Private Group Tour of Peru: Planning a Trip for Family and Friends

A private group tour of Peru means your own people, whether family, friends or colleagues, travelling on an itinerary built only for you, with your own guide and your own vehicle. There are no strangers on the bus and no fixed dates: the trip starts when your group wants it to and moves at the pace that suits everyone.

That makes Peru a good choice for a family reunion, a big birthday or a trip with old friends. The classic route through Lima, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and Cusco works well for groups, as long as a few things are planned early. This guide covers who a private group trip suits, the practical details that matter most, and a sample 10-day outline.

What a private group trip to Peru means

There are two ways to travel as a group with us. This guide is about the first: a private, tailor-made trip for your own party, planned around your dates. The second is to join one of our scheduled group departures, where you travel on set dates with other guests. These departures can cover several countries over many days, and their routes and lengths vary, so ask us which ones are coming up. A private group trip gives you:

• Your own guide. A local guide travels with your group at the main sites and can adapt the visit to the ages and interests in front of them.
• Your own vehicle and driver. Transfers and day trips run on your schedule, with a vehicle sized to your party and its luggage.
• Your own dates and route. We build the days around your group, then adjust them as plans change.
• Your own atmosphere. Long lunches, a slow morning or a surprise cake at dinner are easy to arrange when nobody else is waiting.

Who a private group trip suits

Multigenerational families

Grandparents, parents and children often want different things from the same holiday. A private trip lets you mix gentle sightseeing with livelier activities, plan rest time in the afternoon and keep travel days short. Our guide to South America with children has more ideas for families with younger travellers.

Friends and reunions

Old university friends, a walking club or a group of couples can share the big moments, such as sunrise over the Sacred Valley or a first view of Machu Picchu, and still split up for a free afternoon in Cusco. Some want a trek, others want markets and cooking; both fit in one plan.

Celebrations

Milestone birthdays, anniversaries and retirements are common reasons to travel as a group. We can plan a private dinner, a special excursion or a quiet evening for the guest of honour. Some couples also bring family along for part of a honeymoon, then carry on alone for the second week.

The benefits of travelling as your own group

• Your pace. Start late after a long travel day, or early to beat the crowds. Nobody hurries you through a museum.
• Your interests. Spend longer on Inca history, food, textiles or birdwatching, and skip what doesn’t appeal.
• No strangers. Conversations, jokes and meals stay within your group.
• Flexible days. If someone feels the altitude or the weather turns, the guide can rearrange the order of visits.
• Easier celebrations. Special meals and surprises are simpler to organise around one group.

Practicalities for groups

Group size and vehicles

The size of your group shapes the logistics. A family of five fits in a minivan; a larger party may need a small coach, or two vehicles so that people can split up for part of the day. We match the vehicle to the number of travellers and their luggage, and we tell you in advance how the group will move on each day. Very large parties sometimes travel as two smaller groups with a guide each, which keeps visits to the sites more personal.

Room configurations

Hotels in Peru usually offer double, twin and some triple rooms, while family rooms and connecting rooms are rarer and go quickly. Small hotels in the Sacred Valley and Aguas Calientes may have only a limited number of each type. Tell us early who will share with whom, who needs a single room and whether anyone would like a room close to the grandparents. We then choose hotels that can house the whole group under one roof.

Machu Picchu tickets and train seats

This is the part to settle first. Machu Picchu tickets are timed and limited each day, and the trains to Aguas Calientes have a set number of seats. For a single couple, a last-minute change is often possible; for ten people on the same day and the same entry time, it may not be. In the dry season, from about May to September, it is wise to book several months ahead. Our guide to Machu Picchu tickets and Inca Trail permits explains how the system generally works, and we confirm the current arrangements when we book.

Dietary needs

Peruvian cooking suits most diets, and vegetarian dishes are easy to find in Lima and Cusco. Allergies, coeliac disease or religious requirements need more care, especially on a trek, at a rural lunch or on the train. Send us the details for each traveller before the trip and we pass them on to every hotel, restaurant and trekking team.

Mixed fitness levels

Groups rarely share one fitness level, and this is where a private trip earns its keep. A common plan is a split day: the keen walkers take on the four-day Inca Trail, while the rest travel by train through the Urubamba valley and meet them at Machu Picchu. Our 9-day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu with Sacred Valley Acclimatisation trip shows how the trek fits into a well-acclimatised route. Shorter guided walks in the Sacred Valley offer a middle option for those who want some hiking without camping.

Day trips work the same way. Some of the group might head to Rainbow Mountain, a long and high day out from Cusco, while others spend a calmer day in the city or a valley village.

Altitude planning for all ages

Cusco sits at around 3,400 metres, and altitude affects people in different ways, regardless of age or fitness. For groups, the safest approach is a gentle climb: fly into Cusco and go straight down to the lower Sacred Valley, then return to Cusco at the end of the trip. Plan easy first days, drink plenty of water and talk to your doctor before travelling, especially with young children, older relatives or anyone with a heart or lung condition. Our guide to altitude in the Andes covers this in more detail.

Sample 10-day private group itinerary

This outline builds on our 9-day Peru Classic trip, which follows the same route from Lima to Machu Picchu and Cusco, and adds one extra day in the Sacred Valley. It suits a mixed group well because it starts low, climbs slowly and leaves room to split up.

Day	Plan	Night	Group options
1	Arrive in Lima, private transfer to the hotel	Lima	Welcome dinner for the whole group
2	Colonial Lima and Barranco	Lima	Food market visit or cooking class
3	Fly to Cusco, descend to the Sacred Valley	Sacred Valley	A slow afternoon to adjust to the altitude
4	Pisac, Moray and Maras	Sacred Valley	A short walk for some, the van for others
5	Extra day in the Sacred Valley	Sacred Valley	Weaving village, a gentle hike or free time at the hotel
6	Ollantaytambo and the train to Aguas Calientes	Aguas Calientes	Celebration dinner by the river
7	Guided visit to Machu Picchu, return to Cusco	Cusco	Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain for keen climbers
8	Cusco: Inca and colonial city	Cusco	Split visits by age and interest
9	Free day in Cusco	Cusco	Rainbow Mountain for some, shopping and museums for others
10	Departure	—	Private transfer to the airport

Options to extend the trip

• Add the Amazon. Our 4-day Tambopata rainforest lodge add-on gives the group oxbow lakes, a canopy tower and a dawn clay lick, a good change of scene after the Andes.
• Add Lake Titicaca and Bolivia. Our 15-day Peru and Bolivia trip continues from Cusco across the Altiplano to Puno, Lake Titicaca, La Paz and the Uyuni salt flat.
• Add the Inca Trail. Trekkers can swap the Sacred Valley days for the four-day trail, following the pattern of our Inca Trail trip, while the rest of the group takes the train.

For more route ideas, see our Peru itinerary guide, which sets out 7-day, 10-day, two-week and three-week plans.

When to travel as a group

The Andean dry season, from about May to September, has the clearest skies and the most visitors, and it lines up with school holidays in many countries. April and October are often a good balance of settled weather and fewer crowds. If your group is fixed to a specific date, such as a birthday, start planning early so that tickets, trains and rooms are in place. Our guide to the best time to visit Peru covers each month, and is Peru safe? answers the common safety questions.

How we plan your group trip

On a private group trip, we set the pace around your slowest walker and your keenest explorer, assign a local guide who stays with you at the main sites, and arrange every vehicle, transfer and hotel. We book Machu Picchu tickets, train seats and any Inca Trail permits for you as soon as your dates are set, and pass dietary and room needs to each supplier, so your group can simply enjoy being together.