First of all, why choose a personal guide over joining a group? Below are the benefits:
1. You are able to tell them when you want to go
2. You are able to tell them where you want to go
3. You can tell them your main interests and goals
4. You are able to constantly make changes to the itenerary
5. You are able to make changes to lower costs
6. You are able to determine the length of the trip, (i.e. 1 day trip, 2 nights, full day, half-day etc.)
7. You can negotiate the costs
8. Most importantly, you'll have the full attention of the personal guide and you are able to soak in so much more knowledge
Here are the drawbacks:
1. The price will be much higher, especially if you're just 1 person
So the question is, 'Where do I find a guide?!'. A simple web search of "Personal Guides Cusco'' is the best way to go. You'll have to specify which town in the country you're looking to start out from. Just because your destination may be 'Ollantaytambo' for example, don't search 'Tour Guide Ollantaytambo'. Search the nearest major town or city where the homebase is for a lot of the tour guides. You can also search travel forums such as 'Yahoo Travel' or 'Tripadvisor' or 'VirtualTourist' or 'LonelyPlanet'. Some sites will have listings of guides. At other times, you'll have to type in 'personal guide cusco' in their search tool to see if anyone already asked and people answered. And lastly, you can sign up and post a message in the forum asking for recommendations. Let the people on the forum know what your interests are. (i.e. I want to go to Puerto Maldonado and do an ecotour in the Peruvian Amazon or I want to visit the most fantastic constructions by the Incas). OR you could go here where I have listed a few all on one page for your convenience. If you found this helpful or any other posts, please comment and let me know: http://peru101.blogspot.com/2011/06/cusco-personal-tour-guides.html
One of the main questions is, "What do I look for in a guide?!" You may think years of experience as a tour guide is number one. For Peru, a lot of the tour guides are indigenous to the area; Quechua. Especially in Cusco. They are from the rural communities. In addition, they went to school to get tourism degrees. They know the language of the land: Quechua, Spanish and some English. It may seem silly, but having YEARS of experience is not the number one factor, because they often know their region like the back of their hand. They may not have years of tour guide experience, but they have lived-experience. What is more important, is their knowledge. After all, that is what you are going for; to learn. You may ask them why they are interested in the topic or location you are interested in, just to see if they are as passionate as you are. Further, don't always opt to choose the older guides over the young adults. The younger they are, the more they're able to manage the terrain and at the same time support you. If you're visiting Quechua or indigeneous communities, it iuseful to ask if the guide has visited the community and has a friendly relationship with them. Once I was taken to a community but never interacted with the locals because the guide was of an ethnicity that historically was at war with the ethnicity of the village I entered. So this time around, when I was looking for communities that were not often visited by tourists (and thereby tour guides), I asked the tour guide if they've ever visited with the community they suggested and what their relationship with the people has been like.
Next question, "How do I get a rate I can afford?!" Understand that in a lot of countries around the world, they assume that you are rich if you're from the "white world'' ....like own-a-thriving-business-rich. Yes, we have a lot more disposable wealth and assets than them, but we don't travel with excessive wealth to blow. Because they have this view of you, they will charge more for their service than it costs.
Once you get some contacts, you can send out a bunch of emails and see what they have to say. Also let them know you are getting quotes from other guides. Once they reply, respond and low ball them (that means quote a much lower price so ideally they will meet you in the middle). Although you don't know their intentions, a number of people assume you got money comin' out the wazoo (like our friend Antoine George who proved that in his emails: http://perutraveltips101.blogspot.com/p/review-of-antoine-george-of.html) because you're from a developed country. So a lot of the time, guides will high ball you and expect you to think that's a completely normal rate. This is when you write another email low-balling them with a fake quote from another guide. If the guide is sincere, they may stick to their original rate. If they were charging you a bit too much, they may bring it down a bit. When I was searching for a guide for Q'eros, one guide said $500 for two nights. I got him to come down to $400 for one night. I cross referenced with about two other guides. Their rates for 2 nights were around $700 or $800, so I knew I was getting a good deal with the first person. This is the usefulness of cross-checking.
Once you're more interested in a specific guide, you might wonder, "How can I renegotiate the rate even further?!".
Here are some ways to lower the rate:
1. If possible, ask if the rate can be lowered by using public transportation instead of a rented car
2. Offer to buy local food rather than having the guide prepare a lunch or hiring a cook
3. Offer the guide to leave an excellent review on a travel forum or travel blog and to recommend them to others, and email them the link after.
4. Decrease the number of hours
With one guide, he wanted to do a day trip with a private car, go to various sites, and do a religious ceremony with a shaman. The day trip (usually ranging from 7am-6pm) would have cost me $250 with a private car and an extra $150 for a ceremony with a shaman. That money doesnt even go to the 'shaman'. When I told him we could take a taxi and I don't need the session with the shaman, the rate came down to $150. With another guide, he wanted a full day session to learn about traditional Quechua music for $150.00 I told him we could do a half day, maybe 4 hrs, for $50.00 He accepted.
If you're wondering if you're getting the 'best bang for your buck', you would might ask, "How do I know the guide is making the best itinerary for my needs?!". From my experience, if you're looking for something off the beaten path, as it were, then you need to:
1. Google the destination they mention (i.e. Salkantay for trekking, Huacahuasi for Quechua communities etc)
2. Read about the site in the guide books and see if it's really concerning your interest
3. Ask on travel forums if people have visited the site and they learned a lot
4. Ask other tour guides what sites they might recommend for your interests and quote the sites your tour guide suggested; see if they agree those locations are fitting. (Don't tell them you've selected a guide already)
For example, I was interested in visiting various Incan religious sites. The tour guide suggested a number of religious sites. I then googled those sites to see what their main purpose was and what the main religious sites are listed as. I was able to email him to make other suggestions. He was very agreeable.
Take-home tips:
1. Low-ball
2. Ask them about their experience and knowledge-base and passion
3. Cross-reference their quote and recommendations for the itinerary with other guides
4. Feel free to make the changes I suggested to reduce costs
