My friend and I are planning a 10-14 day trip to Peru, covering Lima, Cusco/Machu Picchu, and Titicaca. We are having difficulty organizing all the domestic travel and accommodations and have found Escaped to Peru, a company which books your travel for you. I am wondering if anyone has any experience with this company?
They have been very helpful and also seem to be both flexible and affordable. Before committing to their itinerary, we'd like to hear some feedback from other travelers who have used their services.
Thanks!

Always pay large sums with credit card never wire money

and www.insuremytrip.com

www.ancientsummit.com Nina

www.kuodatours.com for upscale

www.latinamericaforless.com

www.perubesttours.com Mike

100% great reviews on the boards might have a look at them

mixed reviews on yours

mostly postive

a few negative like below..

Escaped to Peru/Simply Peru / Simply Latin America ”


Jan 07, 2010, 11:44 PM


I loved Peru, loved the sights, loved the people, had a great time.I would not recommend Escaped to Peru, and there is a connection, pending sales or past partners with Simply Peru and Simply Latin America. Unfortunately, I did not research the travel companies enough. Escaped to Peru is simply a sub-contractor. They hire different companies to transfer you to/from the airport, and different guides at each location, they coordinate different hotels which are subject to change at any time (which could be while you are en route and the Spanish- speaking driver does not even have the latest info.) etc. etc. Which is fine until there is an issue. When there is an issue you may or may not be able to reach the office, or the sub-contractor cell phones may or may not be correct. When you do reach the head office, they chastise you for not calling earlier...........Did I mention I was traveling with my 70-year old father? Needless to say their customer service protocol is lacking, some of their staff is great (Anna) but it didn't cut it when you needed details to prepare for tours the next day.The lack of communication, and no confirmed schedule created angst when we had few options to resolve it -- (for example the wrong hotel instructions at 12 midnight in Lima, a rather large City, a driver who did not speak English and my six Spanish lessons didn't cut it.) What was Gary Sargent's (the owners) response to this when I emailed? "Nothing in life runs 100%, why didn't you call us" and further glib comments. Seriously, Gary you make a living in the travel industry?In my opinion, for those who are planning a trip - if you wish a full service operator, one where you do not have to do any organizing, consider GAP Tours for a couple hundred more than we paid. Or for mid-range tour pricing or for savings, research your own operators locally. According to Escaped to Peru's owner Gary "there are 1300 registered travel agencies here in Peru and only two own their own buses, and have drivers and guides on payroll (and even these work for other companies sometimes)." Don't pay for companies like Escaped to Peru to piece-meal your holiday, yet still leave you guessing. If you coordinate your own tour guides, at least you will then control your own itinerary and any changes you will be aware . Transfers to/from hotels, airports and tourists sights are easy to arrange, even at the locations.
Best of luck and travel experiences. Regards Going Global via Calgary

also avoid a bad web based clone of Latin America For Less

known as Latin America 4 Less lots of BBB complaints..

Happy Hunting,

We travelled to Peru and Bolivia with Escaped to Peru who are also part of Escaped to Latin America in July and had the best time ever so I really dont understand the comments above! We found them to be very helpful and all our arrangements ran smoothly. All the people who met us were great and knew what was going on. Even when there was a strike they sorted out changes to our itinerary so we didnt miss out on anything. We found lots of positive comments on Trip Advisor which was part of the reason we chose to travel with them.

http://www.tripadvisor.es/Search?q=e...__2E__es__2F__

Be cautious of one-time posts with glowing reviews on Tripadvisor. It seems especially a problem with Peru.

The trip is really not that hard to plan and book yourself over the internet. Your hotels can arrange the airport pickups which is a good idea.

Or check this website for approved local operators

www.andeantravelweb.com