Rosalie

I've been working on this for weeks; and I'm left with a feeling that we were moving too much & trying to do too much. We are not the type of travelers that enjoy constant movement nor are 5-10 hour bus rides something we look forward to. We are travelers that like to 'hang out' each place we go for 3-5 days.I would say that for me the most important doings are the Inca Trail, Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain. I've dropped Nazca Lines, Colca Canyon, and Lake Titicaca from original plans.

As of today, itinerary looks like this:

12 Sept-NYC to Lima (12 hours) arrival at 11pm
13 Sept-Morning Lima. Afternoon Travel to Paracas by car or bus. Overnite in Paracas
14 Sept- Morning Ballestas Islands Boat ride followed by Paracas Reserve. Return to Lima
15 Sept-Lima
16 Sept-Morning flight to Arequipa
17 Sept- Arequipa
18 Sept- Arequipa
19 Sept- Sacred Valley
20 Sept- Sacred Valley
21 Sept--Cusco
22 Sept- Cusco
23 Sept- Cusco
24 Sept-Inca Trail Trek Day 1
25 Sept- Inca Trail Trek Day 2
26 Sept- Inca Trail Trek Day 3
27 Sept-Inca Trail Day 4 arrive at Machu Piccu. Overnight in Aguas Calientes. SHOULD WE STAY OVERNIGHT?
28 Sept-Machu Picchu in the morning, bus to Aqua Calientes & train back to Cusco
29 Sept- Cusco
30 Sept- Rainbow Mountain day 1
01 Oct-Rainbow Mountain, return to Cusco
02 Oct-Morning flight to Lima, free time, with over night flight home leaving at almost midnight.
Feedback? Opinions?
A Big thank you!
Rosalie
PS: Only items written in stone are dates for Inca Trail Trek....permits already bought!

dwdvagamundo

Looks O.K. to me. The only "rushing around" I see (if you can call it that) is the trip to Paracas, but I wouldn't skip that as it is one of the highlights of Peru IMO--take a bus rather than a car.

And stay overnite in Aquas Calientes.

mlgb

So if you are only going to Arequipa to help acclimate, and don't like to rush around, I might drop that. It really is too low to help much. How do you intend to get from Arequipa to the Sacred Valley.? Fly back to Lima and then catch a flight to Cusco? Otherwise it's a very long bus ride, although easier if you go Arequipa-Colca-Lake Titicaca-Cusco.
If you have no plans to go to Colca Canyon or LT I would probably drop Arequipa.

I mightfly into Cusco on the 16th then head for the SV for several days (that will acclimate you to go back to Cusco). You can add more nights in Cusco before your trek, I don't know enough about Rainbow Mtn to tell you whether to do it before your IT trek if you add exgtra days there.

I don't think you are rushing. It looks a little disjointed though. I would put all the Cusco days together.

crellston

Seems like a pretty good plan. Our attitude to travel is similar to yours, however the problem with Peru is that to fit everything in, some long journeys are unavoidable.

I have spent a lot of time in Peru over the years but have yet to visit Paracas. It has never appealed - perhaps I am missing something? Love Arequipa and it seems a shame to go there and not see the Canyon. We managed to get to the Colca Canyon last year, our third attempt, the other two were aborted due to earthquakes! I was so glad we finally made it as it ranks of one of the more impressive places in Peru. If you trimmed a day from Arequipa and one from Cusco, you could probably fit in the canyon and then fly to Cusco.

Some photos of our time in Colca on our blog https://accidentalnomads.com/category/peru/

If it weren't for the fact that you don't relish long bus journeys, I would have suggested getting to Cusco via the Colca Canyon and Titicaca. Stunning scenery and lots to see along the way but it does involve very long bus journeys - circa 8 hours apiece but with lots of stops along the way.

You seem to have got the acclimatisation issues right so you should be well set up for the Inca Trail.

Other thoughts:

Two days in the SV is good but you could include a numnpber of the sights en route from Cusco to Ollantaytambo. Moray, Maras and Chinchero are all on the way and including them would take around 5 hours. Maybe spent the rest of the time in Ollantaytambo and explore the town and ruins the next morning before the crowds arrive.

Pisac and Tambo Machay- Sacsayhuaman could be included one one of the Cusco days.

No time in Lima? A shame as it is one one my fav South American cities - great for foodies and a lot to see.

mlgb

Paracas is worth seeing crellston, especially liked going to the peninsula and having lunch at Lagunillas.

crellston

I will enusure I give it a shot next time mlgb.