Travel Review: Peru Tour, Lima, Cusco, Sacred Valley, Puerto Maldonado, Lake Titicaca, Food Tour

Wonderful trip, although we were overly ambitious in trying to see five areas of the country in a 12-day span. This wasn't the fault of our travel agency, which accommodated our every wish. In terms of communication,  the agency could have provided trip details in a more timely way. As late as two weeks before leaving for Lima, we were worried about hotel and airline confirmations. But in the end, the agency came through in fine style.

In every city, we were met by competent guides, and the hotel accommodations ranged from good to outstanding. Our travel agency also handled our logistics well and helped get our trip back on track when Avianca Airlines abruptly canceled a flight from Puerto Maldonado to Cusco on Day 7. The cancellation meant that we lost a crucial day in Cusco, which forced us to skip a tour of the Sacred Valley and having one less day to adjust to the high altitudes we faced during the rest of the trip.

But  our travel agency adjusted our pickup time in Cusco and arranged for a shorter city tour -- making the best of a challenging situation. Also in Cusco, one of our hotels experienced a plumbing problem, which meant that our luggage had to be moved to a different hotel. Again, our travel agency handled this seamlessly.