jebohncky

Hi Fodor community!!
Looking for some feedback and advice. My fiance and I have traveled extensively across the country but I have little experience internationally and my fiance has none. We just got tickets to Lima, Peru with the goal of getting to Machu Picchu. We only have 10 days total- including our flight from PHL. Here is our itinerary at this point:

Aug 17th- Arrive Lima at 9pm
Aug 18th- Leave Lima on 6am bus to Huacachina (stay overnight)
Aug 19th- Day in Huacachina and leave on overnight bus to Arequipa
Aug20th- Arrive early in Arequipa (stay overnight)
Aug 21st- Day in Arequipa and overnight bus to Ollantaytambo
Aug 22nd- Ollantaytambo
Aug 23rd- Travel into Machu Picchu (train?) and stay overnight in Aguas Calientes
Aug 24th- Machu Picchu again and travel to Cusco at end of day (stay overnight)
Aug 25th- Cuzco all day and overnight bus to Lima
Aug 26th- Lima all day and fly out of Lima airport at 10:45pm

My fiance and I tend to butt heads about "doing it all" (my side) vs. having enough time in each place to experience and enjoy it (my fiance's side).

So here are my questions for you all... any advice is MUCH appreciated!!
*Do you feel the above itinerary is a good plan for the short amount of time we have? Is there any place we are missing or any place we should try to spend more time in? We are in our 30s and looking to really experience the nature and landscapes of Peru. We are hoping to find some fun outdoor activities to do in each place once we nail down the itinerary.

*Are there places to store your stuff at MP? We're a little unsure of where we will leave our bags throughout our travels.

*My finance took Spanish in high school and I don't speak any Spanish but am planning to use Rosetta Stone over the next few weeks. Is the country/ transportation hard to navigate without speaking Spanish well?

*Any money saving tips would be appreciated as well!!

Thanks so much for anything you can tell us that would help us out! I feel like we are throwing this together sort of last minute so all advice is appreciated!

qwovadis

Adventures.worldnomads.com for the Gringo Trail your best route

Www.cruzdelsur.com.pe best bus

In 10 days did it a few years ago

Not too difficult

Casa-andina.com best hotels in best areas

Fly back from Cusco Peruvian Starperu.com Taca.com

All cheaper than Lan dure to $178 tourist surcharge

Altitude can be a problem review mdtravelhealth.com Peru for this

Insuremytrip.com always wise stikes etc not uncommon

Many scammers never wire large sums CC only for me captalone.com Visa works great

Travel.state.gov for a heads up on entry safety

Perubesttours.com Mike or peruforless.com if u need any help.

Very adventurous and tonnes of fun if careful...one of my favs in SA

jebohncky

Thanks for the suggestions and websites, qwovadis! I will definitely follow up on those leads...
One other quick question for you or others--
Do you feel that our itinerary will give us enough time to acclimate to the altitude?

Thanks!! Really looking forward to the trip!

Jeff_Costa_Rica

That is a LOT of time on the bus. That's what hits me looking at your itinerary. Arequipa to Cusco is 12 hours and then it's another couple of hours to Ollantaytambo. Cusco to Lima is 21 hours, so those last two days would just not be possible to do as you've written them. My concern is that you're going to be exhausted and that your real memory of this trip is going to be all those long bus rides.

I'm with your fiance. I think you're shortchanging these places by being on the move every day (or every night). I'd pare down the itinerary, or look into a domestic flight or two. (That does add to the expense, of course.)

mlgb

Look into flights on Star Peru and Peruvian Airlines to cut down your flight costs.

Do you really need to see Huacachina or is that just there because you're taking the bus?

Maybe you could fly directly to Arequipa instead. And definitely fly back from Cusco to Lima.

jebohncky

Oh my goodness, thank you soooo very much for your feedback! We definitely did not realize the huge travel times between the different towns. It is REALLY difficult to choose where to go, how long to stay and what places to pass by with such a short amount of time. I just spent sometime revising the above itinerary and I think this is more do-able. Any suggestions or feedback on this new plan would really be appreciated!

Aug 17th- Arrive Lima at 9pm
Aug 18th- Fly Lima to Arequipa on Star Peru ($101/pp)- leave 6:30, arrive 7:50
Aug 19th- Day in Arequipa
Aug20th- Depart Arequipa at 20:00 on bus to Cusco (arrive 8am)- $122/pp (???)
Aug 21st- Cusco all day
Aug 22nd- Early morning taxi or bus to Ollantaytambo and stay overnight
Aug 23rd- First train to Aquas Calientes and then bus up to Machu Picchu / night in A.C.
Aug 24th- Machu Picchu again and Aquas Calientes / night in A.C.
Aug 25th- Aquas Calientes to Cusco… fly from Cusco to Lima at 16:05 arrive 17:15 (Peruvian Airlines) $131.62/pp
Aug 26th- Lima all day and fly out of Lima airport at 10:45pm


Do you all feel like that is a good preview of Peru and MP in the short time we have??? Thank you so very much for feedback/ suggestions!!!

Also, I'm having trouble with the Cruz Del Sur website. I'm having trouble changing the dates to get a price quote and I can't get the website in English. Has anyone else had those problems?

And one last question- If we have our bus ticket, plane tickets and hostel/hotel reservations all set before we leave, is there anything else we should have set up ahead of time? I don't want to plan all of our activities and days at this point only because I want to leave some options open in case there is something we see that we really want to do once we're there.

I know that's a lot of questions, but I really want to make sure this trip is the best it can be!
Thanks so much for your time and tips!!!!

mlgb

I would do it in this order in the SV

Aug 21, from Cusco, transfer to Sacred Valley by taxi/tour& stop at Pisac & Chinchero since this is Sunday market day. Taxis aren't too expensive, but since you are travelling with luggage I would prearrange this with lodging in Ollantaytambo. You may also include Moray and Maras on the way to Ollantaytambo. Overnight Ollantaytambo. The transfer should run about $75 if you arrange it ahead with a hotel in Ollantaytambo (will be double if you need an English speaking guide). Try El Albergue.

Aug 22 Ollantaytambo Ruins or activity (eg bike ride) and transfer by afternoon train to Aguas Calientes (I would try to arrive when it's still daylight, the train ride is scenic). O/N MP

Aug 23 Full day MP, stay until it closes, late train to Ollantaytambo, where your luggage has been stored. ON Ollantaytambo.

Aug 24 Tour/transfer back to Cusco after bkst, stop at Moray/Maras/Salineras if you missed it. PM Cusco.

Aug 25 Morning Cusco, midday to Lima (this allows for any delays along the way)

Aug 26 Lima

mlgb

The most important thing to book is train tickets from Ollantaytambo (Sacred Valley) to Machu Picchu.

www.perurail.com

They do allow changes with at least 24 hours notice for 10% change fee. Their website can be touchy, try to use a Verified by Visa cc and book the tix as roundtrip.

Peruvian Airlines same advice also do not use a free email account.

crellston

mlgb's itinerary makes perfect sense. Here is a link to our blog with photos of most of the places mentioned:

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...ai/1/tpod.html

Entries 57-64 cover Peru

Arequipa is a beautiful town - make sure you get to visit Santa Catalina convent - almost like a town within a town,

For outdoor activities places in the plaza de Armas in Ollantaytambo have bikes for hire and you can also arrange horse riding and rafting on the Urumbamba river.

As mlgb says $75 for the day for hire of a taxi is about the going rate although if cost is an issue, you could negotiate a rate with any taxi driver in Cusco for less that half of this amount but you do run a medium risk of getting ripped off in some way. Even basic Spanish will be a great advantage!
With mlgb's amendments you will have a pretty good into to Peru and I would bet that you will leave wanting more!

jebohncky

Thanks so much for all the advice and feedback! I will definitely be doing some schedule revisions based on mlgb's tips. I will also book that train ride ASAP- I appreciate the heads-up on that. What is the reason for not using a free email account? Is hacking a big issue when booking?

Crellston, thank you for the activity ideas. I think horse riding and rafting both sound right up my alley! Your blog will be a great resource too!

I'm starting to feel like this trip plan is finally coming together (after a lot of debate, indecisiveness and fighting the urge to cram sightseeing the whole country into our 10 days) and I'm so excited!

If there are any restaurants or sights that anyone has seen that you can rave about or feel are an absolute must-see/must-do, please share!! Thanks so much Fodor folks!!!

mlgb

It's been noted somewhere that using a free email account may cause your purchase to be rejected by the airline website. Of course it still may be rejected for reasons known only to the banks. Even for LAN international, my credit cards rarely go thru. That reminds me, notify your bank AND your credit card company that you will be making overseas purchases now. If it doesn't go thru, you can try calling, some reports of them adding a small fee to hold it and then you finalize in Peru, if memory serves.

I found that one had to work to have a bad meal in Peru. There are quite a few good places in Ollantaytambo, including the restaurant at El Albergue (aka Cafe Mayu), and Mayupata which is different! Mixed reviews on the hotel restaurant at Pakaritampu, though.

Lima is the spot to have ceviche/seafood in all price ranges. There is a recent trip report that tipped off a good although still splurgy lunch deal at Astrid & Gaston.