Peru

Peru Customer Reviews

We are very proud of the feedback that we get from our trips and are pleased to share reviews from past travellers. These are kept as up to date as possible. Please have a read through to get a real sense of the kind of experience that you might have on a family trip to Peru.

Peru customer review - zip-lining

Zip-lining in the Sacred Valley, Peru’s activity hub

Westwood Family (with children aged 7 and 27)

Travelled Summer 2024
Hi Jess and Liddy. Fantastic holiday especially Machu Picchu day….what an experience! There was nothing negative about the trip. Your in-country colleagues were fantastic, with their guides and the way they quickly adjusted to us changing from shared to private tour for Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain was very professional…they even gave us Cynthia, the guide we wanted! The only bit personally I probably did not enjoy as much was the trip to the Uros Islands which was a little uncomfortable. The homestay was also a bit strange as we hardly saw the family. Other than this it was magical!

Dury Family (with teenagers aged 15 and 18)

Travelled Summer 2024 – Peru, Ecuador, & the Galapagos Islands
Hi Sarah and Helene. All-in-all, we had a memorable holiday, experiencing two lovely countries (Ecuador and Peru) which we thoroughly enjoyed. We really enjoyed the city tour of Quito (our guide Gabriel was very good) and both the hotels we stayed in, and the views throughout Quito were fantastic. Quito certainly exceeded our expectations. The Amazon lodge was enjoyable, albeit rather oriented towards younger families, but was a nice location with fun activities. The kids certainly enjoyed the pool. The Galapagos Islands were fantastic and unlike anywhere else we have visited. The wildlife viewing was fantastic, both on the islands and while snorkelling, and we were able to get close to sea lions, sea turtles, penguins, marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, loads of fish and a giant manta ray while in the water, as well as iguanas, giant tortoises and some incredible birds on land.


The cruise was well done, if a little ‘holiday camp’ like. That said, the whole experience was enjoyable with some incredible experiences and sights.

Overall, we really enjoyed our time in Ecuador, and didn’t see any signs of the recent troubles they have experienced, and at no point did we feel unsafe or concerned.

We didn’t spend much time in Lima, but from what we saw, that wasn’t a concern.

Sacred Valley – our guide throughout Peru (Ernesto) was excellent and our transportation was always on time. The excursions and locations visited were all well organised and enjoyable, and they always worked with us to ensure we got the most out of each activity.

The Inca Trail and Macchu Pichu were incredible, and it was certainly a lot more satisfying viewing Macchu Pichu from the Sun Gate having hiked there first, rather than getting a train and bus all the way in.

Cusco was lovely, and we didn’t really experience much in the way of altitude sickness, having acclimatised in the Sacred Valley for the previous days.

The flights went pretty smoothly and all of the guides dropping us at the airports assisted us through check-in.

We would like to start thinking about next summer’s holiday. Destinations under consideration are Japan and the west coast of Canada.

Many thanks.

Mawdsley Family (with teenagers 15 & 17)

Travelled Summer 2024
Dear Charlotte. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. E and I both went straight back to work on Tuesday morning after arriving back home on a late flight on Monday.  I will send a full response when things have calmed down but rest assured we had the most amazing time in Peru – truly a trip of a lifetime and we were very well looked after by the team on the ground. Will be in touch again soon.

Sullivan Family (with two grown-up children both aged 23)

Travelled Summer 2023
Hi Helene. WOW! Our Peruvian adventure was an amazing trip of a lifetime and we thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Peru is such an interesting, beautiful and welcoming country and we all learned so much about this fascinating part of the world. All the local guides and drivers were excellent and it was reassuring to know that they were there to help (via WhatsApp) on the one or two occasions we had minor issues.

There were so many highlights:-

Lima – We enjoyed Lima more than we thought. The hotel exceeded expectations. 

Amazon Rainforest – An incredible experience to spend 3 nights in the jungle at Posada Amazonas. One moment we were enjoying sunrise at the top of a 45m tall canopy tower with macaws flying all around us and a couple of hours later we were piranha fishing on the most beautiful oxbow lake watching giant river otters playing in the water.

Sacred Valley – The hotel here was our favourite hotel of the trip – stunning views and such a relaxed but stylish vibe. A great place to acclimatise to the altitude whilst spending the days exploring Inca ruins. Thankfully the altitude wasn’t as much of an issue as we expected. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the mountain biking day which was exceedingly well organised and top-class bikes too!

Machu Picchu – The one-day Inca trek was amazing, although a bit of a challenge in places, it is definitely the best way, to arrive at MP. There was an issue with the train not working on our return journey from MP to Cusco and our guide, Saul, went beyond the call of duty and somehow managed to organise a taxi to take us from Ollyantambo to Cusco. 

Cusco – rather overrated imo but we were only there for 2 nights. When we arrived at the hotel listed on our SMT itinerary, we were told our booking had been cancelled and they didn’t have our main luggage which had been sent ahead of us. Fortunately, we could use our AirTags to locate our bags which were sitting at another hotel! A phone call to the local agent quickly sorted things out. The girls used our free day in Cusco to go to Palycolo Rainbow Mountain which was a great success.

Lake Titicaca – I’ve dreamt of taking the train across the altiplano from Cusco to Puno since I was 6 years old, so this was definitely a dream come true moment and I just loved every minute. Our concerns about the homestay on Amantani were completely without foundation, we couldn’t have asked for a more delightful and welcoming family with a beautiful house and stunning sea views – a wonderful way to end our trip. 

Thank you for all your help and advice in organising another unforgettable holiday for us. Our apologies for taking so long to let you have some feedback but we got distracted trying to decide whether we should go to Argentina or Chile next….we’ll be in touch shortly…

Family Z (with two teenagers)

Travelled Summer 2022
Hi Helene. Just wanted to let you know we had an amazing time in Peru! You put together an incredible programme. There wasn’t one thing that we didn’t enjoy doing. Truly a trip of a lifetime. My sons and I just loved it. The guides were all incredibly knowledgeable and helpful – Cynthia (in Cusco) went over and above in that she stayed in touch throughout our trip and was there to help if we were unsure what was happening – she couldn’t always resolve but felt she was at least there. The standard of accommodation was great. Felt very spoilt to be Premium on LatAm airlines – guessing that was more about connections, but great! Thanks, again. You really did create a holiday that we will remember lifelong!

Parker Family (with children aged 9 & 12)

Travelled Summer 2022
Hi Charlotte. Looking back now on our Peru trip we really did have a wonderful time. The whole trip was extremely well planned, and put together and all guides and drivers were fantastic. The lady who looked after us in the Sacred Valley was outstanding, as was her driver. We did have a couple of issues in Cusco with the hotel. Unfortunately due to road construction, there was no cab access so we had to climb what seemed like 1000 steps with our luggage to the hotel. Ultimately however we had an amazing trip and overall it lived up to our expectations. Looking forward to next year – we would still like to do the trip to Vietnam.

Fishel Family (with children aged 8 & 9)

Travelled Summer 2022
Hi Kelly. My apologies for the delay, I’ve been trying to dig out at work after a fabulous trip! Back to you later with a gushing report. We had a wonderful time!

Sharman Family (with children aged 10, 13 & 15)

Travelled Summer 2018
Dear Lee – We just wanted to say a big thank you to you and Stubborn Mule for organising such a fantastic family holiday for us to Peru. We had an absolutely amazing time and the experience was everything we had hoped for. Everything went smoothly and all the details were carefully planned. Our guides were all great and really added to the whole experience. We will definitely recommend Stubborn Mule to others and hope to book with you again in the future. Many thanks.

Vinecombe Family (with children aged 11 & 17)

Travelled Summer 2018
Hi Charlotte – Having finally got the kids back to school, I have found 5 minutes to send you some very positive feedback from our adventures in Peru. This was the first adventure holiday that we have done as a family and it certainly won’t be our last. We were bowled over by the sheer beauty and variety of landscapes in Peru. One day you are in a tropical jungle and the next you are 4000 metres up, breathing the most pure, fresh air that you have ever experienced in the fantastically beautiful city of Cusco. The itinerary was spot on. We got to see all the sights we wanted but didn’t feel rushed.

It has been increasingly difficult to find a holiday that suits everyone as there is nearly 6 years age difference between the boys, but we all had a ball. W is now desperate to see all the Wonders of the World, what a great ambition for an 11 year old!

I would not want to do such a full on holiday every year but will definitely look to do one every other year. China seems to be the top pick for 2020. I would have no hesitation in using Stubborn Mule for our future trips. Thank you for all the care and attention given, both before and during our adventure.

Parsell Family (with children aged 11, 14 & 15)

Travelled Summer 2018
Hello Helene. Wow, what an amazing holiday, thank you so much for all your careful planning and valuable advice! We have lived so many new, exciting adventures, and created many wonderful treasured memories. It’s taken us a week to get over the holiday!

Chance Family (with children aged 15 and 18)

Travelled Summer 2018
We had an amazing time. On the whole, everything went smoothly, the guides were all great and we seemed to go from one exciting adventure to another throughout the time we were there. Best bits? There were lots. We all loved our stay in the rainforest (where we had not rain at all!) and the pretty Corto Maltes Lodge with its excellent food. We enjoyed all the excursions (we saw some amazing birds and the elusive giant otters, although sadly no monkeys to be seen on Monkey Island!) including our visit to a local indigenous family on the last day.

The Sacred Valley was lovely – it was definitely a good chance to acclimatise (H and I had a few altitude sickness symptoms but nothing too bad – a few pills sorted it out!) and we enjoyed the comparatively luxurious Hotel Sonesta Posada del Inka. We all loved the stunning scenery during our trek down from Chinchero, and also the walk down from the Pisac ruins to the market. The zip wires were of course, a huge hit with H and H (and I felt a sense of achievement too!) Machu Picchu was obviously a highlight (so relieved we got there in the end), as was Cusco where we enjoyed chilling and wandering around the city in our own time (and I could shop in peace!).

In Cusco we can recommend the Limbus Bar (up the hill from the San Blas area) where it is possible to enjoy a wonderful view/drink/cocktail as the sun sets over Cusco and the lights come on. They do food there too – but it’s worth getting there early before the sun sets for a table as it gets busy.

The 10-hour coach journey from Cusco to Puno was something the kids were dreading, but in the end it felt more like a day excursion (we stopped at 5 places) with wonderful scenery, and was unexpectedly very comfortable. In fact there were only 16 of us on a 52-seater tourist coach! They supplied blankets (it was cold at the start) and drinks, and also a stop for a very pleasant 3 course buffet lunch.

And despite being a bit out of puff on lake Titicaca, we absolutely loved our homestay. We were lucky enough to arrive while there was an important annual fiesta going on just over the hill from the village (it happens around the same time every year apparently). We got up the next morning to find a brass band from Puno playing to the locals for a couple of hours before it moved on to the fiesta itself which kicked off in the afternoon.

We sat and watched the band, watched the locals preparing huge vats of food (lamb!) for the fiesta, then while the boys (A, H and the guide) disappeared for a challenging uphill walk, H and I took greater pleasure in staying behind to watch all the ladies getting ready for the fiesta later in the day, putting on their wonderful fiesta skirts/outfits etc All this right outside our homestay room! Fabulous.

Sparks Family (with children aged 10 and 12)

Travelled Summer 2017
We had a great holiday, we loved it and the kids loved it. It was a good balance for scenery, history, cities and activities, hard work of course but no more than we expected. The days were full, interesting and varied. In general, all the guides were very good, pleasant, informative and friendly, but that is the Peruvian people for you all over. The private transport vehicles were all good with pleasant drivers.

Andrew Family (with children aged 14 and 17)

Travelled Summer 2017
It all went really really well. Apart from the one missed transfer, everything went like clockwork. Everything was really well organised – the itinerary we were given locally was accurate and we were constantly updated by the excellent guides. I’ll tell you more when I get a moment – so may highlights, but just to say thanks very much for organising this excellent trip – we would definitely recommend Peru and Stubborn Mule to our friends.

Goodridge Family (with children aged 10, 12 and 14)

Travelled Easter 2017
Hi Liddy – In a nutshell it was an amazing trip, the mix of activities and action based stuff versus the free time we had was perfect. It was total luxury to have a bus turn up to pick us up at all points!  Have told the kids not to get used to it!! For us the highpoint, 100%, was our stay on the island on Lake Titicaca. I know the homestay was your second choice, after we had to strip out cost, but I cannot over emphasise how fantastic the family was, how brilliant the guide was, and the whole lake experience was magical and unforgettable.

That guide and that family must be highly commended, they were all amazing and we have been invited back to stay for a month if we want!!  Staying on the island was stunning, the boat ride over was beautiful – on the island they had arranged a football match for all the kids, we went into the school and the kids helped teach the local children, they had laid on a fiesta for us (full costume etc!) and we ate with them in their home and they could not have made us more welcome.

The guides were all exceptional.  Really good and would recommend them all.

Yes we did get to Arequipa early – that was the one thing that would have been disappointing. Colca was amazing but there would have been limited things to do for a whole afternoon and a full morning… our guide was exceptional at making it happen for us and so longer in Arequipa was what we got which we all agreed was a brilliant result!

We have no complaints at all, we loved the whole trip and it will remain unforgettable.  The only possible things that could have been improved were:

  1. Having more detail on travel times… so a clear steer on pick up and travel duration times would have been good.
  2. The hotel in Puno was pretty horrible to be honest. I wouldn’t recommend using it again. Dirty, noisy, generally not pleasant.
  3. The zip wiring was, in my kids’ view, the very best but for me, who is terrified of heights, it will be unforgettable for slightly different reasons! Some information about what exactly was involved would have been great… we all, and the American girls who did it with us, thought it was going to be a little like Go Ape… rather than a five hour climb roped together up a mountain… followed by the zip wires!!! All amazing but a bit more detail for future travellers may be good.

So I would say we loved the trip, thought your itinerary was spot on perfect for us as a family who likes to be busy and outdoors… the blend of free time also worked perfectly… Thanks so much for all your help, you were a pleasure to work with on the planning of this and I appreciated hugely your flexibility and patience!

Duggan Family (with children aged 6 & 9)

Travelled Christmas 2016
Hi Liddy, thanks so much for arranging another great trip. It was as different as can be from our last tour in Sri Lanka but we had an amazing time. Funnily enough, after all of my worries about the altitude, the kids were completely fine and I was the only one who suffered! I had to have the first day in Cusco in bed whilst the others went out exploring which was a shame, but I was okay by the following day.

The hotels were all very nice. We really liked the Tikawasi in Cusco. It was great to be in the heart of the city and the staff were really nice – particularly solicitous when I was suffering from altitude sickness. There were lots of great touches around the hotel and it was just very charming.

The Amazon lodge was great. I’m so pleased that you persuaded us to go for the one with a pool as this made a huge difference with the kids. They were quite whacked with the jet lag when we first arrived and being able to jump in the pool made a huge difference.

The hotel in Lima was fine – nothing to get too excited about but perfectly okay and the location was good. We tried the restaurant that you had recommended on the first night and the ceviche was to die for. Inevitably the kids wouldn’t touch it but M and I devoured it. Thanks for the tip.

One final thing, our guide Arnold in the Sacred Valley was amazing. Really patient with the kids and incredibly knowledgeable. Please pass on our thanks.

Let me know when is a good time to chat about Burma.

Smith Family (with children aged 7, 11 & 15)

Travelled Summer 2016
Just got back from Peru and all suffering from jet lag but we had a great trip. I’ll call you in the week to give you more detailed feedback but just wanted to say that we had a blast. Kids all adored it. Bought far too many souvenirs and am not quite sure where the kids think they will wear their embroidered ponchos but time will tell…….

Hodgson Family (with children aged 14 & 16)

Travelled Summer 2016
What an amazing trip, thank you so much. We are still reeling from taking it in (or is that the coca leaves we chewed for the altitude?!) but it was all fantastic. Our favourite part was the overnight homestay on Lake Titicaca where we stayed with just the nicest family. They really took us under their wing – M was feeling the effects of the altitude so they made a special chicken soup for her and kept checking that she was okay when the rest of us went out for a walk.

We met some backpackers in Puno the next day who had been to the more touristy homestay on Amantani and they told us that there had been more than 200 people in the village square in the evening for the dancing, which sounds like my idea of hell so I’m so pleased you avoided this!

We also loved the section around Colca Canyon. Thanks so much for suggesting this part as it was spectacularly beautiful.

Cusco and the Sacred Valley were as lovely as we expected and we really liked the Inkallpa. Machu Picchu of course an absolute highlight. We got there really early and the whole site was completely obscured by fog which was ominous, but it cleared quite quickly and we were so pleased to be there without the crowds.

All up a great trip. Thank you!

Botwood Family (with two children aged 9 and 11)

Travelled Summer 2016
WE had an absolutely wonderful time, so much so that I am struggling to work out what the highlights were. We did something fun every day. We love the walk with the llamas, the zip lining (well I am not sure that love is the right word), the salt pans, Cuzco, Ollantaytambo, Pisac, the sites on the way to Puno, the home stay, condors, the farm trip in Colca and the fountain park in Lima. The home stay on Luquina was really lovely and as you know I was a bit uncertain about this. The family were so welcoming and we all ate together – in Sri Lanka they watched us eat which I found really disconcerting. We had our own room with bathroom and it was really lovely and peaceful. I think it was the highlight for all of us.

The Amazon was also fab and the boys loved the piranha fishing. All of the guides were great and it was really well organised. At the start of the trip we had a list of all the guides, the times when we would me met etc which was really helpful. It was also good that many lunches were included. As we often don’t have much choice about where we stop it makes sense. It also meant that we didn’t have to worry about some evening meals.

M and I think it was the best trip that we have done so thank you.

Family H (with two children aged 6 and 8)

Travelled Summer 2015
We wanted to say thank you so very much for organising such a fantastic trip to Peru and at such short notice! We had the most magical time, a perfect balance of adventure, exploring and relaxation that we all loved and gained so much from.

The service you provided made the trip totally seamless. We were met at every airport by one of your representatives smiling faces and taken to our hotel. The train/flight tickets and info was always waiting for us , which made the trip stress free.

The balance of hotels you suggested was perfect and the jungle trip a huge success…we were lucky enough to see a 30ft Anaconda!

One of the highlights for us was the Sacred Valley…the hotel a gem after the jungle and the town, bustling market and tuk tuks were fascinating. The scenery was stunning and we found a great horse-riding place and the boys went zip lining which looked fantastic (if not a terrifying!) – I can provide you the contact details if you would like to give to future clients.

Once again thank you so much for your service and we will definitely be in touch again for another adventure!

Family P (with three children aged 6, 11 and 13)

Travelled Summer 2015
We had an amazing time, thanks so much for organising everything. So many little details that were perfect – top of the list of memories were the birthday cake that Albert organised for H on her birthday, catching a piranha in the Amazon, seeing wild llamas and alpacas (B got really quite boring once she learned the difference between the two, and told EVERYONE we met how to do this!) and seeing Machu Picchu emerge from the mist in the morning (after a nerve wracking hour when we thought we might never see it!).

The arrangements all went like clockwork – guides were always there to pick us up from the airports. Hotels were great – particularly the Solyluna in the Sacred Valley.

M and I loved the food….the kids a bit less keen on some of the fish but they are fussy. We tried guinea pig so they’ve been dining out on that ever since. Not sure it will make it onto our family menu back home.

Anyway, we had a great time. Thanks so much for everything. Hoping for China next year so watch this space.

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