Once in a lifetime adventure!

Peru | Dec 26 - Jan 5, 2026

We had a great time in Peru. The country is beautiful, the people are so friendly and helpful and on top of all of that, it felt very safe. Shawna did a great job getting us set up with excursions, hotels and all of the details including tipping standards (which was very helpful throughout our trip), restaurant suggestions and the kinds of hotels we like to stay at. All the accommodations were perfect for us. Our "on the ground" 24/7 specialist (Jesus) was also the best. We had an issue with one of our daughters coming down with the flu on day 2 in Lima. Jesus worked with the hotel and got us to a clinic where she got tested for the flu and got meds that helped her feel better in about 24 hours. We didn't really think that we would need someone always on call, but there were a couple times we needed him and he was there!

Our main tour guide was Martin. We loved the time we spent with him. He was so knowledgeable and entertaining with all the info he shared in our various tours and excursions. He definitely went above and beyond for us. And his laugh was amazing. We really had the best time because of Martin's energy! He loves his country and it made all the info he shared (both about his own life and experiences in Peru as well as historical and local info) so much more interesting.

I think the only drawback to our trip is that we spent too much time in Cusco. Maybe there were things we should've done there that we didn't know about. But after going to Machu Picchu, Cusco seemed a little anti-climatic. We did a walking tour with Martin that was great and a cooking class that we booked separately. Both of those things were great, but we felt like we just ate out while we were there and there wasn't much to do otherwise. Again, that could just be our experience and having not found the other things to do there! But overall our trip was fantastic, definitely a once-in-a-lifetime trip!