My fiance and I are planning a trip to Machu Picchu/Cusco/Sacred Valley in September/October for our 50th birthdays. In addition to a night in Lima when we arrive from the US and a night in Lima before we return to the US, we'll have 9 free days/8 nights. We know that we want to go to Mach Picchu and the Sacred Valley, but are considering adding on a side trip as well, either to Arequipa/Colca Canyon or to Puno/Lake Titicaca. Which one of these side trips should we add in? Would we have time to do both (probably not)? And, roughly how much would adding one of these side trips add to our total cost for the trip (we're planning this trip ourselves)?

Thanks so much for any thoughts or insights!

I prefer Arequipa with Colca Canyon. Puno is just to high for my taste, even though Lake Titcaca is awesome.

We did both Titicaca and Arequipa but not the side trip to Colca. Titicaca was amazing as was the trip on the Inka Express from Cusco. Arequipa is a beautful town with great architecture and the Santa Catalina convent is worth half a day of anyones time.

We went from Cusco to Puno by Inka Express which takes 8 hours stops at loads of places of interest along the way plus , the scenery as you get on to the altiplano, is like another word. It takes 8 hours with stops but this is certainly not wasted as it is side trip in itself.

It is easy to arrange a trip on the lake inc a visit to the floating islands, a walk around and lunch on one of the ilsands. many travel agents in Puno town or just go to the dock or book online.

http://www.andeantravelweb.com/peru/ is a good independent resource.

We went directly from Puno to Arequipa, again by bus, taking around 5 hours and arriving early evening. More great scenery (I am an Englishman so we just don't get this sort of scenery back home!).

With the time you have available, I suppose it would be very tight but just possible to see both. Don't stint on the Sacred Valley/MP/ Cusco as there is a huge amount to see.

Some photos of our trip at http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...ai/1/tpod.html Entries 55-64

Andeantravelweb should provide guidance on costs or try www.saexplorers.org.

For Titica we used Allways travel -http://www.titicacaperu.com/ and paid, I think around $25 pp. The Inka Express was around $35-40pp in 2008 - you can get it a lot cheaper say $5 on a normal bus.

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

My fav to adjust to altitude best and see it all.

casa-andina.com best hotels at best prices

CruzDelSur.com.pe best bus VIP seats downstairs

4m-express.com Colca Titicaca Inkaexpress.com to Cusco/MP

insuremytrip.com always wise

Did last cost-effectively around $1k pp for 2 weeks

Spirit.com FLL LIM cheapest flights down usually

first class for the price of coach on the majors.

Titicacaperu.com if I had to choose just one

Casa Andina Private Collection there.

Have fun,

I only did titicaca but loved it. I want to do Colca canyon next time, and puerto maldonado. Your length of time is perfect for one or the other. You may be able to squeeze in both but it would be rushed.

If I would be asked to choose between Titicaca and Colca, I would choose Colca every time. But then, I like rocks and mountains better than lakes. I personally feel like there is a lot more to see in Colca canyon and surrounding area ans Arequipa is defenitely a much nicer town than Puno. But it all comes down to your personal preferences I think. Both are worth seeing, but I would include only one option considering the time you have. You could fly from Cusco to Arequipa, but Lan Peru is the only one currently operating that flight, which means you pay a lot ($190). You could also go by bus, which takes 12 hours, but if you take a night bus you leave in the evening and arrive in the morning, so no time lost really. Busses cost around $30, so are a lot cheaper and much more comfortable than the planes in Peru.