Quechuas Expeditions Travel Tour Operator — Local services in Distrito de Cusco

Very bad experience with the agency, terrible value for money, would strongly recommend avoiding this agency. We booked the 4-day-3-night tour of Cusco-Sacred Valley-Machu Picchu for 500 USD per person. Day 1 (Cusco city tour): The hotel room we got on our first night was barely larger than the bed, so there was no space for unpacking the luggage. Breakfast was very basic. They promised before the tour they never sell their customers to other agencies. But on the very first day, we were put into a city tour group from another agency. The tour was very commercialized, two people came on the bus to sell things and we stopped at a souvenir shop longer than we stopped at the tourist sites. We checked the price for this tour with other agencies and it turns out it’s only 8 USD… Day 2 (Sacred valley): It was a private tour day, which is good. The guide we got is a nice person, but his English is terrible and is not very knowledgeable. I could understand only half what he says. We got more from our guidebook than the guide. The standard price for the full day sacred valley tour is 15 USD per person for group tour. For private it’s probably more expensive but not a lot more. We slept in Aguas Calientes, the hotel is good but we got a room on the train station side, it was so loud there is no way to sleep until the last train left the station (around 10pm). And the agent told us when we arrive at the train station, someone from the hotel should pick us up, but when we arrived there was no one, we waited for 20min and still no one. Eventually we found the hotel on our own. I assume the agency is not paying a lot for the hotel that’s why we got the loud room and no one picked us up. Day 3 (Machu Picchu): We had the same guide for Machu Picchu as for the sacred valley, so again very bad English. I overheard many other guides talking and I think I have not heard a single one with worse English than ours. There are many guides at the entrance and they seem to speak much better English. During the tour in Machu Picchu he took a short cut and we finished very quickly. We got Machu Picchu mountain ticket as well, and we only figured out ourselves that this is not only for climbing the mountain but also for going through some special paths around Machu Picchu, and our guide didn’t tell us anything about it. After complaining to the agent, we got a different hotel than the first day in Cusco, and this hotel is much more decent. The agent told us someone will pick us up when we arrive back in Cusco, but again there was no one picking us up so we had to walk back to the hotel on our own with luggage. Overall, I find the service quality very bad for the money charged. The agent is pure profit maximizing and put you in the absolute lowest budget he finds. It is much better to book your hotels by yourself and for the tours just book them with the agencies once you are there. You will save a lot money and get much better quality...

I can’t say enough about the experience that I had with this tour company. I mean, this trek is epic enough on its own to warrant 5 stars, but this company was fantastic even beyond that. Here are all the ways that I think they went above and beyond. They kept our group small. The other groups that we saw on the trail were probably 10 to 15 people from all walks of life. That has its own allure, if you’re looking to make friends, but I really appreciated the almost private experience my brother and I received. Not only was our group small, but our guide made very concerted efforts to avoid the crowds. Sometimes that meant having to wake up earlier, but for me, the effort was worth it. We often had views, vantage points, and resting spots to ourselves which meant great photos and we could hear and understand our guide’s explanations at each of our destinations. The food was incredible. We ate like royalty. There were multiple courses for every meal and there were no repeated dishes. 5 days, 3 meals, multiple courses, never ate the same thing twice. Armando was awesome, adjusting on the fly to some of our dietary needs without prior knowledge all while providing us with authentic Peruvian cuisine. Additionally, you could tell how careful they were about planning nutritional needs, especially with the altitude. Just really well put together. Our tour guide was phenomenal. Fernando was knowledgeable, funny, engaging, and respectful. Some of the other guides kind of had to herd their people along, but Fernando was always checking in to see how we were doing, offering options and then letting us make the decisions about how the tour would proceed. His communication skills were impeccable. We never felt caught off guard with anything that happened during the 5 days. His explanations really helped make the tour engaging and fulfilling. He taught us Incan culture, history, and even several words in the Quechua language. By the end of the trek I felt like we’d developed a genuine friendship. If you end up booking with this company, 10 out of 10 would recommend Fernando as your guide. There are a few drawbacks to this trek. Altitude sickness is rough. My brother and I both experienced headaches and nausea. He threw up on top of the pass. (Leaving offerings to the gods is an appropriate in Andean custom.) The nasty flies that bite as you get closer to Machu Picchu are little hellions. Take bug repellant. You might have to wear sunscreen even though you’re surrounded by snowcapped peaks. Other than that though, I can’t think of a negative...

We had an amazing experience with Quechua Expeditions for our Salkantay trek. Starting with Nicole, their office representative, who helped make sure everything is set as expected in advance, and answered all our questions with much patience and kindness. Our guide for the tour was Fernando, has was amazing, the best we could ask for. We met him first in the preparation meeting the evening before going out for the trek, and we immediately felt we're in good hands. Fernando is very experienced with this route and provided all the information we need, speaking very good English. During the trek he always made sure we feel well and enjoying the experience, always with a smile and a lovely positive attitude. He provided lots of help and guidance, always willing to take the extra step to make sure we will have a lifetime experience to remember - and we did! We were lucky enough to be just two of us with Fernando, this was a special and appreciated experience too. We had really interesting discussions along the hikes, about his culture and history, and we learned a lot. It made the trip much more unique and personal. Fernando was also very curious to hear about us and our lives and culture too. It was such a great experience to meet Fernando, and trekking with him definitely exceeded our expectations. After this trip we really feel like we have a new friend in Peru! Our chef was Armando, he was cooking such a great and creative meals during the hike and in the campsites. His creativity goes beyond words as we never ate the same thing twice! He has to cook in challenging environments during the hike, in different places every day - and the results definitely went beyond our expectations. His food was delicious. Armando also made a surprise for us and baked a birthday cake for my wife's birthday during the trek, it was an amazing surprise to have! Thank you Fernando, Armando and Nicole for making this trek a lifetime experience to remember! For everyone considering Salkantay/Inca treks - I really recommend booking it with Quechua...