Kimkim Trip Reviews

This was a nice trip to Portugal and for the most part we enjoyed the itinerary put together by our local specialist. A couple notable issues with this trip however. First, our day tour of Sintra did not visit the locations as described in our itinerary. While we liked our guide Marta, she did not take us to Pena Palace which was specifically listed as the tour location. This was a disappointment for us. Second, due to the train strike in Portugal we had to book bus tickets on our own, even after we alerted Espiritu Travel that this was a situation and needed to be addressed. Their response was lax so we had to take matters into our own hands.
We really enjoyed our kimkim trip to Columbia (2024) but this time left us with a few concerns about booking through them again. This was still a nice trip, but was disappointed by a few of the mistakes.

Hotel Review

Vivenda Miranda

Lagos

This hotel was very nice and we enjoyed eating at the restaurant twice. Friendly and knowledgeable staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Get to Know Lisbon with a Local

Lisbon

Knowledgeable guide although we visited many of these areas previously. Not the most interesting of our tours on this trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lisbon Roots, Food & Cultural Walk

Portugal

We had a wonderful guide Daniel. His tour was an ideal way to begin our Portugal vacation.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guided Visit of Porto

Porto

Celia was our favorite guide of the entire trip. She was friendly, knowledgeable and a great ambassador for Porto. This quickly became our favorite city in Portugal after spending time with Celia.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Douro Valley Excursion with Wine & Olive Oil Tastings & River Cruise

Porto

Our day in the Douro Valley with Michael was another highlight of the trip. He was fun, smart and great leading a large (and drunk) tour group. I highly recommend.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Day Excursion: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril

Portugal

We enjoyed our guide Marta but did not visit the sites as described. We were disappointed not to see Pena Palace.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat Excursion Inside Benagil Caves

Portugal

The tour was fine - not amazing. The Benagil Cave was a bit hyped up - we saw caves just a nice closer to Lagos.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dinner With Locals at a Local Home

Lisbon

Sofia and Carlos were wonderful hosts. We enjoyed this intimate experience with Lisbon locals as our last event in Portugal.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Driver from and to airport were great. Hotel was nice but not many workers spoke English especially at the bar and restaurant. Had to use Google translate, surprising since most of people who stayed there were from US, Canada or Britain. Overcharged us for alcohol,a glass of prosecco was $30 and red wine was $20.

Sebil, our tour guide was good except walked fast and didn't check to see if we were always behind her. She also didn't always know answers to questions we asked about historical times.

Overall had fun with old college friends. Loved exploring the streets in the evening. Loved Turkish tea, coffee and sweets

Hotel Review

The Galata Istanbul Hotel - MGallery

Clean rooms but most workers didn't speak English. Wouldn't recommend restaurant, food on menu is not what you were given. Waiter didn't understand we were vegetarian and kept bringing us shrimp. Asparagus risotto didn't have asparagus. Overcharged for alcohol.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walkable to tram, stores, restaurants

Staff

Speak English

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Discover Byzantine + Ottoman Istanbul

İstanbul

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was walking fast and didn't always make sure we all together on streets of Istanbul

Transport

Explore the Dolmabahçe Palace

İstanbul

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Boat Tour on the Bosphorus

İstanbul

Boat was late, many of us slept on tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Eminönü Heritage Tour: Explore the Historical Bazaars and Ottoman Architectural Sites of Istanbul

İstanbul

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Zeyrek Cinili Hamam: Relaxing Turkish Bath + Beautiful Museum

İstanbul

Amazing experience, highly recommend

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

What an adventure! From start to finish, everything was seamless and easy to understand. We started in Oslo and explored on our own; the train to Flam lived up to the hype; having reserved seats by the Kimkim team was so helpful. We had some memorable tours in Flam, but the water trip/ cheese tasting (Nathan was our fabulous guide) and the hike up the waterfall with Bjorn (the best guide we had all rip) were huge highlights. We really enjoyed the private floating sauna and can't imagine making the trip without that experience. The ferry to Bergen was great too. Just an easy, exciting, memorable trip that was so carefully constructed to our specific interests and limited time.

Hotel Reviews

Oslo Guldsmeden

Oslo

Very cute vibe but maybe a little out of town for some. We enjoy walking so it wasn't an issue for us, and there is great public transportation.

Authenticity & Character

This hotel has a spa vibe with beautiful decorating and comfy rooms

Location

Close to public transportation but a bit far from most things

Staff

Very friendly and helpful staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The beds are very comfortable

Flåmsbrygga Hotel

Flåm

The Flamsbrygga hotel is the obvious choice of places to stay in Flam, as it is in the center of town and the restaurants and pub and all connected to it. You will see a lot of traffic from the cruise ships but when they come, the whole town is overrun anyway and it's unavoidable.

Authenticity & Character

Very charming camp-like vibe

Location

In the heart of the town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clarion Hotel Admiral

Bergen

Excellent location, beautiful hotel with great views. The buffet breakfast was superb.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful rooms with great views

Location

Right on the water and easy to reach

Staff

The front desk was only ok- when we checked in, the woman gave us to single rooms and one double room for the 5 of us. I know we had reserved two superior doubles and a single. She also gave us misinformation about our taxi pickup for our departure day. HOWEVER, the staff at breakfast was excellent- a special shout out to the man who was clearing tables and was quite attentive

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beds were very comfy, bathroom showers had great water pressure

Activity Reviews

Fjord RIB Safari & Undredal Cheese Tasting (One Way)

Flåm

Our guide, Nathan, was very informative and provided a lot of details about the area. The cheese tasting was fun. We never felt pressured to buy anything. The suits are really warm and help protect against the wind. We were given lots of opportunities to take some amazing photos.

Quality of Experience

Well timed and lots of beautiful vistas

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Nathan was excellent. I liked that he reviewed safety protocols (especially what to do if he was somehow incapacitated)

Transport

Private Floating Sauna Experience

Norway

One of the highlights of our trip! A perfect experience.

Quality of Experience

Beautiful view, and really gave us a chance to experience the fjord

Guides, Drivers and Staff

There was not much guidance required. They were fine.

Culture & Nature Excursion by Electric Minibus

Flåm

The best part was touring the old village. We didn't really need the stop at the shoe factory, but I understand why that would appeal to some.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver was very patient with us, as we took a long time with pictures

Transport

Very comfortable

Food & Culture Walk

Bergen

This was a little longer than necessary- we could have seen and tasted everything in 2 1/2 hrs instead of 3 1/2 (it ran long)

Quality of Experience

Good food and the guide was sure to provide alternatives to those who had dietary restrictions

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The pacing was a little slow and we would have preferred to spend less time on the tour overall

Transport

we walked!

Waterfall Hike & Stegastein Viewpoint Experience

Flåm

One of our favorite activities during our trip. The guide was so knowledgeable and helpful, especially when it came to more tricky footing along the trail.

Quality of Experience

Beautiful views, great to be out in nature and experience the magic of the area

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Bjorn was our favorite tour guide. He was really knowledgeable and friendly, and had some great stories and information to share.

Transport

Very comfortable and we were given lots of time to take pictures and enjoy the views

Initially, I was a bit hesitant to use an online travel planner, but after working with Tania, I’m completely converted—she’ll be my go-to for any future trips to Europe. From the very beginning, she made the process smooth and personal. We had several detailed conversations where she really listened to what I wanted, and then she presented thoughtful, well-researched options for each of the towns we wanted to visit.

Tetiana handled all the logistics, booking five great hotels, several activities, and providing us with a thorough outline of things to do and places to see. Every recommendation hit the mark. Some of our highlights included a fantastic guided tour of Edinburgh, visiting Holyrood Palace, and hiking up Arthur’s Seat. The Isle of Skye was another standout with its breathtaking scenery and incredible hikes.

What really set Tetiana apart was her support during the inevitable travel hiccups—lost luggage, a flat tire, and other minor issues. She was just a message away and always ready with helpful advice and calm reassurance. It made such a difference to know we had someone in our corner throughout the trip.

I can’t recommend Tetiana highly enough. She made our Scotland trip not just easier, but better in every way.

Hotel Review

Apex Waterloo Place

Edinburgh

Great location, nice hotel.

Activity Review

Edinburgh Castle & Old Town Private Tour

Edinburgh

Shanna was great. Perfect for the first day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We have traveled all over the world using various travel companies, and this was by far one of the best! Katie was wonderful in helping us plan a trip that fit our needs and continued to “be at our side” during the trip as well., She was professional, accessible and passionate about getting everything perfect- from the itinerary, to the hotels and even fabulous restaurant suggestions. All our connections from air to sea to rail went off without a glitch. I would not hesitate to use Kim Kim again to book our next trip!

We had an amazing time in Japan! The itinerary provided meant we got to see different locations and aspects of Japan that we wouldn't have done without help. We had a good mix of city and scenery and accommodation, both smaller Japanese style and larger hotels. Ben was responsive to our questions and suggested changes.
The guides (Miki, Betty, Yuki and Ursala) were fantastic, answering all our questions and giving insight on Japanese culture. Thank you so much to KimKim and team!

Hotel Reviews

Shiba Park Hotel

Tokyo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Temple Lodging Shukubo Kakurinbo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hakone Kyuan

Kanagawa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Yuyaruru Saisai

Kanazawa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kyoto Tokyu Hotel

Kyoto

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Oyado Koto no Yume

Takayama

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Karaksa hotel grande Shin-Osaka Tower

Osaka

Authenticity & Character

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Discover Kyoto's Timeless Treasures by Public Transport: A Guided Tour of Culture, Cuisine, and Charm

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Kyoto, whilst interesting and with a long history, is very touristy.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We really liked Ursala-san! She was knowledgeable about Japan whilst also providing context in comparison with other Asian countries. Being similar ages we found her very relatable and enjoyable company. She always made sure we were looked after!

Transport

Explore Tokyo's Rich Heritage: Tsukiji Outer Market,Imperial palace, Shibuya crossing by public transport

Tokyo

Excellent, but would have been helpful to know that some shops in the market were closed due to the holiday and that this would have been better on another day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Miki-san was amazing! We loved hearing about life in Japan and she really brought it to life with personal anecdotes. Knowledgeable about the history and conscientious to Bryony's pregnancy.

Transport

Morning tour in Minobu and then private transfer to Hakone

Japan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private transfer from Tokyo to Minobu enroute tour to Mt. Fuji

Japan

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Betty-san was very sweet! She was kind and generous with regards to Bryony's pregnancy. Driver was very smooth and the car was great.

Transport

Day trip : Kanazawa to Takayama with Unique Experiences (By Public Transportation)

Japan

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Yuki was brilliant, he was very knowledgeable and answered all of our questions about Takayama and Gokayama. He was thoughtful in suggesting a private car given Bryony's pregnancy. Hopefully we will come back and go skiing with him!

Transport

Arashiyama One-Day Tour: Giouji Moss Temple, Bamboo Grove, and Transfer to Osaka

Japan

Quality of Experience

Moss temple was great, really enjoyed it being a bit quieter!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

See Kyoto review

Transport

Day trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima by public transport

Osaka

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

See Kyoto review

Transport

Our driver Karim was awesome. Had a free eat experience and if I go back to Morocco would definetely live to have him.
The same can be said for all out tour guides, shariff in Fes, Mohammed our food tour guide in Marrakech but about all Hanan, our tour guide in Marrakech. She was very knowledgeable, smart and super informative. Overall a good experience.
My favorite hotel the Lina Riad in the blue city

Kimkim and Link Experiences planed a trip to the Galapagos for is in May 2025. Everything about their service was top notch. They planned our air from Quito to Santa Cruz, all our transfers, ferries, hotels and excursions. When our US flight was delayed by a day due to weather they immediately changed our Quito flight, all transfers, hotels and excursions. They made everything so painless for us. They had a representative waiting for us any time we traveled or did an excursion. They even helped us through the complexity of checking in at the Quito airport. We stayed on Santa Cruz for two nights and Isabella for three nights. On Santa Cruz we had a private guide (Reuben) who was so knowledgeable and friendly. He took us to a local ranch to see the giant tortoises and have a nice lunch then to the lava tunnels. It was fantastic. The next day we snorkeled and swam at Tortuga Bay. There were iguanas everywhere. It was beautiful. Then again a nice lunch at a local restaurant then the Charles Darwin research station and more snorkeling nearby. We stayed at the Blu Galapagos hotel which was very nice. Then in Isabella we stayed at the Iguana Crossing hotel which was also very nice. We did a shared group Tintoreras tour with some nice snorkeling. Then the next day a shared group Los Tuneles tour which was unbelievable. We saw two blue footed boobies doing their mating dance not more than 3 feet from us. We snorkeled with penguins and lots of sea turtles, also saw some sharks and sea horses. Then on our last day we had another amazing guide (Julio). We did a very informative nature walk to the giant tortoise breeding center. We also saw flamingos in their natural environment. Our only regret is that we didn't stay longer. Travel from San Diego was two days on either end of the trip and with the weather delays in Dallas our travel days were almost as many as our vacation days. In all our future trips we will always look for kimkim, they just made everything so hassle free. And they planned all our excursions, I just vaguely gave advice that we wanted to see wildlife and do some snorkeling and they made sure we hit all the best spots. They even checked us in to our hotels to make sure all was in order. And on days we were traveling or doing an excursion early they made sure we had a box breakfast at the front desk. We LOVE kimkim and Link Experiences.

Rita and our local guides were incredibly helpful. The travel app with the itinerary was so organized and had everything we needed. Every pick up and tour was exactly on time. I can't express how grateful I am for all the attention to detail. Rita and the local guides were always friendly and helpful.

Hotel Reviews

Hospederia San Martin Pinario

Santiago de Compostela

This hotel was beautiful, we had a wonderful time here. The dinner was spectacular.

Authenticity & Character

Location

No

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

PortoBay Marquês

Lisbon

We had a great experience here. The amenities were great, including the rooms and breakfast. The hotel staff also did a great job when there was an extended power outage, making sure people were comfortable and taken care of. We are grateful!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Porto Charming Hotel

Porto

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed was very hard

Hotel Duarte

Arcade de Riba

Clean but basic accommodation but was fine for our needs

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Alda Estación Pontevedra

Pontevedra

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Staff was helpful and friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel O Cruceiro

Caldas de Reis - PONTEVEDRA

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Scala

Padrón

Staff was rude. We actually opted to not have dinner there (which was already paid for) so we didn't have to deal with them.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Long walk from downtown

Staff

Staff was very rude, especially the woman in the cafe. She was rude to multiple people, not just our group. Very apparent we were an inconvenience.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel was clean

Activity Reviews

Lisbon Fado Dinner Experience

Spain

Excellent

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Get to Know Lisbon with a Local

Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Dinner With Locals at a Local Home

Lisbon

Ana was awesome and we loved this experience. Food and company was excellent.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Day Excursion: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril

Spain

Guides were excellent as was the lunch stop

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Get to know Porto by E-bike

Porto

It was raining and our guide (Pedro?) was happily willing to continue the tour. He did an excellent job and the tour was great

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Excursion to Douro Valley: Wine Tasting & River Cruise

Porto

Guide and driver were excellent. Wineries and lunch also excellent

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tapas Walk in Barcelona

Barcelona

Karla was excellent and this was a really fun tour with a lot of really good food. Great experience!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Visit of Barcelona & La Sagrada Familia

Barcelona

Guide was really good, knowledgeable. He customized our tour for us and was spot on

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day trip to Medieval Girona and Costa Brava

Barcelona

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The food tour in Copenhagen with Theresa was great. It was so much more than just food — history, culture, lifestyle and because it was only the two of us on the tour, it was conversational. Nice to talk to a local. The choice of food stops were carefully chosen. Each one was delicious!!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Lilla Rådmannen

Stockholm

Authenticity & Character

Clean. Well maintained

Location

15 min walk to train station

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Scandic Webers

Vesterbrogade 11B

Conveniently located near train station. Room was standard and clean. Shower drain was slow but they offered us a new room immediately. Great breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bjørvika Apartments - Sørenga

Oslo

Authenticity & Character

New apartment building. Everything we needed

Location

15 minutes to restaurants and activities. Safe neighborhood. Secure building

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

New. Bright. Good condition

Ole Bull Hotel & Apartment

Bergen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Copenhagen: A Food Tour of Past & Present

Copenhagen

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sauna Experience

Oslo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Oslofjord Dinner Cruise

Oslo

Quality of Experience

Quality of meal. Servers were friendly and polite but rushed. Little knowledge/interest in food

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Working with Audrey made it easy to plan and customize our trip.
She listened to our proirities and her selections were perfect.
Hotels and their locations were perfect for our exploring each location.
All the transportation, limos and train rides, were perfect, on time and seemless.
The itinerary we easy to follow with times and tours /tickets made it worry free.
Our three guides - V, Delphine and Mathilda(2) were excellent, Knowledgable, and fun to travel with.

We have done many international vacations, and we would definetly use kimkim again and give them our strongest recommendation .

Rich and Bev.

Hotel Reviews

Le 9Hotel Opera

Paris

good location, friendly staff

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Phénix Hôtel

Lyon

Great location, good breakfast, big room

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Le Lion d'Or et restaurant la Table du Lion

Bayeux

great location, big breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hôtel de l’Horloge

Avignon

Wow great location,!!!! great breakfast!! Big rooms

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Seine river cruise

Paris

Great cruise, but speaker near us did not work and too over crowded.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

could not hear guide in speaker

Transport

Visit of Sainte-Chapelle

Paris

Beautiful chapelle.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Unveiling Masterpieces at the Louvre Museum

Paris

Amazing museum, the building is a work of art. The nintendo audit guide and cumbersome and difficult to use.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full-day visit of D-day beaches - U.S. sector (small group tour)

Bayeux

Our guide V, was amazing/ knowledgable, etc.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A day at the Mont Saint Michel with a small group

Bayeux

Incredable site, our guide V same again terrific.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided tour of the Traboules

Lyon

Delphine was an excellent guide . Very knowledgeable and personable. She really knew all the history of Lyon.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit of City of Popes and Pont d'Avignon

France

Amazing place , great history

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Roman History tour in Nîmes, Uzès, Pont du Gard & Orange

Avignon

Great full day with Mathilda! Each location was terrible Nimes was my favorate

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Visit Arles, Saint-Rémy de Provence and Les-Baux-de-Provence

Avignon

Great roman building / history Mathilda our guide was great

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to Vietnam was very close to what we wanted, the guides were excellent, the food was delicious, and we all had a lot of fun!

Thank you Hien for arranging.

Grant F Shimizu

We really enjoyed Angel’s recommendations in hotels and activities. Her organization of our trip made it seamless and unforgettable. Thank you Angel!

Bruno to helped us plan a wonderful trip to Rio de Janiero for 2 couples. His excellent suggestions regarding hotel choice, travel itinerary, and most excellent guide, Marcelo, all added up to make an unforgettable trip. Communication was easy, Bruno responded quickly to any inquiries. Bruno easily made tweaks to the itinerary in the planning phase as I reconsidered the itinerary. I highly recommend Bruno and Kimkim, we were so pleased with our trip.

Our 2 week self drive tour of Iceland was terrific.
Duncan put together a great trip with excellent tours as well as suggestions for each day.
The planning included driving maps for each day as well as downloads for each ticketed tour.
Hard to say what is best as we had so many great experiences. The glacier hike, the zodiac ride on the iceberg lake were probably the highlights. Of course hiking out to see the puffin breeding rock gave lots of good photos.
There are so many waterfalls that we enjoyed it would be hard to single one out, but Gullfoss is extraordinary.
All in all it was a great drive and thanks to Duncan it was very stress free.

First of all, Liz Karen, our local specialist did an outstanding job. Besides designing a great agenda, each of the tours, drivers, hotels, she booked were excellent. Two items stood out. First, Liz was incredibly responsive, both answering questions before and during our tour promptly, but providing timely information. Second, the tour guide, Oscar Palomino, was great. Great personality, very informative and thoughtful. We are very happy with the tour.

Adam was there for me from the beginning of the planning and through the trip. Everything turned out exactly as planned if not better. I would recommend KimKim to anyone.

Just returned from an 11-day adventure in Peru planned by Anne Godoy of Peruvian Soul, the boutique travel specialist that KimKim introduced us to. There were four of us, all women ranging in age from 60 to 70. The trip was fantastic from beginning to end; action-packed and curated to our specific tastes. We spent several days in Lima, enjoying the art, culture and food (note that there are a handful of restaurants on the current "Best 50 restaurants in the world" in Lima!). Anne chose a wonderful, small boutique hotel for us in the hip Barranco district - Villa Barranco - which we loved. Special shout-out to the multi-talented Julio, who made the best pisco sours of the trip!! We then moved on to the Sacred Valley for several nights, blissed out at Sol y Luna, a gorgeous Relais & Chateaux property that Anne proposed. While in the Sacred Valley, we enjoyed a beautiful meal at a hacienda, visited a cooperative where we learned the secrets of backstrap weaving, made our own ceramic pieces, had a fabulous pachamanca and liquor distilling experience, hiked along the river from one town to another, visited Inca sites, and more! Then it was on to the incomparable Machu Picchu (it's even more beautiful and mystical than the photos we've all seen), via the luxury Hiram Bingham train (highly recommended!) and afterwards, Cusco for a couple of nights (Palacio del Inka hotel in Cusco was another highlight, again suggested by Anne). In the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and Cusco, we had a fantastic guide, Mario, and a warrior of a driver, Wilbur, both of whom kept us safe and well-informed, and ultimately became friends. One very important part of having a specialist plan a trip is the knowledge that if things go awry, you will be well taken care of. We had no large mishaps but a few minor ones did pop up (as they do on almost every adventure) and Peruvian Soul (thank you, Jesus!) and Mario were quick to find solutions and solve problems. I could not be happier with this trip, and highly recommend Peruvian Soul (and Anne Godoy) as top-notch trip planners.

Hotel Reviews

Villa Barranco - Ananay

Lima

Villa Barranco in Lima was a delightful stay. This small boutique hotel was charming, beautiful, and well cared for. It was excellently located in the Barranco neighborhood, which I loved due to its charm. Villa Barranco offered everything one could possibly want without the unnecessary fluff of a large five-star hotel. It was exactly what I had hoped for, so I was thrilled.

Sol y Luna Hotel (Relais & Chateaux)

Urubamba

Sol y Luna Hotel in the Sacred Valley was simply stunning, and everyone in our group loved it. The little casitas we stayed in were round and resembled yurts, making our stay so unique. While the food and drinks were a bit pricey, I didn't mind because it was a luxury property. The breakfast was included and fantastic. The grounds, including the pool and Jacuzzi area, were beautifully kept, and the staff was responsive. Overall, it was a beautiful place to stay.

Casa del Sol

Machu Picchu

Casa del Sol in Aguas Calientes was fine for a night's stay, though nothing extraordinary. It serves its purpose in a town that exists mainly for Machu Picchu visitors. We initially had issues with our Riverside room bookings, which were not as requested. However, the problem was eventually resolved, so we could stay comfortably. The Riverside view is exceptional, but the street view was not pleasant so I'd say it's worth staying here only if you have a Riverside room.

Palacio del Inka Cusco

Cusco

Palacio del Inka Cusco was a spectacular accommodation and one of the best of our trip. The property is gorgeous, being an old palace with original artwork.

Activity Reviews

Andean Textiles with Parobamba Community

Peru

The visit to the Parobamba community to learn about Andean textiles was amazing. It was a hands-on experience getting to dye baby alpaca wool and meeting the talented women behind the beautiful textiles. As someone interested in weaving, it felt unique and enriching.

Pachamanca: Traditional Andean Underground Cooking

Sacred Valley

The Pachamanca traditional Andean underground cooking experience in the Sacred Valley was wonderful. It was incredibly interesting to watch how they prepare such an incredible meal by cooking underground. The meal itself was fabulous. This activity stood out as a treasure of our trip.

Visiting "Destilería Andina"

Sacred Valley

Visiting Destilería Andina and making our own spirits was a fun and engaging activity. It gave us a hands-on opportunity to experience the unique culture of Peru.

Ceramic Workshop - Ramos Kintu

Sacred Valley

The ceramic workshop was highly enjoyable. Each of us made our own pot aided by an expert ceramicist, which resulted in our creations being both pretty and useful.

23 Days in Peru/Bolivia - this included buses, private cars, internal domestic and international flights, group guided tours and private guided tours. Not one problem! I wish every holiday was this simple...

Antonia was great, very helpful with planning, clear details and suggestions, and following up so we could stay on track. All of our drivers and helpers were early or on time and very nice. The vehicles were comfortable and clean.

We enjoyed all our tours, the guides were well informed and enthusiastic

Rachael with our wine and dinner tour was energetic and lots of fun; Tara at the Plitvice Park tour was lovely and passionate about her area. And Grgo in Hvar was wonderful describing his area in such a personal way.
The final night’s Kameni Dvoraki cooking class and dinner was incredible. Beautiful family, so warm and interesting. Highly recommend it!
We all had a wonderful time in such a beautiful and friendly country 🩷