First of all Peru and the Amazon was fantastic, a country of changing landscapes and people, from cosmopolitan Lima to the indigenous people of the Uros islands on lake Titicaca and the Amazon tribes with descendants of the Inca/Spanish working the small farms in between. A country where modern meets ancient and wealth meets poverty. And you will see it all by Plane, Train, Bus and Boat, not forgetting the walking and many many steps.

The highlights are of course Machu Picchu and the mighty Amazon and the primary forest around the Lodge, not forgetting the Red belly piranha fishing which is definitely not to be missed. Uros Island trip

was very good, on par with Pisac and the sacred valley.

And I must add, our tour guide could not be faulted, Rosario Malca,

she was funny, knowledgeable, and had to sort out quite a few problems, not only flights but also several fairly serious health issues in the group. Also even when she was feeling ill with the cold which came with the group, she still continued regardless. Just You should recognise her devotion to her work.

We did have a few problems, including 8 of us arriving at Heathrow to be told our seats had been booked but no names had been allocated to them, which could have meant on arrival at Madrid we may have not been able to board the plane to Peru, the travelsphere rep was really helpful at Heathrow, the JY rep didn't appear until most of us had sorted out the problem.

Another problem was due to the above and my intolerance to nuts meant no special meal was allocated, even worse on the way home LAN stewardess came and found me on the plane to make sure this was sorted, but they hadn't loaded a meal, I was offered peanuts and fruit? Also my 11 hour flight to Peru had no tv screen working, personal moan over.

Hotels - Lima - Clean, friendly staff, in a good location for shops, restaurants and very close to the sea. Downside was breakfast, having to ask for food and drinks to be replenished. The rooms where of a good size and standard, just noisy, also minibar was a full size fridge, again more noise, I unplugged mine.

Lima tour was just a fill in, we saw Lima 3 times still not sure what we missed if anything, just another big city.

Cusco - Was the best hotel, nothing to complain about here, also in a very good location. Cusco was also a great place to explore on your own, lots of bars, shops, churches and the like.

Puno - Definitely requires some new management, not enough staff in the restaurant, breakfast was poor to, dry old bread and rolls. Also the hotel was in the middle of nowhere. Anybody walking down the corridors even talking quietly you will hear. If possible this hotel could be doing with changing JY. Could go on about this one but

at the end of the day you only sleep there.

Amazon - The lodge was great, considering its location, air conditioning keeps the bugs at bay, food was good, staff was friendly.

On the downside, the local guide Arri, was not the best, he did not take into consideration the age and ability of some of our group, which resulted in us missing our night walk. He seemed to have something to prove. The visit to the local tribe could be missed, it just for tourists very contrived and made a few of us feel we were exploiting these people, I suppose its their way of making money.

Just would like to add, here, read up about altitude sickness, and make sure you are fit enough for its effects added to the walking and stair climbing which is involved and any doubts consult your doctor before booking. Also read up about the jungle climate, and dress accordingly, JY information sheet was not that useful also for some reason it does not cover October, good old internet is better info.

Don't let me put you off with my complaints, this holiday was great, the people I met where lovely and friendly, the small group, 25, gelled well, the trips where well managed and interesting. It also seems expensive, but when you check up air fares, Machu Picchu train fares and all the entrance fees etc., it was well worth it.

I would recommend this tour to anyone thinking of going to Peru, but JY sort out the Puno Hotel, there must be a better placed one.

And go piranha fishing it turns a group of middle age people into laughing smiling kids. And be amazed at the Inca buildings high up at Machu Picchu.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us - I'm pleased that overall you enjoyed your trip to Peru. There is some great feedback for the team to look at and I have forwarded your comments on to the wider team.

I'd also like to encourage you to take a few minutes to complete and return your customer questionnaire which should be with you in the next couple of days. We do review all of the comments, feedback and scores provided by our customers to shape future departures of our holidays.

Kindest regards,

Julia

great review, we too had Rosario who was excellant and trundled on effortlessly despite her own woes such as having to cope with a cold herself and she hurt her hand at some point so top marks to her

we were lucky in Puno as a very colorful festival was on in town and so got a taxi down for that but otherwise don't know what we would have done at that hotel all afternoon, there was also a horrible smell outside in the gardens, we too thought the Cusco hotel was easily the best and was a proper hotel, breakfast wasn't great at any of the hotels but this is peru and we should be lucky there is always enough out to get by on

the amazon was a bit spooky at night i found but otherwise a really memorable experience in the jungle

Dave

Its funny how people like different things. The hotel in Puno was one of my favourites. My room being immaculate, spacious, bright and warm. The restaurant i thought was good and evening meals were nicely priced. I was there 2 nights with TS. Perhaps a bit out of the way but I'm really not that sure where else they could have put us in Puno. The taxi into town was cheap and if split with 3 others, was little over a pound.

With TS we had 7 hotels so perhaps there was more to compare against. I didn't go Amazon.

As you say, you just sleep there and that we all go more for the experience.

Angie