Booking treks in Huaraz

Tips for booking a trek in Huaraz

So how do you actually book a Santa Cruz trek or Huayhuash trek in the low season?

Flexibility

First things first, allow for a lot of flexibility in your schedule. Don’t expect to arrive Monday and find a Santa Cruz trek Tuesday. Then upon completing Santa Cruz don’t expect a Huayhuash trek group waiting for you. 

Some companies strive for a departure on a specific day. e.g. it wouldn’t be uncommon if you walked into their office and saw ‘Santa Cruz’ written on next Tuesday.

Ask ahead of arrival

You could email around ahead to sus it out prior to your arrival in Huaraz. This is actually what I did for the Amazon, not wanting to have to go through the same experience. Having said that, chances are, the ones you can contact prior to arrival are companies that are more expensive. 

Be prepared to compromise (within reason)

Straight up I wouldn’t even bother with whatever preferred operators you have, I had a list I put together from some online reviews and none of them had a trek going. If you want, visit them first but don’t be surprised if you have to look for more operators. 

Finding practically nothing I was seriously considering the 4-day Mini Huayhuash trek which in hindsight would have been a huge mistake. Now if you wanted an 8-day but you found a 10-day that could possibly be worth it. 

Use a collective operator

As I discovered there are 2 types of companies, multiple operators that collate their signups into 1 big collective group (cheaper) and ones that run it themselves (more expensive). A lot of tours in Cusco are like this. It’s definitely easier getting a group with collective operators but service and standards of equipment will be a roll of the dice, but that’s not to say it’s guaranteed bad, just that it could be.

Collective operators were quite upfront when I asked if they combine with other operators.

Regarding equipment, if you have your own gear (notably sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and tent), this will be less of an issue. Personally I found the rented equipment quite good, although you do hear the occasional horror stories online. The problem is not knowing what you’re getting prior to departure. Although not all do this, some collective operators have some upgraded gear to rent so you can inspect a sample in-store.

How exactly does service matter? On my not so cheap Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu and Amazon tour, we were basically told everything prior – what to bring, what to expect, etc and they made an effort to hold a pre-departure briefing. 

In Huaraz, they didn’t really tell me anything (unless I specifically asked). Maybe it was because they were cheaper operators but it was borderline irresponsible. A simple list would have sufficed. So if you’re new to trekking and don’t get informed, then you could be severely unprepared. This was the case on my Santa Cruz trek where some people didn’t bring enough warmth or water storage. Food on my Santa Cruz trek was also severely lacking – for everyone on the trek, not just me. On my Huayhuash trek, two people didn’t bring any means of water purification (the group helped them out) and one didn’t even know they provided a donkey to carry some personal belongings. 

If you’re reading a post like this chances are you will be prepared enough so the above may not be of any issue to you.

My Patagonia Packing List can effectively be used for this area.

Use Whatsapp

A lot of tour operators in South America have caught on to Whatsapp which is really convenient since you don’t need to keep running around or pay for a local sim – you can simply message them on Wifi and they can keep you updated on potential departures.

Ask for guaranteed departures

Ask around if they have departures that are guaranteed or how many numbers they have/are required so you know how many they need to fill. 1 more is easier to fill than 3 more.  

Sure if something piques your interest then put your name down as an expression of interest but keep looking. If you find one that fits your requirements and is guaranteed, then go for it. 

Ask early

Most treks require a minimum notice period so they can obtain the appropriate number of donkeys/staff/food etc. While there are exclusions for some day hikes/tours, you typically need to lock in the trek the afternoon before. This can create problems if you arrive late in the day or have other activities the day before. 

Make friends

This is how I actually managed to book both my Santa Cruz and Huayhuash treks. After I got burned on the initial ‘booking’ I miraculously ran into a couple of Dutch people who just checked into in my dorm room and who were about to book the Santa Cruz trek. They had already spoken to the operator, they were just getting money to pay. They kindly extended an invitation to me (thank f**k!). The pair actually met a Dutch couple earlier so that meant they met the minimum requirements. Aaaah, my 4 Dutch saviours! Only now there was an issue that there could be too many people. Ugh! Thankfully that wasn’t the case. It was a collective operator that I was hesitant of but at this point, I couldn’t have cared less – I just didn’t want to waste another day doing nothing.

For Huayhuash a newly made friend from the Santa Cruz trek who was planning to do it unguided ended up doing it guided figuring it would cost roughly the same either way. Her boyfriend and his brother was flying in so that would make 4 of us. Hooray! The minimum was higher for Huayhuash but our group ending up having 9 in the end.

Ensure you have the money ready

Don’t expect all tour operators to take credit card, or rather don’t expect them to take Mastercard. If I’ve discovered anything, unlike in other regions where either will work, VISA is more widely accepted in South America. There are banks with ATMs that will take all kinds of cards but for me, the bank with 0 fees had a low daily limit. 

Room for negotiation

Some companies straight up advertise discounted prices if the group meets a certain number of people.

On top of that, there is also room for negotiation with the price. The more people you have the higher your bargaining power will be since you can effectively be key to meeting minimum departure numbers, thus be the deciding factor if a group will depart or not. The company gets a lot of money or $0. 

Got money? Go private

All high-end operators offer private tours starting at the substantial price of US$1000 for Santa Cruz and US$2000 for Huayhuash (typically 3-4x the cost of their own group tour price). Given that they are private, the tours can also be highly customisable. This is essentially the luxe option so it’s obviously not for everyone. 

Good luck!

That’s it for tips on how to book a trek in Huaraz. I wasted a lot of time figuring out all this stuff first hand so you don’t have to. So from the moment you arrive in Huaraz, you can do what you actually came here to do – enjoy the magnificent scenery.