This is my first South American Contiki, and it was the absolute best! A big part of that was our tour manager, Joel, who is the kindest, craziest, most fun human being on the planet. He worked hard to make sure we all had a great time and made wonderful memories. There was much less me-time on this tour than I expected, but I think it helped to bond us as a group more quickly. I don't know if it was Contiki, Joel, or both, but we saw so much more and made so many stops along the way that I felt like I got a great sense of the country, and that what I paid was a STEAL for all that I saw.
The Inca Trail Trek was awesome, and I highly recommend it! The majority of our group went, and only a few people stayed behind. We got lucky and had amazing weather and views the day of the hike, but when we all came back the next day, it was foggy. The people who did not do the hike ALMOST missed out on seeing it because of the fog.
The hike itself was amazing. I would call it a moderate hike. It was harder than I expected because Peruvians kept saying it was easy- it's not easy. We had a main guide for the hike, Abel, who is a kind, funny human being, and four assistant guides- Giovanni, Michael, and Herbert, who were also kind and helpful. No one got hurt, no one gave up. The lunch they provided for us on the hike was also surprisingly delicious!
