GUEST TRAVEL REVIEWS

My husband and I recently returned from our vacation arranged through Kuoda Travel. On the travel documents that they gave us it is titled “Amazing Peru Adventure” and I must agree that it turned out perfectly and was truly a trip of a lifetime!

Machu Picchu has been on our bucket list for a long time. Having read the great reviews on Trip Advisor we contacted Kuoda well in advance of our time frame to travel. Jesus Ramos was our travel planner. I went over the details with him over the phone and he planned our entire itinerary. We tweaked it a little bit and changed a few of the hotels and then waited patiently for our date to travel.

We can’t thank Kuoda enough for how flawless the arrangements were and on how well they treated us! Most of the time we had a personal driver and guide with us. Our hotels and most meals were included and pre-arranged. Our guide was Ofelia. She is lovely and a very knowledgeable guide and it was nice to get to know her. Jose David was our driver and Jason Ayerbe was our customer service coordinator.

We arrived in Lima very late at night, so we stayed the first night at the Wyndham Hotel right across the street from the airport. The following morning it was back to the airport, and we flew to Cusco where we a had lovely lunch at a restaurant called Limo. It was really great! Before we could feel the affects of the high altitude we were whisked away to the Sacred Valley where we stayed two nights at the Belmond Rio Sagrado. It is a lovely hotel right on the river with beautiful grounds and mountains surrounding you. We stayed here two nights and toured a museum where they have llamas and alpacas and weaving demonstrations, visited the Inca ruins at Moray, the salt pans, and the agricultural terraces. We also had lunch one day at the home of a lovely woman who is a gourmet chef. Her home had a spectacular view. This turned out to be a a real treat!

Next we checked out of our hotel and took the Hiram Bingham train to Machu Picchu. I highly recommend taking this train. It was a great experience and so much fun. Enjoy a beautiful lunch as the train rides through the scenery of the Sacred Valley and at the back of the train drink Pisco Sours and dance to the music (three guys playing guitars and singing).

When we arrived in Aguas Calientes we then took the bus up to Machu Picchu where we checked in to the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge and met again our guide Ofelia, who was waiting for us. We toured around Machu Picchu with our expert guide. Ofelia left us that afternoon, we stayed overnight at the hotel and were able to enter the gates of Machu Picchu the following morning to explore a little more on our own. The Sanctuary Lodge is the ONLY hotel up at the top, so this was also a very special experience to stay there. It’s a very small hotel with around 30 rooms.

When we left Machu Picchu we took a different train (Vista Dome) to Ollantambo and our driver was again waiting for us, to drive us back to Cusco. There we checked in to the Belmond Palacio Nazarenas for two nights. This was an amazing hotel…our favorite of the trip. The hotel and our room were amazing! We toured around Cusco with our guide…went to the San Pedro Market and walked around the town. We also visited some local ruins at Sacsayhuaman. Before we checked out of the hotel Mery Calderon paid a surprise visit to us while we were having breakfast. She wanted to introduce herself to us and she gave us a beautiful gift, a frame made by a local artisan. I have already framed our Machu Picchu photo!

We next flew to Lima where we had three nights at the Belmond Miraflores. Kuoda planned a foodie tour for us which was a lot of fun! We also planned another tour to visit the Peruvian Paso horses at Casa Hacienda Los Ficus. We did this on our own, as someone had recommended it, but it could have easily been arranged by Kuoda.

I usually do a lot of research and make our own vacation plans, so I was a bit nervous about how this would turn out, leaving everything to a travel agency. But I never could have planned all of this as well on my own, and I am so glad we used Kuoda. Our vacation was truly special and magical. I highly recommend them to anyone considering a trip to Peru. You will not regret it.

This was our first trip to Peru and to South America. Normally, for European trips, we would plan everything ourselves. For this trip, we wanted to do something different as this was a special trip for us. I did some research on tour providers thinking I would arrange for guides for a few days of our visit, I would figure out transportation later. I contacted Kuodo Travel because of the great reviews and I liked the fact that it is a local Cusco based business and woman owned. Celine put together our itinerary with a focus on the Inca sites and food. Celine included a couple of memorable lunches at two unique locales (food was phenomenal & focused on locally sourced produce). We would not have found these places on our own.

Having a guide at the different Inca sites, for our first afternoon at Machu Picchu, on city walks in Cusco and Lima and the amazing Maras salt pans was so informative! The visit to the Andean village was the best! We would not have found that on our own. Our guide Jeremy explained the history, culture, nuances of the places we visited and that made our trip more memorable. Jeremy was great. He was always pointing out native plants and birds and always let us know the best angle for our photos with the lighting we had, often deciding the order of our visits based on the lighting on the ruins we were seeing that day (and he also changed things up so that we beat the crowds to a couple of the sites).

Using Kuoda allowed us to save time at each point on our trip. From greeting us at the airports, getting us through the ticketing with our luggage tags, they expedited a normally tedious part of travel. We had never moved so quickly through the check in process! Our guide in Lima, when we arrived, had already gotten our luggage tags for our departure flight for Cusco two days later, saving us time. On our last night of the trip, our hotel had an event that ended up being quite loud and our coordinator, Jason was concerned that would impact our sleep and asked if we would like to be moved to another, quieter hotel. He had already spent the afternoon finding a property that had availability. These are just two examples of what the Kuoda team did for us. They truly wanted to make this a trip perfect.

If you are considering a trip to Peru and you found Kuoda Travel, shoot them an email and get the ball rolling. You will not be disappointed with what they put together for you and they will work with you on tweaking your trip to fit your budget.

Tips:
If staying near Urubamba, take a cab to town and try el Huacatay Restaurante, food was amazing!
Cooking class at Marcelo Batata in Cusco is also a must!
Being in the sun in the mid 60’s at that elevation is like the 80’s in the states, but when you get in the shade, it gets cool, be sure to always have a light jacket.

My husband and I just returned from an 8 night Lima, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Cusco trip arranged by Kuoda. This was our first time travelling on a customized travel itinerary and we couldn’t have been more pleased. Kuoda exceeded our expectations on every level – they were always on time, the accommodations and restaurants were fabulous, and the guides and drivers and the coordinators courteous and very knowledgeable. They all went out of their way to make our trip memorable. Many thanks to Evelyn, our wonderful guide, Alfred our driver, Lisa and Theresa in the office, and to Mery who met us on the last day of our trip. We hope to use Kuoda again in the near future – we hear they are expanding to Argentina!

Thanks to Kuoda, we had an amazing tour of the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu! Kuoda consistently exceeded our expectations. The staff is fantastic, and accommodations were lovely! We worked with Celine in planning a short itinerary of the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. She was very responsive to questions and made wonderful recommendations. Boris was a fantastic tour guide. He made sure we were all comfortable and taking our tour at the pace that was best for us! We learned so much from Boris about Incan and Peruvian culture! Our driver, Augostino, was careful and kind. We had a spectacular tour with Kuoda!

My daughter and I recently traveled to Peru to see the Incan ruin of Machu Picchu. Kouda represented Peru and the Incan culture at its best. Founder and president, Mery Calderon, visited us on our last day in Cusco to hear about our personal experiences. We couldn’t have asked for a more detail-oriented itinerary, designed by Urpi Herrera and my daughter. The properties we stayed in, as well as the restaurants throughout our trip, were in stunning settings with excellent amenities. All week we had a private van and a Kuoda representative at our side at every hotel, tour, and airport check-in. At the last minute, the staff worked efficiently behind the scenes to resolve a canceled flight for our connection back to the U.S. They made it an amazing and carefree trip! This trip could not have been more perfect! Kuoda Travel is highly recommended! Our next trip with them will be to Bolivia!! Thanks to everyone at Kuoda.

A few highlights:
Percy Ayala was our excellent and experienced (Inca Trail) guide for three days through the Sacred Valley of the Urubamba River. We were entertained by Peruvian and Bolivian music as Mr. Arnold drove us between each place. Our visit included Maras, Moray, and a hike between the Pumamarca ruins to Ollantaytambo area on a pre-Columbian trail on the mountainside.
During our stay we experienced many amazing Peruvian meals and unique hotel locations. One memorable meal was an organic meal cooked by a top chef in her private mountainside home. We also experienced an unforgettable ancient Incan pachamanca feast. That meal was made with marinated meat and vegetables cooked underground by hot stones. Our dinner reservations throughout the trip were always delicious and in beautiful locations. Each property we stayed in was unique and wonderful.
In Chinchero, we enjoyed a visit to a weaving coop. When we arrived, we were given the iconic Peruvian-style hat, cape, and skirt to wear. They shared the weaving and construction process for the beautiful things they make at the coop. They described everyday life to us as we sampled cheese, vegetables, bread and tea. We enjoyed hearing them speak to each other using the ancient Quechua language.
Victor was our knowledgeable guide at the Machu Picchu site near Aguas Calientes. Our most amazing trip experience was on the following morning. We climbed the 2,100 step “Stairway of Death” to the top of Huayna Picchu to view Machu Picchu from the opposite mountain.
In Cusco, the historic Center of the Incan World, there were so many incredible museums, cathedrals, squares, and marketplaces to visit. We also attended a pisco tasting and cooking class given at a restaurant by Jose at the Mercelo Batata Culinary Experience. It was a fun and amazing mix of history, culture, food and drink preparation!

We thoroughly enjoyed the beauty, culture, history, and generosity of the people of Peru. Thank you, Kuoda, for our most memorable trip!