How to Choose a Peru Tour Company: A Checklist You Can Verify

Short answer: Choose a Peru tour company you can verify before you pay: with its legal name in writing on every document, Machu Picchu tickets bought in your name, a SERNANP-authorized operator if you hike the Inca Trail, a written itinerary naming hotels and train times, card payment, a refund policy in writing and a stated group size. Then read recent reviews for how problems were handled.

The message reaches your phone at 5:50 a.m. in Cusco, while the street outside is still dark and the bakery on the corner is pulling out the first trays of bread. A strike has closed the road to Ollantaytambo, and your train to Machu Picchu leaves in three hours. What happens in the next hour depends almost entirely on the company you booked months ago from home. One planner already has a new departure time and a car on another road. Another stops answering.

Prices between Peru tour companies differ, sometimes by hundreds of dollars for the same ten days. The checks below tell you whether the cheaper quote is cheaper or just shorter. They take about an hour for three companies, and they work the same for a large international brand, a small agency in Cusco, or us.

The checklist at a glance

Six things separate a company you can trust with your trip from one you cannot: the legal name and the tickets on paper, the Inca Trail permit holder, how you pay, the refund policy, group size with the guide's license, and reviews that show how problems were solved. The table lists each check, how to do it from the US, and the warning sign to watch for.

How to check a Peru tour company from home

What to check	How to check it	Warning sign
Legal name and tickets	Legal name in writing, the same on the confirmation and card receipt, and copies of tickets issued in your name	No legal name given, a name that differs from the receipt, or no ticket copies once paid
Inca Trail permit	Ask which SERNANP-authorized operator holds it and when it is bought	No operator name, or peak-season dates promised at short notice
Payment	Card deposit, receipt in the company's legal name	Wire transfer or cash deposit to a personal account
Refund policy	Written, with dates, and clear on what is never refundable	Full refund promised on everything, or no written policy
Group size and guide	Maximum number of travelers per guide, guide's languages	Only words like small or intimate, no number
Reviews	Last six months, details of problems and replies	Sudden burst of five-star reviews, angry replies to critics

1. Can the company show its name and your tickets on paper?

The company you pay should be the same company that confirms your trip, and it should be able to show you what it bought for you. Ask for its legal name (razón social) in writing. The same name should appear on the written confirmation, on the invoice and on your card statement. A brand on the website and a different person's name on the bank account is the warning sign.

Ask for a written itinerary that names every hotel, the train company, the class and the times. Then ask for copies of the tickets as they are bought. Machu Picchu tickets are issued in your name and passport number for a fixed date, circuit and hour, and the train tickets carry your name too, so a copy shows you that your trip exists. Travel agencies in Peru register with the tourism office of the region where they operate, under the travel agency regulation, Decreto Supremo 005-2020-MINCETUR. The paperwork for your own trip is what you can check from home.

Next step: ask every company for the legal name and a sample confirmation before you send any money.

2. Who holds your Inca Trail permit?

Only travel agencies with a service contract with SERNANP, the authority for Peru's protected areas, may take hikers on the Inca Trail network to Machu Picchu. The permit is issued in your name and passport number, it cannot be transferred, and the Classic Trail is capped at 500 people a day, staff included. The trail closes every February.

Many agencies sell the Inca Trail and pass the trek to an authorized operator. That arrangement is legal and common. Ask for the operator's name in writing, ask how many hikers share one guide, and ask when your permit will be bought. If a company promises Inca Trail dates in high season with only weeks to go, ask to see the permit before you pay the balance. Our Inca Trail permits guide explains how the quota sells out.

3. How you pay and what protects your money

Pay a deposit by credit card whenever you can. Under the US Fair Credit Billing Act, explained by the Federal Trade Commission, you can dispute a charge for services that were not delivered, in writing, within 60 days of the first statement that shows it. A wire transfer or a cash deposit into a personal account gives you none of that.

Look at the size of the deposit and what it buys. A deposit that pays for tickets in your name, such as Machu Picchu entries, trains and Inca Trail permits, is reasonable, because those sell out. A demand for the full amount many months ahead, with nothing booked to show for it, is a warning sign.

4. Is the refund policy written down?

A good refund policy is written, dated and honest about what no company can refund. Machu Picchu entrance tickets are not refundable once issued, Inca Trail permits cannot be changed, transferred or refunded under the trail rules, and the railways keep a penalty on cancelled train tickets. A company that promises a full refund on everything, at any time, is either not buying your tickets early or building the risk into the price.

Ask three questions: until what date do you get money back, how much, and what happens if a strike, a landslide or a closed road stops a service. In the Andes the last one matters. Strikes and rain close roads and rail lines some years, and you want the plan in writing before it happens.

Next step: compare each written policy with ours on the terms and cancellation page.

5. Group size and who guides the group

Ask for the maximum group size in numbers, not words like "small". Ask whether the tour is shared or private, because many Peru tours are shared by default and private service costs more. Ask who guides: Peru licenses official tourism guides, and the Machu Picchu park rules require a guide inside the site. A company should be able to tell you the guide's languages and whether the same guide stays with you for the whole tour.

Should you pay for a private guide? Only if the shared pace would not work for you: slow walkers, families with young children, or travelers who want long photo stops. A good shared guide covers the same sites and the same history.

6. What do the reviews say about problems?

Read reviews for how a company behaved when something went wrong. Star averages say little, because most established companies score high. Filter Tripadvisor and Google reviews by the last six months, since guides and staff change, and look for specific details: a guide's name, a train that was rescheduled, a traveler who got altitude sickness and how the team reacted. Read the company's replies to its worst reviews. A calm explanation is a good sign.

A review count that jumped in a few weeks, or a new company name with hundreds of five-star reviews, deserves a second look. If you have a complaint once you are in Peru, iPerú, the official tourist assistance service, answers 24 hours a day at (01) 574 8000, per PromPerú.

Questions to send before paying a deposit

Copy these into an email to every company on your list. The answers, and how fast and clearly they arrive, tell you most of what you need.

1. What is your company's legal name, as it will appear on my receipt?
2. Will you send me copies of my Machu Picchu ticket and train tickets once you buy them?
3. For the Inca Trail, which SERNANP-authorized operator holds my permit, and when will you buy it?
4. Which Machu Picchu circuit, route and entry hour will you book?
5. Which train company, class and times are included?
6. Which hotels, by name, are included?
7. How many travelers share one guide, at most?
8. How much is the deposit, how do I pay it, and when is the balance due?
9. Until what date can I cancel with a refund, and what is never refundable?
10. What do you do if a strike or landslide stops a service?

Next step: send the same list to us through the free quote form, and judge our answers like anyone else's.

How we answer the same questions

We are a Peru tour company too, so here are our answers. Sacred Lake Titikaka is the trading name of Grace Tours Sacred Lake Titikaka E.I.R.L., a Peruvian company based in Cusco. Our tours are shared by default, a small group with one licensed guide, and private service is quoted on request. We buy Machu Picchu tickets, trains and Inca Trail permits in your name after a 30 percent deposit, paid by card through a payment link or in cash, with the balance due on arrival in Peru. If you cancel 30 days or more before the trip, you receive a refund, except for Machu Picchu tickets already issued and the railway's penalty on trains. If a strike or landslide stops a service, we reschedule it and tell you as soon as we know. We do not operate the Inca Trail ourselves: a partner operator authorized by SERNANP holds the permits and runs the trek.

Our full terms are on the terms and cancellation page. To compare our itineraries with other quotes, start with all Peru tours or the 7-day Peru itinerary, from US$900 per person. For the Machu Picchu part alone, see how to compare Machu Picchu tour companies, and for planning the length of the trip, how many days you need in Peru.