Andean Trails helped us organise a memorable family trip through Peru and Bolivia.

We loved exploring the diversity these countries have to offer – coast, desert, mountains, salt flats and rain forests – with a balance of culture, activity and a little bit of R&R!

I generally like to do the research for trips myself but after the initial research phase, it was great to have Tom as an expert partner, focused on delivering what we wanted to get out of the trip, whilst adding value by suggesting things that would enhance our experience.

He provided an invaluable sense check on what was possible, adding support and expertise to make our ambitious plan a reality – e.g, organising private transfers to get us to where we needed to be before the border closed etc. and providing the reassurance of a ‘go to’ person on the ground for help when needed. He was fabulous to work with and it felt like planning the trip with a friend.

Tom really knows the people and places in all the locations and his suggestions for activities to keep everyone in the family interested and entertained were spot on, meaning we had lots of cool things to do with wonderfully knowledgeable guides, including special times on Lake Titicaca with a home stay on Amantanti.

Thanks for helping us create the most memorable family trip.

Our trip was fantastic, the highlight was a tie between Machu Picchu and the salt flats. Both of those places were unreal. The accommodations were great, the food was great, and the overall organization was awesome. We were so happy with the way everything worked out, and so grateful to you for making our ambitious agenda a reality! Our salt flat guide and driver were amazing, and we really enjoyed spending time with them.

Thank you so much for helping us plan everything. You were so delightful to work with, and we were so impressed that you were able to get this adventure together so quickly for us! We will be recommending Andean Trails to our friends/family, and hope to travel with you guys again in the future.

Thanks for everything!  I will definitely recommend Andean Trails and the organisation of the Luxury Inca Trail was top notch!  Our Cusco experience was better than Lima, but we still enjoyed all services!  Special thanks to Jesus in Cusco and Dante our guide for the two day trips! Our Inca Trail staff were phenomenal, if they can be recognized, I want to give special mention to Elias, our guide, Florentino our chef, and Johan, Chapuline, Celestino, Octavio, and Josue, our porters!

Highlight was the trek and walking in through the Sun Gate to Machu Picchu!  Accommodations were excellent, food on the trek was fabulous and way better than I expected! We enjoyed learning about the culture and getting to know the guides and staff.

The food tour (in Lima) was great!  Really enjoyed trying the different native fruits and the ceviche!

Our bike tour was very good we had an excellent guide

Rio Claro  was absolutely wonderful – the fact that there were many people there meant we mixed a lot and loved it. Amount of time there was just right.

Our private taxi to Rio Salento was with a lovely taxi driver, very safe, very polite.

Snorkelling was magnificent, a  very nice place.

On The Lost City trek – the guide was Camacho, who was great. We were given fresh sheets on the beds at camp, the washing facilities are poor and toilets very basic. Camacho did a great job at looking after our diets. We had a big downpour one day and the path became a mud bath – Camacho was great at helping us along safely. The weather cleared and next 3 days were amazing.

Overall we loved Colombia –  it was a lovely place to go and the people were really friendly. We had lots of laughs and were reassured knowing there was help at the end of the phone if need be.

I only made a flying visit to the Colombian Pacific Coast around Nuqui.
This is certainly a place to get away from it all as the area is like an island surrounded by tropical jungle.
Lodges with limited electricity, no mobile phone reception nor internet, masses of wildlife, whales, white sandy beaches, surf, jungle trails, canoe rides, lots of seafood and tranquility.
To many, heaven.

I woke up and I was full of energy. I slept well. I honestly thought today was going to be worse than it was.
But I started going and it was fine.
I was so happy to meet the lovely family and students at Finca Argentina that it filled me with good energy. I had such a lovely evening there.
Today there was such a beautiful landscape, it made it worth it.
Also, I knew how far we had to walk, and how long it was going to take us, and that was really important for me, psychologically.

We saw a lot of changes, and humming birds, which was lovely, but I was very tired at some points and my legs were not responding .
But it was great in another sense as I was very happy to get to the hotel, knowing I’d seen wonderful things and that I’d done the trek!
The landscape was great and finding people who live in these remote places, and live so happily in these lovely areas, that was the most beautiful part for me.
And for that alone, it was worth it.

Cartegena is a city full of colour, I spent hours just wandering the streets of the Getsemani district with its beautiful colonial facades. The proximity to the Carribean makes it a real gem of a gateway to the surrounding beaches and from here you can travel along the coast line to visit the impressive Tayrona National Park with its gorgeous hilly backdrops leading to white beaches – throw in some ancient ruins of the indigenous population and you have a perfect mix.

The green hills of the coffee region are full of opportunities for active travellers, but also a great option for those fancying a few days to relax. Many coffee fincas have opened their doors to visitors and guests, and I loved learning all about the coffee production and seeing the endless rows of coffee beans.

I loved Colombia for its rich culture, and its wonderfully warm people. It’s such an intriguing country, and so welcoming. I’m always drawn to the hills, so I loved exploring the Andes region but also enjoyed the vibrant city life of Bogota.

We did a 3-day trek in the mountains behind Cocora….It felt great to leave the relative crowds of Cocora behind and keep heading up up up into the clouds and then above them.

The Paramo is a special place and the people that live up there and offer accommodation were among the nicest I’ve met – so open and generous.

Mornings brought clear views to ice-capped volcanoes, and we walked through some of the most verdant cloud forest I’ve seen.

The Uyuni tour – even though we weren’t able to visit the National Park due to snow, it surpassed our expectations with its amazing, spectacular landscapes. We had a great guide (having an English-speaking guide was well worth the extra cost – thanks for the steer).

Everywhere was friendly, welcoming and well-located, and in fairness did have hot water which was very welcome! We loved the lodge at Chalalan. Other than the cold rooms, the Tayka Salt Flats tour lodges were spectacular.

The guides were top notch. Informative, personable, organised and punctual, and clearly put in the effort to give us an outstanding experience, including the revised itinerary in Uyuni where we felt that our guide, Alvaro, really stepped up to minimise the impact of the National Park closure and give us a great time.

Chalalan explained how they are benefitting the local community and it was gratifying to see the contribution it makes.

The arrangement by which Tayka hotels transfer into community hands also seemed like a good model.

Generally, we were told often that Bolivia feels a bit off the tourist map and that the country would benefit by visitors spreading the word.

Bolivia is a lovely, diverse and, in places, spectacular country. It’s also one of the rougher countries we’ve visited, given the altitude, extremes of temperatures, road conditions, limitations of accommodation and general level of development, and this reflects in some of our comments above. Our trip itself was really enjoyable and fascinating and we’d like to thank you for your help in putting in together.

Communication through email was excellent. Questions were always answered right away. Great service! Wonderful tour and excellent tour guide. Lots of highlights, Uyuni and trek were probably our favourite.

Just did the 5-day luxury tour with 5 other guys. Best trip of our lives.

Great food. Great guide. Great accommodations in Cusco and Aguas Calientes. Great service. Wouldn’t change a single thing.

I just can’t reiterate enough how incredible the trip was. Thank you for everything.

I had the most amazing time, it far exceeded what I was expecting.

The camp really does sell itself short, it’s an amazing camp. Food was out of this world and all staff were great, free bar at camp and each tent/hut had its own member of staff allocated to you for the whole trip, so coffee served in bed every morning.

There were yoga classes every morning to help get ready for the day in the raft and two hot tubs.

I’m going to go again next year!