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Every single aspect was above and beyond our expectations! Firstly, the price was worth it. Our hotels were included and everywhere we stayed was clean and high quality. The staff at all the hotels were very helpful. We stayed at Casa Andina in Cusco and in Aguas Calientes and both were excellent. A similar feel to us as a Holiday Inn or Hilton Garden Inn in the US: clean, standardized, and all well located. All of our drivers were also very safe and careful drivers and the vehicles were all clean and comfortable. All the cars we were in with Valencia Tours also had water and hand sanitizer which was nice as well. On Day 1, Rene met us at our hotel for a tour of all the historic Inca sites in and around Cusco. He was incredibly knowledgeable and artfully wove the stories of the Incas and the Spanish with the present day goings on here in Peru. There was no question that was too difficult for him; he had an answer for everything! Everything was prompt and well timed. He referenced different books he carried with him to flesh out more details. At the end of Day 1, Rene gave us his WhatsApp and walked us through the rest of our itinerary, promising us that if we needed anything, he would be just a quick text away. Rene has been a guide for many years and it shows in his professionalism. He speaks English very fluently and very well, and he is familiar with many aspects of the tourism industry here in Peru, which made him an essential resource to us for everything from restaurant recommendations to remedies for altitude sickness. On Day 2, Miguel met us at the hotel as planned. Miguel was prompt and helpful with our bags. He was in the car with us as we were driven to a train station in Ollantaytambo to catch the train to Aguas Calientes. Miguel was extremely kind and generous with his time. He ensured at every transition point that we had the correct documents and understood the itinerary. He was familiar with our other guides, Rene and Elizabeth, which made us feel immediately at ease. Rene also knew Miguel and Elizabeth; we felt like it was so positive and reassuring that all of our guides knew each other and had amazing things to say about each other. That is so uncommon in many workplaces among coworkers but was so common among Valencia! That was really special. Miguel kept us entertained the whole car ride with stories about his childhood and learning other languages. His English was amazing and he kept up a vibrant conversation for two hours! He also had wonderful suggestions for what to do once we got to Aguas Calientes and for our return to Cusco. The train ride on Day 2 was seamless thanks to Miguel, who ensured we got on the right train and knew where our train car and seats were. *Driving to the train station in Ollantaytambo was SO HELPFUL* because the train ride on the way back straight from Aguas Calientes to Cusco was very very very slow. The train can only go less than 40 km, which wasn’t so noticeable when we were headed into Aguas Calientes from Ollantaytambo but was veryyyy noticeable on the way back. There were people to take us to our hotel once we arrived in Aguas Calientes; they kindly carried our bags. Our hotel was steps from the train station which was nice. We didn’t hear a ton of noise from the train at our hotel. Once we got to Aguas Calientes, we checked in and had a little lunch, walked around, and relaxed. At 7:00 pm, our guide Elizabeth met us at the hotel and looked over our documents to ensure again that we had the right bus tickets and entrance tickets for the Machu Picchu tour on Day 3. Rene also texted us prior and ensured we arrived safely, which was so kind and thoughtful! Elizabeth was very prompt and timely. The next day, she met us at 6:00 am on the dot and got us onto the bus. She was also extremely knowledgeable and carried a couple of books to further illustrate finer points about the site. She knew so much about the site itself and you could feel her own personal reverence for the ancient place. Elizabeth also knew where to stop to take lots of great pictures and all the rules about photography at the site. She even came up with different poses and knew different ways to use our iPhones to take panorama and wide angle lens photos. Once we got back, Elizabeth did us a HUGE favor and walked us up to a waterfall owned by a local family just slightly outside Aguas Calientes. It was a beautiful place and we otherwise would have never found it! We’re not very experienced hikers and the hike up to the waterfall was 45 min of steep stone stairs. She patiently kept our pace and checked in on us every couple of minutes. She went completely above and beyond! Her English was also beyond excellent. For anyone nervous about not getting Circuit 2 at Machu Picchu, don’t be! We had Circuit 3 and met people who went one day before us, who snagged Circuit 2 tickets and their photos/views were not that different from our own. We felt like we got what we came for and then some. After the Machu Picchu tour and bonus waterfall excursion, we were able to rest at the hotel before taking the train later that day. Possibly our only complaint, which is not Valencia Tours’ fault, is that this train ride was four hours and painfully slow. But, when it was all over, Miguel was waiting for us at the train station to drop us off at our hotel! He carried our bags and brought us all the way to the front desk of the hotel and even checked us in. TLDR: everything was handled for us every step of the way. Traveling to Machu Picchu requires a complete abundance of coordination of buses, trains, taxis, hotels, site tickets, and the like. Every single detail was thought of for us which made this feel like the once in a lifetime vacation we had been hoping for. If we had bad things to say, we would say them, but there are really no complaints!