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One spare day in our itinerary - where should it go?

One spare day in our itinerary - where should it go?

Old Apr 13th, 2015, 10:50 PM
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One spare day in our itinerary - where should it go?

Airplane tickets have been booked for South America 2015/16 for my sister and I (early 20s) - very exciting! We have booked a Galapagos Cruise and Amazon Rainforest Tour. Now we are trying to finalise the rest of our itinerary, but we have one spare day we are uncertain where to allocate. Our itinerary is as follows:

7 nights Galapagos
1 Night Guayaquil (stop over between flights)
3 nights Amazon
4 nights Sacred Valley
1 night Aguas Calientes (2 days Machu Picchu)
3 nights Cusco
2 nights Puno (really only 1 day sightseeing as taking bus from Cusco to Puno)
2 nights Copacabana (really only 1 day sightseeing as taking bus from Puno to Copacabana)
3 nights La Paz (really only 2 days sightseeing as taking bus from Copacabana)
3 nights Lima

I am thinking the most logical place to add the extra night is Puno or Copacabana, but not certain how much there is to do in either of these places. Alternatively we have another day in Sacred Valley or Cusco. Our flights between countries have been booked, so are unable to add extra time in Galapagos or Lima. Any feedback on the itinerary is appreciated!

Additionally, any absolutely MUST DO or SEE in these places which are off the beaten track? We love mountains, scenery, some hiking and nature in general.

Thanks for your help!
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Old Apr 14th, 2015, 02:13 AM
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If it were me, rather than add a day to Puno or Copacabana I would seriously reconsider the latter part or your trip to try and fit in a 4 day / 3 night trip to Salar de Uyuni, one of the knot magical places in South America.

Take a tour bus from Cusco ( Inka express or similar ) as there is a lot to see on the way. The scenery is stunning. I don't think you need to do both Puno and Copa. My vote would be for the latter with a side trip to Isla deal Sol. It is only a couple of hours from Puno to Copa so you could do it on the same day.

A couple of nights in Lp is enough to see the highlights. But not the outlying sights. The bus ride from Copa to LP is amazing.

You can now fly from LP to Uyuni so that cuts the traveltime considerably and I doubt you would regret making ten trip to Uyuni.

For more info and photos see our blog of our 2013 trip which covers most of these places.

Also for the Inka Express trip and Uros/Puno see http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...ai/1/tpod.html. Entry, 62

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...ai/6/tpod.html
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Old Apr 14th, 2015, 03:12 PM
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Hi Crellston - your trip looks amazing! I will look into the feasibility of going to see Uyuni - I admit it does look spectacular! We will be there in January (wet season) so not certain how that impacts the appearance of the salt flats!
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Old Apr 16th, 2015, 02:00 AM
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Try to add Arequipa!
I was very surprised by this city, it's beautiful. And eliminate some days in Lima, it's not worth much.
Check out my blog for some inspiration and tips:
http://bonatravels.com/2008/08/11/country-summary-peru/
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Old Apr 16th, 2015, 06:17 AM
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January may be early for the wet to alter the routing for the flats Bolivia. Some people go specifically to see water on the flats though may miss out on some of the southern routes. I would do Copacabana without the overnight (you can have a quick look between the bus between Puno and the one to La Paz). That should get you enough time to fly to Uyuni. You can also do one night tours just to see the salt flat part although I would try to get to the southern lakes also.
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Old Apr 16th, 2015, 03:27 PM
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I am now looking seriously into the feasibility of going to Uyuni. The night bus doesn't look very appealing but flights are somewhat expensive. Are their any tour operators that do trips La Paz - Uyuni - La Paz?

Also looking at the potential of visiting Park de Sajama as the scenery there looks stunning (and is a little off the beaten track), but am worried about visiting during the wet season. How bad is the wet season in Bolivia? (This portion of our trip is mid January)
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Old Apr 16th, 2015, 05:20 PM
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I recommend Kanoo Tours (www.kanootours.com) as an agency that can book flights without an upcharge. They are showing Amaszonas at $317 round trip which may be a different nonrefundable fare class than what you can see online from overseas.

They also list the other recommended modes of getting there, eg the Todo Turismo bus.

The actual tour portion for Uyuni can be very inexpensive on the low budget option.

www.Kanootours.com
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