Sacred Valley (Peru) – tour company recommendation

[meta]

I am planning my Peru trip. In Sacred Valley, I will be staying 5 nights at Tambo del Inka. Anyone has any recommendations for a tour company that I should use for day trips (apart from Macchu Picchu)?

The hotel one (Venturia) seems too expensive.

• This topic was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[Lottie]

We did 5 nights at Tambo del Inka a couple of years ago, decided against the tour companies as they were expensive and very inflexible. We hired a car from the airport instead, very easy to drive around and park in most places, and we stopped at lots of places we wouldn’t have seen without the car.

[meta]

Thanks. Did you hire from a local company or via Sixt? Sixt seems to be the only major company. The reviews of local car hire companies are not great hence why I was a bit reluctant.

[masaccio]

Hertz has 2 locations in Cusco. A week in August with now CDW showing as 300 USD for me without any CDP applied.

[Lottie]

We used a local company, they were a little late arriving to meet us but otherwise fine. The car wasn’t state of the art, but I’m happier with something that blends in rather than stands out too much. Ill try and find their details. Apart from the trip to macchu picu it did mean we didn’t have to book anything, we could just decide on the day, which is very handy when you have a child with you!

[meta]

Thanks Lottie. After much research, I went with Sixt. They had the best reviews. Not as cheap as some of the others, but still reasonable at $100 per day for automatic SUV.

Yes, given that most guided tours are $100+ per person for half day, it seems no brainer for a longer stay.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[meta]

masaccio wrote:

Hertz has 2 locations in Cusco. A week in August with now CDW showing as 300 USD for me without any CDP applied.

You need to read reviews although Hertz lists the two locations the downtown location is not operating as Hertz anymore. When you try to book, there is a small print saying that none of the cars below are available at this location. And the airport location also hasn’t got very good reviews either.

[YC]

I didn’t hire a car but only stayed at tambo for 3 nights. I really enjoyed the property and had a nice suite upgrade. I got a local transfer company and instead of going from A to B, I told them I wanted to do A-C-D-B which covered some of the sites. Similarly on the return leg which worked out quite well for me. Its always nice to not be the driver on holiday (you can enjoy the scenery, drink and speak to the local driver).

[Lottie]

We really enjoyed Tambo too, did 5 nights as we used the old Marriot travel package. We put aside ££ for breakfast as only gold, but when we arrived they apologised for not having any upgraded rooms and comped breakfast for the week for all 3 of us, so we were more than happy. There are a couple of nice restaurants in the village opposite if you don’t want to eat in the hotel. 5 / 10 min walk so you can still have a drink.

[meta]

I just think from price-point of view the car will work out cheaper and also doing half-day trips so can relax as well with a drink in the afternoon. Also just had a word from the hotel, the hotel train station is not operating this year so will have to drive to Ollantaytambo. That’s another saving on taxi too.

[Cinimo]

We used Taxi Datum a few times when we were there in 2019.

Mainly just transport rather than a tour, they help with the logistics but no guide with stories and historical details. It was easy to book by email, reasonable prices, and we created our own custom itineraries which they were fine with. The driver was going to take us to some big coach party style lunch place one day, but we said we didn’t want that and he was very happy to take us to a local place instead.

[meta]

Thanks everyone for recommendations. I have now hired a car.

[Lottie]

We also drove to Ollyamtambo as the times of the hotel trains weren’t great. Driving through to the station/ parking can be
a bit manic around the times the trains arrive/ depart if you going at a popular time. Have a great trip.

[zio]

Not tour company recommendations, but keeping the destination thread together.

@meta I hope you beat the strikes and enjoyed the Machu Picchu experience. Have you been happy with Sixt? And how is the Tambo? I was planning on staying there but the unexpected appearance of a free night voucher in my IHG a/c is tipping me towards the sol y luna. Anyone stayed there?

Also I notice MP has now got covid one-way routes in force. That system feels likely to stay to control site access further, but is it strictly enforced? Any advice on how long a route took? Were bags checked (snacks and water allowed in)? Any other tips or thoughts?

Many thanks for all input.

[meta]

Sorry, I only just arrived back yesterday. The strikes messed up the whole trip, but did manage to get to Machu Picchu and done one small hike.

Here’s the brief report

– The country is experiencing a political crisis which will most certainly affect tourists because the strikes are not like here. They involve road blocks, airport closures, etc. So be aware of that and build in 3-4 days contingencies. Our flight was cancelled then when we arrived to Sacred Valley, there were 2 extra days of strikes meaning we couldn’t do proper Inka Trail and had to rejig everything. This is unlikely to stop any time soon as they are demanding the change of constitution to protect some parts of population from price hikes (good luck with that!). Just something to be aware of.

In Lima, we stayed at Hilton Lima Miraflores. Superb hotel, excellent service, upgrade to a proper suite. Lounge closed, but complimentary mini bar every day and 2 drinks per person per day plus snack in the main restaurant. Really this was the best hotel in Peru we stayed at. They were also very helpful when we experienced delay with strikes.

Sixt rent-a-car – really great service! The only thing is that now because of covid you have to go out of the airport and walk about 500m to get to the agency. They were helpful when we had to change and extend for extra two days due to strikes and kept the same daily price as our previous bookings.

Tambo del Inka (Sacred Valley) in terms of service it is the worst high end property I ever stayed at. There are too many issues to go into details. No status recognition – had to beg them to upgrade me as Titanium (128-room hotel and maybe at 60% occupancy). Also had to educate them on welcome amenity (breakfast). The only redeeming feature was the pool with indoor/outdoor. Some in-room furniture showing its age. Concierge service really lacking knowledge about the area. Information about services non-existant. Had tk ask the times for services several times before I would get an answer. I would never stay there again unless the service and status recognition is improved.

Palacio del Inka (Cusco) – Didn’t get the chance to stay there due to strikes. However, I was upgraded two weeks in advance to Palace Suite (five categories above the base room booked). It was a cash stay with 2 day cancellation notice, but due to strikes we had only 1 day notice. They didn’t charge the penalty which was very nice of them.

DoubleTree Lima Miraflores – we stayed final night there due to rejig of the whole trip. Also one to avoid. Rooms really falling apart and staff clueless about almost everything.

Separate post on Machu Picchu.

[meta]

MP has had one-way routes since 2019 (so pre-pandemic). This is driven by UNESCO that limits the number of entries to the site to 2500 people. There also only 200 tickets or so for main hikes to the mountains.

I arranged everything myself. We only planned one hike for this trip to the main mountain Huyana Picchu, but had to content ourselves with shorter hike to the new route Huchuy Picchu due to strikes.

PeruRail – really poor communication. They sent us an email stating the our train and a few others will be running a day before the strike. So we thought they’ve agreed on letting in a few trains. We drove half an hour at 6am in the morning only to be told no trains are running. They knew about the night before, yet they failed to inform us. Really poor!

Machu Picchu entrance- everything super organised. Need to show your passport and vaccination card to enter (with booster for anyone aged 18 or over).

It was all worth it in the end. Now is actually the time to visit because there are not many tourists at all. There were maybe 200 people on site in the morning and maybe double in the afternoon. So if you can plan and are happy to change plans mid-trip, then go!

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[zio]

Sorry to hear your holiday was so disrupted, but I’m glad you made it to MP despite everything and “it was all worth it in the end”.

Thank you very much for taking the time to detail your experiences. Forewarned is forearmed and it’s very helpful to have up to date and on the spot information.

Do you happen to have an email for the Miraflores Hilton? There’s nothing on the website and I’ve been working up to phoning them to ask about baggage storage. My plan is to spend a month in Peru, but won’t be wanting to take kit for the Amazon into the mountains… Very pleased to read such a positive review of the hotel though.

Looks like I’ve had a lucky escape with the Tambo. I’ve gone with Sol y Luna (Mr and Mrs Smith), mainly because an unexpected free night voucher appeared in my IHG a/c (!), but I’ve got plenty of IHG points to burn and they were taking points bookings.

Thanks again for your help.

[meta]

Pre-arrival I sent an email to reserve.lima@hilton.com

Got a response the same day which is always a good sign.

We were thinking of moving to Sol y Luna, but there were no points bookings and cash prices were too high compared. When you return, please post your experience here. I am thinking going back as much more to see.

[zio]

Sol y Luna, as promised.

I stayed 4 nights, 3 on points (87,500 pn) and one using a free night certificate (thank you, Creation). Breakfast was included as a “Smith extra”. The bookings were linked before I arrived so that I could stay in the same “superior casita king bed” throughout.

Overall I am very positive about Sol y Luna, and the Tambo clearly hasn’t overcome its problems as one couple transferred during my stay. Rather unusually, the hotel is run as part of a foundation, with profits going towards a school and orphanage. I was told at check-out that they were at 95% capacity that day. I had noticed at breakfast that, rather than changing the table cloths after each family, which had previously been the case, the staff were sweeping them down. I can’t comment on whether the high occupancy had other effects on service.

The only issue which arose during my stay could be charitably ascribed to poor communication from IHG. When I enquired at reception how to book a spa treatment using my $100 “Smith extra” credit, I was told that this was not included in my reservation. On production of my booking email from IHG I was asked to forward it to the reservations desk, and I then got the correct response within the hour.

In order to head off a possible problem over the free night I also emailed the reservations desk with a copy of that IHG email – my confirmation from the hotel had this as a cash stay, which is how I believe hotels see credit card free nights, but didn’t explicitly say it had been paid. Better safe than an issue when checking out…

First up, the Sol y Luna isn’t a full-on 5 star luxury experience. The casitas reminded me rather of a safari lodge, so quite rustic in style, but with a swish marbled bathroom. Mine had a corner bath with shower over it. There was no air-con, but there was an electric heater to keep things cosy at night. No fridge, no coffee machine, no kettle, and a tiny safe. Filtered water provided daily, along with a warning not to drink the tap water.

That said, the public areas were very well finished: well-tended gardens, a heated outside pool, a hot tub, and a spa which I thought was superb. My hour long pedicure was listed at $95, and I have to say that felt a good price for a new pair of feet.

On to the really important stuff… hangers- stealable; toiletries- L’Occitane (large bottles); toilet paper- very soft and reassuringly strong (though it needs to go into a basket rather than down the toilet); beer 75 Soles. The breakfast was a good buffet selection with additional, mainly egg-based, cooked options.

The staff were friendly and helpful and there is on-site parking, though I was the only one brave or stupid enough to be driving. The web-site says there is valet parking, but they just opened the gate for me and I parked without charge right outside reception.

Overall, I found the hotel a very restful spot to relax after a morning of sight-seeing. Urubamba is a convenient base from which to explore the sacred valley. The hotel can arrange tours to all the sites, but honestly driving is perfectly feasible. I think many families spent all day and a lot of money eating, drinking and using the spa and pool. Sol y Luna is also an excellent choice if that is what you are looking for.

Written in the lounge at the Hilton Miraflores. I’ll put a few notes together on other parts of my trip once I am back from the Amazon.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[zio]

Hehe, beer 25 Soles!! Maybe I’ve had one too many freebies in the lounge…

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[meta]

Yes, when I read 75 soles. I was like that’s really expensive. I don’t think Tambo will ever sort itself out until management changes…

Have you tried any of the restaurants in Urubamba? Many were closed in April.

Lounge at Hilton Miraflores is now open again?

[zio]

There are 2 restaurants on site. Good, but not cheap. One is definitely more formal (no dress code!) and is aiming at fine dining.

I didn’t notice that lots of restaurants were shut. There was a bit of a cheap and cheerful canteenish look/feel to places on the whole. I enjoyed the food at Mashua.

Yes the lounge is open and as you might expect it’s friendly and generous. I’m not sure it left me at my most coherent while just submitting my Creation FOS complaint. Now for a few hours sleep before a visit to Nazca…

[YC]

meta wrote:

Yes, when I read 75 soles. I was like that’s really expensive. I don’t think Tambo will ever sort itself out until management changes…

Have you tried any of the restaurants in Urubamba? Many were closed in April.

Lounge at Hilton Miraflores is now open again?

Sad to see Tambo’s deterioration. It was my best hotel experience in Peru in 2019 with great elite recognition and customer service (JWM Cusco and Lima were decent too but had nothing on Tambo).

[Richie]

Has the JWM Cusco now been re-branded?

[zio]

No, it’s still there.