GUEST TRAVEL REVIEWS

Thanks for the note. We all made it back safe and sound and really enjoyed our time in Peru! Thanks so much for your help and hopefully will be back soon.

Sanjeev

For my fortieth birthday, my husband and I decided to go all out, and book a two-week luxury and adventure trip to Peru. No strangers to travel in Europe, it was our first time heading to South America, and we knew we needed expert help. After reviewing the itineraries and prices offered by several differing tour companies, we settled on Kuoda and a specialized itinerary crafted by Molly Krifka.

Well, let me tell you that from start to finish, the trip furnished by Kuoda was utter perfection! Our private guide was knowledgeable and friendly. The hotels were amazing! I’m pretty sure Sol Y Luna and the breakfast at Belmont was basically Heaven on Earth. (It should also be noted that Kuoda regularly does checks of locations to make sure they are up-to-par to their standards.) The same goes for activities. Everything from horseback riding in Cusco, to staying at Sky Lodge, to visiting an eco-lodge in the Amazon, to eating at the top restaurants in Lima, was BEYOND our expectations. Luxury wasn’t the word for it. For two weeks, I felt like a Real Housewife!

But beyond the obvious great locations and bucket-list sites, let me tell you why Kuoda and Molly stood out among the rest–and why you ABSOLUTELY most use them to book your trip to Peru.

Normally, I am the “planner” for our family vacations. I’m the one with the schedule, organizing tickets, double-checking we have everything organized. One of the things I loved about this trip was that I didn’t have to DO anything. Literally, from train tickets, museum tickets, dinner reservations, drivers, and guides–Kuoda handled it all! I joked it was basically idiot-proof, and boy, did I appreciate that!

In addition to all these things, my husband and I have several dietary restrictions. Well, in every single restaurant we ate in, the waiter and chef had already been informed of our dietary restrictions. In one restaurant, and on my birthday, they even went out of their way to make me a dairy-free dessert. (And that didn’t include all the extras that occurred, chocolates by our bedside, a train singing happy birthday to me, UPGRADES galore!) From start to finish, every day of our trip was beyond a dream come true.

I also want to give a shoutout to the fact that Molly worked very hard to craft a trip for me that would work in tandem with my chronic illness. If you have children, elderly relatives, or other concerns that may require more individualization–do not hesitate to contact Kuoda. They can absolutely create the perfect trip for you!

We came home from that trip talking about how we couldn’t wait to get back to South America. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit about a month after we arrived home, and put off any adventure travel for the foreseeable future. But we will certainly be back to visit South America, and when we do, we will absolutely be calling up Molly and Kuoda once more. The hype is real people! They are the best Peru has to offer.

Thanks so much for checking in and sorry for the delay! We were in Chile with tons of family visits when you wrote, plus we had limited wifi access which meant I got behind on emails!

The whole trip was amazing–thank you for all your excellent planning and arranging! The guides and drivers were all fabulous, and we enjoyed meeting Mery in Cuzco. Please tell her we loved the picture frame.

Thanks for the recipes too. We will enjoy them. All of us were sad to leave and would love to return some day!

No other feedback–I have already passed along your agency info to friends and relatives who were intrigued after hearing about our fabulous time. I hope they contact you!

Happy New Year!
Best,

Our apologies for the delayed response but we’ve been traveling.

We loved our adventure in Argentina and Chile and thank all of you at Kuoda for your excellent planning and execution. We especially enjoyed the company who took us on our horseback trip in Mendoza. The picnic barbecue was fabulous.

Both EOLO and Explora met and even exceeded our expectations. One thing we would have changed was to stay at EOLO the last night (instead of the hotel in Calafate)…we did learn that other guests were picked up early that morning to meet the Explora van. However, we did enjoy walking around Calafate and had two fun meals.

The Singular was nice, and we enjoyed seeing Santiago. Sorry to see the unrest but hopefully things have calmed down.

We would recommend Kuoda any day (as you may know, this is the third trip you have planned for us). We hope to see you again.

Many thanks for the support from you and the Kuoda team in preparation and throughout our Peru holiday. We had a fantastic time. We’ve come away recommending Peru as a great cultural experience and insight into important history for South America. And of course, we’ll recommend Kuoda as an ideal travel agent for Peru.

Edwin was fantastic as a private guide. He’s a strong asset for Kuoda. I have no hesitation in recommending him to other travellers. Our driver (I’m sorry, I’ve gone blank on his name) was also very organised and always on time – he didn’t speak much English but that wasn’t a problem, he was a quiet achiever.

The itinerary worked extremely well. Good amount of time in each location, and each of the locations were worth visiting. And it adjusted us well for the altitude (no significant altitude symptoms from anyone in the family). It was particularly valuable to have two half days in Machu Picchu given the second day was quite cloudy and rainy – it would have been a little disappointing if that was our only experience.

In looking back there’s only two very small issues that come to mind that we would change. First, it would have been good to have Edwin’s contact details rather than having to contact him through Marcelo. Second, and this is mainly out of your hands, but the quality of restaurant staff at both Inkaterra hotels was lacking (Amazon and Machu Picchu). They weren’t bad, but compared to the experience at the other locations, it wasn’t nearly as good. I should highlight that the problem seemed to be limited to both of the restaurants in each location – in contrast, the tour guides at Inkaterra Amazon were fantastic. But these were just small issues, they didn’t have a significant impact on our enjoyment.

The standout hotel was Sol y Luna – amazing place to stay, beautiful, extremely well maintained, and a fantastic restaurant for breakfast and dinner, with superb staff.

I hope that feedback is useful. Again, many thanks for organising a fantastic, highly memorable experience for our family.