ncounty

Thanks!

To answer your question, worldtravler, I had booked my return trip online with Perurail before I left for Machu Picchu to Cusco (which is Poroy). My understanding is that they would get me somehow to Poroy and then I would take a taxi from Poroy to Cusco.

Luckily as it turned out, they have changed that and don't provide the routing to Poroy so they provided a bus directly from the train station in Olly to Cusco which was much closer to my final destination. They don't notify you of this change so it was an unpleasant surprise to two girls sitting next to me who had people picking them up in Poroy.

Upon arrival at the train station in Olly, there is little communication but you end up swarming out en masse from the train to walk about two blocks and they had about 3 buses there ready to transport everyone to Cusco. It was a comfortable ride; I had no problems with it. My ride from Puno to Cusco was the awful one.

ncounty

I stayed in Olly the night before my trip to MP and then went directly all the way to Cusco on the trip back.

I liked doing it that way to avoid the stress whilst getting there and being positioned at the train station in Olly first thing in the morning.

colduphere

Ncounty - we are thinking of doing the Inca Trail so more questions:

1) How did you get to downtown Lima from the airport? I have read some horror stories.
2) Did you consider doing the 4 day IT hike? And did you run into anyone who did and if so what did they say about it? Thanks.

ncounty

I ran into many people who had done the Inka Trail hike. They all said they enjoyed it although I think it was more about having done it in terms of achievement than anything. It did not sound like sleeping accommodations were very comfortable. One of the women I spoke to said her FAVORITE part was day 3 which was the first day they got to take a shower. I never considered it because 4 days is just too much for me to take (my whole trip was 9-10 days as it was) and I would rather climb a mountain like Machu Picchu or Huaynu picchu for several hours than commit to 4 days of possibly rough sleep.

Regarding getting to downtown Lima, they have "official" taxis at the airport that are quite safe; I believe it is 45 soles which is about $15. There are also known official safe cabs to take going back and they can show you their badge/ID.

When are you thinking of going, cold? If I had my druthers, I would go in early May.

colduphere

Ncounty – we have to go when school is out so that limits us to July or August. And my wife has some health issues as a result of birth number three. We are not sure how she would do at altitude.

So ... I dunno.

ncounty

It may be doable for her if you avoid Cusco which is at maybe 11 to 12,000 feet. MP is at a lower elevation than Cusco. I would make Olly your base and maybe stay one night in Agua Caliente. She should also take Diamox which is the prescription drug to help with the altitude. I took it and really had no symptoms. I would get short of breath if I exerted myself too much climbing aggressively, but then I do that anyway.

If you stay at the fancier places, many of them have oxygen infused bedrooms. THE place to stay at in Cusco apparently is called Monasterio and they have rooms that are high tech like that. Perhaps for your trip, you can do the reverse of what I did (I did cheap hotels, flew first class) and spend your money on the hotels and fly coach.

You gotta go when you gotta go, I would have preferred early May but my birthday is April 13 and I knew it would be the tail end of the wet, rainy season but what can you do? I lucked out with mostly great weather except for 1-2 days.

ncounty

For those who like to know what things can cost:

costs of my trip (ten days), after arrival in Lima, includes all internal peru flights, buses, transportation, hotels, tours, etc.:

roundtrip Lima to Cusco: $145
tour of the sacred valley with lunch and transport from cusco to olly: $25
hotel el albergue: $55/night for 2 nights= $110
train tickets to and from Agua caliente: about $45 each way (expedition train)= $90 total
package in AC: hotel at Rupawasi, 3 course dinner with wine, breakfast, boxed lunch, private tour guide for 3 hours, bus to and from MP, entrance tickets to MP = $277
hotel in cusco at unaytambo, $55/ngt for 2 ngts = $110
all day white water rafting tour 2 hours outside cusco, all transportation, lunch, etc. provided = $45
3 day tour to puno/lake titicaca, included bus (8 hours) from cusco to puno, hotel in puno, 2 day tour of the lake including bus to boat, boat, outstanding tour guide, tour of Uros islands (floating reed islands), Amantina island with overnight and all meals and trek, Taquile island (lunch was extra $5) and return to hotel = $210
hotel in cusco for 5 hours to rest till my noon flight = $10
hotel in lima for one night at Hotel Grand Bolivar = $28
taxis to and from airport in lima to hotel, $45 soles each way which is $15 = total cost is $30.

Total cost of my trip after arrival in Peru: $1070 for ten days including all costs except a few meals.

ncounty

roundtrip lima to cusco was air on TACA

most meals on my own (only five) were about $5-10, maximum with 2 exceptions, the ten course tasting menu splurge in Lima was $50 plus $10 tip and lunch at Inkaterra in AC was about $20.

I had massages in AC and Cusco for about $15 per hour.

colduphere

Ncounty - re elevation some companies force you to stay in Cusco for at least a couple of days before the trip to acclimatize yourself to elevation. The trail itself gets to 13,650 feet (Dead Woman's Pass) so they want you to be as prepared as possible.

ncounty

This has been percolating on the back burner of my mind and today I had an idea.... cold, can you take your wife to somewhere close by that is about 14,000 ft to see if she can handle it before you commit to this trip?

colduphere

Great idea ncounty. I have identified Kings Peak in Utah - 13,500 feet. There is an easy route to the top. We could sit there for several hours, test her reaction, and then retreat to one of your land holdings for several days of rest and recovery.

I will keep looking just in case.

Clifton

Great trip report ncounty! Thanks for that.

Wish we'd have been able to get down to Lake Titicaca too, but not enough time (we'd picked Arequipa as an additional location).

fwiw on Lima taxis. We were told some companies were a bit more "safe" than others. In the end, it was easiest if we went downtown to ask our pensione out in Miraflores to call on on the way in and pop in for a meal (or just a drink) when downtown... and ask them to call a cab for the return. We did the same in Arequipa and got caught out one night... we leaned in to ask a nice man at a hotel front desk (we werent' staying there) which company logo to look for and he popped out to wave in the right one. He agreed it was best to avoid some companies. Wish I could remember which were preferred in Lima, but the tactic to have people call or wave them in seems to work pretty well.

Clifton

Oh! And happy birthday ncounty!

ncounty

Thanks Clifton! I was careful with the taxis as well. My last night I spent shopping at Miraflores at the huge beautiful mall on the ocean. I asked about grabbing a cab to the airport and they said there was a cab line out front and to be sure to take the "Yellow" cab. The cab driver showed me his government cabbie ID to verify and he was fine. I haven't gotten yet into my story about being groped in church (their grand cathedral) the night before during Easter (semana santa) celebrations though, lol....

I'll have to try out King's Peak in Utah, cold, lol. I just doubled my real estate holdings last week,believe it or not, and thought I might be close to violating that one law you referred to many months ago. I had been bidding on many places for many many months and suddenly in one day, a number of them said yes and came through. Yikes!!!

Clifton

I know that mall. We walked over to it. It got windier than we'd expected and we went over to buy my daughter a hat with flaps. Larcomar, I think it was.

Huh, I got to check back for that story. lol Probably not a regular local tradition...

I'll withhold any other random jokes or commentary that pop into my head. They're only getting worse and in worse taste.

WoRlDtRaVeLeR8

Ncounty...three days to my trip to Peru! I am staying down the street from Astrid Y Gaston so I am assuming that it is a must do? How was lunch at Inkaterra and how was the food at Rupawasi eco lodge? Also one important question after the train dropped you off in Ollantaytambo and you were ferried to the bus to go back to Cusco. What was your final destination at that point Poroy train station or a bus station there in Cusco?

ncounty

How exciting, W! I was just reminiscing yesterday on my trip and how great it was. It is like hitting a reset butting and brings me back to the best way I can be. (like factory default settings, lol)

The bus back to Cusco ends up at the main Cusco bus station, which was an unexpected bonus for me rather than Poroy which is 20 minutes (?) away.

I think Astrid y Gaston is a must do. $50 for an incredibly culinary adventure. Do the 10 course tasting menu if you can. btw, it comes with a complimentary glass of champagne so you don't have to order other alcohol. I just got bottled water with my meal.

The food at Inkaterra was good; it was about 50 soles for lunch ($18) but it is a beautiful setting right on the river.

My dinner at Rupawasi was just okay. I have to wonder if it was my particular selection that evening combined with too high expectations.

ncounty

I finally found my restaurant in Cusco; it is called Tupanachi's. I agree with all the positive reviews, they are spot on. I only had the 3 ceviche plate/appetizer as my meal (27 soles, $9); it was fantastic. I had a free pisco sour with it. The view and location is terrific.

http://www.tripadvisor.ie/Restaurant...his-Cusco.html

The_Jenster

Thank you for the fantastic report. I am planning a trip for 4 people -- holding frequent flyer seats from Sept 30 - Oct 7, must book by midnight today! (Our hotel is actually goes thru Oct 8th, but no return flights available as yet). We were only planning to visit Cuzco from Oct. 1-7. Flying in from NY to Lima to Cuzco. Same return. I'm now wondering if we shouldn't make a side trip to Lake Titicaca, Puno. Hope you can help answer some questions... 1) Can we do Lake Titicaca with 2 overnights only? Take an early train (~10 hours), spend 1/2 day there, and overnight. Spend ext full day touring; then catch the train back to Cuzco on day 3? Alternatively, should we fly straight into Puno from Lima? (NY-Lima-Puno)? Get acclimated, spend 2 nights, then take train ride to Cuzco for the remainder of the trip? We could potentially extend our stay until Oct 8th or 9th. Will 5 days in Cuzco be enough, or too much? My main goals are to visit Machu Picchu and Sacsayhuaman. I'm a bit concerned about the altitude sickness too, mostly for my husband. Any other recommendations to combat that? What about food safety? Thanks very much!

ncounty

I would not fly from Lima to Puno/Lake Titicaca; that is a great altitude adjustment. Lake Titicaca is even higher than Cusco (it is 14,250 ft, cusco is around 11000 or so. The lake should definitely be last so you have time to acclimate.

You can do titicaca with just two overnights but the first overnight would have to be Puno because all the tours leave in the early morning around 7 am. I would do that scenic bus tour on Inka express that everyone raves about, settle into Puno that night, and maybe just do the one day tour of the lake which stops at Uros island and Taquile island. You could take the NICE overnight bus back to cusco or you could do the two day tour which overnights on Amantina island.

My opinion on Cusco is not as favorable as everyone else. For me, 3 days there would be enough. I may discover it more and like it more next time. I found it a bit polluted and bigger than I had imagined it would be. I loved Ollantaytambo and of course, MP. I even like Agua Caliente and think it is worth an overnight.

I would definitely take prescription diamox to combat altitude sickness. I did and I didn't have any problems. I would use common sense with food safety. I did run into two groups of women traveling together who were sick but it was cold/flu rather than GI. Hope that helps!