Im going to try to write a trip report. It may take a while for me to get through the whole trip, but Ill do my best. We enjoyed this trip, but both DS and I agreed that it didnt quite measure up to our previous ABDs. Although we really enjoyed our fellow travelers, the group was too large (44) and, IMO, it negatively impacted the experience. More on that later.
First, a little possibly useful information for future travelers
There are 220V and 110V outlets in the bathrooms of all 3 hotels. US style plugs work - you dont need adapters.
Bring packs of tissues or wet wipes. Many restrooms dont have toilet paper.
Carry hand sanitizer everywhere you go. Many restrooms dont have soap either.
On to day -1 (the pre-day)
As part of the Adventure Insider program, ABD arranged for a town car to pick us up at home and transport us to the airport. This is a great perk. Friday morning, I received a text message informing me that our ride was on the way. Shortly thereafter, a very pleasant gentleman picked us up at our door and deposited us at the airport with plenty of time to spare. Everything was arranged and paid for in advance by Disney, including the drivers gratuity. It was really convenient.
We flew on Delta. I know a lot of people have issues with them, but weve flown Delta quite a bit lately and had very good experiences with them. It was an uneventful flight my favorite kind. There were a lot of kids on the flight, so I suspected that some of them might be other adventurers arriving a day early, and that turned out to be the case, but I didnt find that out until the next day. We landed on time in Lima. Another plane or planes must have arrived the same time as us, because the line for immigration was huge. The area is not air conditioned at least not in any way that Im accustomed to and we were hot and uncomfortable. There were plenty of immigration stations, but no one manning them and definitely not enough agents to handle the number of travelers. The line moved at a snails pace. After nearly 1 ½ hours standing in line we made it through immigration. By that time it was after midnight. We picked up our luggage, went through customs and exited to the area where all the drivers were waiting for arriving travelers. A placard with the word adventure immediately caught my eye, but it was not our driver. It was somebody from Thomson Family Adventures. I saw names for other tour companies and plenty of signs with individuals names on them, but no Adventures by Disney. We walked all through the crowd of drivers and nada. We made another pass and another and another and still no driver. The area is not large and our driver obviously wasnt there, so I thought if there were other guests from our group arriving at that time, maybe they were gathered somewhere nearby. So we walked a few steps to the exit area, snack bar, and information desk, all of which were within sight of where the drivers were waiting for guests. We didnt see any groups waiting or any Disney placard, so we went back to where the drivers were congregated and looked again. About every 10 seconds a taxi driver would ask us if we needed a ride and I would say no thanks, were expecting our driver. One of the taxi drivers even looked for the driver for us. I figured I better try to call ABD and find out where our driver was, but my cell phone said device not registered, and I had no idea what that even means. (I looked it up next day online and I found instructions that said turn off the phone and remove and reinsert the SIM card and that fixed it, but unfortunately, I didnt know that at the time). I went to the information desk to ask for help, thinking that if I call the hotel maybe the guides will be there, but I didnt have the hotel phone number. That was my fault. I expected ABD to be perfect and I was unprepared, so my warning is dont become complacent. Always be prepared for something to go wrong. Anyway, the very nice girl at the information desk looked up the number and called the hotel for me. I told them my problem and asked them if they could get in touch with the guides. They said they would connect me to somebody and I thought at first they were connecting me to the guides, but I think they were connecting me to the driver or his company. There was no answer, so I left a message, not really know who I was leaving a message for and Im sure sounding like a crazy woman. I couldnt give them a number to reach me since my cell phone wasnt working, so all I could do was tell them where we were waiting and go back and look for the driver some more. Having read warnings about the taxis in Lima, I was afraid to take a taxi without knowing which companies were safe. So I got some change and used the pay phone to call the hotel and they told me which company to use. After around and hour and a half of looking for the driver, I found a Green Taxi (thats the reputable company) and we left for the hotel.
I asked the taxi driver how far it was to the hotel and he just sort of chuckled. He proceeded to drive us through the scariest neighborhoods Ive ever seen. We passed through areas where there were rowdy mobs in the street, which seemed menacing at the time, but it turned out Peru had won a World Cup match that evening and they were probably just people celebrating. But the worst part was when the driver turned down dark streets that were little more than alleys and I was thinking to myself surely this isnt the way to our hotel. We drove though slums and down garbage lined streets. I kept thinking we could be robbed, killed, and dumped on one of these dark streets and nobody even knows where we are. We finally got away from the scary neighborhoods and onto a highway that passed by the ocean. Still wasnt feeling comfortable. Then we drove up this really bumpy street into Miraflores, where the streets were filled with rowdy mobs again. Its a fairly nice neighborhood, but that night in the dark, with me already frightened, it didnt look so good. Finally, we turned a corner and there was our hotel. We paid the driver, and the fare was very reasonable. He was really a nice man, and not a thief or murderer.
At 2:30AM we finally checked into our hotel. The man at the front desk told us that earlier a group with Adventures by Disney had arrived from the airport. Turned out there were 16 other people on the same flight as we were. Apparently, the driver left before we got through immigration. Ive gone over the situation again and again, and I can see no way that we could have possibly missed the driver if he had still been at the airport. This was the most stressful and frightening experience I have ever had while traveling. So much for the promised hassle free vacation. 
I was too upset to sleep and worried that this was going to spoil the rest of the trip for me and DS it didnt though.
The guides had left a note for us at the front desk saying they would be in the lobby to greet guests the next morning at 9:00AM 11:00AM and then another time that I dont remember later in the day. So DS and I went down at 9:00, but they werent there. They showed up around 9:30. Besides the two regular guides we had one shadow guide. I told our guide about the mix-up at the airport (this was the first they heard of it - the driver did not inform them that we were missing) and he called the vendor who said the driver didnt see us. Im not sure who he was looking for, but I was looking for him and he wasnt there. Anyway, later in the trip, I was reimbursed for the cab fare. But the money didnt matter. Most of you know Im a single parent and I travel alone with my son. I choose to travel with tour companies because Im not comfortable traveling to other countries with my child, especially when I dont speak the language. Being picked up at the airport is a big deal for me, especially on this trip, so this was terribly disturbing and disappointing. If this had been my first trip with ABD, it would have been my last.
There are no activities scheduled on the first day of the tour, since most people arrive late in the day. We didnt do much. We walked around a bit and went out for lunch, but since I was so stressed out and didnt get any sleep the previous night, all I wanted to do was go to bed early.
I wanted to write about something good before I stop, but its getting late. I promise the trip gets better from this point on.
First, a little possibly useful information for future travelers
There are 220V and 110V outlets in the bathrooms of all 3 hotels. US style plugs work - you dont need adapters.
Bring packs of tissues or wet wipes. Many restrooms dont have toilet paper.
Carry hand sanitizer everywhere you go. Many restrooms dont have soap either.
On to day -1 (the pre-day)
As part of the Adventure Insider program, ABD arranged for a town car to pick us up at home and transport us to the airport. This is a great perk. Friday morning, I received a text message informing me that our ride was on the way. Shortly thereafter, a very pleasant gentleman picked us up at our door and deposited us at the airport with plenty of time to spare. Everything was arranged and paid for in advance by Disney, including the drivers gratuity. It was really convenient.
We flew on Delta. I know a lot of people have issues with them, but weve flown Delta quite a bit lately and had very good experiences with them. It was an uneventful flight my favorite kind. There were a lot of kids on the flight, so I suspected that some of them might be other adventurers arriving a day early, and that turned out to be the case, but I didnt find that out until the next day. We landed on time in Lima. Another plane or planes must have arrived the same time as us, because the line for immigration was huge. The area is not air conditioned at least not in any way that Im accustomed to and we were hot and uncomfortable. There were plenty of immigration stations, but no one manning them and definitely not enough agents to handle the number of travelers. The line moved at a snails pace. After nearly 1 ½ hours standing in line we made it through immigration. By that time it was after midnight. We picked up our luggage, went through customs and exited to the area where all the drivers were waiting for arriving travelers. A placard with the word adventure immediately caught my eye, but it was not our driver. It was somebody from Thomson Family Adventures. I saw names for other tour companies and plenty of signs with individuals names on them, but no Adventures by Disney. We walked all through the crowd of drivers and nada. We made another pass and another and another and still no driver. The area is not large and our driver obviously wasnt there, so I thought if there were other guests from our group arriving at that time, maybe they were gathered somewhere nearby. So we walked a few steps to the exit area, snack bar, and information desk, all of which were within sight of where the drivers were waiting for guests. We didnt see any groups waiting or any Disney placard, so we went back to where the drivers were congregated and looked again. About every 10 seconds a taxi driver would ask us if we needed a ride and I would say no thanks, were expecting our driver. One of the taxi drivers even looked for the driver for us. I figured I better try to call ABD and find out where our driver was, but my cell phone said device not registered, and I had no idea what that even means. (I looked it up next day online and I found instructions that said turn off the phone and remove and reinsert the SIM card and that fixed it, but unfortunately, I didnt know that at the time). I went to the information desk to ask for help, thinking that if I call the hotel maybe the guides will be there, but I didnt have the hotel phone number. That was my fault. I expected ABD to be perfect and I was unprepared, so my warning is dont become complacent. Always be prepared for something to go wrong. Anyway, the very nice girl at the information desk looked up the number and called the hotel for me. I told them my problem and asked them if they could get in touch with the guides. They said they would connect me to somebody and I thought at first they were connecting me to the guides, but I think they were connecting me to the driver or his company. There was no answer, so I left a message, not really know who I was leaving a message for and Im sure sounding like a crazy woman. I couldnt give them a number to reach me since my cell phone wasnt working, so all I could do was tell them where we were waiting and go back and look for the driver some more. Having read warnings about the taxis in Lima, I was afraid to take a taxi without knowing which companies were safe. So I got some change and used the pay phone to call the hotel and they told me which company to use. After around and hour and a half of looking for the driver, I found a Green Taxi (thats the reputable company) and we left for the hotel.
I asked the taxi driver how far it was to the hotel and he just sort of chuckled. He proceeded to drive us through the scariest neighborhoods Ive ever seen. We passed through areas where there were rowdy mobs in the street, which seemed menacing at the time, but it turned out Peru had won a World Cup match that evening and they were probably just people celebrating. But the worst part was when the driver turned down dark streets that were little more than alleys and I was thinking to myself surely this isnt the way to our hotel. We drove though slums and down garbage lined streets. I kept thinking we could be robbed, killed, and dumped on one of these dark streets and nobody even knows where we are. We finally got away from the scary neighborhoods and onto a highway that passed by the ocean. Still wasnt feeling comfortable. Then we drove up this really bumpy street into Miraflores, where the streets were filled with rowdy mobs again. Its a fairly nice neighborhood, but that night in the dark, with me already frightened, it didnt look so good. Finally, we turned a corner and there was our hotel. We paid the driver, and the fare was very reasonable. He was really a nice man, and not a thief or murderer.
At 2:30AM we finally checked into our hotel. The man at the front desk told us that earlier a group with Adventures by Disney had arrived from the airport. Turned out there were 16 other people on the same flight as we were. Apparently, the driver left before we got through immigration. Ive gone over the situation again and again, and I can see no way that we could have possibly missed the driver if he had still been at the airport. This was the most stressful and frightening experience I have ever had while traveling. So much for the promised hassle free vacation. I was too upset to sleep and worried that this was going to spoil the rest of the trip for me and DS it didnt though. The guides had left a note for us at the front desk saying they would be in the lobby to greet guests the next morning at 9:00AM 11:00AM and then another time that I dont remember later in the day. So DS and I went down at 9:00, but they werent there. They showed up around 9:30. Besides the two regular guides we had one shadow guide. I told our guide about the mix-up at the airport (this was the first they heard of it - the driver did not inform them that we were missing) and he called the vendor who said the driver didnt see us. Im not sure who he was looking for, but I was looking for him and he wasnt there. Anyway, later in the trip, I was reimbursed for the cab fare. But the money didnt matter. Most of you know Im a single parent and I travel alone with my son. I choose to travel with tour companies because Im not comfortable traveling to other countries with my child, especially when I dont speak the language. Being picked up at the airport is a big deal for me, especially on this trip, so this was terribly disturbing and disappointing. If this had been my first trip with ABD, it would have been my last.
There are no activities scheduled on the first day of the tour, since most people arrive late in the day. We didnt do much. We walked around a bit and went out for lunch, but since I was so stressed out and didnt get any sleep the previous night, all I wanted to do was go to bed early.
I wanted to write about something good before I stop, but its getting late. I promise the trip gets better from this point on.
