Got some sleep last night, and no jet lag to speak of because there is only a one-hour time difference between Boise and Peru, so that is really nice. And work is slow today, so here is my more detailed post on our family Peru trip with Nat Geo.
First off, Peru was really awesome. We were mostly in the Andes region (and we also did the
Amazon extension through Nat Geo), so there is lots of the country we didn't see, but what we saw was very very cool. The top two highlights for me were Machu Picchu (of course) and the Maras salt terraces, but Cusco was very cool, and all of the Incan ruins are incredible. The food was also very good.
The Nat Geo family trip was fantastic. One thing that really stood out were the guides (as I've found on the three hiking trips I've done with Nat Geo). Plus, guide tips were INCLUDED (along with any other kind of tip for hotel staff, etc.), which was huge and I hadn't quite realized it beforehand (even though it was in the information provided), so it felt like getting a bunch of money back at the end of the trip
The guide/guest ratio was also fantastic. We had 13 in our group, with one expedition leader, one assistant guide, one logistics person (who also took a lot of pictures that are going to be emailed to us) and a full-time driver, so it seemed there were always Nat Geo people around. Our expedition leader, Juan Manuel, was really personable and so so knowledgeable about everything Peru, from culture, to politics/government, to education, to flora, fauna, food. Whatever you asked, he knew the answer, and he was great about sharing interesting information but not droning on, lol. And the assistant guide, Fabrizio was also great to talk to and also great with the kids. We did end up tipping each a bit extra (but were the only family to do so). Maybe about a quarter to a third of what I had originally been planning for guide tips. Juan Manual carried my (not so light) overnight bag for Machu Picchu everywhere and was just great in general. And Fabrizio took my DH on the strenuous hike option up Machu Picchu Mountain when everyone else either opted for the Sun Gate hike or to skip hiking altogether.
Nat Geo also went over the top with gifts. On the night of our farewell dinner, we came back to find a set of ceramic bulls for DH and me (the bulls are a very typical symbol of prosperity in Peru, and you will see them all over on rooftops) and stuffed alpacas (the kind with real, really soft alpaca fur) for each of the kids plus a keychain of typical Peruvian design. That was nice enough, but as we were leaving Cusco to head to the Amazon, we were given more gifts, and one was a REALLY nice bronze llama with a silver collar from a really upscale silver store in Cusco. We had bought a silver alpaca from the same store for ourselves, so now we have an awesome set. The one they gave us had to cost at least $150, if not more. And they give the kids really nice coffee table type books on Machu Picchu. Plus at both Inkaterra resorts (one in Machu Picchu and the other in the Amazon), we were given a small gift. One was a belt pouch, and the other was a canvas, cross body bag that we used everywhere in the Amazon instead of our regular day packs since it was so hot and humid and so nice not to have something against your back. (As an aside, I totally plan to use the cross body bag in Botswana next year as a safari camp bag.) Obviously, gifts don't make a trip great, but it was an over-the-top nice touch on top of a trip that was already great by virtue of the guides, the itinerary, the way logistics were handled, etc. Another nice touch that was very small but resonated with me was that in Cusco, I took a picture of two women with baby llamas. It is customary to give a small tip for this, but I couldn't even get my wallet halfway out of my purse before Fabrizio and Leticia (the logistics person) were waving me off saying Nat Geo had it covered.
And we definitely got the sense that Nat Geo values loyalty. Juan Manuel mentioned to DH toward the end of the trip that his bosses were pinging him to make sure "the Donalds were happy", lol. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that this was my fourth Nat Geo trip, but I don't get the same sense of valuing loyalty from ABD, which is sad.
Our hotels were also all top-notch, and I got the sense we were staying at the best in the Sacred Valley, Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu and the Amazon. Our hotel in Cusco was a 5-star as well, and we ended up with connecting rooms that formed a suite with a living room in between, so that was fantastic. (We had booked as two reservations. We ended up with adjoining rooms in Lima (just a short overnight before flying out to Cusco with the group the following morning), the Sacred Valley and Cusco. Neither Inkaterra lodge had adjoining rooms/cabins, but we were right next to each other at each.)
All meals were included, except for our final lunch in the Amazon which technically occurred after our trip had officially ended and while we were waiting for our transfer back to the Puerto Maldonado airport. I will say I found it a little odd that this final lunch was not included given that most folks are on late-afternoon flights our of Puerto Maldonado, but everything in Peru is reasonably priced, so I'm not going to hold it against Nat Geo. I know for some the dynamics of group meals can get old, but with only 13 in our group, the group meals were very manageable, and I personally have a bias against having to pay for meals on our own on an already-pricey vacation. That is another trend with ABD that I find disturbing (i.e., the seemingly ever-increasing number of meals on your own in the ABD itineraries I look at).
My family is definitely sold on Nat Geo, although we will continue the approach of using whatever company we think is best for a particular trip based on group size (must be small), itinerary and feedback, and we have also had very positive experiences on our Thomson and Austin Adventures trips. I think the only conundrum for us going forward for any of these trips will be that we are definitely outgrowing the family trips. On this one there were my DD 15 (almost 16) and DS 13 (almost 14) and another 15-year old boy (just six days older than my DD) who bonded really well with my kids and who they enjoyed hanging out with. There was also a 10 year old and 11 year old twins. They were not obnoxious in any way, but we are just beyond a desire to travel with younger kids and would prefer trips with only teens and up. So I'm not sure if that means we will try to do adult itineraries in future, or try to request departure dates on family trips with only teens or something like that.
One interesting piece of information that came out of this trip is that it turns out that Thomson Family Adventures runs Nat Geo's family trips. I started suspecting this when one of our travel forms for Peru had a Thomson header. Then our trip coordinator emailed to say she wanted to have a call with us about a week before the trip to give us last-minute tips and answer any questions (another very nice touch!), and her caller ID was Thomson. She was actually on our trip along with her sister (Thomson wants its coordinators to have experience with the itineraries they are coordinating, which makes tons of sense), so I asked her what the connection is, and she confirmed that Thomson runs Nat Geo's family trips. Our guides/driver were all decked out in Nat Geo gear, not Thomson stuff, but I'm not positive who they actually work for.
I'm happy to answer questions on any topic I didn't cover or anything else, but we would give this trip with Nat Geo a 5-star review.