Our family of two parents and four girls, ages 20, 18, 15 and 13, just returned today from a 10-day trip to Peru organized by Kuoda Travel: we loved it. Kuoda did a great job. Mery Calderon and her staff cared about our family, and called us each day to make sure we were happy with our day’s experience and to go over tomorrow’s activities.

The arrangements went as planned, all of the hotels, guides, meals and activities were perfect, and we truly enjoyed each day. Special mention must go to our guide, Holger, who brought the Incan culture, religion, and ruins alive through thoughtful explanation of the history, beliefs and lives of the Incan people. There was no “canned’ explanation of attractions, but rather Holger provided a fully engaged discussion of the place we were and its role in Peruvian history. After hiking all day up 3,500 feet to enter Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate, Holger got up the next day at 4 am to be on one of the first buses up (we stayed at the Sanctuary Lodge) to join us to watch the sun rise over Machu Picchu.

We should also mention that Kuoda arranged a lunch for our family at the house of Aida. Aida is a remarkable woman who maintains a large garden where she grows all of the vegetables served at the lunch. Aida and her husband spent an hour with us after lunch talking about the Sacred Valley and the traditions of the local people; she was delightful.

By the end of our 10 days, our family kept on talking about how personal and special we felt, and how well we came to know Peru. We loved our trip and we highly recommend Kuoda.