Hello---I am in the very early stages of planning a 2008 trip to Peru to visit these places (I enjoy the planning process and like to extend it out, and we've already got 2007 booked up). I've bought some books and read a bit here, and already have a few questions to direct my thinking. We started with the idea of just going on an Inca Trail trek with an established tour group (Mountain Travel Sobek, REI, Wilderness Travel), but I've done well with planning trips to Europe myself using guidebooks, the internet, and help from forums such as this, so maybe I can do the same here. We will probably be a group of five to seven people: us (fit 50's couple and our teenage daughter), possibly our 20-something sons, and some friends our same age who have lived in S. America (and speak fluent Spanish). Our time will be limited by work schedules (and our daughter's vacation times), so we'll probably only have 10 to 12 days, including travel time from Oregon. We would like to focus on Machu Picchu and Cusco/Cuzco, and perhaps one other place if recommended (Sacred Valley?) My questions for now:

What should we consider in deciding WHEN to go (we are probably limited to June, July, and August, and possibly mid-April).

What's the best way to get to Cusco from the west coast? Is any particular airline better than another?

How far ahead must one book to stay at Sanctuary Lodge? I would definitely like to do that. What hotels would you recommend in Cusco and Aguas Calientes? Since we'll spend a small fortune on the Sanctuary Lodge (well worth it, I'm sure), we could use mid-range, clean and charming everywhere else.

I have read the recommendations here for guides; it seems like Cuscotoptravelperu, recommended by Elizabeth_S., and Lost World Adventures, recommended by cmcfong, get good reviews. Any more thoughts on those, or others? We would use them for detailed planning, for tickets, transport, perhaps a few days of trekking, and whatever else is recommended.

Thank you so much. This will get me started; I'll start a file with your answers and be back for more later.

I like your style, planning is half the fun. You need to check out the reports from SharonnRayMac on this board. She is a great source of information. On my trip I stayed at the Pueblo Hotel in Aguas Calientes. I had a lovely large room with a tree right in the middle. The restaurant was very good and the location very nice. The hotel in Cuzco was not so hot and I don't recommend it. I did love the MAP Cafe. I stayed at the Angtigua Miraflores in Lima and loved it. Old and full of character with two lovely courtyards. Very nice.
Enjoy your trip, it is a memorable country.

Thanks--the early planning thing is half style and half necessity--both my husband and I have to block out time at work way ahead. I'll look at Shannon's posts, and hope for more input as well. The Pueblo sounds great too, but I'm not sure I can talk everyone into both that and the Sanctuary Lodge. My understanding of the latter is that it is so wonderful to be right there, and to be able to go to the ruins early in the morning. I've noticed that some of the high-end tour operators brag that they include a night there---so it must be good, no?

How important is fluency in Spanish? I know some, enough that I got by in Spain, but would be happy to study up if it would help with appreciating everything. (My trips in Europe have been much enhanced by knowing German.)

Anyway, thanks for responding. I read all your posts here and like your style too.

Once you get there, the signs will all say "Cusco," but who's to say?

If you're going June, July, August, that's the high season. You have three big holidays during that time: Inti Raymi, the winter solstice and Cusco's biggest festival (June 24); Independence Day (July 28-29); and the festival of Santa Rosa (August 30). It's really difficult to find rooms at those times because everyone is traveling. There will be many fewer people traveling if you go in April.

You mentioned staying at the Sanctuary Lodge and then asked for a hotel recommendation in Aguas Calientes. You wouldn't need to do both because Aguas Calientes is the town below Machu Picchu, and if you were staying there, you'd be near the ruins. I agree with cmcfong: The Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel in town is wonderful and is a fraction of the price of the Sanctuary Lodge, which I think is WAY overpriced. So you're not right at the ruins. The first bus up from town leaves at 6:30 and you can still enjoy the early morning at MP. The first bus won't get you up there for the sunrise however.

A place I really like in Cusco is the Casa San Blas, about halfway up the Plaza de Armas to San Blas. It's fairly new business, but one of those houses that's been converted into a small hotel. (That describes the majority of hotels in Cusco.) The website is:

www.casasanblas.com

Almost every domestic airline flies between Lima and Cusco, but I think LAN Peru has the best service and I always make a point to fly with them. (TACA, Tans Peru, Star Peru and Aerocondor also fly the route.)

I am with Jeff on the Pueblo v the Sanctuario. It is much less expensive and allowed time for the exploration of Aguas Calientes. We spent most of our arrival day at Machu Picchu and two of our party returned on the first bus the next day to watch the sun rise (we went in November). As I was not one of the two,having opted for a Thai massage myself, I can only report they said they were there early enough to see the sun rise. I had lunch at the Sanctuario and found it singularly unimpressive and very expensive.
Our flights were on LanPeru. The planes were clean, the staff very pleasant and all flights were on time.

If you are not already following it, Liz, who regularly posts on this board, is presently in South America and her blog is an entertaining way to get some idea of what you may see on your trip. http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/l...ard_in_south_/

I speak Spanish but usually sound like Tonto, in other words my speech is halting and annoying and my tenses are always wrong. BUT, I get along fine and always seem to be understood. Nearly everyone I meet is very patient with me. In tourist accomodations there was always someone who spoke English. I do like tours in English because I sometimes struggle understanding spoken Spanish. The native speakers tend to go too fast for me.
Your trip will be such a great adventure. I know you will enjoy it! Peru is beautiful.

Woohoo! Someone who plans further out than I do!! I'll have to show this to my husband.

Peru may be our 2008 pick, too, so I'll watch your thread closely. Not ready for planning, though. We had a month planned in Honduras last summer which was cut short by a family emergency back home. Since we're heading back to finish where we left off I've had a winter with very little planning to do, so I'm working on Panamá for '07.

Thanks already for everyone's input! Happy trails...

Ah, I lived in Panama as a teenager and think it is paradise. I will be going back again in 2007, too.

Thank you so much--this is great. I thought the Pueblo was comparably priced with the Sancturio? I'll have to look into that more. I had read about the Pueblo here, and it sounds great, but somehow I thought it might be better to be right at the ruins. Now I'll reconsider. I've printed out the webpage for the Casa San Blas in Cusco (thanks, Jeff, for the spelling, and for the suggestion)----it sounds just right for us).

I think I found LAN Peru flights from LA to Lima, so that will work fine. I just didn't want to have to go to Miami or Texas to pick up a flight.

As for Panama, cfcfong, that is actually where our friends who are going along lived---I misspoke when I said "S." America instead of Central America. They lthought it was paradise too. They are the ones who suggested we spend some time (a few days)in Cusco exploring the culture there.

As for timing, Jeff--it looks like early July would avoid the holiday congestion? Or is it really so much better to go in April that we should try to do that? Apart from the crowds, is the weather similar in April versus July?

cmcfong - I'm already appreciating your advice. One of my sons was in Panama last year as an exchange student and loved it there - can't wait to check it out! Happy trails...

And I thought I was bad as I'm already planning my summer 2007 trip! Guess I'm falling behind, lol.

Second the recommendation for Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel over Sanctuary Lodge. You really don't gain much by staying at the top--my understanding is that you can't actually enter the ruins until they open, anyway... The Pueblo Hotel is beautiful with amazing hummingbird feeders. (We actually stayed at a small hotel in Aquas Calientes--The Presidente--but got a "day pass" for the Pueblo Hotel so that we could bird the grounds.)

I would definitely recommend staying a few days in the Sacred Valley--there is so much to see and explore there. Pisac, Ollantaytambo, the salt pans.. A good base would be Ollantaytambo where you can catch the train to Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes). We stayed at Hotel Pararitampu which was lovely, walkable from the train station and from town, with lovely gardens filled with birds.

http://www.pakaritampu.com/english/index.htm

Many folks do the Sacred Valley first (just fly into Cusco and then head right out to the Valley), then go to MP, then do Cusco last so that you have acclimated.

You can see my photos from our August '05 trip here: http://www.jczinn.com/peru/peru.htm

In August we had PERFECT weather...not a drop of rain on that part of the trip, beautiful skies, warm days even at altitude.

I am dying to go back...

I'd definitely look into booking and planning the trip yourself rather than going through one of big tour groups. It's very easy to arrange on your own. I found the Andean Travel Web website to be very helpful:

http://andeantravelweb.com/peru/index.html

I believe the Sanctuary Hotel is 2-3x the cost of the Pueblo, and I don't know that you gain enough by staying there to justify the cost ($500-700 a night). You can grab a bus in Aguas Caliente and arrive at Machu Picchu just as they open the gates. Bear in mind that the big tour groups, like MTS and Wilderness Travel, all book into the Sanctuary, so it'll fill early.

If you still want to blow your money on a luxury hotel, the Monasterio in Cusco is very nice ($500 a night). It's owned by the same company that owns the Sanctuary. They'll even pipe in oxygen into your rooms.

I traveled in July, and the weather was very good, for the most part. It is a very popular time to visit, though. April is very close to their rainy season. They shut down the trail for the entire month of February for clean up since it's the low season.

I got to Lima from SFO via Miami on AA. I flew Lan to Chile a couple of years back, and we stopped off in Lima, so they would be a good choice. I liked Lan's international flights more than AA's to South America. Food was better, as was the service. I would have done Lan to Peru, but AA had the better price.

Btw, my travel planning spreadsheet goes out to 2008, as well. My 2007 is fairly well packed, and I've currently got the Beijing Olympics slotted for 2008.

Ahhhh-----another early planner. Is it a sickness with us? I have so much fun doing it.

I've pretty much been convinced on dropping the Sanctuary from the plan, in favor of the Pueblo. I really appreciate the advice you all have given me on that. Seems like the big tour operators use the Sanctuary as a bragging point?

With this kind of helpful advice, do I even need to consult with one of the guide services (Cuscotoptravelperu, Lost World Adventures, etc.? I can make my own air and hotel resesrvations (with your guidance); would these companies provide additional services (train tickets, hiking or interpretive guides, van transport) that we might need? Is it possible to mix it up and do some of each, or do these services like to take charge of everything?

I can't speak to all companies but can tell you I was glad I made our arrangements through Lost World. I was travelling in a group of four women, two of whom are fluent in Spanish. One had lived in Peru as a teenager.
What they did for us:
1. private van, driver and guide in Sacred Valley and Cusco. Our guide was a Peruvian educated at the university in history, culture, and art. He added immeasurably to our experience. Since we were the only people with whom he worked during our stay he tailored the trip entirely to suit our tastes and was able to accomodate any "whims" we had. Although he was with us all day two days, we had evenings on our own and one entire day to roam Cusco at our leisure.
2. air tickets in country
3. pick up and delivery to hotels/airports (this was of some concern to me as a safety point. There are gypsy cabs and very unsafe areas in Lima, particularly)
4. private guide in Machu Picchu (same fellow who had been our guide in Cusco travelled with us by train to Aguas Calientes. He did not overnight in Aguas Calientes)
5. In Lima we had a private guide for several museums and a tour of the city. That took most of one day. The remainder of the time we were on our own.

I travel a great deal on business and leisure. I normally handle all my own arrangements. However going to Peru was a once in a lifetime trip for me and it was for only a little over a week so I wanted to be absolutely sure I didn't waste time with the mechanics (ie, safe cab companies, directions, etc)and that I appreciated fully what I did see. Having a guide who knew the history, the culture was simply terrific. I really appreciated both our guides, but especially Holvar in Cusco and Machu Picchu. All arrangements were very flexible and designed to accomodate our priorities. We had plenty of time on our own.

I forgot to respond to the point about hiking. Our guide, Holvar, regularly led hikers on the Inca Trail as part of his work for Lost World. Again, the attraction of that particular company was that your party was the entire group, whether it was two or ten people.
Just a note to those thinking of Panama, glover has posted a great four part trip report on this site. Check it out.
Now...back to travel planning......

Thank you---that's very helpful. I will contact them as we get closer----it sounds like we could work out something flexible. I don't think we will spend any time at all in Lima, other than the airport, but I can see the benefit of having a knowledgeable guide for the ruins, and we will want to do some hiking as well (the Inca Trail is still an option we are considering, especially if my sons come along, or we could do day hikes).

So where are you off to next? The 2007 trip I'm working on is another Swiss Alps trip, this time to some new areas plus a bit of Italy. This year (2006) is a "no foreign trips" year (saving up for the future trips); we'll visit the Grand Canyon and the high country of Yosemite.

In the meantime I'll get back to studying Spanish---I enjoy a place so much more if I can at least read a bit, and ask basic questions. I have the PBS series "Destinos" on VHS, plus the textbook, so maybe we'll make it a family project.

Funny you mention "Destinos". It was the original reason Buenos Aires (Nov. 2006) caught my fancy. I am leaving for the Abacos next week. Lots of big trips planned for this year. I have a big OH birthday and I want to celebrate all year long! And to me, celebrate has always meant, hit the road.
This may be more information than you ever wanted but I work as part of a therapy team with one of my dogs at the local cancer treatment hospital for children. When I went yesterday three of the four children I saw spoke no English only Spanish. Even as bad as my Spanish is you should have seen the smiles I got from those kids! Practica!

More information than I wanted? No way ---I think that's wonderful. As a BC survivor and the wife of an oncologist, I have considerable interest in helping out cancer patients myself. I should look into this. What kind of dog do you have? Our Labrador loves children, but she may be too big and too rambunctious yet (she's only 10 months). I'll ask my husband find out it they have such a program here. He's not at the children's hospital, but he would know whom to ask about it.

But getting back to travel. . . next year ('07) is my "big OH" (good way to say it; I'm new here and hadn't seen that expression before) and I too like to celebrate it with travel. Hence the Alps---my favorite place. The last one, five-oh in 1997, I celebrated with 2 weeks in Ireland and 2 weeks mountain biking in Colorado with one of my sons.

Now I'm really inspired to start Destinos again. It served me well last time, for a trip to the Canary Islands. The Argentina portion of Raquel's journey was my favorite part. I even think our 13-year-old will like the series---we're trying to talk her into taking Spanish instead of French when she starts high school next year, and this may help.

I am also a cancer survivor and so is the pup with which I work at Brenners Childrens' Hospital We took her straight from the shelter from which we adopted her to our vet to have her spayed. When he did the surgery he found the fibrosarcoma. The vets at NC State told us they had never seen a fibrosarcoma in a dog so young and they gave us very little hope. Our vet, also a cancer survivor, did the surgery and we all prayed for a good result. So far, two years and she is thriving. Dogs who work in therapy are usually certified by Therapy Dogs International after substantial training. TDI offers insurance which is required by most hospitals. The dogs do need to be well mannered and very gentle. I have seen many very successful labs, goldens and german shepards in this work. This little mutt is about 37 pounds and very shaggy. She looks like a bearded collie and kids love her. Check out www.tdi.org for more information. She and I also visit rest homes and she is very good with elderly patients as well. Two of my older dogs also as therapy dogs in rest homes and a fourth is in training.
Now back to travel. I love the Swiss Alps. Probably my all time favorite trip is to the Lake O'Hara region of the Canadian Rockies. Great hiking and wildlife. I hope to see some of the same in Patagonia. But I am also very happy wandering around London or lounging on a beach in Bermuda. Life has so many wonderful choices...I want to do it all!

Aaaahhh--Lake O'Hara. I have a poster of it on my office wall, where I can just look up from my computer and see all that beauty. I was there for hiking 2 years ago with a friend from college. That reminds me---I need to see if it's possible to get into the lodge there anytime this fall, or the CAC hut. I want to share that place with my husband----he couldn't go last time. I know they book up a year in advance, but there is always the possibility of cancellations.

Thank you for the therapy dog information. Nora is a bit young, but we'll look into it, and I'll mention it to others in our doggie play group. There's a wonderful "Portie" that would be a good candidate.

When are you going to Patagonia? Did you plan that on your own too? It's on our list too, but before that we have to get our daughter to Venice and the Dolomites, two of our favorites.

Amazing parallel paths in many ways. I had no idea how many survivors there are until I became one myself. I'm glad we had this conversation; I had a lot of confidence in your advice just from reading it on other threads, but now I have even more.

Parallel, I think these paths must have surely crossed. Your post is so lovely. Thank you.
My visits to Lake O'Hara have always been in July. My dream is to go in Sept when the larch are golden. Can there be a more fabulous place? I love it there. There are so many hikes I enjoy. AHHHH. Give Allison and Bruce a call, you just never know when there might be an opening.

I am planning my Patagonia adventure now, which is what brings me to this board so often. AVROOSTER and DRDAWGGY are my advisors, but I am talking to a couple of travel agents as well. Again, trip of a lifetime with limited time. My DH does not love travel nearly as much as I do and I hate to blow all the budget on solo journeys. He and I are going to Idaho in July to hike the Sawtooths (staying at Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch...another dream come true).
By the way is a Portie a Portugese Water Dog? Splendid animals. Love that breed.
One reason survivors seem to find each other is that we are really busy living. Finding the limits of my own life was more enriching and freeing than I could have imagined. Since learning that I really was replaceable and I really wasn't immortal, there have been more trips, more laughs, more love and a lot less furniture, clothese, etc, etc, etc. I like it better this way! Nice to meet you!