My sister and I are planning a trip to Peru from late october-first week of november. We are pretty fit and in our late 20s and early 30s. We would love to visit Cuzco, MP and do the 4 day inca trail that everyone seems to be bragging about. We need help with setting up our itinerary. I started looking at flights first and the lowest flight I've seen from SFO is $674 RT from TACA airlines. It includes a 5 hour layover in El Salvador and 11-hour overnight stay in Lima for the outbound flights. The return flights will have 3 hour layover in each place. Should I go ahead and book this now or should I wait for something comparable?

Would 8 nights be enough if we did the 4 day inca trail and 1 night stay in Lima?

How much does the 4 day inca trail usually cost including meals, porters, entrance fee to MP?

Thanks,
Barbie

The cost of Inca trails depends on which kind of company you go with, if you want porters, sleeping bag rentals, tips, etc. You're looking at a minimum of $300 for a 4 day.

If 8 days is all you have, then it should be ok but give yourself a few days to acclimatize in Cusco before you start the trail because more likely than not, the altitude sickness will get to you. If you're up for it, you can see the Sacred Valley and around Cusco in that time.

As for the flight, that price sounds right - it's doubtful you'll find something lower than that.

So as far as itinerary goes:
1st night in Lima
2nd day early morning departure for Cuzco then rest up and tour cuzco or head up to SV.
3rd day- inca trail for 4 days
6th day- aguas calientes?
7th day-8th days??
9th day return to US.

Hey Barbie,
If you hurry, American Airlines is having a sale to Latin America that exprires today. AA.com. We booked round trip air from SFO to Lima for $458 RT per person. We leave SFO at 7am, arrive Lima at 10pm. It was the best deal I found.

Here is the actual link to the central and south america sale...

http://www.aa.com/apps/netSAAver/Vie...tentRepository

Hi Ruby, I just went on AA.com's website and I could not find that fare you found for Lima, Peru. Arrgh!! That's a great deal though.