Why a great tour guide can make all the difference to your holiday and how to pick the best one
The best guides take you off the beaten track, find the best photo spots and give insights into the local culture
The once lost city of Machu Picchu stood before us: a cluster of Incan ruins nestled on an Andean mountain ridge, the green fang of Huayna Picchu hulking in the background. It was like all the pictures I’d seen.
Unfortunately, we’d arrived in the afternoon – after queuing for a train, then a bus – and the place was swarming with other tourists, who nudged me out of the way for their once-in-a-lifetime but identical photos.
There was another queue that took us down a flight of stairs to the main site. To make matters worse, it had started to drizzle.
My tour guide Boris Castro, from Kuoda Travel, pulled me aside. “We could wait,” he said. “But I have another idea. Okie-dokie?”
I smiled at his oft-used expression. “Okie-dokie,” I replied.