I went with Gap Adventures (www.gapadventures.com) to Peru a few years
ago and I really enjoyed it. Prior to that trip, I generally preferred
to travel solo or with friends. I would never have though of taking a
tour because many tours seem to isolate people from what they're seeing
rather than getting them closer to it. However, the Gap trip did not
have the feeling of being touristy. They try to have no more than 12
people on a trip and they travel to off-the-beaten path places and
'must see' places.
There's some structure to it but there's free-time 'wandering' time as
well. On the trip I took, it was just me, my roommate and the guide for
the first half of the trip in Cuzco, Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and Aguas
Calientes--because the rest of the group spent most of their trip doing
the Inca Trail Hike. We caught up with them a few days later at Machu
Pichu. But I enjoyed being able to wander around Cuzco for an extra
day, knowing that a guide would meet me at the hotel the next morning,
with my arrangements already made to head toward Aguas Calientes. That
mix of freedom and convenience (not having to hassle with all the
logistics of getting from point A to B, finding transportation, etc.)
is really nice when you have only 2 weeks to visit a region. Another
nice thing is that if you are signing up for the trip, solo, and
indicate that you don't mind a roommate, you don't have to pay a single
supplement.
I like this outfit so much, I may be taking one of their trips to
Guatemala in the summer. Last year, I went with Adventure LIfe to
Guatemala and they had a great trip too. We stayed with a Maya family
in the highlands, traveled by local buses occasionally... It was very
interesting. It's a little bit more structured than Gap Adventures, but
with only 4 people on the trip, we had our own driver and guide, and it
didn't feel very tour like at all. It was really nice. I enjoyed
Guatemala so much that I'm thinking of taking the Gap trip this year
instead of Adventure Life, only because they have a different itinerary
and I want to see travel to some different areas. Adventure Life does
run trips to Peru though. They're at: http://www.adventure-life.com/
Robin
Erika wrote:
> I have searched through some of the archives on this group, but I was
> hopiong to get more recent information about people's experiences
> traveling with certain tour companies in Peru.
>
> I have investigated both Globus and a group called Peru Gateway Travel
> (Orquidea Tours), and was wondering if anyone had either positive or
> negative experiences with either group? I would be in Peru for about
> 10 days, and am doing the typical, basic tourist stuff (Lima, Machu
> Picchu, Cusco, Nazca, etc.) I will be traveling with someone.
>
> Another company I was considering was Allegro Holiday Tours...any
> experience with them? Any suggestions for other, better touring
> companies?
>
> Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. I have traveled often and
> extensively in Spain, and am fluent in Spanish, but have no experience
> traveling in Latin America. Thanks for any help you can give!
>
> Erika
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