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Our Reviews

Stephanie L
Sacred Valley, Inca Trail, and Rainbow Mountain

Review of: Short Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

We had an amazing time hiking the last part of the Inca trail, Huayna Picchu and Palccoyo Rainbow Mountain with Sam Travel and our wonderful guide - Armando. Armando was very knowledgeable and informative and made sure everything was taken care of. Armando saw how much we enjoyed animals throughout the trip and made an effort to make sure that we got a lot of pictures with llamas and alpacas on our way to Palccoyo. He even added an extra stop for us where we were able to feed alpacas and llamas! Highly recommend Sam Travel and Armando! Read More

Date of experience: September 2022

Brittany N
You won’t regret choosing this company!

Review of: 4 day Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain

You won’t regret booking with this tour company, especially if Liz Montesinos is your guide. My boyfriend and I did the 4 day Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain (private) tour. The tour covered everything; from transportation, hotels, meals, tickets and entrance fees, to stops at local places we would’ve never known to go or check out. We did a private tour because for us we felt this would help us get the most out of our time and experience in Peru. This tour had so many incredible things and places packed into 4 days. Originally Junior reached out to us to answer questions, he helped us set up and lock in the tour with our special requests. He spoke to me and my boyfriend multiple times before the trip and always helped us to get answers or things arranged to our satisfaction. A few of them being upgrading to 4 star hotels and deciding to hike Machu Picchu Mountain along with the citadel tour. The Machu Picchu Mountain hike is long but the views and energy of the mountain make every second worth it. Once we arrived in Cusco for the actual tour Liz (our guide) got us to each destination without us feeling overwhelmed and rushed; and this tour has so many places to see. Liz was always on time, she always had everything well organized and she knew the answers to all of our questions. She is very well versed in the culture and knows how exactly where and how to do things. Liz doesn’t mind taking the time to take photos or stop for a break. She also knows some of the best photo stops that most don’t see or know are there. The first night we arrived in Cusco, Liz met us at our hotel to introduce herself and went over a few things for the next morning (when the tour actually began). This was such a nice gesture and made us feel very at ease with Liz. Liz is educated, a local, she speaks English fluently, she’s patient and takes her job very seriously. She looked after us like we where her friends or family but yet always honored our requests and put our needs above all else the entire time on our tour. And sometimes me and my boyfriend can be a little high maintenance but yet this never seemed to phase Liz. Since we did a private tour, the company also provided a driver for us, Alfredo. Alfredo is a great driver and could probably drive the roads with his eyes closed. Something you most certainly want in Peru. He was always helpful and on time. This tour exceeded our expectations. Everyone involved went above and beyond to make sure we where happy. My boyfriend and I have done other tours in other counties and have never had anything compare to this one. Everyday there was pleasant surprises and we loved it all. Thank you Liz for sharing these taking us to these beautiful places, sharing the culture adding so many wonderful memories to our trip :) Read More

Date of experience: September 2022

RebeccaPrimeau
You found your tour company!

Review of: 4 days Inca Trail

Recently finished the 4-day Inca Trail trek with our tour guide JP, and it was incredible. You think you are going for the history, the views, Machu Picchu, but what you get is - all that - AND amazing food, a knowledgeable and friendly guide, and a strong and attentive team of porters. To witness the porters do their work was a gift our group did not expect. We are grateful to JP, Chef Timoteo, and our “friends” for guiding us through the Inca Trail. From the tour briefing the night before our hike to the delivery back to our hotel was 5 star service. I would highly recommend coordinating your tours through Sam Travel. Read More

Date of experience: September 2022

Aaron
SAM Travel Stands out from other Inca Trail Operators

Review of: Inca Trail Trek

Inca trail operators can be hard to distinguish--I would recommend SAM Travel for a few reasons: 1. It's locally owned and operated (others are foreign owned). 2. I noticed they treat their employees--especially the porters--well. They follow the rules for how much porters can carry and try to plan things with the burdens on the porters in mind. 3. They accomodated vegan/vegetarian guests well, making sure to distinguish between the two. 4. Group size is pretty small--there were only four of us, which was really nice. Overall, fantastic trip--Oscar was a great tour guide--very knowledgable and helpful, and the chefs Julio Caesar and Felix were awesome. Vicente was a great chief porter--everything was well run. You'll eat well, hike well, and learn a lot on this trip! Read More

Date of experience: September 2022

Rebecca G
Short Inca Trail to Machu Picchu with Sam Travel

Review of: Short Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

My friend and I had a brilliant time on the short Inca trail to Machu Picchu. We were picked up from our Cusco hotel at 4am by our wonderful tour guide, Liz Montecinos and taken care of for the rest of the day. The hike was very enjoyable. We didn’t find it too difficult, but it is definitely worth acclimatising to the altitude for a few days before you go. The scenery was stunning and we saw some incredible fauna along the way. A highlight for me was the Wiñaywayna ruins along the way to Machu Picchu as we had the entire place to ourselves. Once we reached Machu Picchu we were given an informative and interesting tour around the site, were able to take lots of pictures (Liz was an excellent photographer), and also meet some llamas. Definitely a highlight of our South America experience so far and I would absolutely recommend! Read More

Date of experience: September 2022

Mark Nielsen
Unforgettable experience. It was four days. We arrived at 5000 meters above sea level. Miguel our guide gave us peace of mind, support and accompaniment to cross those parts. Also with his great capacity for transmitting knowledge, he explained in detail each geographical, cultural or historical issue. In those conditions (5000 meters) Fortunato and Nicanor cooked excellent breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Really high mountain restaurant food. Alberto masterfully took care of the horses, mules and donkeys, animals that allowed the journey to be made. In Machu Pichu, Miguel's experience made us avoid the great flow of people and we could enjoy such wonder almost alone. Many thanks to SAM TRAVEL and especially to Miguel, Fortunato, Nicanor and Alberto. Read More

Date of experience: September 2022

LORETA VACCARO
A unique and incredible experience. Excellent from start to finish. The team that accompanied us throughout the exceptional journey. Miguel, our guide, with knowledge about the Inca culture and all the way traveled. A great companion. Nicanor and Fortunato cooked gourmet food for us throughout the entire adventure. Exquisite everything!!! Alberto was waiting for us at each camp with everything ready for us to feel at home. I recommend the SAM TRAVEL team 100%. A very serious company with a first class service. Taking care of all the details so that all you have to do is: ENJOY!! Read More

Date of experience: September 2022

AndrewC
I completed the Salkantay trek with my fiancée, Raymer was our guide along with chefs Andreas and Umberto. We had a small group which made the experience much more enjoyable. It was a stunning trek with unbelievable scenery. The weather was excellent most days with one day of rain but Ray had us covered with ponchos at the ready. The food from the chefs was amazing. 4/6 courses most meals. We preferred the chefs meals to the restaurant we went to in Aguas Calientes on the last night. Our tour of Machu Picchu was excellent with Ray and due to COVID restrictions it was much less crowded. I can completely recommend this trek and this tour operator. It was priced mid to high in comparison to other operators.l but from advice and reviews we chose SAM. They are a local operator and really, I mean really they look after their clients. (As far as getting hot water bottles for night one where it was about zero C. (Google translation) I completed the Salkantay trek with my fiancee, Raymer was our guide along with chefs Andreas and Umberto. We had a small group which made the experience was so much more enjoyable it was a stunning hike with amazing scenery the weather was great most days with a rainy day but Ray had us covered with ponchos at the ready. The chefs food was amazing. 4/6 courses most meals. We preferred the chefs meals to the restaurant we went to in Aguas Calientes last night. Our tour of Machu Picchu was excellent with Ray and due to COVID restrictions it was much less crowded. I can fully recommend this hike and this tour operator. It was mid to high priced compared to other operators, but based on advice and reviews we chose SAM. They are a local operator and they really, I mean, they really take care of their customers. (As for getting hot water bottles for night one, where the temperature was zero degrees centigrade. Read More

Date of experience: August 2022

Hannah Flaum
I had the BEST experience with SAM Travel! My friend and I just finished the 4 day / 3 night Inca Trail in mid-December and I could not imagine doing it with any other company. SAM Travel made the entire trip so seamless, with door to door service, an exceptional team from our guide to chefs to porters, and beyond. Our guide, David, was incredibly knowledgeable, kind, helpful, and made our trip so special and fun every single day. Our chefs, Andres (head chef) and Mario (sous chef) prepared gourmet meals for breakfast, lunch, tea time, and dinner every day - these were some of our best meals throughout our entire trip to Peru. Each lunch and dinner begins with at least two starters and then four or five main dishes (and were all within our allergy restrictions). Going above and beyond, when the team found out it was almost my birthday, they managed to bake me a delicious birthday cake and sang to me… truly incredible! Last but not least, our porters, Santiago (head porter), Vincente, Tomas, and Edison not only make the entire trip possible by carrying packs, tents, cooking equipment, food, etc. every day, but they always went out of their way to make sure we were comfortable in clean tents, had hot water to wash our hands, had coffee ready in the morning, etc. I really can’t say enough positive things about our experience and, most importantly, the entire team we trekked with. Thank you SAM Travel, David, Andres, Mario, Santiago, Vincente, Tomas and Edison for a once in a lifetime and absolutely perfect trip! Read More

Date of experience: August 2022

Matt Sobchuk
My girlfriend and I did the 1 day short Inca trek to Machu Picchu and absolutely loved it! It was the highlight of the trip for me and I fully intend to do a longer trek with SAM Travel next time I’m in Peru. The views were amazing, our guide was attentive, and from start to finish the trip was incredibly well organized. We could not ask more from our guide Adner who seemed to know everything about Incan history and culture. I mean that literally - the guy was a fount of knowledge and had answers to even the most specific questions I could formulate. I cannot imagine the trek being nearly as rewarding without Adner there and strongly encourage anyone looking to visit Machu Picchu to consider SAM Travel. Read More

Date of experience: July 2022

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