June 2008

Trips:
[for sample photos, see individual trip pages]
Sacred Valley
Salcantay to Inca Trail and Machu Picchu
Sight Seeing Tour from Cusco to Puno
Lake Titicaca
Tambopata River Rafting Trip

Hotels:
Paz-Y-Luz, Pisac
Hotel Sumaq, Aguas Calientes
Picoaga Hotel, Cusco
Casa Andina Private Collection, Puno
Wasai Lodge, Puerto Maldonado

 

Travel Agency:
Mayuc
www.mayuc.com & www.perurafting.com
+51 84 242824

We utilized Mayuc for all our arrangements in Peru.  Alejandro (Chando) Gonzolez, managing director was quite responsive and very helpful as we planned the trip.  His assistant Norma made all the hotel reservations with 100% accuracy.  The Salcantay, Inca Trail, Machu Picchu, Sightseeing, and Lake Titicaca tours exceeded our expectations by wide margin.  Follow the links to the individual excursions for specific examples of exceptional service.  In between the various attractions Mayuc arranged transportation for us with English speaking guides, helped assure our luggage was properly cared for, and produced all the vouchers and tickets just-in-time.  These services were especially appreciated when moving between bus and train transport and various hotels.  Chando's attention to detail and understanding of the needs of visitors to foreign countries is to be complimented.  Mayuc and Chando should also be complimented for their selection of guides, cooks, drivers, and porters on these excursions. 

The Tambopata River Rafting Trip was a radical departure from the absolutely delightful three previous excursions.    This excursion was without doubt the worst guided adventure we have ever taken due to 3 major shortcomings:
   -- The vehicle used to access the put-in point was inadequate
   -- The guide -- Alvero Sabocal -- was disorganized, dirty, suspected of using drugs, lacking social skills, and compromised our safety
   -- The motor boat transport from the take-out point was unsafe and unethical
Follow the link to the Tambopata excursion for specific details.  When all this information was shared with Mayuc, we were disappointed by the lack of follow-on remedies.

We believe it is the responsibly of a top quality Travel Agency to screen the the guides and other subcontractors with whom the client will entrust their vacation and their safety.  Despite bringing our unfortunate experience to the attention of Mayuc, we are far from satisfied that they appreciate the importance of personnel selection.   Therefore with this web posting we wish to enlighten others that they may experience similar variability in guiding and subcontractor experience when booking through Mayuc.  We certainly would never use Mayuc again.