shelleyk

I am planning a 2 week trip to Peru in June. Because of the way the itinerary works out we could have 2 or 3 full days in Lima (I can't move the days elsewhere. It is Lima or home) Usually I prefer being any place foreign to being at home, but I am having a hard time filling 3 days in Lima. I like museums and colonial archetecture and can surely fill 2 days with this, but the third day is giving me problems. Any suggestions, or should we just leave Lima early and fly home.

mlgb

You might go inside some of the colonial houses and churches around Lima centro (other than the most famous)

Iglesia de Jesus Maria Y Jose, Iglesia de la Merced, Iglesia de San Pedro (plus the more famous Santo Domingo Convent, San Francisco (the one with the bones) and the Cathedral at the Plaza. To reach some of these you would walk via Jr. de la Union which is a busy pedestrian street.

Casa Riva-Aguero is open to the public. Museo Pedro de Osama is an old mansion with an art colection in Barranco.

The two museums in Pueblo Libre are worth visiting, especially Rafael Larco Herrera. You can eat lunch at either one.

You could also take a tour one day, eg Pachacamac. I think Limavision and Mirabus go there.

Try to take a nighttime tour on top of the double decker bus of the Lima centro. The one I took (Mirabus) was in Spanish but it doesn't really matter, it leaves from the Plaza de Armas. I took one of the evening 8 Soles tours...what a bargain! You can look over their tours here
http://www.mirabusperu.com/tours.htm

And don't underestimate the pleasures of eating in Lima!

The Italian Art Museum is a lovely building.

BTW I think the Wikipedia entry on Lima is excellent for history.

eenusa

We only had one day in Lima and wanted to take it easy after two weeks of being on the go non-stop. Here are some easy things to do in addition to the other ideas above:

wander the promenade in Miraflores

http://2totravel.blogspot.com/2009/0...iraflores.html

visit Huaca Pucclana and have lunch or dinner at the restaurant by the same name

http://2totravel.blogspot.com/2009/0...-pucllana.html

shelleyk

Thank you so much for the information. Because of your suggestions we will spend the third day in Lima. eenusa-I enjoyed reading your blog. Your trip sounded wonderful. The pictures wetre great also. Thanks you and mlgp for your help. BTW, I assume you felt safe enough walking around Lima. Any potential problems or warnings other than the usual "Be aware of your surroundings". Any other tips to make our days in Lima more enjoyable would be welcomed.

mlgb

I walked around quite a lot. I did ask my hotel about safe routes. If you want to take a taxi ask a hotel or restaurant to assist you (If you must hail one on the street look for an older taxi driver!) Lima has had problems with rogue taxis.

Eenusa & I differ on whether to carry the passport on your person. Especially in Lima, I would leave it in the hotel, along with debit and credit cards, and just bring cash for the day distributed in several places. Also no jewelry or watches and always watch your bag. Typical stuff. Relax & enjoy!

Tip..If you're walking around, carry bottled water. Be sure to try the gelato at the 4D cafe upstairs in Lima airport. And ceviche!

mlgb

BTW you would carry a copy of your passport and entry card..you hotel should make one for you.

eenusa

shelleyk - glad you enjoyed the blog entries -- have a great time and be safe. We wandered through the residential and business neighborhoods as we walked to and from Huaca Pucllana ... felt safe at all times. Just apply the same be aware rules you would use in any big city and keep valuables out of sight.

BabsB

Hi shellyk
Barb and Margee from China are going to Peru in March. Are you going on a tour or independently? We are going for 3 weeks on our own. Hope things are going well for you.

shelleyk

Hi Barb,
Great to connect with you again. I think we are going on our own, but things could change if I found a tour with the exact itinerary I want. It's a lot easier to do Peru on your own than China. I'd love to know your itinerary. I'm sure you know that March can be rainy in the Andes.

BabsB

You are correct about the rain but since Margee teaches year round school our choices are November, March and July. November is to close to the holidays and we have other plans for July so March it is. In a nutshell here is our plan:
3-8-10 SF to Lima - overnight at Hotel Antigua Miraflores
3-9-10 Lima - private tour with Renato from Taxi Lima Peru, over night at Hotel Angigua Miraflores
3-10-10 Bus to Paracas, private taxi driver will pick us up at bus station and take us on private tour of Paracas, overnight at Hostal Refugio del Pirata
3-11-10 Private transfer to pier for Tour of Ballestas, after that private taxi to Lago Huacachinero, sand board and dune buggy ride, overnight at El Huacachinero
3-12-10 Private taxi tour of Ica including wineries, regional museum, chocolate factory. Taxi driver will drop us off at bus station for transfer to Nazca. Overnight at Hotel Alegria.
3-13-10 Flight over Nazca or Palpa Lines. Afternoon go on bicycle tour around Nazca. Late bus to Arequipa. Overnight on bus.
3-14-10 Sightee in Arequipa, Santa Catalina Monastery, Plaza de Armas, etc. Overnight at La Casa de Miabuela
3-15-10 and 3-16-10 Two day, one night Classic Colca Canyon tour with Giardino tours. Overnight at La Casa de Mama Yacchi
3-17-10 Bus to Puno, sightsee in town, overnight at Mosoq Inn
3-18-10 and 3-19-10 Allways Cultural Exchange tour to Uros, Amantani and Taquile, ovenight at Mosoq Inn
3-19-10 Inka Express Tourist Bus to Cusco. All day affair, overnight in Cusco at Nino's Hotel.
3-20-10 Sitesee in Cusco, walking tour, museums, overnight at Nino's Hotel
3-21-10 Private guide to Sacred Valley, Pisac Market and ruins, overnight at Ollantaytambo at KB Hotel
3-22-10 Private guide to Moray, Maras Salt mines, Ollantaytambo ruins, Chincero church and market. Overnight at KB Hotel
3-23-10 KB Tambo Abra Malaga "Downhill Heaven" bike ride. Vistadome train to Aguas Calientes. Overnight at Rupa Wasi and take a cooking class this night.
3-24-10 Machu Picchu! Overnight Rupa Wasi
3-25-10 Train back to Ollantaytambo where guide will pick us up and take us back to Cusco, stopping at Q'engo, Pucapucara, and Qoricancha on the way back. Overnight at Nina's.
3-26-10 to 3-29-10 Fly from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado and go to Posada Amazonas for a 4 day 3 night adventure.
3-29-10 Fly back to Lima, then onto SF

It needs a bit of polishing and I have not made any reservations yet but will get to that soon. After much debate and contact with many tour agencies we decided to do it on our own except for the Sacred Valley portion. I have found a taxi guys online for Lima and Paracas tours. Margee speaks fluent Spanish and I'm good at smiling and pointing so hopefully we will be able to along just fine. We are carrying 20 pounts max on our backs for ease of travel. I'm going to ask Renato to pick us up at the airport in Lima on our last day and take us shopping. Hopefully I can pick up whatever souveniers I want and not have to carry them for the entire trip. I found round trip air in Aug for $622.00. To bad we didn't buy it, it's up to $748.00 last time I checked.

Tell me more about your plans. Barb

shelleyk

Your trip sounds great. My plans are still fluid at this point, but it will be Lima, Machu Pichu, Sacred Valley and Puno for 10days. Basically I am going because I want to see Machu Pichu. We leave for South Africa in about a week and I've been spending most of my free time reading up for that trip.