Excursion d'une journée complète incluant le transfert à Puno / Canyon de Colca

Excellently ran, great day and set of stops, had a great guide who had lived and grown up in the Colca Canyon for over 40 years! We saw condors, heated baths were a great relaxation point Only improvement would be a bathroom stop on the 3 hour outward journey from Arequipa

Strange one to review really: The good - great way to see the colca canyon, and we had more time at each stop than other reviewers have mentioned. Lots of toilet breaks if required, fairly cost effective way of getting to Puno from Arequipa. We skipped the thermal baths as they didnt look great and rented some kayaks for 30 soles per person and had fun. In Puno, we switched to smaller transport which took us right to our hotel. The bad: we were told we could bring suitcases but that wasnt the case, luckily we stuffed them under a seat but if other people had brought some too then.... Also our first guide (Arequipa-Chivay) didnt know about our full tour. This caused major stress when we swapped buses because our names werent down for the Chivay-Puno bus. Again, we got lucky and they had seats available, otherwise we would have been stranded in Chivay. Breakfast was very poor (just some cold scrambled egg and bread), and we found lunch overly expensive for lukewarm foods. We would recommend bringing your own food and skipping both meals. The tour ended up being 16.5 hours and not the 14 advertised.

We were not satisfied with this walk. The first point was the communication with the agency that has great opportunity for improvement. I started contact via WhatsApp 6 months ago and having a few weeks left for the tour, my WhatsApp messages were not delivered, as if the number was disabled. Fortunately, I sent a message via Trip Advisor and got a quick response (positive point). We missed the agency sending us a final confirmation message a day before, with time and name of the guide who would pick us up at the hotel. Fortunately, the guide was super punctual and found us at our hotel in Arequipa at the matched time. Another failure was that a day before, the agency sent us a message via Trip Advisor with the name of a square that is in another country and a link from Google Maps, claiming that this was the pickup point. But our pickup was confirmed at the hotel. We understand that the message was sent by mistake, this happens, but it creates confusion. Another flaw was that the agency confirmed that the drop off would be at a bus station in Puno. I asked if it was not possible for them to leave us at our hotel, as we would be tired after 15h by bus. They confirmed that no, that it would be at the bus terminal and that it was well located. To our grateful surprise, the guide promptly asked us what our hotel would be and arriving in Puno, took us personally to the hotel reception. A very kind attitude. However, this shows another communication failure from the agency, which could have informed from the beginning that the drop off would be in our hotels. The agency also needs to update this announcement with a more complete explanation of the itinerary and the two logistics options (go and return from/to Arequipa or leave Arequipa and go to Puno - the option I hired and that worked). They also need to update the price of lunch, since 2021 the value has become 40 soles, not 30. About lunch, we found it delicious and varied. Options of meat, fish, vegetables, etc. Breakfast is in the same restaurant and this we found too simple... 2 pieces of bread, 1 slice of cheese, 2 slices of ham, coffee and juice. I recommend taking meals/lunch. About the stops, we don't think they were worth it. It's more than 15h walk with the same view and quick, unforgettable stops. If you choose to go to Puno as the end point, know that after lunch you are switched for van and group. You are being taken care of by a second company. This information is also important to leave clear in the ad so that the tourist does not have surprises in time. At no time have we been explained this agency exchange. About the guides, we're pleased. Celene and Efrain were attentive and shared interesting information about history and culture. I repeat Efrain's kindness of personally taking us to the hotel. In Puno some streets are closed to cars, only pedestrians can pass. And he immediately got off the bus and took us on foot to the entrance of our hotel. Very kind. In short, we gave a “reasonable” score because the goal was delivered = get to Puno. But we were not satisfied with the care, communication and attention of the agency.

It is a long day with pick up at 3am and drop off in Puno at 6pm, but the company picked us up when they said they would and the guides were good. We saw Condors, went in the thermal springs and effectively incorporated a travel day so would recommend for anyone doing similar.

The early start warranted this amazing tour. It was well organised and we were rewarded with the spectacular view of Colca Canyon and the Condors. The visit to the hot springs is a must!

For those who need to save time, making a tour and transfer to Puno, I recommend this tour. We managed to visit the Culca Canion and after lunch we changed transportation. Everything went well until we arrived in Puno, with a few more stops on the way.

We had little time to visit Peru, so this transfer has been incredibly helpful and gave us the opportunity to visit Canyon Colca. It was a long transfer (9h of bus in total), but we couldn't really feel it as there were many breaks. We changed bus 3 times, but it was smooth and they carried our luggages for us. It's still one of the most expensive transfer we've done but it was worth it. We also enjoyed the hot water break and we slept a lot in the bus

Most of the day was spend in the bus and switching from guides. The one day tour is mostly long bus rides with short viewing stops. The canyon is beautiful and the springs are nice but this is not the way to experience the canyon.

We went with Illary from Arequipa who booked us into the tour starting at 03.00 . The driver was promt to pick us up from air b and b and we headed out to colco canyon stopping many times at view points. Our guide Roy was able to talk in English which helped to understand the history. We saw a couple of condors though Roy said it was a little windy. The transfer to Puno went smoothly .

Beautiful time in Colca Canyon, we were lucky we saw close to ten condors as we had heard some people don’t even get to see a single one. The canyon itself is amazing, never seen anything like it before! The side trip to the thermal pools was not for us but others did enjoy it. The transfer to Puno was very enjoyable with the few stops we had to view other places or even the scenery alone the way. For a 6 hour ride the bus was very comfy and specious, we were even provided with bottled water and a snacks bag, completely unexpected but rather a nice surprise. The guide also helped everyone arrange for transportation (taxi) to their hotels as they drop you off at the bus terminal in Puno. Highly recommend this tour/company.