Last Updated on November 30, 2023 by Tori Pines
Embarking on the legendary Inca Trail is a journey that’s more than just a vacation. It’s a step back in time, an exploration of ancient wonders, and a chance to appreciate the breathtaking landscapes. As you prepare to follow in the footsteps of the ancient Inca civilization, choosing the right tour company becomes an important decision, one that can shape the entire outcome of your adventure. So you probably want to know, which are the best Inca Trail tour companies?
In this guide, we delve into the world of the Inca Trail tour companies. Unearthing the best companies that offer not just guided expeditions, but transformative experiences. From itineraries that blend history and nature seamlessly, to a commitment to sustainable and responsible tourism, join us as we unveil the best tour companies that promise to make your Inca Trail expedition an unforgettable trek of discovery and wonder.
This post may contain affiliate links for activities, destinations and products that I love, and think you will too!
Before you select a tour company and book your trip of a lifetime, I highly recommend that you check out my ultimate guide to hiking the Inca Trail. I go over every single detail that you will need to know about this adventure. Along with tips, tricks, packing lists and more.
Since I have only hiked the trail once, with one company, it wouldn’t be fair for me to give you the information about the other best Inca Trail tour companies. That’s why I’ve gathered other travel bloggers to write up reviews from their experience on the trail. Hear what they have to say below to help you select the company that’s best for you!
The Best Inca Trail Tour Companies
G Adventures
Recommended by Me!
The largest of the Inca Trail tour companies, G Adventures is a company that books tours all over the world. They tour in all seven continents. This can be seen as a pro and a con. To me, it says they will likely be extremely organized, reliable and provide easy and helpful customer support. And these are all great reasons as to why they are one of the best Inca Trail tour companies.
However, the concern with a larger company might be that it doesn’t support the local community. But they were named the best Inca Trail tour operator by the Regional Direction of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Cusco (RDFTTC) in Peru. And they employ over 560 locals as guides, porters, chefs, drivers and office staff. Our guide told us how big of a difference we make in their lives by supporting the tourism there.
The most important thing that comes along with using a large company like this is the safety aspect. The tour guides have radios that can reach the home office at any time if there were to be an emergency along the way. The porters carry oxygen tanks and first aid kits and are trained in first aid and evacuation. With a large company you know they have high standards and expect the utmost care given to their travelers.
Now onto the good stuff, how my experience was hiking the Inca Trail with G Adventures.
I chose the 8 day Inca Discovery tour. But G Adventures actually offers 24 different tour options that include the Inca Trail Trek. These range in length from 4 days (just the hike) to 65 days (touring you all the way through South America with the hike as just one stop along the way). Most of the tours range from 7 to 14 days. These will give you a great taste of the country of Peru.
Most options start in Lima, which is where you’ll likely have to fly into anyway. But the shorter ones (4-7 days) start in Cusco.
The hike itself will take 4 days, with 3 nights camping in the Andes Mountains. Most of the other tour companies (if not all) will offer this same timeline. And no matter which of the best Inca Trail tour companies you select, you’ll see the same beautiful scenery. So sadly, I won’t mention any of those details (even though it’s so incredible and I love talking about how fantastic the journey was!)
The porters will carry your duffle bag filled with your belongings. You may load up to 6kg (about 13 pounds) in your bag. But that has to include your sleeping bag and sleeping mat. Those take up over half of that weight.
They’ll also be carrying all of the food, tents and equipment we will need along the way.
The cooks will prepare incredible meals for you as well. Breakfast is 3 courses, lunch is 4 courses, “tea time” is just an afternoon snack and dinner is 3 courses. You will be stuffed (but also so hungry from all of the hiking). But the food is absolutely outstanding. It’s cooked in traditional Peruvian style, but made with ingredients that you will be familiar with, so even the pickiest of eaters will love what they prepare.
The guides, porters and cooks are incredible, and one of the main reasons why G Adventures is one of the best Inca Trail tour companies. While typically only the guides speak English, they are all so incredibly kind with their smiles and gestures. The porters grin from ear to ear and you can tell they are genuinely happy to be there and grateful for you supporting their communities and livelihoods.
We took the time to learn a few phrases in their native language of Quechua. You could tell how happy it made them that we made the effort to speak to them in their language.
The guides were phenomenal. They taught us everything there was to know about the history of the ruins, and the nature that surrounded us along the way. They were kind and helpful and so full of energy. We thoroughly enjoyed spending the week with them (shoutout to Gerry, he is the best!!!!)
I also could not have been more pleased with the other people in our group. I went on the trip with my sister, but otherwise we didn’t know anyone we were grouped with. We had about 10 people with us the entire time and it was the perfect size. We all became great friends as we experienced this incredible journey together!
So my honest review of G Adventures? I cannot recommend them enough, and they belong at the top of the list of the best Inca Trail tour companies. The entire experience was smooth and easy, fun and exciting, and the best experience I have been on. I cannot wait to book another trip with them soon…somewhere around the world.
If you want to hear more about my experience along the Inca Trail, be sure to check out my Peru Journals for a day-by-day account of my experience!
For more information about the G Adventures tour options click here!
Machu Picchu Excursions
Recommended by Giorgy of G-Extreme Travel
I had the opportunity to experience Machu Picchu Excursions for my Inca Trail journey. I chose them based on a recommendation from GetYourGuide, which offered me a discounted rate as an affiliate partner.
When I made my booking with Machu Picchu Excursions, they were still in the process of developing their services. However, they already had packages available for daily visits to Machu Picchu, 2-day and 1-night trips, the 4-day Inca Trail, and the Salkantay Trail.
Nowadays, they are offering tour packages from Cusco that offer daily trips to places such as llama farms, Rainbow Mountain, and the Sacred Valley.
As mentioned above, Machu Picchu Excursions offers a variety of tour options for the Inca Trail. All tours begin at Ollantaytambo near Cusco as the starting point of the journey.
From that point, you start your hiking journey in the beauty of Inca Trail. The tour was guided by an experienced professional (Jose). He provided us with comprehensive information regarding our journey to Machu Picchu and answered all our queries promptly. The guide was really friendly and knowledgeable which made the experience even better! Apart from him, there were also the porters that were transporting all our stuff safely. The cooks also provided us always with delicious meals.
The food was amazing as the cooks used just camping equipment to prepare three delicious meals each day. It felt like there was a Michelin-star chef with us on the trip!
If I have to be honest, the entire tour was well organized and I would surely book with them again as they are one of the best Inca Trail tour companies. My guide along with all the porters was very knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful throughout our trip. I can surely recommend Machu Picchu Excursion to all who want to explore this amazing destination in an authentic way!
Sam Travel Peru
Recommended by Nick of Spiritual Travels
I’ve wanted to do the Inca Trail for decades. So when it came to booking the trip, I spent hours researching companies. In the end I chose Sam Travel Peru.
I liked that Sam Travel is run by an indigenous former porter. SAM is an acronym of his name – Saul Alvarez Montalvo. While every company nowadays claims to be ethical and treat their porters well, I figured a porter himself would know best! Second, after contacting several companies, I found Sam’s staff to be the most responsive. Third, their prices were at the lower end of the spectrum. Last, they were in the number one spot on TripAdvisor for their Inca Trail, Cusco, and Sacred Valley tours.
While SAM offers the full gamut of Inca Trail hikes – 2-day, 4-day, 5-day, alternative treks, etc., as a solo traveler, I could only join a hike that already had other people. This meant I had to do the classic 4-day hike, by far the most popular one. This wasn’t a problem for me, because after lots of research, I believe that’s the best one. Plus I liked the itinerary choices SAM made. For example, we walked farther on Day 2, but then we had a shorter Day 3, which ended up being my favorite.
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Our guide, David, was extremely knowledgeable – at points, he almost talked TOO long. I wanted to explore each ruin. But we would typically find a spot, sit, and listen to him talk for 30 minutes – although guides from all the companies seemed to do this. Another minor complaint is that he told us how much we should tip all the porters and cooks. As for how much to tip David, our group had trouble agreeing on an amount.
Information online about this also vague. The whole tipping thing is awkward. I wish they would just include it in the total fee so you know what to expect.
Besides those small issues, everything was perfect. The food was delicious and they catered to my diet. The tents were large and cozy, and David always went out of his way to ensure we were happy. The porters and kitchen team were also lovely, one of the best reasons why they are one of the best Inca Trail tour companies. It was an experience I’ll never forget and SAM definitely played a role in that!
Peru Treks
Recommended by Chris of Around the World With Me
One of the best Inca Trail tour companies is Peru Treks. Based out of Cusco, Peru Treks has been leading hikers across the Peruvian Andes for decades. But while they run numerous city and trekking tours, the Inca Trial is their most popular trek and what they are most known for.
I booked an Inca Trail trek with Peru treks after researching dozens of tour operators in the region. They offered the best combination of affordability and positive online reviews. They were also very response to email and incredibly friendly in their communication.
When you book an Inca Trail trek with Peru Treks, you’ll meet up with them two nights before your trek starts to pay for the tour. After acclimatizing to the high mountain air for a day in Cusco you’ll be picked up bright and early on your second morning and driven to the beginning of the Inca Trail a few hours away.
Peru Treks runs one tour guide per 16 trekkers. Along with the guide there is usually one porter per trekker and a couple cooks. The porters carry just about everything. But you have to carry your own clothes, sleeping bag, and any food or water you need between stops.
The food is surprisingly delicious, like you’re eating at a quality restaurant every night. Yet you’re just in a tent high in the mountains. The porters and cooks typically speak only Spanish but are generous and incredibly helpful if you need anything.
Overall, Peru Treks is an amazing tour operator to use when hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. You won’t be disappointed by their passion for assuring you have the most enjoyable time possible in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
TreXperience
Recommended by Danni of The Solo Plan
I visited Peru as part of a wider South American trip. I had been asking around for Inca Trail recommendations from other companies. A few people mentioned TreXperience, which I’d recognised from TripAdvisor. I knew they would be a good choice as one of the best Inca Trail tour companies.
TreXperience offers quite a few different hikes in the area and also multiple versions of the Inca Trek. I booked the classic 4-day Inca Trail tour and was immediately impressed with the communication and organization of this company. From packing lists to schedules, they provided all the information I needed. TreXperience also has a Facebook group where people provide advice and ask questions.
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As a solo traveler I’m always nervous at the start of a group tour so one of my favorite things was the pre-trek briefing in Cusco the night before the tour commenced. We met our guides and fellow travelers and it created so much excitement for the following day!
The guides ran through all of the trip details and provided an opportunity for us to ask any questions about our gear or the trek. I was ecstatic to be paired up with another solo female traveler (the tents are for two people) and felt more confident commencing the tour.
In terms of the tour itself, I was blown away by the level of service that was provided to us by TreXperience! There were 2 guides and 20+ porters carrying all of the gear (we only carried day packs). Our guides were so friendly and knowledgeable and it was evident that they are so passionate about the Inca history. The porters were amazing – they each carry 20kg in huge backpacks and practically run along the track! One thing I loved about TreXperience is that they place importance on looking after the porters.
Some companies push the 20kg per porter rule to save money. However, TreXperience carefully weighs all the bags to ensure that the porters aren’t lifting too much. At one point they even asked all the guests to test wearing one of the 20kg backpacks. Such a lovely idea to make sure that everyone appreciates the hardworking porters!
The food and accommodation were amazing. I was worried about sharing a tent with a random, but it was actually really spacious! The porters set everything up and even wake you up in the morning with a warm cup of tea. For meals, they set up a large “dining room” tent where we would have 3-course meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner (insane!). We were treated like absolute royalty.
In summary, I had such an amazing time doing the Inca Trail with TreXperience and definitely recommend them for your upcoming trip! I wouldn’t hesitate to book with them again.
Alpaca Expeditions
Recommended by Sarah of A Social Nomad
We booked Alpaca Expeditions to hike the Inca Trail for several reasons, first, they were a local company, which was important to us, secondly because of the outstanding reviews they received from previous trekkers, and finally, they only require a minimum of two trekkers for a trek to run. Sounds like one of the best Inca Trail tour companies to us!
Alpaca Expeditions offer a variety of options for trekking – 6 different options for hiking to Machu Picchu, from 2 days up to 7 days, and an Inca Trail trek that includes hiking to Peru’s Rainbow Mountain. All of their treks begin at their offices in Cusco, so it’s easy for everyone to get to.
The food on this trek was good – wholesome, hearty, and good energy fuel but tasty too – and it was served with humor and friendliness. The team at Alpaca is great, from the email replies to the front office staff, porters, and trail guides. They were motivating, and helpful, but also kept their distance if you wanted to enjoy the trail in peace. Our experience with Alpaca Expeditions was great, I’d definitely book with them again and would highly recommend them.
Andean Path
Recommended by Tomek
I ended up booking the 2 day Short Inca trail directly with the agency Andean Path Travel for me and my brother and we had an amazing time, really beyond my expectations. From start to finish, everything went smoothly and they were one of the best Inca Trail tour companies you could choose.
They were really helpful before we arrived in Peru as we were emailing back and forth about the options that would suit us best (we chose hotel, but there was a camping option as well as 3 and 4 day options), telling us what to pack and scheduling a pre-trip briefing for us, they always got back to us promptly. Everything was on time and professional, they organized everything for us, private van, train tickets, Inca permits, hotels and great meals. They did all of this at relatively short notice so it was such a relief we could just relax and enjoy our trip totally.
We started our tour in Cusco, where our tour guide David picked us up from our hotel before heading to catch the train where we then got off and started our hike. David spoke exceptional English so communication was easy, he actually grew up in a village on the Inca trail so his depth of knowledge not just of the Incan history but also of the local nature, language and geography was incredible and he was so passionate about sharing his knowledge, it really felt special and personal.
During the hike, as well as the private tour of Machu Picchu we did the second day, I felt like he really cared about giving us an experience of a lifetime and I look back on all the photos (he’s a great photographer too!) with so much joy. It was the trip of a lifetime and I would absolutely book with them again, just as soon as I can make it back to Peru!
So what are you waiting for? Go book your tour and have the most rewarding experience ever by hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu with one of these best Inca Trail tour companies.
