Hard to say about highlights … for me Inca Trail/Macchu Picchu; the condors (and I thought Colca Valley was lovely and v much liked Mammayacchi Lodge) and the salt flats/desert in Bolivia – just amazing landscapes.  Also really liked Arequipa and Cuzco.

All the hotels were very nice in their different ways – I think we both particularly fell for La Petite Porte in Uyuni.  It has such an unprepossessing outside (my heart sank when the car drew up) and then it is so lovely inside.

Also all the guides were excellent – Olivia for the Colca Canyon; Diego for Inca Trail and Janet on Salt Flats tour.  Very interesting knowledge about plants and animals, as well as culture and archaeology.  Fascinating insights about indigenous/colonial history and integration.

Overall organisation was excellent – felt very well looked after.

Hostel Abuelo in La Paz was a good location, was a bit loud some nights or early mornings when people were arriving/leaving, but was good for the most part.

The ice climbing in Bolivia was one of the craziest thing we’ve ever done, we’re still looking back at it and can’t believe we did it. Osvaldo was excellent, very friendly and safety conscious. The equipment was great and so was the cook Maria! Again it was only myself and Neil (super lucky eh!) so it was like a private tour. I found the last day of the climb very very hard, but absolutely delighted I did.

Chalalan lodge was also very good, rooms were always clean and very comfortable. Food again was great.  We thought we would see more animals than we did, but that’s probably because we watched too many Amazon programmes before we left! It still was a great experience.

So that’s it! Thanks again for organising the trip, it really was unbelievable!

Snorkelling with the sea-lions as well as the other snorkelling trips – with sharks, at Kicker Rock and with turtles and rays This was way way better than I’d imagined and incredibly special. The wetsuits, masks etc provided were top quality and made sure you got the most out of these really unique experiences. As a family with 2 non swimmers, I had not expected the snorkelling to be the highlight for all of us but it was!

Spontaneous activities organised on Isabela – the bike ride to the Wall of Tears is easy and pretty, the 7-a-side football against the locals that our guide organised and my boys loved, beach volleyball at the Pink Iguana.

The back up team made us incredibly welcome. We loved the proper coffee in their office. They always felt totally on top of organising stuff and nothing was too much trouble.  Nick equally in Quito felt totally on it – and was very helpful when we nearly missed our plane because of a rockslide on the road to the airport. 

Definitely no low point! 

We loved all our side trips and I have to tell you that Jesus was absolutely wonderful. Nothing was too much trouble for him and he went above and beyond on many occasions. He has a wonderful gentle and polite manner and is a wonderful ambassador for Peru. I gave him a large tip and he was well worth every penny.

Machu Picchu was stunning and I managed to make it to the top for the sunrise. We also thoroughly enjoyed the Sacred Valley tour and so pleased we added it in.

I fell in love with the country whilst we were working on the mission so all being well I will be able to return again before too long. 

Ben and I had a wonderful time and would highly recommend the trip to other potential travellers.

I think the highlights for us were the Perito Moreno Glacier. We upgraded and did the glacier Mini- trekking which was fantastic.

The hikes in general were great. We particularly liked the trek up to Mt Fitz Roy and Torres del Paine.

The Eco Camp accommodation was really good. The catering and staff were all really accommodating and good quality. Our guides for the W Trek were very knowledgeable.

The crew were friendly, the boat was clean, always plenty of space to sit, never felt crowded, guide was knowledgeable never rushed us, taught us lots and was very patient. Perfect size for us, any bigger would have been impersonal Food was good.

Great exped overall, personally, it was tough, though a fantastic experience.  Very good guides who always came up with the goods.  Accommodation was good and adequate, camp was very good with very good facilities and food.

We’re just back from a great trip in large part to all of your help. The services provided by Andean Trails from El Calafate were outstanding – super professional, helpful and included touches that made a world of difference (printing out boarding passes for us and changing our bus reservation upon arrival to El Calafate to get us in to el Chalten earlier). I want to stress that we really loved the services you provided and feel you guys do an outstanding job. It would have been so much work for us to plan all this for ourselves. Also we were very happy with the accommodations.  We would recommend you to any of friends!

We both felt our South America holiday was the highlight of 2012, and it was easy to see why people travel halfway across the world to see the sights of Peru and Ecuador. Our highlight overall was probably the Galapagos cruise and we never guessed how fascinated we’d become by the landscapes, the island and sea animal life, and the history of the islands. Guide was excellent in the Galapagos. From an organisational point of view, it was such a relief that everything worked; as we were trying to pack so much in to a tight timescale it seemed risky that had anything gone wrong it could have been difficult to get back on track. All the information given out beforehand was very comprehensive and I can’t think of anything on the ‘we wish we’d known that before leaving’ list. We were shocked how much and how high quality the food on both the Inca Trail and Galapagos cruise was.

The trek was an absolute success! We reached new heights – both physically and personally – and had an amazing time. We have both done a fair amount of recommending Andean Trails and the Lares Trek. The trek was truly a one of a kind experience that not only will we excitedly discuss, but also rank as one of the best travel experiences we´ve had thus far. A huge shout-out to our guide Smitty, and the fantastic crew for the amazing meals, setup, and help! Thanks so much for all of your help with getting the trek booked. We truly appreciate it and had the best time, and it wouldn´t have been possible without you! Thanks again!

The trip was great and we enjoyed the falls very much.  Both of our guides were great also, very professional and helpful.  So thanks for your help in getting this tour organised.

Every aspect of my trip to Manu was above and beyond my expectations!  The guides were so knowledgeable. Without them, my experience wouldn’t be half as pleasurable.

I would not only consider Andean Trails as an option if I were lucky enough to be looking for another adventure, it would be my first choice.

I was quite amazed how everything just fell into place, arriving on time, transfers showing up as planned, reaching destinations, airplanes departing and arriving on time, wildlife showing up on queue in the Amazon, and very nice weather. I was also very pleased to have limited bug bites after the Amazon region.  The local tour operator was great, handling everything from translation and direction to providing the vegetarian meals for my friend. I tried the guinea pig meal. Glad I tried it, but don’t need to try it a second time haha.