Firstly let me say that we had a wonderful time. South America is so interesting, there is so much to see and we have lots of great memories (and photos!) to look back on for many years to come.
Most of the local tour operators who looked after us at each of our destinations did a great job. It was always such a relief to arrive at an airport and be met by someone holding a sign up with our name on it!
We were particularly happy with who looked after us throughout Peru. There was a message left at our hotel almost every evening informing us of pick-up times and travel arrangements. They always turned up on time and knew exactly what we should be doing! We had a particularly wonderful day in Puno when we had a guide all to ourselves (a lovely lady called Alicia) for our cruise on Lake Titicaca, visiting the floating reed islands and Tacquile Island. It was one of the highlights of our trip. The bus and train journeys around Peru all went off without a hitch.
Our trip to Machu Picchu was another highlight and our tour guide was great. The guide who took us to the airport at Lima was also great. Lima airport is total bedlam and this lovely lady (whose name I can't remember!) forced her way through to the check-in counter with us and saved us a very long wait in a very long queue!
Easter Island was also great. The tours we did on Easter Island were fantastic and our local guide was great. We saw so much in our time there.
We were also really happy with our accommodation. Many of our hotels were much better than we expected!
We were really pleased with all the meals and extras that were included in our trip. The breakfasts at all the hotels were of a high standard. Some of the extra lunches and dinners that were included were great. Some of the outstanding meals that were included in our trip included a lunch at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the river in the Sacred Valley on our bus trip to Ollantaytambo (where I had my first taste of llama!) and also a beautiful dinner at the tango show in Buenos Aires.