tours to machu pichu
Jan 10th, 2007, 05:35 AM
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tours to machu pichu
My husband and I, 66 and 71 in age, have begun to plan a trip that would take us to Machu Pichu and Lake Titicaca. I hope I'm spelling the names correctly. I've looked at OAT's tour of Affordable Peru and believe that might be great for my husband, but difficult for me. (I get out of breath faster than others, but the physician says that it's hard to predict who'll have trouble with altitudes.) I've looked at Intrepid's Majestic Peru and that seems more my style. Has anyone used either of these?
My husband would lean toward doing it ourselves with help from local guides. I've seen several names posted on the forums. Making arrangements with independent tour guides might make it easier to design a program that fit us. Are tours like those mentioned above generally less expensive than private guides? That's a horribly vague question but your thought are welcomed.
My husband would lean toward doing it ourselves with help from local guides. I've seen several names posted on the forums. Making arrangements with independent tour guides might make it easier to design a program that fit us. Are tours like those mentioned above generally less expensive than private guides? That's a horribly vague question but your thought are welcomed.
Jan 10th, 2007, 12:39 PM
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My wife and I, just a few years younger than you and your husband, recently visitied Peru as part of a longer trip to South America. We flew into Lima, then onto Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu and Puno. Our trip was organized by David Choque, who was with us in Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Puno. He arranged for a different guide in Machu Picchu. David was an excellent guide and gets rave reviews on this forum. Search his name in the Peru forum and you will get much information about him. His E-Mail is [email protected].
As for cost, it may be less expensive on a fully escorted tour but you can determine this after corresponding with David. Of course, you are in control of a private tour and can go where you want, rest when you desire, etc.
As for the altitude, my wife had a problem in Puno but after some oxygen was ready to go again.
As for cost, it may be less expensive on a fully escorted tour but you can determine this after corresponding with David. Of course, you are in control of a private tour and can go where you want, rest when you desire, etc.
As for the altitude, my wife had a problem in Puno but after some oxygen was ready to go again.
Jan 17th, 2007, 06:04 AM
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My husband and I are dedicated independent travelers - we just hate being herded with other tourists. We found Percy Salas on Fodors and he was an absolute delight. You can reach him at [email protected]. He arranged hotels for us at better rates than I could get, bought our train tickets, and set up our tour of Machu Picchu along with a private guide. His English is great and he's very patient. I have an acute fear of heights and he was amazing, as was his friend at MP. Can't recommend him enough - Claire
Jan 17th, 2007, 08:04 PM
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We went to Machu Pichu with OAT on their Affordable Peru tour in 2005, and found it to be an excellent tour - and great value for the money. (Since then, we have taken two tours with GCT, their sister company, and have been greatly satisfied with both of those tours also.) We're in our late sixties, and did fine with the altitude. We did take diamox tablets for altitude sickness, and neither of us suffered from the altitude at all. I have asthma, so I was particularly concerned. All of the hotels served coca tea - which they claim helps the adjustment to high altitude.
We spent two days at Machu Pichu - among the lower ruins the first day, and on the second day we had a choice of what we wanted to do. Several of the people (there were 15 on our tour) opted to spend more time at the lower ruins, while most of us opted to hike to the sun gate, and one person took an even more strenuous hike. Our guide had a helper that day who stayed with the person on the longer hike. Our guide went to the sun gate with the majority of us.
The OAT tour is designed very well, in that we first visited and stayed at lower elevations, working our way up to Machu Pichu, and then to Cuzco, which had the highest elevation of the basic tour.
We did not take the extension to Lake Titicaca, since that is even at a higher elevation than Cuzco. Around half the people on our tour took that extension, and we were told that only one person had a problem with the altitude there.
If you have any other questions about the OAT tour, you can email me at: [email protected].
We spent two days at Machu Pichu - among the lower ruins the first day, and on the second day we had a choice of what we wanted to do. Several of the people (there were 15 on our tour) opted to spend more time at the lower ruins, while most of us opted to hike to the sun gate, and one person took an even more strenuous hike. Our guide had a helper that day who stayed with the person on the longer hike. Our guide went to the sun gate with the majority of us.
The OAT tour is designed very well, in that we first visited and stayed at lower elevations, working our way up to Machu Pichu, and then to Cuzco, which had the highest elevation of the basic tour.
We did not take the extension to Lake Titicaca, since that is even at a higher elevation than Cuzco. Around half the people on our tour took that extension, and we were told that only one person had a problem with the altitude there.
If you have any other questions about the OAT tour, you can email me at: [email protected].
