Originally posted on Carmen’s Luxury Travel. Written By luxury travel blogger, Carmen Edelson.

Visiting Peru in October was such a dream, there is so much to see in this ancient South American country. While this wasn’t my first visit, it was my first time traveling with Yampu Tours. This tour company truly allows you to travel without a care in the world. From flights, to accommodation, private transfers and local guides, they can take care of it all! I absolutely see myself using them again in the future.

To give you a bit of background, Yampu have been creating custom travel experiences since 1998. Not only are they experts in the travel industry, they have also been recognized for their outstanding services. They are the proud recipient of 8 World Travel Awards, including South America Leading Tour Operator for the past 6 years! Therefore, I knew we were in great hands for our Peruvian adventures through Machu Picchu, Lima, Cusco, and the surrounding areas.

I’ll be sharing all about our fabulous itinerary in another post, but for now, here are a few reasons why you should choose Yampu Tours for your next vacation!

#1 Responsible Travel

Yampu Tours have a mission to give back and are always looking for opportunities to help local communities in Latin America. I’ll explain more further down about how employing local guides positively contributes to responsible tourism, but Yampu takes it even further.

They have fantastic ‘Give Back’ programs that travelers can participate in if they wish. For example, if you’re visiting Peru on a Yampu Adventure Tour, you can help support the local community of Cachiccata in the Sacred Valley. Yampu clients are given a tree that they can plant in order to help the ongoing reforestation process in Peru. As an alternative, a Yampu team member can do this for them if there is not enough time on their trip. While visiting this area, Yampu makes sure you enjoy meals in locally operated restaurants only. This puts money directly back into the community.

Along with many other great give-back initiatives, Yampu is also a proud member of Pack for a Purpose. If travelers can save some space in their suitcase, they can bring supplies with them for local schools or medical clinics in needs. Yampu has even adopted a school in Peru called the Phiri School, and you can even hand delivers you gifts to the kids themselves if you wish. Click here to find out more about all of Yampu’s incredible opportunities to give back while enjoying your travels.

#2 Diverse Destinations

With Yampu, I enjoyed a classic trip to Peru in one week with their Highlights of Peru Tour. This included touring Lima’s UNESCO heritage-listed historical downtown and authentically delicious restaurants.

We then headed to Cusco to admire their colonial architecture and amazing Incan sites in the surrounding areas. Last but not least, we visited the bucket-list worthy Machu Picchu with an overnight stay near the ‘Lost City of the Incas’.

Luckily, there is so much to unearth with Yampu as they offer so many different tours throughout Latin America, Africa and Asia! In fact, there are over 40 countries you can explore with Yampu. They strive to show you the best-kept secrets of these places. They focus on creating customized itineraries that are designed to explore hidden treasures, not just the popular attractions which is so often the case with organized tours. I enjoyed seeing the highlights of each city we visited in Peru, as well as going off the beaten path.

#3 Personal Consultants

I was pleased to learn that Yampu Tours offer a Personal Yampu Tour Consultant when it comes to planning your trip. They have an extensive grasp on handcrafted experiences, and understand what it takes for your vacation to run smoothly. They are involved with the execution of all travel details, including transportation, accommodation, and any other big or small logistics.

You even have an Air Coordinator who acts as your primary flight contact. While many tour companies don’t sell airfare, they find that booking our flights is one of the most important travel components, because your travel times need to integrate smoothly with your entire itinerary. They use their resources to find the perfect flights to match your itinerary, schedule, and, of course, budget!

They are also available 24/7 incase you need them while on your trip as well. In other words, you can count on Yampu to have an entire team of operations personnel who are there with you from the beginning to make sure everything goes according to plan.

#4 Local Guides

As I mentioned before with Yampu’s responsible tourism, they always use locally based guides. These guides are English-speaking, and private – only assigned to you and your travel companions.

Having a local guide means that they know firsthand knowledge of a place, and where to enjoy the most traditional sights and food. They really help the travelers to immerse themselves in local cultures and values as well. It’s clear that Yampu Tours only pick local guides who really have a passion for not only their region but sharing it with others from around the world.

Along with local guides, Yampu offers transfers which include a professional driver. Each driver we encountered helped to make our journeys more enjoyable and convenient. They even assisted with our bags at the airport and often waited while we checked in, just to ensure that no problems came up.

Conclusion:

Yampu Tours certainly save travelers time and money, however, they go above and beyond just that. Thanks to their expert planning, local guides, and give-back programs, I left Peru with so many rich experiences I will remember for a lifetime.

All photos courtesy of Carmen’s Luxury Travel.

Tags: