Does anyone know the best tour companies to do the Inca Trail with? (and preferable the most inexpensive as well) And how far in advance do we need to book a trip...we're planning to be in Peru in November or so
Do a search on this site as this question comes up all the time. Yes, you gotta book it a few months ahead. Go with the better known companies. Lots of recommendations on other threads...
See for example this thread.
//Susanna
Hi!
I'm Russell from USA, one month ago i did a wonderful inca trail 4 days i booked 3 months in advance with sun gate tours i paid US$ 260 like adult i think if you are student you can have discount. I would recommend this trek and this company to anyone. Ask to this agency (www.sungatetours.com).
Enjoy you trip in peru!
Good luck
We did our trail a while ago now with an agency called Pachamama Explorers - we had an absolutely fantastic time with them! They are not the cheapest however, but also not the most expensive, beware of paying too little as sometimes corners are cut and you may end up not enjoying the experience!
This agency really goes out of their way to make your trek enjoyable! We conversed with their staff and porters and they were all happy and well looked after, which was important to us. Food was plentiful and we did not expect such good meals to be made on a gas fire!
Machupicchu was spectacular!!
Make sure you book in advance as availability is very limited thesedays as we found out (we had to chance our dates to work around the reservation system). Write to the agency to check now what dates you can go on! You can find their website, info etc if you do a search under google for "Pachamama Explorers"
Enjoy your trip!
Hi, Yvonne:
Here's another thread where you can find information:
http://www.travellerspoint.com/forum.cfm?thread=27915
So far, I have found these companies organising the Inca Trail:
All trek Cuzco
Andean Life
Andex Adventure
Llama Path
Pachamama Explorers
SAS travel
United Mice
Inca Trail Expedition
I am sure there are many more! You can find more details on their websites which you can find by googling. The only one I could find under US$ 300 was All Trek Cuzco.
A friend of mine and I are planning to do the Inca Trail around half November and we are going to book the end of this week at the latest. For September and October there's hardly any spaces left so you have to be quick!
Cheers
Jean
Avoid using SAS and United Mice. They both were recently fined for failing to pay their porters the minimum wage (the article was in El Sol about a month ago).
I used Peru Treks for the Inca Trail last September and had a great time. Great equipment and staff and I felt that the price was very good for what was included.
Make sure you look at what's included when you compare agencies (ie some don't include bus ride down to Aquas Calientes). Beware that the cheaper agencies may cut corners to offer a lower rate(ie leaky tents, marginal food, etc, etc)
You should book your tour ASAP.
Have a great trip!
I did the Inca Trail on 30th July this year with LlamaPath and they were fantastic.
They picked me up from Cusco airport and took me to a hostel of my choice which also had a LlamaPath representative there working to(Loki Hostel).
They were always great in answering all my questions and everything was so professional.
More importantly each porter caried the same amount of weight and every morning they would weigh their bags to make sure they were not over a certain weight limit.
The food was unbelievable and i even offered to take the cook around South America with me for the next 5 months.
On the morning we were due to hike to Machu Picchu at 4am we were eating a cake the cook had baked and iced for us.
Email Michelle at LlamaPath if you have any questions.She was always quick replying to me.And tell her Reece recommends them.
Hi all,
Following on from what ykwan said im also heading to Peru in late November this year and i want to walk the Inca trail but have no ideas to the tour guides/operators required or the amount of money it will cost.
If anyone has an ideas or suggestions on this matter i would be really grateful
Many Thanks