Overall, a great trip and all the previous reviews already addressed both the good issues which I concur. So I'll list some small discrepancies on the itinerary as well some thoughts on the various rules that I read prior to this trip.
Review by: Carol C, April 2018
Went on a multi-generational girls trip with my mom, sis, and niece age 6. Once in a lifetime experience! Bucket list check, check. Viajes Pacifico was awesome. From meeting us at Lima airport with signs to guiding us every transfer through the Inca trail. Incas dont mess around. The trail to the lost in a city was no joke. All of the guides were great but special recognition to Johnny for his passion about Machu Picchu aka his office. He made the tour more interesting and enjoyable. We stayed at Jose Antonio Deluxe in Lima. It was very close to Miraflores a trendy part of the city. Hotel and Lima was modern, clean, fun and safe feeling. Wonderful ice cream at Wongs shopping. The concierge at Jose Antonio really hooked it up for us at a seafood restaurant beachside called Cala. Trip to Cusco started with an ungodly early departure to the airport. Tip: you need to book your own flights to Cusco, book a flight between 9-11 am departure. We again stayed at Jose Antonio in Cusco. Hotel was a little further away from the main city square but still clean and well kept. Really enjoyed the tour of Sasaywawa. Be aware of altitude sickness. We came well prepared with meds but there were a few other travellers in our small group tour that did not and suffered. The bus ride to the train station was not fun. Winding, narrow roads that seemed impossible for a bus, but Peruvian bus drivers are pretty talented. We took that Vistadome train to Aguas Calientes. Beautiful scenery the whole way. We were pretty well fed by the tour. Daily breakfast starting at 5 am through all of the hotels. You get a pastry snack on the train and in Machu Picchu tour provided a buffet lunch at the Santuary Lodge. We stayed at Casa Andina in Aguas Calientes which included dinner the first night. Our last day in Aguas Calientes we went to the hot springs. Tip: no need to book the hot springs tour through Viator. You can walk to the hot springs and it only costs 20 soles/person. Go in the morning!!! I had read the bad reviews on TripAdvisor about them so we had really low expectations. In the end it was a lot of fun and cleaner in the morning. Overall, this tour offered a good balance between guidance and free time which was perfect for our family. It was well priced compared to tours through Condor or Belmont. Highly recommend!
Review by: William C, February 2018
The local tour company that Viator used was on top of their game! Everything went off without a hitch. Please be aware that it is the customers responsibility to book the air travel from Lima to Cusco! Lima is a fascinating city with more to do than the time allotted. Plan ahead, to see what is important to you. Note that Viator offers many different day tours. The same holds true for Cusco. Remember to be aware of the elevation and possibility of altitude sickness. The village of machu picchu is very small but I enjoyed the shops all geared towards tourists. An overnight in machu Picchu does not mean sleeping in the monument itself but in the village below. If you're a avid hiker a want to hold a mountains adjacent to the monument itself prebook!!! Many of these well out long before you arrive. I spent the extra day at the hot springs with a view of the mountains. The train ride was great and is run first class! Enjoy your trip!
Review by: christopherljones1972, January 2018
This trip was everything as advertised. The reason I chose this particular tour was because of all the positive feedback from these reviews. So now here I sit just returning from this vacation and I will tell anyone reading this the same as all the other 5 star reviews. We felt safe the entire time, everyone we spoke with were friendly. The tour company was prompt and informative. The hotels and food were above average with no issues. The only advice on a negative tone from our experience is to not book your Lima to Cusco flight thru Peruvian airlines. They have older airplanes with older logistics. We got stuck in Lima an additional 24 hours because of the low cloud cover/rain in Cusco. Some of the other local airlines were still able to land. We lost 2 tours and 24 hours in Cusco. This is valuable info I wish I had known while planning this trip. The rest of this tour was simply amazing and I would do it all over again but there's just too many other jewels out there to be discovered. However, I do admit even tho it has been a week today since we returned that I can not get Machu Picchu out of my head. Experience of a Lifetime !
Review by: Bec A, January 2018
Great tour! Very well organised. You're not with the same group all the time so as a solo traveller this was great to meet people and also have some independence. Most of the tours are single day tours and you usually have the afternoon to do your own thing so I would organise different outings myself. Accommodation was excellent and the pick up service was very prompt. I felt super safe as a solo female traveller on this tour. The trip to Machu Picchu was fantastic! Put it on your bucketlist!
Review by: Susan L G, October 2017
An amazing journey! Accommodation in Lima, Cusco and Aguascalientes was very clean, great buffet breakfasts in particular El Tambo 1 in Lima, all staff in the various hotels were very friendly and helpful. The hotels were very convenient to our interests in the cities. Viajes Pacifico were well organised to cope with the continuing stream of tourists visiting the many sites of interest provided in the tour. We felt supported, knew the goals of the day programs, and had our questions answered promptly. Machu Picchu was a spectacular lived experience, an amazing engineering feat. Through the knowledgeable guides we really appreciated the significance of the INCA achievement and its impact on Andean communities today. Thank you, Viator, it was a great decision to travel with you!
Review by: Hung, October 2017
Travel to Machu Picchu is not easy trip the logistic involved is quite complicated but this tour offered by Viator made everything easy. The tour operator Viajes Pacifico, from picking up in LIM airport until dropping off at CUZ airport with boarding pass ready is nothing short of excellence in their service. My wife and I had a wonderful time to Machu Picchu!
Review by: Elia T T, October 2017
Overall ...enjoyed trip. I was annoyed that Erika...with viajes pacific...shorted our tour group by 1 stop. WE were scheduled to make 2 stops in Lima and we only made 1 stop. Needs to be addressed.
Review by: hollandmhayden, October 2017
Our tour guides were all wonderful. Really, really wonderful. _br/_ However, communication from Viator was not good. We were never told we to look for someone at the Lima airport for a transfer to our hotel so we ended up spending 40 US to get to the first night's stay. Our hotels were constantly being changed from the original hotels we were told. this can make things difficult when trying to relay information to loved ones in other countries. Additionally, our hotel in Cusco was NOT GOOD. We paid for the upgraded trip, yet there were people on the tour that did not pay for upgrades and stayed in better hotels. I felt ripped off! The Eco Inn was basic very Holiday Inn- beds were VERY uncomfortable, internet was spotty, breakfast was not good, shower water temperature was never consistent I took a cold shower one day . When I expressed my concern to the contracted out tour group I was told that I would have to pay for the cancellation fee to get a better hotel!!!!!!!!!! Also, Spanish speaking tours got a guide for the 3 hour train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes. The guide talked to whole time to the group giving them information and funny stories and we just sat there with not information. Very disappointing.
Review by: Stephen M, October 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Alex, August 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: DAVID J D, August 2017
Highly recommend. Everything was taken care of for us and there was enough down time to see everything we wanted as well. Thanks!
Review by: Rick B, August 2017
This was just what we're were looking for. We had plenty of time to explore on our own and did not have to worry about transfers and hotels. Getting our questions answered before hand was a bit difficult. We were a bit insecure about who was meeting us. When calling, finding a English speaking person was a challenge but it all worked out. Once we go to Peru went like clock work
Review by: gdivitto, July 2017
We enjoyed Lima and Cusco. Some of the guides could have been better. Unfortunately there was a 48 hours strike and transportation came to a standstill. We were supposed to go to Machu Pichu on Friday, but Viajes Pacifico failed to pick us up at the hotel. The lady in the Viajes Pacifico computer apologized for their error, but we did not see Machu Pichu, which was the main reason for this trip.
Review by: Tom C, June 2017
From the moment we landed in Lima until the sad day we left Peru, every detail was lavishly attended to by the tour operator and guides of Viajes Pacifico. All the tour guides were friendly and knowledgeable, with special kudos to Angel, Herman, and Jaime in Cusco and Machu Picchu. Our Lima guides were awesome, as well - unfortunately, I can't remember their names, but they pointed us in the direction of two outstanding restaurants, Punto Azul where we had the best ceviche ever, forever ruining us for ceviche anywhere else and Mangoes great food, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. In Cusco, we toured the old city, walked among the ruins of Saksaywaman, and we were taken to an alpaca wool factory where we got the finest alpaca garments at a fraction of the retail price. Then, the scenic train ride to Machu Picchu, where there was no question in anyone's mind why it is one of the Seven Wonders of the world - it's absolutely breathtaking, and you cannot take a bad picture! We opted to upgrade to the deluxe accommodations, which I highly recommend. I can't stress enough the timeliness and orderliness of the tour - so many moving parts that operated with the precision of a Swiss watch. Icing on the cake!
Review by: jerry.mansell, February 2017
The Viator site was terrible, and even when I called the help desk, the information I was given about start and finish dates was wrong. The local tour company, Viajes Pacifico was outstanding, with great service - always on time and always accessible for follow ups.
Review by: John B, February 2017
Viajes Pacifico did an excellent job, always on time and great tour guides. Highly recommended.
Review by: James S, January 2017
Absolutely outstanding. Viajes Pacifico are an absolutely wonderful company who made every bit of this holiday hassle free. Initially, I was a bit nervous about booking such a complicated tour on the internet rather than through an agent but when I got to LIma airport and met the smiling representative I realised I had nothing to worry about. Their was continuous, close communication between the company, ourselves and the service providers and everything was superbly organised. The accommodation was more than comfortable and located in safe, central areas. The tours were highly informative, had passionate guides that spoke outstanding English and provided us with wonderful glimpses into the history and culture of Peru. The airport transfers were safe, punctual, hassle free and accompanied by an English speaking guide. Excellent value for money. I will definitely travel with this company again!
Review by: Kenny, January 2017
I love it, to me, it's trouble-free as a single traveler._br/_ I was picked up once I got off the flight and they have a guide and a driver to take care of me even it's just an airport drop off._br/_ The guides ALL OF THEM! are friendly, polite, and at the same time, I had enough free time to just walk around, explore and enjoy the cities. I would highly recommend : -
Review by: Lynn D, September 2016
From beginning to end the whole experience was amazing. We were extremely fortunate to be the only 2 in our group for the organized tours. The drivers, guides and accommodation was perfect and met our needs. I cannot say enough about the guides....extremely knowledgeable, passionate about their country and history! They recant the same stories every time but for each tourist seeing and hearing about their country for the first time....they make it so special. Thank you for making our trip memorable!!
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