Peru Family Adventure - Need Advice
 

We are traveling to Peru from Brisbane Australia in June. Can anyone suggest a stopover on the way or on the way back. We are traveling as a family with 11yrs and 13yrs. Has anyone booked a Gap Adventure Tour in Peru?

As part of a RTW trip we flew from New Zealand to Santiago, Chile as there were no direct flights to Peru. We only stopped in Santiago briefly so can really comment on that as a stopover but we did really enjoy Valaparaiso which is easily reached by a 1.5 - 2 hour bus journey. A few photo on our blog entry no. 66 http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...ai/1/tpod.html if the children are into horseriding we had a great day out just up the coast at Vina del mar (entry no. 67)
How long have you got?

GAP is a Canadian company and many of my friends have taken tours with them, including one to Machu Picchu. All experiences have been reported as excellent.

But...if you haven't already booked....as a family of 4 it will likely be an economical to book a private guide/driver and your hotels as it would be to take a tour - and you would have the flexibility of your own vehicle/timeline/etc. We had a wonderful travel planner/guide who is based out of Cusco - his name is David Choque - here's a link to his website

http://www.cuscotoptravelperu.com/

And our blog

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/l...lake_titicaca/

Ausitraveller,

its possible to fly from Australia to Auckland then on to Tahiti, Easter Island to Santiago. Stopovers in NZ, Easter Island and Tahiti are available. You would need to check the flight times to see if the arrival/departures are doable. I have looked at Santiago to Sydney via Easter Island and Tahiti and found the flight times to be very unfriendly.

I've not used GAP, but have travelled happily with Explore http://www.exploreworldwide.com.au/?cc=AU on 3 African safari trips. They have a good range of trips to Peru.

Elizabeth is giving good advice - you may find it less expensive to book a private tour with a Peru based company rather than book a scheduled departure trip. David Choque booked part of our trip this year and Metropolitan Touring http://www.metropolitan-touring.com/Peru/ did the balance. I will be contacting Metropoltan about a return trip in 2012.


Happy planning,


Pol

Hi AT,

Congrats on your trip.

Cheapest flights from Oz(Syd) come through Buenos Aires(EZE)

might stop there very pretty country...

www.wowargentina.com

www.cheapoair.com www.despegar.com for good flight prices

Best for SA/Peru tours for me with great reviews

www.kuodatours.com www.latinamericaforless.com

Intrepid from Oz GAP from Canada www.tucantravel.com UK my

fav all foreign budget group tour providers mixed reviews

they sub all their stuff out you are crammed in on bus with

many non family backpacker types and hostely lodgins a lot

Not ideal for families more for backpackers for me.

So do careful research and Happy Hunting,

Ausitraveler,

watch those flights into BA. Argentina has introduced a reciprocity fee for Australians of $100 US for each entry. Therefore it was $100 on arrival from Australia and $100 when we returned to catch the outbound flight back to Australia. I don't know if there is a waiver or reduced fee for children.

Next time, I will be checking the payment required to enter through Santiago. I heard that it was $100 US but that the fee remained current for 12 months. Don't know if this is good info or whether it has changed again. I'd sooner pay $100 once than twice - my friend was only in BA for 15 hours but it still cost her $100 US for the overnight stay.

Regards,


Pol

If you're thinking about heading to southern Peru, Rainforest Expeditions (www.perunature.com and http://www.facebook.com/Rainforest.Expeditions) has a great program for kids. They are located in the rainforest of Tambopata in the Amazon basin. Here are a couple videos about their family programs:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Perunatu.../3/ULO8UfJKJOg

http://www.travercial.com/specialty-...est-with-kids/

I stayed at Refugio Amazonas in November and had a blast.