Emptynest_Travel

We are taking a trip with my parents (78&80 but in good shape) to Peru to see machu picchu in November 2012. Looking at staying a total of +/- 2 weeks total and thinking of either doing second half of trip in galapagos or amazon. Any thoughts? Also, as none of us speak spanish (and age of parents) considering doing this with a travel company. Any one have a great lead in this area (mid price +, ok). Thanks for the input!

qwovadis

www.smartours.com for nice easy
MP/Galapagos Combos
BBB.org A rated good prices.
kuodatours.com good upscale combos too.

or

www.guanguitagua.com [email protected]
for Galapagos Amazon IngaPurca(MP of Ecuador)
was great cheaper one destination.Dennis got me
GREAT discounts he spoke english perfectly.

ecoventura.com
huaorani.com
haciendapinsaqui.com
bellavistacoudforest.com
nuhousehotels.com

Saved a bundle on upscale
personal tour costs
had aa GREAT trip.

Happy Travels,

qwovadis

www.guanguiltagua.com
www.bellavistacloudforest.com

Sorry for typos...

mdtravelhealth.com Peru Cusco over 11000 ft be sure your elderly parents see a good travel MD for some altitude sickness preventives and take plenty of time to adjust carefully.Ecuador lots lower Quito IngaPurca Cuenca 7000-8000 ft. So few worries there.

Good luck!

waylluy

Ecuador has many places over 13,000ft like the Quiltoa loop and other beautiful places. Of course Quito is about 10,000 ft and higher in other locations. Cusco is 10,800 ft. Altitude is a problem in both countries. I suggest the following agencies:
www.quechuasexpeditions.com
www.southwindadventures.com

jwhitt

Definitely use a tour company and ask for hotels that are near the town centers. Cusco & Aguas Calientes have some steep streets and you don't want your elderly parents struggling to get in/out of hotels to dine and see the sights. In Cusco, taxis are very cheap, but in AC there are no cars, everyone walks. Find hotels near the railroad tracks.
Guides will help with luggage and logistics and make the trip more enjoyable for them. Ask for trekking poles when touring the ruins. The terrain is very uneven.
I'm taking my 75 yo mother to Machu Picchu next August and will be doing all these things for her.

jwhitt

Forgot to add. Would choose a land-based tour to Galapagos and then hop from island to island. Ride is about 2 hours and is still very bumpy in a fast boat. It's more comfy to sleep & eat in lodges and hotels. Depending on the Amazon tour you choose, it may require sitting in a 20 ft. long boat to transfer up river. Make sure they can handle that kind of travel.

I think it's awesome you are doing this for them! They are lucky to have you!

Emptynest_Travel

Thanks so much for your informational support. It helps alot. We traveled to disney world and universal studios with them last year and had a blast. They did nearly all the rides (many multiple times!) dad runs a half marathon tomorrow, so should be ok with the stairs. Altitude??? all of us are ocean dwellers, hence the 0 to 10,000 feet will be the full ride!

baldone

Nina Fogelman customized our 3 week trip to Peru w/private guide & driver.
http://www.ancientsummit.com/welcome.shtml

jonesbones

There are quite a few reputable companies out there that put together great customized Machu Picchu/Galapagos/Amazon tours. You can't really go wrong with either combination you're considering. Your decision whether to go to the Amazon or the Galapagos depends on what you're interested in -- you will see more wildlife in the Galapagos but the Amazon is obviously well worth a visit. A good place to start your research into reputable <a href = "https://www.igtoa.org/members/">Galapagos tour operators</a>is the International Galapagos Tour Operators Association's Member Directory.

jonesbones

Whoops. Sorry for the screwy link above. Not sure what happened there.

atravelynn

I vote for Galapagos. No bad time in Galapagos but the guides I've asked said Nov was their fav. That's the timeframe I'll choose when I go back.

Have a fun family trip.

Explorador1

From Charlie at Explorations.
We normally do not recommend combining Peru and Ecuador unless you have plenty of time. Combining Machu Picchu with the Peruvian Amazon makes more logistical sense. It saves transferring between different countries - a much less expensive alternative would be to visit Paracas south of Lima and have a boat tour of the "Little Galapagos Islands" of Peru. There are also boat tours of islands from Lima.
See www.adventuresofdisvovery.com

Emptynest_Travel

Thanks so much for everyone's help, it sounds like with the limited time frame, we will take in Machu Picchu and Manu. Looking forward to it!!!

Eschew

We did a similar trip last November, going through Peru and then Galapagos and took a pass for the Mazon.

We met people while we were there who did the Amazon Jungle add-ons. There is a general alck of modern facilities (not surprising) but the toughest thing for them (age 68) was the daily trek to the water's edge from the camp and back. I thought they were in good physical shape as we went to Machu Pichhu together.

The have to walk down a trail with many steps (somehow, 88 stuck in my mind) and it is the only way to the boat lauch where they go on excursions. (The boats are canoes and they sat single file).

Electricity is available for a couple hours when they fire up the generators to prepapre meals.

I have posted a trip report on the Galapagos portion on the cruise forum. the link is here. You may want to take a look and see if this is something tha you or your parents may enjoy.

http://www.fodors.com/community/crui...-galapagos.cfm

I have posted pictures for the "land portion" instead of a trip report, the links to the photo albums are below:

South America:
http://travel.webshots.com/album/582177142tXDpsg

Galapagos Islands:
http://travel.webshots.com/album/582034887dLHsDS

All comments welcome here and over there too. Feel free to download the pictures.

Eschew

By the way, travel company that do everything you wanted on your list, consider Globus. They are reputable. I have sued them in the past.

colduphere

That's a funny typo.

mlgb

LOL!

Eschew

I have used them, and I am suing them if they don't pay up! ... lol ...