing and more was totally unexpected and so fun!

Finca Sachavacavoc - D2 - Chuncho Claylick and Condenado Lake

Tambopata

We woke up very early to see the sunrise while we were boating to the clay licks. Our guide John set up his scope so we could see the different types of macaws and parrots flying around the clay lick. The crew prepared a lovely breakfast for us before we headed back to the Finca by boat. In the afternoon we hiked to Condenado Lake where we saw a family of feisty river otters and then enjoyed time fishing for piranhas. My kids just loved catching them! Luckily the rain opened up on us to cool us down a bit. Fantastic day in the jungle!

Quality of Experience

The mix of the boat ride and clay lick experience in the morning with the afternoon dedicated to hiking and fishing was great!

Food

The large breakfast spread was such a delightful surprise.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We all just loved the boat rides!

Kim Kim has been great from start to finish. They payed attention to the key places we wanted to see and activities we were interested in. All the guides were so nice. Shout out to Valeria and the food/market tour. Blanca did amazing job taking us around Lima for a 1 day city tour and Martin was really that cherry on top! Martin completed our experience of Peru and we couldn’t have asked for a more knowledgeable and kind guide. He looked after us all so well.

The trip was arranged seamlessly from the time when we arrived in Peru to when we left. Our guides were all good. We especially loved Alvaro, who was our driver for the entire trip from Lima to Ica and our guide in Paracus. He was passionate about Peru and very kind and accommodating . The ride in his car was comfortable and smooth. We had a different car/driver/guide for the Cañón de los Perdidos tour. This car was a van with narrow and uncomfortable seats. Perhaps a more comfortable vehicle would be more suitable for this trip considering most of the 2.5 hour ride was on unpaved roads in the desert. Our Lima travel agency was very accommodating despite we had to change our departure time several times due to weather related flight cancellations on the return trip home. Overall we had a great experience with KimKim and would definitely consider booking again in the future.

We had a fantastic trip to Peru. We started our adventure in Cusco where we were picked up and delivered to the airport for a flight to Puerto Maldenado. The staff literally walked us into the airport and assisted us getting our boarding passes and bags checked. In Puerto Maldenado, we were met by Carlos who helped us get our bags and into a waiting van which took us to the Peruvian Soul office. At the office we separated out the clothes we needed for the Tambopata River trip and our stay at Finca Sachabacayoc lodge. After separating our clothing, Carlos delivered us to a dock where we were met by Freddy who told us he would be our activity guide while we were at Finca. We boarded a motor boat for a two and half hour ride up the Tambopata River to the the Finca Lodge. Along the way Freddy pointed out Macaws, Parrots and Eagles. The boat also literally took us right up next to a family of Capybaras.
The Finca Lodge was beautiful. Our cabin had two queen beds, a very modern bathroom and shower, and a screened in front porch with a hammock. The main lodge structure had a large restaurant and a lovely bar. We were assigned a table where we ate all our meals with our guide, Freddy.
The Peruvian food served us throughout our three night, 4 day stay, was terrific. I do not know the chef's name but he was awesome! Every meal the he would stop at our table to make sure we were happy with the food and drink; which we were. The bar was also terrific. We made friends during our stay with a couple from Portland Oregon and another couple from the Netherlands. Every evening the six of us had a beer or a Pisco Sour in the bar and chatted about our adventures that day.
Speaking of daily adventures, on the day we arrived, Freddy took us on a night hike where he showed us creatures of the night, including monkeys, scorpions, and tarantulas. The night sounds of the jungle during the night hike were amazing. That night after dinner, we went to our cabin for bed. The cries and sounds of the birds, monkeys and insects were mesmerizing. But just before we went to sleep a thunderstorm rolled in, the temperature dropped 20 degrees, and we slept like babies!
In the days that followed Freddy took us on a jungle hike to a lake where we paddled a canoe looking for Anacondas and Caymens and wild birds like Macaws. We had a marvelous time. Later that day we hiked to a 50 meter tower located in the middle of the jungle. After climbing to the top, we could see the jungle below. Freddy set up a spotting scope and he showed us many different kinds of birds and monkeys. We stayed on the tower until after sunset. Again the sounds of the jungle at night were mesmerizing!
The following day we got up at 2:30AM and took a boat to the Chuncho Clay Lick- a place where every morning at dawn, thousands of birds from the jungle come to eat the salt they need for their diets. We arrived just before dawn and set up our chairs and spotting scopes . As the sun rose, thousands of birds arrived; red and blue macaws, blue and yellow macaws, white and black toucans, green and yellow parrots and a sinister looking hawk that the other birds clearly did not like. The birds were beautiful. Freddy attached our phone cameras to his spotting scope and recorded slow motion videos of the birds flying in and around the salt lick. The video's are wonderful!
After about 2 hours (7:30AM), the birds began to leave the salt lick. We loaded up our stuff and headed back to the boat. But, much to our surprise, Freddy an other staff from the Finca Lodge had set up a breakfast table with eggs, fruit, pancakes, juice and coffee. In the middle of the jungle and on an island in the middle of the Tambopata River we had big and delicious breakfast!
Later that day Freddy took us on another boat ride to the Condenado Lake, where we took a raft built on pontoons that Freddy maneuvered using an unusual rudder device that allowed the raft to move. While traversing the lake Freddy spotted a family of giant River Otters. We followed them and got many great photos of the giant creatures. On this trip we also saw caymans, capybaras, monkeys, beautiful Macaws and an illegal gold mine set up in the middle of the river!
The next day we had to return to Puerto Maldenado. We said good bye to the friends and, with Freddy's help, took the boat back to Puerto Maldenado. It rained the entire trip back, but the boat had a roof with side plastic windows that kept us dry. The boat trip in the rain was actually quite fun.
In Puerto Maldenado, we retrieved the rest of our clothes and went to the airport, where Carlos helped us get our bags checked in and collect our boarding passes for our flight to Lima. Carlos literally walked with us all the way to security.
When we arrived in Lima, a man named Bosco and a van picked us up at the Lima airport and transported us to the Hotel Limade in the Mira Flores district. During the ride, Bosco regaled us with a very entertaining history lesson about Lima.
The Hotel Limade was brand new. I was told it had opened only 4 months earlier. The hotel was like a very fine hotel in a major city in the US. It was bvery nice with a great rooftop bar and a wonderful restaurant for the complimentary breakfast. The hotel was about 6 blocks from the Pacific Ocean and the beaches of Lima. After checking in, Wendy and I walked to the beaches and took many photos of the beautiful beaches, shops and parks. Th beaches reminded me of Miami.
The following day we were met by Nancy, our guide for the day. In a nutshell, she was awesome! Her English was perfect and her knowledge of Mira Flores and especially the Barranco district was superb. Nancy took us to the Barranco District which is famous for it's art, art galleries, restaurants, shops and beautiful boutique hotels. Nancy's tour was to last only 4 hours, but she stayed with us for nearly 6 hours! We ate at three separate restaurants sampling the unique food and drink of Lima. We also stopped at a chocolate factory where we sampled chocolates and watched how chocolate candy was made. We toured some of the beautiful boutique hotels of Barranco that were built in the early 1900's as private mansions for wealthy people from Europe and elsewhere. When Peru's economy struggled the homes were abandoned. Beginning in the late 1990's, these old mansions were bought by local Peruvians and who turned them into boutique hotels. We stopped at the Hotel B where Robert DeNiro stayed a year or so ago. It was magnificent!
Nancy also took us to several art galleries and to many street art paintings. We loved the art so much we bought a print from a famous Peruvian artist by the name of Jade Rivera.
Nancy was a spectacular guide. If you are in Lima make sure you ask for Nancy!
The next morning we had to return to the US. Bosco picked us up at the Hotel Limade and delivered us to the airport, including getting our boarding passes and our luggage checked. During the ride to the airport, Bosco told us more stories about Lima and Peru. Like Nancy, he too is a very good.
We loved Peru and and our trip to the Amazon and Lima. Thank you KimKim for taking such great care of us. Hasta la proxima vez! Tom and Wendy.

Hotel Reviews

Finca Sachabacayoc

See my review of the trip. But this is a very fun place to stay with great food in the middle of the jungle

Authenticity & Character

It's adjacent to a huge river and in the jungle. The sounds during the day are great but at night they are spectacular

Location

Staff

The chef was terrific. He was always smiling and makig sure we were enjoying the food. Emerson is the manager. He was always around. If you had any questions or needed anything, Emerson would take care of it.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Our cabin was super clean. Staff made the bed and cleaned our cabin every day.

Hotel Limade

Lima

Great hotel. It is new in 2025. They have a great roof top bar and a nice restaurant for a very extensive complimentary breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

It is in the middle of the Mira Flores District, a beautiful suburb of Lima

Location

It is about 6 blocks from the beaches. There are restaurants, shopping and art all within walking distance

Staff

Everyone was super nice and they all spoke English

Cleanliness & Comfort

No, everything was terrific.

Activity Reviews

Finca Sachavacavoc - D1 - Venturing into the Amazon

Tambopata

Se my earlier report. We loved the Lodge.

Quality of Experience

The Lodge and our Guide, Freddy

Food

The authentic Peruvian food was special. We loved it. We also loved the Pisco Sours!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The van drivers, boat drivers, guides were all super.

Transport

The van was always neat as a pin!

Finca Sachavacavoc - D2 - Chuncho Claylick and Condenado Lake

Tambopata

Se earlier report. This is a great activity- despite having to get up at 2:30AM. It is well worth the sleep deprivation!

Quality of Experience

This something you cannot see in the USA.

Food

the breakfast at the salt lick was a very nice touch

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Everything was always on time.

Transport

The boat driver and the guide.

Finca Sachavacavoc - D3 - Sachavacayoc Lake

Tambopata

Freddy took us on a 2+ mile hike through the jungle to the lake. On the way Freddy educated us on the trees that grow in the Amazon, the various plants used medicinally by the indigenous tribes , and about the Anacondas we might see at the Lake. The canoe trip on the lake was beautiful. We saw anaconda tracks but no anacondas, but the birds, butterflies and monkeys we saw made up for not seing anacondas.

Quality of Experience

Freddy. He is really good.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Freddy knows the jungle!

Transport

The canoe was perfect for the lake.

Finca Sachavacavoc - Farewell Amazon

Tambopata

See my earlier report. We loved the Finca lodge.

Quality of Experience

The Lodge is very well maintained. Staff is very attentive. The food is terrific and the bar a great place to hang out after a day in the jungle.

Food

We loved the food. there was plenty of it and it was always top notch. We drank Barley Juice a couple of times and I have tried to recreate it at home, but alas, the Barley Juice at Finca was much better!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Freddy is the best!

Transport

The boats were great and the drivers excellent.

Art and Local Cuisine in Bohemian Barranco

Lima

Nancy, our guide was perfect. She spoke excellent English and answered all of our questions. She took us to restaurants, art galleries, unique shops, and boutique hotels. Nancy was to be our guide for 4 hours, but she stayed with us for 6. She is incredibly good as a guide.

Quality of Experience

See above. At the end of our time with Nancy, we were friends.

Food

Nancy took us to three restaurants and a chocolate manufacturing business. The food and chocolate were wonderful. We especially enjoyed the restaurant Horneando Ando.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Although we didn't need a van, when we had to walk a few blocks, Nancy texted the driver and amazingly he would show up a minute or two later to take us to our next stop!

Transport

See above

Everyone we interacted with was amazing from picking us up in Cusco and getting us to security, on every flight we took. The Finca lodge was quite nice. Beautiful grounds. Our Jungle Pro guide, Freddy was very knowledgeable and made sure we got to see and learn about wildlife and plants and trees, including ants and termites and spiders, as well as so many birds. The boat captains and staff at the lodge were also very good. On to Lima, again very smooth pickup and delivery to airport. Nancy, our guide for the tour of Baranco was so knowledgeable about the history of Peru and the Baranco as well as being very friendly and a joy to spend the day with. We could not be more pleased with the entire trip. Thank you for your thorough planning.

Hotel Reviews

Finca Sachabacayoc

Friendly staff. Lodge and rooms are nice. Well screened to minimize mosquitoes. Food was good. We were pleased

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Limade

Lima

Nice new hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Art and Local Cuisine in Bohemian Barranco

Lima

Nancy was awesome. We learned a lot of history about Peru and the Baranco. Toured beautiful buildings and restaurants and galleries and met many wonderful people there.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Finca Sachavacavoc - D1 - Venturing into the Amazon

Tambopata

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Finca Sachavacavoc - D2 - Chuncho Claylick and Condenado Lake

Tambopata

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Finca Sachavacavoc - D3 - Sachavacayoc Lake

Tambopata

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Finca Sachavacavoc - Farewell Amazon

Tambopata

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had the most incredible trip and felt like royalty from beginning to end! All details and booking were handled by Shawna from KimKim in advance with a full itinerary so we didn’t have to coordinate anything. Once we arrived, Cesar (private tour guide) and Odi (private driver) from Peruvian Soul were by our side every step of the way with fun anecdotes, interesting historical facts, and amazing interactions with locals. They had lots of little surprises for us like an interactive art experience, side tours, and more. It was truly a once in a lifetime trip and I would recommend KimKim and Peruvian Soul to anyone in a heartbeat (and already have)!

Hotel Reviews

Sonesta Posada del Inca

Urubamba

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Antigua Casona San Blas

Cusco

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Cusco Walking City Tour: San Pedro Market, San Francisco Church & Koricancha

Peru

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Palcoyo Rainbow Mountain Tour

Cusco

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Free day in Cusco

Cusco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Transfer to the Sacred Valley of the Incas

Peru

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning Visit to Ollantaytambo

Peru

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pass by Pisac Market & an Andean camelid Farms

Sacred Valley

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pachamanca: Traditional Andean Underground Cooking

Peru

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Free day at the Sacred Valley

Sacred Valley

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discovering Machu Picchu from the Sacred Valley

Peru

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Maras & Moray

Peru

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Journey to Cusco: Visiting Maras & Moray

Peru

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

🌟 I'm absolutely blown away by the incredible trip to Peru that Kim Kim Travel Agency, as arranged by Jimena for my family! 🤩 Every single detail was meticulously planned, and they went above and beyond to ensure we had an unforgettable experience.

The guides were top-notch - flexible, pleasant, and personable. They made sure we were comfortable and happy throughout the trip. And even when an outside vendor didn't quite meet our expectations, Kim Kim Travel Agency still fought for us and made things right. Talk about amazing customer service! 💪

From start to finish, Kim Kim Travel Agency carefully monitored and supported every aspect of our trip. They truly made this vacation a huge success for our family. If you're looking for an stress-free, incredible travel experience, look no further than Kim Kim Travel Agency! 🙌

Thank you, Kim Kim, for making our Peru trip truly unforgettable. We can't wait to plan our next adventure with you! 😊

Shawna did a great job planning. Jesus was our contact in country, he did a wonderful job being responsive to all our needs. Our tour guide Guido in Cusco and the Sacred Valley was knowledge and experienced he went along our family’s wants and needs. A true gem!