Hi - congrats on your wedding.

Re the Cusco/Sacred Valley part - I would change the order around so that you arrive and go immediately to Ollantaytambo, then AC then back to Cusco. Reason is Cusco is the highest altitude and it's better to acclimatize first at lower altitudes.

Where are you the night of the 26th?

Re BA/Mendoza - a little too rushed for my taste and with only 3 full days in BA not much time for day trips outside of BA? Maybe save Mendoza for another time?

Firstly, I totally support Elizabeth's comment re switching the order of Cusco and the SV. Get a taxi straight from the airport to Olly will give your body a much better shot at acclimatisation.

Weather wise, we were in Peru in August and September and Argentina Oct-Dec and had great weather virtually the whole time so I would say you have picked a pretty good time to go.

As for your general itinerary, are you set on seeing both countries?

You have fairly limited time and should not underestimate the distances involved and, more importantly, the travelling time needed from place to place.

If it were me (and of course it is not!) I would be inclined to stick to one country only.

In Argentina I was not enthralled by Mendoza, loved BA, loved driving around Salta & the North West even more, and was blown away by Iguazu falls. Add in a couple of day trips from BA to say the Tigre delta and/or Colonia de Sacremento across the river in Uruguay and that would be a perfect trip for me.

In Peru both Cusco and the SV have an tremendous number of amazing places to see. A week in Cusco & the SV including Macchu Picchu would fit nicely with maybe Arequipa and the Colca canyon, or maybe Puno and Lake Titicaca - it may be possible to fit in both places.

if you decide on Peru then you do need to book MP tickets and trains asap (even if the site is in spanish try the google translate button) but there should be an English language page. Probably makes sense to book the train from Olly to AC and then back to Cusco.

PS sorry if this confuses matters further!

Congratulations on your wedding! IMO you should stick with one country, given the time you have. You can very easily spend a week or more in the Cusco-SV-MP area, loads of interesting things to see and do. You'd do well to spend a couple of days at Olly first, though we went straight to Cusco and had no problems with the altitude. And you absolutely must get your MP tickets asap, they sell out fast, your hotel should be able to help you if you find the site tough to navigate.

Haven't been to Argentina so can't help with that itinerary.

Thank you Elizabeth, Crellston and geetika for your responses & info. You bring up an interesting point about perhaps going to Olly first to avoid altitude sickness. Since some people get it and others don't .. any idea if you are more inclined to get it if you get motion/sea/car sickness?

We really want to do 2 countries because to travel that far we want to see as much as possible. Who knows when we'll get back. I think we can extend our trip to 2 1/2 weeks though so that may help

The 26th .. I think I just missed by accident....
As soon as we can decide the order of things we will book MP asap and the trains.. I will see if I can find any other websites.. Unless anyone knows of good easy sites to book?

... akkk stress! so much to do lol!
Thanks again

"motion/sea/car sickness" have nothing to do with altitude sickness or Acute Mountain Sickness to give it its proper name. Neither do age, sex, fitness etc, it is pot luck as to whether your will be affected ina anyway.
In its acute form it can be life threatening and the onlt real treatment for serious cases is to descend to a lower altitude without delay. Thankfully this is EXTREMELY rare. At altitudes such as those at Cusco Puno etc, the vast majority of people will be affected to some degree - maybe just shortness of breath, maybe insomnia and, in my case severe headaches. Just take it easy for the first couple of days - walk slowly etc and you will be fine but staying in OLLy first will be the best remedy.

A couple of websites which may help:

http://www.andeantravelweb.com/peru/destinations/machupicchu/index.html Has a link to a MP ticket site

www.saexplorers.org

https://www.perurail.com/en/booking.php

Best wishes on your upcoming wedding! Completely agree with comments by geetika, Elizabeth & crellston. Ollatytambo is a great village to explore and kick back and enjoy. From there u might want to visit Pisac which is a charming very small village. It has fantastic ruins and many people enjoy the big market which is on Sundays. We were there mid-week for an overnight and got a flavor of the market, but loved the lack of tourists in the village.

From MP many people take the train to Olly and then a taxi to Cusco as it is quicker than taking the train back to Cusco. I think Cusco has a lot to see and do and u might want to add a day there.

If u like big cities, then 3 days in BA will not be enough. BA is HUGE and there is a ton of things to c & do.
Enjoy your planning!

Thank you everyone for your ideas! Love planning big trips
With everything else going on (wedding planning, working etc...) it feels a little crunched for time since everything needs to be booked so far in advance.. but my goal is to have planes, trains, & tix booked by the end of the week or next week at the latest.

Two questions..
I've been reading a lot about taking taxis there... and how it's important to make sure you settle on price before hand & even get taxi drivers to write it down..

But does anyone know how much we should expect to pay for the taxi from Cusco to Olly?

And does anyone know about how much it costs to hire a guide for the day to see parts of the SV?

Thanks!

Actually couple of other questions..
If we were to re-jig our schedule to help with the altitude sickness...

Leave Canada Nov. 20th (land in lima - fly to cusco - taxi to Olly)
Nov. 21, 22nd (Olly)

Nov. 23rd (Aguas C .. so we're close to leave in the morning for MP tour)

Nov. 24h (Saturday) We'll see MP all day.. I'm curious as to thoughts where to stay after sightseeing all day?? Seems like a lot of work to get all the way back to Cusco after such a busy day. Should we go back to Olly and stay one more night there?? We would like to see the market in Pisac on Sunday (which is why we're doing MP on Saturday) is there another town in the SV we should spend a night in?

So the 24th would be somewhere in the Sacred Valley....

Then see the Pisac market on the 25th...then head to Cusco..

Nov. 25th, 26th, 27th Cusco (maybe one more night here?)

28th Fly to BA
28th, 29th, 30th, (or one more night here?)

Dec. 1st Fly to Mendoza
Dec 1st/2nd Mendoza

Dec 3rd fly home.

8 - you are totally correct. It is ESSENTIAL to agree a price for a taxi beforehand and write it down (no matter how nice the driver may seem). We had one bad experience soon after arrival in Cusco for details see this entry on our blog:

http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/candcthai/1/1218988980/tpod.html

We did some voluntary work in Olly for a time and regularly got a taxi to Cusco usually paying 50-60NS but this does depend on a number of factors such as the time of day, which way you are going etc. Thta was 4 years ao so prices have certainly risen since then.

If getting at taxi from the airport assume that everyone is trying to rip you off. Another essential tip is to ensure that you are hiring the whole taxi as you driver will try to stop and pick up passenger en route. Most times this is entirely innocent, Sometimes it has led to robbery or worse. Also lock the doors when driving through Cusco as we had sever occasions when people just tried to get in the car when it stopped at junctions. possibly entirely innocent as sharing is the done thing in Peru but not worth the risk.

No idea re teh cost of a SV guide and I am not sure you need one. Consider hiring an english speaking driver (unless you speak spanish of course) and negotiate a rate for the day writing down where you want to go. Make sure you buy the Bolleto Touristico for entry to the sites - much cheaper.

I would stay the extra day in Olly.Pisac takes half a day and could easily be incorporated in your return from OllY - Cusco or VV - get you driver to drop you at the top of the ruins walk down and he will collect you at bottom.

A word about altitude sickness. Most hotel have oxygen and going under the mask for about 10-15 minutes can really help, so don't hesitate to ask if need be.

I'd use Olly as a base for the SV instead of having to change hotels every other day. Try and take in the Chinchero market, I feel it is more authentic than Pisac, also don't miss the ruins at Pisac, get dropped off at the top and walk your way down to the town.

As for MP many people just spend the day there and take the train back to Olly/Cusco. We stayed overnight and saw the ruins over two days, which we aboslutely loved, you need to decide depending on time availability. AC is a small town. not particularly interesting, with some pretty basic hotels. Of course if you really want to splurge you can stay at the swanky Sancuatary hotel on the top of the hill right at the entrance to MP.

In case you overnight at AC you might like to get dropped off at the bottom of the hill coming down from MP to visit the museum which documents Hiram Bingham's excavation of MP. You then cross the bridge over the Urubamba and walk back along the river to AC, about 30 mins.

I'd like at leats 3 full days in Cusco, there's quite a lit to see and do there.

Sorry for the typo, at least 3 days in Cusco

If you go through some of teh TP on this forum you'll find a couple of guides who come highly recommended, you could email them and ask for quotes. The guide should be able to help with your train and MP tickets too.

PS I would be inclined to add the extra night to BA rather than Cusco. PPS still think Iguazu wiuld be better than mendoza (unless of course you are into wine!)

We used David Choque fora guide for the SV. He's fantastic. Here's his website
http://www.cuscotoptravelperu.com/

Another David Choque recommendation!

I LOVE fodors!
Thank you all for your advice
Crellston thanks for the tips on the taxi. Very helpful . And yes we LOVE good wine.. so I think Mendoza is a must for us.
Geetika nice to know about the oxygen. Good tip. I will definitely do some more searching for guides.. we found some on Fodors for wine tours in Mendoza. And I will look up David Choque (Thanks Yestravel) sounds very promising.
I will go through all your links again tonight & tomorrow.. but for now I"m late for work! LOL!
THANK YOU

You can avoid the ripoff cab concern by having your Ollanta hotel send a car for you. I can highly recommend El Albergue there.

Um, does anyone else think that this is too much moving around, especially for a honeymoon? I am counting 6 destinations in 12 days. And 4 airports, not counting home.

A good point robertino and I tend to agree. I suggested in one of my earlier posts that sticking to one country might be advisable but the OP responded:
"We really want to do 2 countries because to travel that far we want to see as much as possible. Who knows when we'll get back. I think we can extend our trip to 2 1/2 weeks though so that may help" which seems fair enough as some people do like to travel ike that.

Moving around in the SV/Cusco would not concern me because it is relatively compact and there is so much to see. However what would concern me would be the flights in Argentina whose airlines have a horrendous reputation for delays, cancellations etc.

Congrats! I actually planned a similar itinerary for the end of May (Lima, Cusco, Aguas Calientes, Buenos Aires, and Mendoza). My gf and I have never been to those regions, so I don’t know if it will work (we planned it ourselves). Here’s hoping!

Aguas Calientes train tickets can be purchased at http://www.perurail.com/. Website is in English and is relatively easy to navigate. Remember to check your tickets as your seats may not be next to one another. You have to contact the company to change them. Depending on what type of train car you are looking for, it is advisable that you book in advance.

Machu Picchu tickets can be purchased at http://www.machupicchu.gob.pe/. If you need help, the following website is helpful: http://www.machupicchutickets.com/. You can also purchase Wayna Picchu tickets as well (includes Machu Picchu entrance fee). They only allow 400 people per day so it is advisable that you book in advance. Please be advised that a lot of people have problems purchasing the tickets. My problem was my credit card company was flagging the transaction and not letting it go through. This was solved with a telephone call. Others seem to have other problems. I believe there is a limited number of times which you can try with a single credit card.

You still need to buy bus tickets to the top of Machu Picchu, but I believe they can be purchased in Aguas Calientes.

After Machu Picchu, we plan to take the late afternoon train back to Cuzco.

If you planning on doing wine tours in Mendoza, it is recommended that you hire a guide who can make all the reservations for you (you need a reservation and can't just walk in for many wineries). The tours are based upon wine region. We are doing Lujan de Cuyo.

You have some good advice here, especially that you will start in Ollantaytambo rather than Cusco.

I was in Peru last November, you may find some rain in the Andes that time of year (not the worst, but there were some storms).

If LAN fixes my ticket I will be there soon and there are a few places to stay in Pisac, so if you wanted to end on the 24th in Pisac for two nights you could do that. I am not that great a fan of Cusco but it is okay for two nights.

I will always put in a vote for at least a night and day in Lima, I know not everyone likes it but I think it is underappreciated, and in the last few years quite a lot of improvements. There is a great B&B in Barranco that seems suited to honeymooners, Second Home Peru. You will find many recommendations.

Thank you for all your help!
We're currently waiting to hear back about how much we might be able to book on points! If we can book most of the flight portion on points it will help us a lot - especially after paying for a wedding -- but they're a little slow to get back to us. Akkk!! Wish they'd hurry up!! I want to start booking things!

I also recommend at least a night and day in Lima. Sightseeng, cultural sites and for shure, gastronomic experience is what I highly recommended. My personal suggestion, visit "Restaurante Manifiesto"... take a look here: http://www.manifiesto.pe/en/home.

I am probably one of the few that was underwhelmed by BA. While there were a number of things that were nice, my lasting impression was a city that was dirty and suffered from deferred maintenance.
Iguazzu was incredible however and very romantic for a honeymoon. There's more to it than just a waterfall (ex. Niagara Falls)its a whole park full of waterfalls. Truly you have to experience it.

Thank you for everyone's input!
Our flights are finally booked!!!
Looking into using points to fly took forever!!
We didn't end up using them for this trip.
We're so excited for our honeymoon....
May have a few questions about hotels to stay in..
I will start a new post for that though
THANK YOU