lcuy

Hi. I'm coming over from the Asia Board and would love some comments on my tentative itinerary for a May 2011 trip. Currently (!!) I am doing my own bookings:

Wednesday night:
Arrive 9:00 PM. Stay at Ramada Costa Sol at the Airport

Thursday:
Fly to Cusco, then drive to Ollantaytampo. Pakaritampu hotel

Friday:
Ollantaytampo. Pakaritampu hotel

Saturday:
Ollantaytampo. Pakaritampu hotel

Sunday:
Train to Agua Calientes. Sumaq Hotel

Monday:
Machu Picchu. Stay again at Sumaq Hotel

Tuesday:
Train to Cusco, Aranwa Cusco Hotel ($232/night) or Rumi Punko ($100/night to balance out Sumaq costs ;-) )

Wednesday:
Aranwa Cusco / Rumi Punko

Thursday:
Aranwa Cusco / Rumi Punko

Friday:
Fly to Puerto Maldonado. 3d/2n at Sandoval Lake Lodge

Saturday:
Sandoval Lake Lodge

Sunday:
Fly to Lima. Hotel in decent area?

Monday:
Lima - Surfing with Surf Peru Guides. (my husband! I'll watch & read or shop)

Tuesday:
Lima - not sure what we'll do.

Wednesday:
Lima touring, then fly home at 10:30 Pm

NOTES: I admit it, I am a baby about riding in cars with unknown drivers on mountain roads. How long and how scary (if at all!) is the drive from Cusco to Ollantambo via Pisac? Is there a better route or should we just take the train?

Is there a guide or comapany that will just set me up with drivers? Maybe train tix to?

I'd like to spend one day touring on horseback. Not sure if this would be from Cusco or from Ollan. Any recommendations?

What do MP guides normally charge? The Sumaq wants $148 for a guide and two entrance fees to MP.

I really hate tiny planes, so the Manu area river lodges are out. The Sandoval seems nice, is close, and has lots of activities, plus we can only be wait-listed at Posadas at the moment. Any reason NOT to book Sandoval Lake lodge?

Lima hotel Ideas needed. $150 range, interesting areas?

Only thing that can't be changed now is the timing for Machu Picchu. All the hotels kept appearing sold out, and the cancellation policies were such that I couldn't do "back-up reservations" elsewhere. It's a splurge, but I got 2 meals a day, and the second night is 50% off.

Thank you in advance!

crellston

Hi Lcuy,
Looks like a reasonable itinerary although personally I didn't much care for Lima and would probably lose a day there and add it to Ollantaytambo (but it looks as though your dates in MP are fixed so probably not an option). We stayed in a small homestay in Barranco which was a nice area with lots of good local restarants. It is the next neighbourhood to Miraflores which is more well known but we did not like quite as much.

The drive from Cusco to Olly is very scenic and not at all scary so I wouldn't worry about that. I don't know of a organisation to pre boo a driver but you could check out the following sites:

www.saexplorers. org
and
http://www.andeantravelweb.com/
both are independent sites and are not travel agents and so should provide pretty reliable info.

Pisac will take at least a couple of hours. Get you driver to drop you off at the top car park, walk down through the ruins and he will pick you up at the bottom. I suffer from vertigo so I found this a little bit scary but definitely worth it. The market in the town is wort another hour with some quality but expensive goods (cheaper in Cusco). I actually preferred Pisac to MP but realise I am in a minority.

Other places worth seeing in the SV are Chinchero (visit at sunset if poss. and make sure you go inside the church there), Maras, Moras Salineras and Urumbamba market and square for some local colour. You could hire a taxi from the main square in Olly (but bargain hard!).
Horseriding trips are available from a couple of places in the main plaza in Olly but I would arrange as soon as you get there to be sure of a ride.

I don't think you need a guide for MP unless you are really into the Inca history, otherwise a good guide book will suffice.

Rumi Punku is a nice hotel in a good location close to the Plaza de Armas and San Blas. We tried to stay there but they were full. Instead we stayed at http://www.torredorada.com.pe/ a way out of the centre but excellent rooms and a convenient hotel shuttle into town.


A link to our blog with more info and photos

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...ai/1/tpod.html
Entry #55 on covers Peru.

Treepol

Hi lcuy,

the drive from Cusco to Ollanta is not scary at all - it is very scenic and enjoyable.

I'd recommend contacting either of these guides, both of whom are mentioned on the boards from time to time - Percy Salas may be contacted on [email protected] or Vidal [email protected] Either of them should be able to find you a driver and book tickets.

I would also recommend Guido Quijada Solis as a MP guide, he did a wonderful day tour at MP for us last August and he may be contacted on [email protected].

If you are staying at Rumi Punku I can recommend Inka...fe Cafe just down the street for delicious lunches and dinners. The staff are friendly and the food is good quality.

Regarding Sandoval Lodge, I don't know if this is a reason not to stay there, but be aware this property is part of the Tropical Nature organisation http://www.tropicalnature.org/index.html.

This thread returned some interesting responses regarding Tropical Nature's overall operations, http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...cal-nature.cfm.

Happy planning,


Pol

qwovadis

Looks fine basically

www.casa-andina.com Private collection and Classic

best hotels for me.

Raddison Miraflores nice for price view in Lima

www.inkaterra.com and Sumaq are your 2 best MP hotels

Always hire private driver/guides from $35-50 per half day

Sacred Valley MP for the first few days back to Cusco

www.libertador.com.pe another great hotel there

built on the ruins of an Inkan palace from $200/nt

www.directrooms.com Casa Andina Classic from $100

www.rumipunku.com is rustic more of a guest house feel ok

For Manu www.inkanatura.com www.manuadventures.com

all have nice options that do not require flying at all.

Sandoval not much wildlife expensive you have t fly to

PM does not make much sense to go there for me.

Reserva Amazonica best lodge there if you go.

Happy planning insuremytrip.com always wise strikes

weather cancellations not uncommon.

Usually fly www.spirit.com first class FLL LIM

for less than the price of coach on the othere.

Have fun,

Scarlett

I don't suppose you can take a slight detour and have lunch with me in BA ? :- )

mlgb

I also prefer Barranco, try Second Home Peru for lodging

The Museo Pedro de Osma is nearby, and lots of good restaurants and nightclubs. Lillian can guide you on that.

I love Lima. Just don't get stuck at the Larcomar Mall like the typical Amercian.

robertino

I enjoyed Lima too but I think 4 days is too much. I would reduce days in Lima to 2 and either stay longer in Cusco (really liked the Rumi Punku) or the jungle.

For Lima, I would also stay in Barranco. I found Miraflores to be uninteresting - soulless. Barranco is very pretty and interesing. And downtown - very interesting.

live42day

Hi Lcuy, looks great. Dont know if you checked out if the Santuary is available. It is the only hotel on Machu, expensive but all inclusive. This way you can be the last one out and first one in the ruins. We spent two days at the ruins and just loved having the time to just sit and drink it all in. You can have some quiet time if you dont just plan to be there during the afternoon when all the tourists from Cuzco arrive for the day trips. It is such an amazing place I cant understand people who just breeze in and out.

We had a guide for two hours and found it very valuable. THen we were on our own to just look around.

We loved Pisac and Ollyantambo as well. Really enjoyed the market in Pisac.

We stayed at a different lodge in Puerto Maldonado for two nights and found that amount of time was perfect. Loved it, and a great contrast to the rest of the trip.

I did not go to Lima, but my friends did and loved it.

bring layers of clothes. It got very cold at night, we were there in May as well. We also went to Lake Titicaca which was a highlight for sure. Puerto Maldonado was very rainy and cold when we were there, but the week prior was very hot so you never know.

ncounty

My hotel in Olly offered/arranged a driver to pick me up when I land in Cusco. Maybe yours might offer the same service?

My trip is in April. My hotel offered a private guide through MP, entrance fees, transportation there and back, a box lunch, lodgings for my one night plus 3 course dinner for $277.

lcuy

live42day: Sanctuary is booked for our nights, as is inkaterra. I've been trying for a month to get a room, so when this Sumaq one opened, I grabbed it! Which river lodge did you stay at?

ncounty, I hadn't thought to ask them about a pick up. Thanks! Which hotel are you staying at?

chepar

I agree with the previous comments - the drive from Cusco to Ollantaytambo is scenic and not too long. We found that all of the vehicles on the roads in the Sacred Valley drove pretty slowly and carefully - the complete opposite of the drivers in Lima .

The Pakaritampu is nice and the grounds are very pretty. The llamas walking around are really cute.

We stayed at the Hatun Inti hotel in Aguas Calientes. At the time (last June) it had been open for just a few months. I really loved the hotel - especially the huge jacuzzi tub that was perfect for soaking in after trekking around MP all day.

ncounty

I will be at the El Albargue (?SP) for the Olly part of the trip, lcuy. It looks simple but quaint/nice. My hotel in AC is Rupawasi, reported good in the kitchen. I wanted to splurge for this big birthday trip but couldn't bring myself to do it. All your hotels look fantastic, it should be a great trip!

live42day

lcuy we stayed at http://www.ecoamazonia.com.pe/
Nothing exotic but we really enjoyed it and they had great guides. I had asked to go to a local village and they took my friends and I on a special trip down the river for the afternoon and it wasnt one of the villages on the tourist route which was great.

hup234

Lcuy I hope you have booked your train tickets up to machu picchu and back (or are you walking?). I just finished doing our itinerary for april and had to rearrange everything cos the trains were full!! Also had a hell of a time attempting to book wretched Rupawasi Eco Lodge - they never responded to 4 emails and 4 times I got non-english speaking people answering when I phoned. Eventually I got a nice Peruvian waiter here in oz to call them and book a room using my mobile phone. Thought I should confirm just to be on the safe side, so sent an email which they eventually responded to saying they had no reservation in that name and over the ensuing period (speed is not their best asset) after they argued I had the wrong phone number - despite my phone records having the same number as on their email (!) they offered me a room, then when I accepted - the next morning - told me sorry it was full. So now we are staying at Hostal al santuario. hmm. Hope it is better than its reviews

ncounty

hup- I think lcuy will be alright with the trains but shouldn't wait much longer. I am going mid april and one train was sold out; the early morning one. It looks like most of the return trains go to Olly; i didn't see any to Cusco. Is Poroy cusco? They only had morning trains going to Poroy.

I am staying at the Rupawasi and had the same experience! It took 3 emails to get confirmation. I didn't even bother calling them. I started the process in December or January so I didn't get too worried.

crellston

Booking hotels direct in Peru or indeed it seems, most places in South America is fraught with problems. If you send an email to many of the smaller places in English rather than Spanish it will often be ignored or deleted. If you speak Spanish then send in Spanish or, if not use Google translate for simple messages.

During 5 months in South America we soon gave up the direct approach in favour of finding somewhere on arrival and we always did find somewhere satisfactory if not our first choice. I think the last ttime we tried the direct approach was in Aquas calientes where I had used my new found Spanish skills to book by telephone. However on arrival when we tried to book in we noticed that our name had been crossed out of the register for some reason. It took some persuasion but eventually we did manage to get a room.

We found www.hostelworld.com www.hostelbookers.com and www.hihostel.com to be very efficient and a painless way of booking rooms at competitive rates and did not have a single problem when booking through any of these sites. Highly recommended

mlgb

Poroy is the station for Cusco (actually outside of Cusco). You can also take the train between MP and the Sacred Valley (Ollantaytambo) and then a taxi.

BostonHarbor

Hi Lcuy, Sorry I took so long to get back to you. The flu/pneumonia got me good and I've been out of action for the last month. But, I'm back.

Your trip sounds fabulous. I found <i>Peru for Less </i> to be great and I've tweaked the itinerary about 25 times with nothing but positive response from Riva. She's found a photographer guide for me while at MP (she had never been asked before, but researched and found one) and made dinner reservations at Chicha in Cusco for us along with 30 other requests and changes. I have your email and I'll send you my final itinerary. You might find some ideas.

The Aranwa in Cusco looks fabulous. I'll be staying there on April 6th and 7th, and I'll give you a first hand report. If you do decide to stay there, you should upgrade to a deluxe room The price difference is minuscule and according to Trip Advisor reports, the difference in the rooms is significant. I'm sorry you couldn't get into the InkaTerra. However, the Sumaq looks great too. Ask for a river view room at the Sumaq if possible. (note--keep checking the Inkaterra. There were no rooms when I first looked, but rooms opened two weeks later)

My trip isn't as extensive as the trip you are planning--I'm only going to the Sacred Valley, MP and Cusco (with a fly-by four hour tour of Lima) for eight days. I'm am so excited!