Carolyne

My husband and I have a wedding in Lima to attend and no vacation time! We land in Lima Wed night/ Thurs morning at 12am. Wedding is Sat night at 7pm. Fly back to states Sunday night at 11pm.
Husband and I are pretty active people, and have done some trips to higher altitudes (Quito, Ecuador) without much trouble.
One tour company says that:
They will get us to a hotel in Lima, sleep and grab breakfast Thursday am
Fly to Cusco, roam old town, drive to coutnry side to see ruins, etc.
Stay the night in Cusco and Friday morning get on train to Machu Picchu. Arrive at Agguas Calientes and then take a 25 minute drive to the "lost city of incas"
Return to Cusco the same way later that day and spend the night in Cusco.
Saturday fly back to Lima for wedding.

So - how crazy are we? I just don't know when we are going to get back to Peru (if ever!). Does this plan allow us to see the key cool stuff? Or are we missing out on so much that its not worth it?

Our other option is to spend a day in Lima and then rent a car and drive to paracas for some R&R. . . but we can get R&R just about anywhere, right?

Thanks in advance!

jtrandolph

I would do it if I could be sure that the tour company could get us back in time to take a shower before the wedding <grin>.

They have included things which we did..old town, ruins, Machu Picchu. Your 'trip' from Aguas Calientes to the "lost city" will be a bus ride up the hill.

What the heck...are you going to have a chance to see this later on? If you are not sure, go for it. It is awesome.

Elizabeth_S

I don't think you're crazy at all - we were in the Sacred Valley last year for 2 weeks and if you told me I could only be there for 2 days I'd still do it.

But I question the itinerary you've been given.

I'd consider the following

- grab whatever sleep you can when you arrive at the Lima airport (in a hotel) and then take an early flight to Cusco

- be picked up by a private guide at the airport in Cusco and go into the Sacred Valley right away for three reasons

1) it makes acclimatizing easier (Sacred Valley is lower than Cusco)
2) you can see ruins in the SV
3) for us Cusco was the least interesting thing to see - the ruins trump Cusco for a short visit, IMHO

Visit ruins that day (Thursday) - and stay at Ollantaytambo that night (the ruins there are wonderful). Then the next morning (Friday) you can take the train from Ollantaytambo to Aquas Calientes (approx one hour train) and visit MP and return to Cusco that afternoon (if you go the private guide route then you would take the train back to Ollantaytambo and be driven to Cusco - cuts time off the train travel).

Happy to answer any questions - we have a private guide we would recommend if you're interested - but do it!

hills27

Agree with Elizabeth, but with a few changes. Don't miss the ruins at Pisac. And I highly recommend splurging and taking the Hiram Bingham luxury train back at the end of the day. It includes a private guide for MP, a four course meal on the very spacious (comparatively) train ride back, and lunch and afternoon tea at the Sanctuary Lodge. It also gives you access to the hotel to store your luggage, use the bathroom (not the gross portapotties), and hang out and rest before the train leaves.

In the Sacred Valley, I can recommend Hotel Sol y Luna ($130 or so a night).

kevanF

You must 'do' the Cusco/Machu Picchu option. Lima is OK however having been to Paracas its a long old drive to a place thats not especially oustanding. We stayed at the Hotel Paracas and would struggle to recomend it for R and R.
We met some people who flew straight to Cusco and they were troubled by the altitude so if you do stay there and it is worth at least a day to look around the sights in the centre bear that in mind.
Ollantaytambo is a wonderful small town with considerable Inca ruins in the Sacred Valley. The Hotel Pakaritampu was lovely and a very short walk to the train to Machu Picchu.
For such a short period I would suggest having a local guide.

Polymerpig

We're going to a wedding in Lima too - activities start Wed/Thurs with wedding Saturday evening. Yours isn't for a Brian and Pam is it??? Wouldn't that be weird???

Brahmama

Sounds good to me (but truly I don't have a clue, as we're just starting to look for ourselves!)

On that note, would you mind telling us the tour company you have heard from? We will in Lima in late November, which probably isn't the best time, but it's the only time for us.

Thanks!

lifelist

I'd suggest skipping the hotel in Lima the first night. The first flights out of Lima to Cusco leave at around 7 a.m., if not earlier. If you arrive at midnight, you still have to clear customs and collect your luggage. So, figure it'll be 1 a.m. by the time you leave the airport. Doesn't leave much time to drive into Lima, get a room, sleep, eat breakfast, and then drive back to the airport.

I would just sleep in the airport - there are padded benches near the gates, as well as, food courts and shops. Fly in, nap for a bit, and then catch the first flight to Cusco. Lots of people sleep in the airport since there aren't any hotels nearby.