In a cruise we will stop in peru and we want to visit machu picchu
Sep 8th, 2019, 12:32 PM
#1
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In a cruise we will stop in peru and we want to visit machu picchu
Hello all. thanks in advance for your help if you can provide any info. I am not sure if this is doable and if it is, then how to do it.
We are taking a cruise from Chile to America in March. ( Thank you mlgb for your great info. in the forums)
The cruise will stop one day at Pisco.
The next day at Lima Callao.
The last day in the area will be in Trujillo (Salaverry).
The cruise offers a tour of three days to Machu Picchu but charges $2,000+ for that tour!
One of my friends suggested that we could stay in Pisco. Go on our own to Machu Picchu and then retake the cruise in Trujillo.
What do you guys think? Doable? and How?
thanks!
We are taking a cruise from Chile to America in March. ( Thank you mlgb for your great info. in the forums)
The cruise will stop one day at Pisco.
The next day at Lima Callao.
The last day in the area will be in Trujillo (Salaverry).
The cruise offers a tour of three days to Machu Picchu but charges $2,000+ for that tour!
One of my friends suggested that we could stay in Pisco. Go on our own to Machu Picchu and then retake the cruise in Trujillo.
What do you guys think? Doable? and How?
thanks!
Sep 13th, 2019, 06:15 AM
#2
Not a good idea, IMO. You would need to be sure you have your passport and are properly cleared to enter Peru with a tourist visa stamp..since you'll need three flights, a train and hotels, all of which will want to see your passport.
Add up the costs of the transfers (including one way flights), trains, and admission to MP. It will still be expensive. If you'll never get to Peru again, do the ship's tour.
Add up the costs of the transfers (including one way flights), trains, and admission to MP. It will still be expensive. If you'll never get to Peru again, do the ship's tour.
Sep 13th, 2019, 01:19 PM
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From which stop does the cruise line offer the tour to MP? Pisco, to me, would be the worst choice as a starting point as you would have to get to Lima for a flight to Cusco. So curious to know where the tour would start and what it includes, what transport etc..
Sep 13th, 2019, 03:07 PM
#4
Here's and example of what Princess does. They fly you round trip Lima /Cusco, put you up for two nights (I think at Tambo del Inka) and include the train, MP Tickets and the land transfers, as well as guiding.
https://www.princess.com/excursion/e...urCode=CA2-801
DAY ONE
WHAT YOU VISIT
Cusco Cathedral
With a combination of Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance architectural styles, the 16th century Cusco Cathedral is one of the most beautiful and important monuments of the Americas and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Koricancha
The lovely Santo Domingo Cathedral was built on the foundations of the Temple of the Sun, the most sumptuous temple in the Inca Empire. The curved, mortar-less masonry wall at the west end of the church is considered to be one of the greatest existing examples of Inca stonework.
Sacsayhuamán Fortress
This archaeological complex was constructed without mortar yet the massive stones (some weighing up to 300 tons) fit perfectly together. It's believed that more than 20,000 men extracted the stones from the nearby quarries and moved them 12 miles to the hill overlooking Cusco.
DAY TWO
WHAT YOU VISIT
Machu Picchu
Constructed as a royal retreat for the emperor Pachacuti in the 1400s, Machu Picchu was abandoned less than 100 years later. Because the Spanish conquistadors never found this hidden gem, explorer Hiram Bingham discovered it largely intact. Efforts to restore the site after centuries of weathering are still ongoing. Architectural highlights include the Temple of the Sun along with several other temples, hundreds of terraces and a mysterious carved stone towering above the plaza. The stone may have been used for astronomical observations, but because the Inca had no written language, the stone and other mysteries of Machu Picchu remain unsolved.
DAY THREE
WHAT YOU VISIT
After flying back to Lima, you'll transfer to the part (sic) of Pisco and your ship.
I've known a couple who decades ago did an MP excursion from a cruise stop, but they used charter flights for them.
https://www.princess.com/excursion/e...urCode=CA2-801
DAY ONE
WHAT YOU VISIT
Cusco Cathedral
With a combination of Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance architectural styles, the 16th century Cusco Cathedral is one of the most beautiful and important monuments of the Americas and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Koricancha
The lovely Santo Domingo Cathedral was built on the foundations of the Temple of the Sun, the most sumptuous temple in the Inca Empire. The curved, mortar-less masonry wall at the west end of the church is considered to be one of the greatest existing examples of Inca stonework.
Sacsayhuamán Fortress
This archaeological complex was constructed without mortar yet the massive stones (some weighing up to 300 tons) fit perfectly together. It's believed that more than 20,000 men extracted the stones from the nearby quarries and moved them 12 miles to the hill overlooking Cusco.
DAY TWO
WHAT YOU VISIT
Machu Picchu
Constructed as a royal retreat for the emperor Pachacuti in the 1400s, Machu Picchu was abandoned less than 100 years later. Because the Spanish conquistadors never found this hidden gem, explorer Hiram Bingham discovered it largely intact. Efforts to restore the site after centuries of weathering are still ongoing. Architectural highlights include the Temple of the Sun along with several other temples, hundreds of terraces and a mysterious carved stone towering above the plaza. The stone may have been used for astronomical observations, but because the Inca had no written language, the stone and other mysteries of Machu Picchu remain unsolved.
DAY THREE
WHAT YOU VISIT
After flying back to Lima, you'll transfer to the part (sic) of Pisco and your ship.
I've known a couple who decades ago did an MP excursion from a cruise stop, but they used charter flights for them.
Last edited by mlgb; Sep 13th, 2019 at 03:15 PM.
Sep 14th, 2019, 07:31 AM
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Certainly better to start from Lima but a whirlwind trip and straight to altitude.. No one knows exactly how the altitude will affect them until they try it or have previous experience at altitude. I certainly wouldn't try something like this on your own. At least on a cruise excursion you would have some guarantee they could get you back to Lima quickly if you felt bad. But I honestly wouldn't do it at all. There must be excursions from Pisco - Islas Ballestas, Ica, Huacachina. I would stick to those.
Sep 15th, 2019, 01:25 AM
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"You could take an entire separate vacation for what Princess charges for that excursion.” Indeed, my wife and I wouldn’t spend that per person travelling for a month in Peru!
If you did want to do it I would ask your doc about diamox to help cope with the altitude. you could probably book flights, transport, entry tickets, guides and reasonable hotels for less than $1000 (per couple). It is not difficult to do.
That said, there is absolutely no way I would want to do that a couple of days. No idea about the “steelmagnolias” reference but I could probably do a week in the Sacred Valley from London for less that the cruise company want to charge. Do people actually pay these prices?
If you did want to do it I would ask your doc about diamox to help cope with the altitude. you could probably book flights, transport, entry tickets, guides and reasonable hotels for less than $1000 (per couple). It is not difficult to do.
That said, there is absolutely no way I would want to do that a couple of days. No idea about the “steelmagnolias” reference but I could probably do a week in the Sacred Valley from London for less that the cruise company want to charge. Do people actually pay these prices?
Sep 15th, 2019, 08:06 AM
#9
Steel Magnolias was a movie set in the South (US) so assumed that the OP is from that area and lives in the US. From most parts of the US it's very easy and not especially costly to fly to Lima and on to Cusco.
I know some people are "bucket list" travelers or have limited vacation time and do highlights only, cost be damned. I could understand wanting to do it as a shore excursion if it was difficult to reach or they were coming from farther away than the US. (like Asia or Australia, I guess).
WRT to Peru, and probably many other South American countries, they've only ever heard of one or two key sights.Most of us who responded here have spent multiple weeks in Peru and know how much more there is to see..well worth a separate vacation.
For Lima, I would go on a city day tour.. actually helped a cruise ship lecturer plan his presentation on that port (he had never stopped there despite traveling all around the world for 20+ years) and he enjoyed his day there tagging along on a City Tour.
I know some people are "bucket list" travelers or have limited vacation time and do highlights only, cost be damned. I could understand wanting to do it as a shore excursion if it was difficult to reach or they were coming from farther away than the US. (like Asia or Australia, I guess).
WRT to Peru, and probably many other South American countries, they've only ever heard of one or two key sights.Most of us who responded here have spent multiple weeks in Peru and know how much more there is to see..well worth a separate vacation.
For Lima, I would go on a city day tour.. actually helped a cruise ship lecturer plan his presentation on that port (he had never stopped there despite traveling all around the world for 20+ years) and he enjoyed his day there tagging along on a City Tour.
Last edited by mlgb; Sep 15th, 2019 at 08:25 AM.
Sep 16th, 2019, 05:57 AM
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Hi. Thank you for your comment. Actually it is quite inclusive. It is not just Machu but other things too,. The cruise is in Norwegian leaving from Chile and ending in Florida. I have come to realize that it will be difficult to do it independently while in the cruise. I am thinking about doing it another time (no with a cruise), since this site in Peru is in my bucket list. Thank you.
Sep 16th, 2019, 06:00 AM
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Thank you MLGB. Yes, I have decided that this time, I will not take the cruise's tour or go to Machu on this trip. Rather I will go to Peru directly in a future trip. Thanks all for your input.
