Memories to last a lifetime
Peru | Apr 2 - Apr 16, 2026

Chelsea
Chelsea D.
Detroit, MI, USA | Reviewed on Apr 23, 2026

I was very impressed with the web design of the Kimkim platform and found it extremely helpful in planning our trip to Peru. I’m so glad we chose Kimkim—they did an excellent job suggesting activities that perfectly matched what we were looking for. We wanted a trip centered around my 13-year-old nephew and his love of animals, and the experience exceeded our expectations.

Our time in the Amazon was especially memorable, thanks to our wonderful local guide, Jahir. We saw an incredible amount of wildlife and thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Tambopata Research Center. All of our hotels were top quality, and we were consistently pleased with the level of service. Most of our guides throughout the trip were highly engaged and genuinely invested in making sure we had a great experience. Our private transfers and drivers were also excellent—despite some language barriers, they were always friendly, accommodating, and helpful.

The only issue we encountered involved an afternoon we believed was scheduled for a visit to a pisco winery (Tambo de Tacama), which had been mentioned by our planning agent, Io. However, our local agent, Lisbeth, informed us that this was only a suggestion and not actually part of the itinerary. As a result, we arrived at our hotel hours before check-in after a long four-hour drive from Lima to Paracas, leaving us with an unexpected and frustrating gap in our day.

What was most disappointing was how this situation was handled. The misunderstanding was attributed entirely to my error, and I felt that Lisbeth placed the responsibility squarely on me. At no point did the agency acknowledge any possibility of miscommunication or take shared responsibility, which made the experience feel dismissive and frustrating—especially since this was something I had been looking forward to.

While I appreciated my interactions with Io during the planning phase, I was less satisfied with the communication from Lisbeth during the trip. Her communication style felt very direct and lacked warmth or a sense of customer care, which added some unnecessary stress to the experience.

Overall, we had a wonderful trip and created lasting memories, but clearer communication and a greater sense of accountability on the ground would have made the experience even better.

Hotel Reviews
nhow Lima
Lima

This hotel had an amazing vibe and aesthetic. I was very impressed with the decor. My complaint would be that while the room was very clean and well-appointed, the room smelled strongly of mildew. We actually stayed at this hotel two separate times, and therefore had two different rooms, and both rooms smelled bad, the second one actually smelled worse than the first. Also, since they don't have rooms with two queen beds, we had to have a pull-out bed set up for our nephew, and the bed supplied (both times) was hard as a rock. The restaurant at this hotel had a great menu, however, the times we ate there for lunch or dinner, we were the only ones in the entire place and still had to wait a while for service. Our orders were not taken promptly, and we often had to flag down a server to take our order.

Authenticity & Character
Cool aesthetic.
Location
Very walkable to restaurants and Kennedy Park.
Staff
Very kind and accommodating. Slow service at the restaurant.
Cleanliness & Comfort
Clean but smelled bad.
Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel
Machu Picchu

Cool property. Beautiful aesthetic. Very close to the train tracks.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Hotel Paracas, a Luxury Collection Resort
Paracas

Very beautiful property.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Tambo del Inka Luxury Collection Resort & Spa
Urubamba

This was one of the most luxurious hotels I have ever stayed at. The spa facilities were great, although small. The restaurant was very fancy. Everything was clean and comfortable.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Palacio del Inka Cusco
Cusco

Very fancy hotel. We enjoyed the high-quality accommodations. They were not timely with our check-in however and we had to wait past the advertised check-in time. No additional service was offered to make up for the added wait time.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Very walkable to local shops and restaurants.
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
The facility was kept very clean. We appreciated the turn-down service. Also, the bathrooms in the lobby were attended frequently and kept spotless.
Tambopata Research Center
Tambopata

Very remote, nestled in the rainforest. Great staff and service. Loved our guide. Great menu of excursions.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Very remote. Took a while to get there, but that was expected.
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
My only complaint was finding several cockroaches in our hotel room.
Activity Reviews
Shared Interactive City & Gourmet Lima Food Tour (AM)
Shared Interactive City & Gourmet Lima Food Tour (AM)
Lima

This tour was a great way to see some of the city while learning about local culture through Peruvian food and drink. We loved our tour guide and driver who made the experience very enjoyable. They also kept everyone engaged throughout the experience, including my 13-year-old nephew.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Shared Palomino Islands - Sealions  tour
Shared Palomino Islands - Sealions tour
Lima

We had a great time during this experience. I do wish the tour group were smaller so that we could have had more interaction with the guide and learned more about the environment. The wetsuits provided were also quite shabby and a bit smelly.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Private transfer to {{end_location}}: Huacachina Adventure
Private transfer to {{end_location}}: Huacachina Adventure
Peru

The dunes were beautiful. It was fun to ride around and also to sand-board... Although I would more accurately describe it as sand-sledding because you were not allowed to stand up on the boards, which I thought was the whole point. I thought this would be like snowboarding, but it was just a board you lay down on or sit on, and the guide pushes you down the dune. It was still fun, just not what I expected. Also, our guide was not very engaged with us. He didn't even introduce himself until we were already making our first stop in the dunes and I asked what his name was. He didn't interact with us more than required or provide any information about our surroundings unless I asked him. He did offer to take some pictures of us, which was nice. Also, the vehicle we were riding around in was an old toyota SUV, while other companies out in the dunes had some really cool looking dune buggies.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Private Transfer to {{end_location}}: Shared Ballestas Islands tour
Private Transfer to {{end_location}}: Shared Ballestas Islands tour
Peru

This tour would have been great if not for the large tour group taking up most of the boat who shamelessly invaded everyone's space in order to get photos of everything. The tour-guide was working with a dual language barrier with this tour group, so it was difficult to direct them to do otherwise, but not a lot of effort was put forth to enforce the rule of staying in your seat and waiting for the driver to turn the boat so everyone would get a decent view of the wildlife.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Flight to Puerto Maldonado & Tambopata Research Center 1/4
Flight to Puerto Maldonado & Tambopata Research Center 1/4
Peru

We loved our time in the rainforest. It was the highlight of our trip. Our guide Jahir made it very special and was so great with our 13-year-old nephew. We saw a lot of wildlife.

Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Explore Machu Picchu & Return to The Sacred Valley (Private guided tour in Machu Picchu)
Explore Machu Picchu & Return to The Sacred Valley (Private guided tour in Machu Picchu)
Peru

We loved seeing Machu Picchu. It was as stunning as they say. I wish our guide was friendlier. She was very knowledgeable. though.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Ollantaytambo Self-Guided Exploration with Pachamanca Farm Lunch & Scenic Observatory Train to Machu Picchu
Ollantaytambo Self-Guided Exploration with Pachamanca Farm Lunch & Scenic Observatory Train to Machu Picchu
Peru

We enjoyed exploring Ollantaytambo, but didn't have time to also explore the ruins there. We LOVED the Pachamanca Farm Lunch. It was very cool and so delicious. Definitely a highlight of the trip. We also enjoyed the observatory train to Machu Picchu.

Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Shared Quad bikes tour in Moray & Maras & Transfer to Cusco
Shared Quad bikes tour in Moray & Maras & Transfer to Cusco
Peru

Very cool experience to ATV through the sacred valley. Absolutely stunning views all around. Our guide was a lot of fun and did a good job training us on how to drive the semi-automatic ATVs. My 13-year-old nephew loved it!

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Private Half-Day Cusco Walking Tour: Sacsayhuamán, Qoricancha & San Pedro Market
Private Half-Day Cusco Walking Tour: Sacsayhuamán, Qoricancha & San Pedro Market
Cusco
Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Private Full Immersion Cooking class
Private Full Immersion Cooking class
Cusco

What a fun experience! We had such a good time in this private cooking class. Our teacher was hilarious and did a great job of keeping us engaged.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Shared  Palcoyo Trek: Small group
Shared Palcoyo Trek: Small group
Cusco

We are so glad our travel agent suggested Palccoyo Rainbow Mountain vs. the more popular Rainbow Mountain. This experience was full of stunning views for the entire hike and had the optional additional hike to the Rock Garden overlooking the beautiful valley.

Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Our guide was so excited about the tour and gave us so much great information.
Transport
Local specialist: Io Gillhuber
Io
Io Gillhuber
Local specialist in Peru, Cusco | Replied on Apr 23, 2026
Dear Chelsea! Thank you so much for your kind words, it truly means a lot to hear that the three of you had such a wonderful trip and created lasting memories. That’s exactly what we hope for with every journey we help bring to life. At the same time, I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback on the transportation, guides, hotels, as well as the communication and on-the-ground support. Your insights are incredibly valuable, and I’m truly sorry that the communication... Read more

Dear Chelsea!

Thank you so much for your kind words, it truly means a lot to hear that the three of you had such a wonderful trip and created lasting memories. That’s exactly what we hope for with every journey we help bring to life.

At the same time, I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback on the transportation, guides, hotels, as well as the communication and on-the-ground support. Your insights are incredibly valuable, and I’m truly sorry that the communication aspect didn’t fully meet your expectations.
Please know that we take this very seriously and will be reviewing everything closely with our local team to ensure we continue improving and delivering an even smoother experience.

It was an absolute pleasure assisting you with your trip, and I’m very grateful that you chose us to be part of such a special journey.

I wish you all the best.
Warmest regards,
Io