shutterbug85

Hi again! Now that my husband finally has some dates confirmed, we can start booking our trip to Peru for May 2012 - I can't believe it's coming up so fast!

I'm working to fine-tune our itinerary. Any advice, suggestions? We're young (mid-20s), healthy and up for long bus rides and a tough travel schedule.

Day 1 - Fly to Lima (assuming we'll get in at night - stay Lima)
Day 2 - Early bus to Paracas - Islas Balletas boat tour - Bus to Nazca or Ica (stay Nazca or Ica)
Day 3 - Nazca lines flight - Bus to Arequipa (stay Arequipa)
Day 4 - Arequipa (stay Arequipa)
Day 5 - Colca Canyon excursion/tour
Day 6 - Colca Canyon tour - Bus to Puno (from Chivay)
Day 7 - Lake Titicaca (stay with family on islands)
Day 8 - Lake Titicaca (stay in Puno that night)
Day 9 - Travel to Cusco via bus (stay in Olly)
Day 10 - Sacred Valley (stay in Olly)
Day 11 - Sacred Valley (stay in Olly)
Day 12 - Inca Trail 4-day hike
Day 13 - Inca Trail 4-day hike
Day 14 - Inca Trail 4-day hike
Day 15 - Inca Trail 4-day hike (stay Aguas Calientes)
Day 16 - Machu Picchu (hike MP or WP) / Stay Cusco
Day 17 - Sacred Valley - Cusco (stay Cusco)
Day 18 - Sacred Valley - Cusco (stay Cusco)
Day 19 - Fly to Lima - Lima (stay Lima)
Day 20 - Fly home

Questions:
1. Is the Islas Balletas boat tour worth it? Or should we go straight to Nazca/Ica?
2. Should we stay in Nazca or Ica? I've heard you can get flights from either. Thoughts?
3. We're interested in sandboarding - could we do it the same day as our flight over the Nazca lines? Or is that too much in one day? (The bus to Arequipa leaves at 10PM, according to the website - Cruz del Sur.)
4. The bus from Chivay to Puno leaves at 1:30PM - will we be done with our Colca Canyon tour by then?
5. Any recommendations for Colca Canyon tour operators? I've read a ton about Carlitos on TripAdvisor - anyone here used him?
6. Is 3-3.5 days in the Sacred Valley long enough? We'd like to see Moray, Maras, Chinchero, Pisac, Olly ruins, Sacsyhuaman, alpaca farms, etc.
7. We'll have time to hike either Machu Picchu or Wayna Picchu - any thoughts on which one? I heard it's easier to get up MP (less crowded and no 4AM ticket line).
8. Has anyone packed lunches for bus rides / day tours? Did you get it from a restaurant / hotel or are there grocery stores to buy lunch-type food in? (Apologies if this question sounds silly!)
8. We were planning on using Cruz del Sur for the bus legs except for the Puno-Cusco. For that should we take the tourist bus? What companies should we look at?

Thanks a ton! I'm sure I'll have more questions! I'm really enjoying reading through everyone's trip reports!

qwovadis

adventures.worldnomads.com/destination/168/itinerary/23.aspx

did this exact trip a couple of years ago plus

www.incalandaadventures.com trail for $300 with Flavio

and added manuadventures.com for some jungle from Cusco

Will take a stab at your questions based on my last experience

1.Bellestas galapagos of peru magellan penguins cute seal lions many birds was well worth it DoubleTree Paracas was my
fav there.

2.Flights best done from Nasca LOTS cheaper paid $55 all in
with Brabanttours.com a Dutch Peruvian company in Nasca.
casaandina.com or Hotel of the Lines best to stay there

3.Sandboard on your way down to Nasca did mine out of
Hotel Las Dunas there worth a night if time

4 You need at least a night in Colca at Casa-andina.com
my fav hired a driver guide toured for $50 paid like $80/nt
in Chivay it was awesome.

5.carlitos is a TA tout be careful there might check with hotel for best local guide to Cruz del Condor on to Puno from $50/half day.www.4m-express.com best bus on that route.

6.www.casa-andina.com SV nice there or apulodge.com.Make time
for the Inka trail through the sun gate into MP best part
of my last trip down there.

7.Do both if time but u will come in through there so MP is
sufficient there is a new charge for HP climb might only do that if u do not trek just a long line up/down with super views over MP but u will get that on your trek.

8.Hotel will pack a lunch usually stops for that along the
way or make your own sandwiches what I do lots cheaper

9.www.cruzdelsur.com.pe is nice the VIP seats are bigger better downstairs worth the small extra money more unstable
theft risk upstairs that is where the pickpockets go they
grab stuff like camera out of the overheads and bolt off
at stops have seen it several times so downstairs for me.
www.4m-express.com to titicacaperu.com (casa-andina.com
Private Collection best there) then www.inkaexpress.com
to Cusco.also I have luck hiring driver guides from $50
per half day $100 for the whole day works better than
bus for me on lots of legs...

add Manu for jungle if time manuadventures.com inkanatura.com

www.mdtravelhealth.com food water precautions a must respect
altitude take lots of time to adjust or take preventives.

www.travel.state.gov for crime safety

www.insuremytrip.com always wise theft strikes weather

issues rare but not uncommon...

weather2travel.com May is a super time to go dress warm

in layers in the mountains can get super cold especially

with frontal rain...

Happy Travels!

qwovadis

Just a heads up on "TripAdvertizer" most of there "experts"
are occult touts bought and paid for by the folks they suggest.Mostly the top posting local guy does this for kickbacks.But more fake reviews touts than any other forum I have ever seen for scammers of the clueless.Mods sanction it for reasons that escape me(probably about money/ads they are
trying to go public sell stock and are owned by Expedia)
so be very careful over there with the "advice" you get...
used to be a DE over there till it became so commercial and
dishonest.Truly disgusting to me.


Caveat Emptor!

yestravel

I completely disagree re Trip Advisor. I have found it to be a valuable resource over many years.

yestravel

Oops, re your tin. I think it looks good! Have great trip.

mlgb

Sorry I have to agree with qwovadis on the Peru expert. Touts for his own friends and his own hotel. They have reigned him in a bit so he no longer can post a link for his own hotel but still would take his advice with a boulder of salt. For eg he will try to steer you to Urubamba and tell you to look at the TA reviews, which are skewed with padded reviews for his hotel (pretty common in Peru). Instead I think most tourists (other than those looking for the luxury spa experience) prefer Ollantaytambo, as there is actually something to do there.

Your itinerary looks fine.

yestravel

I can't speak to the Peru DE, but qwo sounds as if he is referring to ALL reviews/advice on TA. I just do not agree with that.

crellston

Tripadviser has attracted a lot of bad press here in the UK for false reviews and many hoteliers are beginning to take legal action. I used to post regularly (both positive and negative)on places I had stayed but don't bother any more as it is clear that many of the reviews posted are false. impossible of course to determine how extensive this is but one example was a hotelier in Cornwall who admitted all of his 100 or so reviews had been posted by him and his family.

Personally, I would prefer to trust opinions of regular contributors here (although i remain unconvinced that certain poster have actually stayed at some of the places they recommend. For budget places, hostelworld, hostelbookers seem to have more accurate and believable reviews.

crellston

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/tr...al-action.html

shutterbug85

Thanks for the heads-up about TripAdvisor. I've used them a ton in the past for hotel and tour reviews without any issues. I'll definitely watch out for the "Peru expert", though. Plus I usually gather ideas of hotels here first, then skim through the reviews on TA.

Eschew

We are leaving in October on similar itinerary. Flying LAN exclusively. Your Itineary looks "stock" from a tour company. Any reason not going with what the tour compoany recommends?

The hotels we booked are as follow:
Lima: Casa Andina Private Collection Miraflores
Paracas: Doubletrree Paracas (Hilton)
Sacred Valley; Casa Andina Private Collection Sacred Valley
Machu Picchu: Sumaq Hotel
Cuzco: Casa Andina Private Collection Cuzco
Puno: Libertador Lake Tititcaca

We booked the above hotels based on recomemndations from people who were there recently, and came back with good comments. I have checked the web pages and saw the pictures of the hotels, some reviews etc. I was told that there is a Casa Andina Private Collection and a Casa Andina Classics. They are different hotels and the "private collection" is the one you want.

djkmann

I've spent a lot of time in Cusco over a couple years, and I just put together my Top Ten list of great things to do there that may not be on your itinerary...yet!

http://blog.dojoklo.com/2011/09/20/t...o-do-in-cusco/

sasark

That is so interesting about the TA Peru expert. I have to admit I was suspicious when he said that the Cruz del Sur bus to Paracas was too dangerous and you should go with a particular driver that he knows.... Now I don't know how much to trust any of the TA bus-safety threads. Obviously some of those routes are risky, but now I wonder if some of it is fear-mongering.

Regarding TA in general, I don't know how it is overall, but I met one tour owner (not in Peru -- in the Caribbean) who told me that he regularly created TA "reviews" based on handwritten comments that people leave in his hard-copy guest book. Perhaps this isn't as bad as completely making it up, but it still struck me as pretty dishonest (especially since many tourists, when asked to write something in those books, end up striving for politeness... at least, that's what I did when he handed it to me!). For weeks after, I checked his company's review page to see if my own "review" would show up.

Sorry shutterbug, for not having a substantive comment on your itinerary! I mainly came to this thread to spy for ideas for my own upcoming trip.... I am envious that you have three weeks!!! It sounds like a wonderful trip.

ncounty

I climbed machu picchu rather than huaynu picchu. MP is 1/3 taller and therefore more arduous. It IS better in that you don't have to be up at 4 am and still risk not being in the first 400. It is also much less crowded. There were only 50 people signed up to climb it the day I went. It is the hardest climb I have ever done; but then, I am an amateur. It takes 1.5 hours up and then 1.5 hrs down. It took me 2.5 hrs up and 1.5 hrs down.

mlgb

Re ncounty's comment, there is now a procedure where you reserve online and buy tickets for Huayna Picchu.

Monitor this website for info (they probably won't put up tickets for May til year end)
http://www.machupicchu.gob.pe/

shutterbug85

Thanks for the insight, ncountry! I'm worried about the whole ticketing process for Huayna Picchu (and then possibly not getting to climb it!), so I thought MP would be a good option. We'll have to figure out if we can make it up after the 4-day Inca Trail hike, though!

mlgb - Thanks for the website!

ncounty

here is a good descriptive post I found on climbing MP:

Everybody strives for climbing Huayna Picchu, we followed our tour guide's advice instead and climbed Machu Picchu Mountain, which is located opposite Huayna, on your left hand when you enter the site, following the signs to Puerta del Sol. It takes approx. 3 1/2 hours to get up and down, so if you are not perfectly fit or used to mountain climbing you should pass it.
Here there are no limits on time or persons allowed and no registration counter. Don't expect crowd either: we crossed no more than 10 people during the whole hike. Also remember to take some water, some food and something warm to wear, as the top is windy.
The path was made by the Inka and looks like a long stairway of stones, brinings you up to 3200 mt o.s.l. though marvellous nebular forest and incredible vegetation. In some points it gets very steep or exposed, but on the whole the guide said it is less dangerous than climbing Huayna (where some tourists actually died).
On the top you'll enjoy the full view of the Machu Picchu site and its surrounding peaks, but also of the whole valley and nevados of the Cordillera.
And the feeling of looking down on Huayna Picchu
Written Sep 2, 2008


Read more: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel...#ixzz1ZvYgvNjM

ncounty

I also found a great photo blog of the climb of MP and was going to post it but found pornographic ads at the very bottom. The site is called a wonder a day if you want to find it yourself.