My best friend and I decided to go to Peru for a girls trip with two weeks notice. We knew we needed someone with extensive knowledge about Peru to help us create a great 9 day itinerary. We struck gold with Ancient Summit. Nina at Ancient Summit put together the most marvelous personalized itinerary just for us for Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. The two of us had our own driver (Ulysses-in an immaculate mini-van I might add) and guide (Jose Antonio or Esmeralda) every day. We stayed in clean and charming hostals that were hand-picked for us. They were all great. We had a Peru “Contact” who met us at our hostal every few days to check on us to see how our trip was going and to see if she could help us with anything. When we went to Machu Picchu, we had a private three-hour tour and it was amazing. We never had to buy a train ticket, site-seeing pass, or pay for anything (except for our meals on occasion and souvenirs). Other Americans we met on the trip told us about the nightmares they had to endure buying train tickets, traveling with a large tour group, and staying in hostals without hot water and basic cleanliness standards. We trusted Nina and she was spot-on with her recommendations. She even organized a lunch at the home of a Peruvian artist that she knows in the Sacred Valley. That was such an authentic experience! Since we had our own driver and tour guide, we were able to do everything at our own pace and take breaks when we wanted or just “call it a day” and head home. We had a few “free days” when our guides would recommend some great spots to check out for meals or a great place to explore. It was the perfect balance of tours and free time. We were never exhausted and we had just enough independence so we didn’t feel like a slave to our itinerary. From the moment we landed in Lima, we had personalized service. Every time we got off a plane or train, someone met us with a sign with our name on it. The other Americans we met were so jealous of our great “find”. Ancient Summit is the best agency if you want to travel worry-free and first-class. Reasonably priced too!
