Sacred Valley, Classic Inca Trail, and Rainbow Mountain
Highly recommend SAM Travel for their tours. They are a well run group lead by Saul and not only provide great tours but clearly care about all members of their staff including their porters and their community. Communication was fast and responsive with Junior and Saul during the past few months of uncertainty and we are so glad we trusted SAM Travel with our tours.
First up, we had a wonderful time touring Sacred Valley with Ray! Super friendly guide full of knowledge about all of our sites. The tour was very well organized and informative. We did visit one co-op selling alpaca clothing at the start of the tour but it was very informative and not pushy -- plus we got to take pictures with all the alpacas, llamas, vicunas, and guinea pigs that we want! Ray is also a wonderful photographer and knew all the best spots and angles to capture great memories. Love love love the tour with Ray.
Next we had the Classic Inca Trail with Jose D who took super well care of our group of 4 as well as coordinate with the support team of 10 porters which was extra challenging during some significant weather we encountered during the hike (3ft of snow and tons of rain..during dry season!). Thank goodness that meant we had some GORGEOUS weather when we finally arrived at Machu Picchu! We could not have completed the hike without this fantastic crew and Julio's fantastic cooking keeping us all more than well fed including a cake(!) on our last night. The porters also really supported us, keeping our stuff dry during the pouring rain, making sure we had hot water and tea whenever we needed, and so carefully setting up and taking down the camp every day. Jose went above and beyond guiding our group safely through the difficult hikes, telling us all about Inkan and pre-Inkan history to keep our minds off our aching knees and spirits up, taking WONDERFUL pictures, plus sharing his love of nature and photography. This team really made our trip unforgettable and we would not have completed the hike without their support.
We also completed the Rainbow Mountain tour with Carlos. He made sure our group of 3 completed the tour safely and also took us to hike the Red Valley with amazing vistas with the snow. He supported us when one had to turn back due to the altitude (5,200M is no joke!). The tour also included a delicious buffet breakfast and lunch (with other tour groups).
Overall highly recommend Sam Travel Peru when looking for a tour if you're looking for small tour groups, friendly and informative guides, and a highly organized crew of locals that care deeply about the history, culture and community.