Hello All,

We are 3 27 yr old students planning a trip to Peru March 19-29' 2009. Since we are on a budget we are looking to stay in Hostels, travel in buses, trains. I have a tentative iternary for the trip but do not understand if this is too rushed.

19-Mar Reach Lima at 10:30 pm
20-Mar Go to Nasca lines and back
21-Mar Fly to Cusco- Sun temple and Sacsayhuaman
22-Mar Cusco- bus/train to Pisac/Chincero, Cusco Morning go to Pisac market, Chincero and back to Cusco
23-Mar bus to Ollyntambo look around Ollantaytambo and head towards Aguas Calientes by train, stay in Aguas Calientes
24-Mar MP Big Day... Machu Picchu and come back to Cusco
25-Mar Leave for Puno by bus stay in Puno
26-Mar See lake titicaca, bus to Aerquipa to lima
27-Mar look around Aerquipa and overnight bus travel to Lima
28-Mar Lima- look around Lima. Fly out at midnight

Some of places we want to visit are Cusco, MP, Sacred valley, Nasca. I am still contemplating if we should go to Puno, is it worth the trip? Please do let me you comments about teh iternary. Also is it very safe/comfortable to take local buses or should we travel tourist buses.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
D

This plan is a bit rushed. Here are some of my thoughts:

You are not even allowing one day in Puno. Do you want to go all that way just to look at the lake and leave? What about a boat ride around the lake to see some of the islands? The floating island was fascinating, and the other islands were beautiful too.

You asked if Puno is worth the trip. I think it is, but not if you are going to do all these other things too. So if Puno is not a priority for you, cut it from your plan. The bus ride between Puno and Cuzco is about 7 hours, which is an awful long way to travel for such a short visit. If you still want to see Puno, give it another night, do a boat ride tour of the lake and make it worth your time and trouble.

You mention visiting Cuzco but there's no mention of having a day to actually see the city of Cuzco. It's a wonderful city and I think you should allow at least a day or 2 to see it.

Other posters might disagree but I enjoyed having a full day in Lima. I took a city tour and spent the rest of the day exploring the MiraFlores district. They have a great night time tour if time allows.

I liked Puno very much but since it's not a priority for you I would say to cut it. Extend your visit to Cuzco and maybe spend a night on Olly to explore the ruins there. When you are ready to return to Lima, fly. Yes the public buses are safe but not so comfy. (at least mine wasn't) I didn't go to Arequipa, maybe someone else can advise you about whether or not to go there for such a short visit.

I can see you've done your homework on Peru and I hope you will have a great trip. But please consider trimming your schedule a bit, I really think you're trying to do too much in the time you have. Bon Voyage!!

I apologize if this sounds nit-picky, but this is not a 10 day trip. It's a 9 day trip as you are arriving at 10:30pm on your first day. I'm only bringing this up because it's easier to plan if you think in terms of how many days you actually have.

You're trying to do too many things in too short a time. I think you need to make some hard choices. If Arequipa is a priority, skip Puno. I don't think you can do both. I'd give Cusco a full day. Personally, we loved Lake Titicaca - did an overnight homestay on one of the islands. It was a real trip highlight for us - but it was a 3-night investment with a night on each side in Puno and a night on the island. We missed the Nasca lines and also Arequipa (maybe another trip). You just can't do it all. You'll love Peru!

Check out my trip report for specifics. Type Karen and Julie in the search box.

Thanks P_M and althom 1122 for all your recommendations.
I think i will drop goign to puno. Also wanted to know the experiences of living in hostels in peru.

Thanks again for all your help

D

First off, you can't go to the Nasca lines and back to LIma in one day without a very pricey tour including flights from Lima. I looked a year ago and it was $1000 for 2 people. Otherwise you need a couple of days for buses and the flight.

You might also consider staying in the Sacred Valley to save on travel time going back and forth to Cusco each day.

How long you need in Puno depends on what you want to see. A trip to the Uros takes only a few hours so you might be able to do that and take an overnight bus to Arequipa. I don't know the bus schedules so you might be well served to check on how long these trips take.

If seeing Nasca is really important to you then look at continuing south to Arequipa at the beginning of your trip then to Puno and then Cusco. It would be more of a circle and could be more efficent.