FlyerTalk Forums - Sacred Valley Driver / Guide

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Quote:

Originally Posted by RCyyz (Post 26844576)

It all sounds rather expensive to me. My tour (posted above) was only $210 for 3 pax. (i.e. $70 per pax.) We had a private tour.

Points to consider:

- The bus at Aguas Clientes is $12 each way. It's very easy to buy your tickets at the booth but make sure you take crisp, new bills. They will complain / reject your money if it's folded or otherwise "used".
- I concur that 3h is insufficient time to properly explore MP.
- If you want the iconic picture of MP, take the path that turns sharply left (and goes up) as you enter. If you want an easier walk, go straight ahead.
- For the various sites in the Sacred Valley, a boleros truisticos is (I seem to recall) 110 Soles per person. It's relatively expensive but not a fortune by any means.
- Entrance to the sale mines costs an extra 10 or 20 Soles per person
- If you buy your own MP train tickets, buy them now. Don't wait! Train tix sell out quickly.
- I didn't do it myself, but my research of Huayna Picchu leads me to believe it's 2h up and 45 to 60 min down. There are only 2 timed entries to get there. The climb did not look straightforward to me.

I'm glad you chimed in, I was actually going off your itinerary a bit as comparison. At the end of the day though I can't go off a per passenger rate as you had 3 total and it'll just be the 2 of us, and the guide and the car is required regardless of 1-3 in most cases. Also I noticed your car trips had you dropped off in Urubamba, which is a little shorter of a drive from Cusco than Ollantaytambo. Def spot on about the boletos turisticos, I'm planning on getting that for sure. Price of the bus up to MP itself will be included in the cost from Mario already so at the end of the day I'm pretty comfortable spending ~$300 for a guide for 2 days and car transportation where required.

Ok so I'm on the cusp of booking with Mario. It will be $395 total for 3 days. He mentioned that he usually asks for a 50% deposit through Western Union. Any thoughts on this? Not sure how comfortable I am sending that large an amt 2 months in advance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shootermcgav1n (Post 26882350)

What part makes you uncomfortable? Sending the money, or are you concerned that something might happen that would keep you from arriving? I've had to send money for good guides in several places, and was glad to have the guides that I got. Of course it's nice to hang on to your money until the day you arrive, but I understand that the guides will book up and you have to pay to get a reservation with a good one. Peru is getting very popular, so I imagine the guides want to minimize their risk.

I wish I could go back! I have really enjoyed my two trips to Peru. It's beautiful, friendly and a bargain. I hope to return someday soon.

Yeah a little bit of both I guess.

Quote:

Originally Posted by StartinSanDiego (Post 26885419)

Quote:

Originally Posted by StartinSanDiego (Post 26885419)

I wish I could go back! I have really enjoyed my two trips to Peru. It's beautiful, friendly and a bargain. I hope to return someday soon.

I've gone three times now and I agree that it is an amazing place to visit. I'm sure having a great guide could really add to the experience. If the driver/tour guide has enough positive reviews I'd feel fine sending a deposit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shootermcgav1n (Post 26882350)

My impression of Mario is that he's an honest guy. Also, asking for a deposit via Western Union is par for the course in Peru. (An unfortunate pain for us folks who don't deal in USD as our base currency.)

If you're concerned that your plans may change, you can simply ask him if the deposit is refundable in any way. He'll likely make reasonable accommodation. I wouldn't necessarily expect a 100% refund - he's blocking his time and theoretically turning other potential customers away after all. But I think he'll be reasonable.

$395 for 3d sounds reasonable to me as does a 50% deposit.

Thanks for the responses. We agreed that I'd send him the deposit as we get a month out or so.

just got back from our trip, Mario was an excellent guide and I'm glad we decided to go with him. incredible how much we were able to pack into just a few short days and having a knowledgeable guide really does help. had troubles with western union and wasn't able to get him a deposit (which he said was fine), so he's beyond reasonable and trusted that we'd go through w/ our plans, would recommend him to anyone.