17 day trip in Peru with my 18 year old
 

Hello to all,

I am traveling with my son to Peru in July. We will be in Peru for 18 days and I would love some assistance and suggestions with places to go and things to do. Here is a list of ideas I have and please feel free to add your ideas to mine;

17 full days in Peru;

- 5 nights in Iquitos including a three night stay at a jungle lodge on the Amazon.
( question - should we go to Iquitos at the end of the trip or the beginning)

- 5 nights going down the coast from Lima including the Nazca line and Islas Ballestras and to end in Arequipa and see the Colca Canyon for an over night.
( question - best ways to travel down the coast and the most important things to see and do)

- Fly to Cuzco and spend 6 nights here and in the Sacred Valley.
questions;
- cheapest airfares and or agencies for flying within Peru
- Best way to avoid altitude sickness
- Should we go to Puno and Lake Titicaca
- Hotel recommendations for 2 or 3 star levels
- A great personal guide for the Cuzco area

Any other suggestions would be most appreciated. I have left a couple of days to play with and I haven`t currently allocated any time in Lima.

I am hoping for an active, and yet not frantic, trip through Peru.

Thank you,
Christie

I am aware that I can`t use my question mark on my computer. It is coming up as É. In case you were wondering!

Congrats on your trip

starperu.com peruvianairlines.pe good Lima Iquitos flight

LAN $178.50 tourist surcharge LOTS more $$$

explorama.com otoronoexpeditions.com 2 nice lodges

3 days max for me of your 17 days then to adjust to

altitude best and see more Cruz Del Sur Bus or private

driver guide on the Gringo Trail to MP

adventures.worldnomads.com/destination/168/itinerary/23.aspx

Casa-andina.com best hotels everywhere titicacaperu.com

awesome as is colca-lodge.com

Percy Salas best SV guide for me

Peruforless.com Perubesttours.com Kuodatours.com

all good if u need help.

insuremytrip.com careful touts/scammers about

I always pay large sums with CC never wire money.

Happy Planning,

Which night to spend in Iquitos may depend on your flight times. Usually they will not travel the Amazon River in the afternoon. So incoming you may need to spend that night. Usually you can find the afternoon flight out.

I would just do one night in Iquitos and 4 at a lodge if you have that choice.

Thank you so much for your responses.

One thing I haven't read much about yet is the trip from Lima to Arequipa. I am not sure how I can best get down there. Is it better to fly or take the bus? I was hoping to see the Nazca lines and Islas Ballestras.

Then how long should I stay in Arequipa and area. Do I book this before I leave or not?

I am thinking about going to Puno and doing ahomestay but I know there was some unrest there. Any idea what is happening? Is the bus the best way to get from Arequipa to Puno or should I fly?

So many question but I am leaving in less than a month now. I am excited.

Great tips from this site. It has been really helpful so far!

Thanks,
Christie

A couple of websites which may aid your planning are:

http://www.andeantravelweb.com/peru/index.html - lots of info, including how to get around by bus or plane etc. If you are thinking of Puno then we did this trip in reverse and it took us around 5 hours from Puno to Arequipa (nice scenic trip) in a very comfortable bus (definitely the best way).

We didn't make it to Colca canyon but did stay in Arequipa for several days as we liked the town so much and there were lots of fiestas & parades going on. 2 nights would be enough for the main siights, probably add another for the canyon trip but don't miss Santa Catalina convent.

Some photos of our time in Arequipa http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...7320/tpod.html

We stayed at Los Balcones de Moral y Santa Catalina and loved it. We had a balcony room from which we could see the spires in Plaza de Armas a couple of streets away. We booked most of our accomodation in SA on www.hostelbookers.com orewww.hostelworld.com many hotels or hostals in your staed price range and v. efficient booking online.

If you are looking a not expensive holiday to Peru with excellent services/tours/hostels/hotels we suggest you to contact www.intrandes.com they can give all the information that you need.

You can easily take a bus from Lima down to the Ballista Islands - departing from Paracas- and then go on to Nasca on the same day. It depends on how much wildlife you enjoy and out at the islands how well you handle a small boat (i'm a little prone to seasickness so I was happy to go back to land).

The flight over the Lines only takes about 40 minutes. And with that and the graveyard in Nasca you are pretty much done there.

You could easily take the evening / overnight bus to Arequipa.

With the exception of stoping in Ica there really isn't much else on the southern coast.

I used Crus del Sur bus line. You can book tickets to their web-site, but most people have problems. Peru Best Travel booked my entire vacation. You could work with them to do what you have difficulty booking on your own. They are very affordable for their services.

Also with the hotels 2-3 stars means something else in Peru. In some areas Motel 6 would be considered a 4 star hotel. Don't compromise safety and hot water for a few dollars. I think you'll actually find that outside of Lima the 4-5 star hotels are quite affordable.

You'll have to decide how much time you want to spend on a bus vs flying vs seeing places. Air travel in Peru is relatively rare except for the tourist flights. The most common way between Cusco and Puno is by overnight bus.

I spent 17 days in Peru and instead of doing the jungle and Puno, I went up the northern coast to Chiclayo and Trujillo to see the ruins there. It is different than south of Lima.

Also while you are in Lima consider a day trip to Caral. You'll need a travel agency to set that up. It is a fair drive out there and if you don't know where you are going you won't find the turn off. But it has been dated to 3500 BC contemporary to ancient Egypt so it is facinating if for no other reason than that.

A gradual increase in altitude seems to work best for me as far as altitude sickness; personally, I'd start out in LIma and then go into the Sacred Valley, gradually working "up" to Cusco. It's nice to go to the Amazon lodges at the end as it's very relaxing (for me, anyway--I've been there three times and would go back again in a minute.)

I used Peruvian Airlines for my most recent Iquitos flight, making arrangements through a Peruvian travel agent. It is, indeed, much cheaper than LAN. (And that was even with having a LAN "airpass" type deal, as my trip involved a number of flights, including Rapa Nui.)

This was my first trip to Peru; no altitude sickness at all, but I did notice breathing a bit more in Cusco! http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...rip-report.cfm