Katie_H

Hey everybody--

I'll speaking about destinations and travel trends that are of high interest to Fodor's Forum members (you guys!) this weekend at the New York Times Travel Show.

In the Fodor's office alone, there have been three editors who have traveled to Peru, namely Machu Picchu, with multiple generations of their family.

I have a good friend who just traveled there with her mom.

I'm wondering is this once-in-a-lifetime trip is part of some sort of trend--- have you or do you know of anyone who has traveled to Peru or some other ambitious destination with family members?

Katie_H

that should say.. "I'll be speaking"

blamona

I went with my sister in December-went to Peru and Galapagos Islands.

We work together-seasonal business, and when we're closed for the season, my sister and I pick somewhere to go to. Her husband can't get off work, and my husband will only go to Caribbean-so I'm lucky to have someone willing to see the world!

So for me it's a trend-I love having once in a lifetime trips every year! ;-)

Actually, if you need more specifics-Doug Stallings has my email-I actually update Turks and Caicos for you guys. I'm happy to answer more if needed-wish I was at the travel show.

Good luck with your speech!

meliss35

biamona: How was the weather in december? We are thinking about going to Peru this December.

blamona

We had all kinds of weather-which added to the experience.

The first glance of MP was completely sunny-for about 2 hours, then hazed up. The next morning, was totally foggy and cloudy and rainy, couldn't even see there was a mountain. The we watched the ruins with the clouds breaking up-really surreal. Then the sun (very bright) came out for the next couple of hours. We really got to see it all.

In Sacred Valley, it was 70's and sunny all day, then it got really dark and thunder. All of the sudden it hailed, looked like 3 inches of snow! There were double rainbows everywhere, it was really surreal.

MsKiki

Our family of 4 (2 boys 9 & 15) spent 2 weeks in Dec-January in Peru. While we enjoyed the typical sights (Cusco/Sacred Valley, Macchu Picchu, short Inca Trail, Colca, Titicaca), far and away the most exceptional experiences related to having the opportunity to sponsor and participate in local community-based charitable efforts in 4 places. Our kids collected donations of money from their schoolfriends, extended family, and community at large which supported 2 holiday parties ("Chocolatadas&quot for children in very poor and remote communities where we served hot chocolate and bread and gave small gifts to the children. We were able to provide financial resources to a grassroots effort to build small libraries in isolated villages on islands in Lake Titicaca. With some of the donations we helped a local family distribute clothing to the people who had come down from the mountains to Cusco on Christmas Eve. Our kids collected over 150 soccer jerseys from our community, and were able to distribute them in villages and play soccer with local kids and adults alike. While the kids enjoyed the more luxurious hotels, (Inkaterra Pueblo at Macchu Picchu!) these were equaled by the night we were hosted in a local family's home on Amantani island in Lake Titicaca (complete with guinea pigs living under the stone cooking area.) It was extremely moving to see and feel the sincere gratitude and warmth of the many local people who thanked us and embraced us, as well as the looks on the local kids' faces (and on those of their families), seeing what would be for many the only holiday gift they would receive. This was a unforagettable perspective-altering exerience for both adults and kids and a wonderful alternative to the slightly voyeuristic third-world travel we have experienced in the past (not to mention a fantastic depature from December holiday-season "wretched excess&quot!

How did we manage these complex travel arrangements?...By finding a travel agent with a common purpose and viewpoint, in this case Nina F. at Ancient Summit (www.ancientsummit.com), who worked incredibly hard and helped us overcome quite a few obstacles in planning our entire trip, overachieving in terms of arranging these experiences for us with her many lovely personal contacts in Peru. (We are quite well-travelled and I shopped the agents and researched the various forums before committing to her and rarely have encountered an agent willing to devote so much hands-on effort to personalize and customize travel arrangements,within our cost-limitations.)