Divya123

Hi Guys, me and my friend are planning a 9 day trip to Peru and following is our itinerary with a few questions.

July 1st - NYC to Lima
July 2nd - reach by 12 30 pm, check into Lima hotel - pls suggest which area would be good,Miraflores or centre ? - spend half a day in Lima, we are not museum lovers or Cathedral lovers, so I was thinking the city fountain and some other sights .. pls suggest
July 3rd - Early morning flight to Cusco - check into a hotel - pls suggest which area would be best. Explore Cusco for the rest of the day
July 4th - Sacred valley guided tours - we haven't booked any tour, so if you recommend any tour company that can do a full day guided tour that would be great, our aim is to cover max in min amount of time.
July 5th - take the morning train to Aguas Calientes , check into the hotel, explore town, walk by the Urubamba river, goto the MP ruins
July 6th - Go early to MP, see the sun rise at the sun gate - how early should we go ? and should we book a guide from before or take one from the gates ?, roam around the ruins. - since we do not want to do the MP hike or the HP hike, we will be done by 2. Take the evening train back to Cusco - is it safe ?
sleep in Cusco
July 7th , 8th and 9th - do the 3 day Lake Titicaca tour floating islands and stay with a local family. please suggest any guided tours or operators for this tour from Cusco

July 10th - Lima to NYC

Please suggest if this trip needs changes. we have only booked our ticket to and from Lima to NYC , everything else still needs to be booked, hence seeking some suggestions. Some of my questions are as follows

- I am scared of animals in general, very uncomfortable around them. I know cusco and MP have a lot of Llamas roaming around, are they dangerous ? do they harm people if they sense fear ?
- How safe is it to take the train from MP to Cusco at night on July 6th ?
- Is it safe to live with families on the Uros islands ? do they have pets ? any cats or dogs ? how is your experience staying with those families ?
- what kind of shots do I need before I go and can I get them at my local Walgreens ?

also, I plan on carrying local currency as Peru mostly accepted cash. I will also have my cc.

I guess i just dont have enough confidence about safety in Peru. any suggestions on where to stay and what to avoid are most welcome.

Please pour in your suggestions.

Thanks,

crellston

July is high season. Book your Peru Rail tickets to MP and MP tickets NOW. It may already be too late.

There are plenty of flights between Lima and Cusco but I would still book asap.

Peruvian New Soles are best obtained in country, either from an ATM, Scotiabank preferably, or exchanging USD ( I assume you are American ?) with a cabio or local money changer.

Llamas won't bother you if you don't bother them. The worse that may happen is that if you get too close, they may spit. It really isn't a problem. If you get to any rural areas, watch out for the dogs which are very territorial I.e. They bark a lot if you walk through their "patch". Again, it really isn't a problem.

We visited a few families in the islands and yes, they do have pets. All seemed well behaved. But if animals make you nervous, I would think twice about staying overnight.

Peru doesn't have too good a reputation for safety. However , after spending maybe 6 months travelling in the country, I think this is a little unfair. In that time I have had one or two dodgy "moments" but in very out of the way place where you are to like like to visit.

Use only licensed taxis in Lima and Cusco. If possible get your accomodation to pick you up from airports or bus stations. Keep your belongings under close supervision at all times. Use ATMs only in banks during opening hours and check the machine and have a look around for any suspicious looking characters before using.

Consult your doctor re vaccinations for Peru. http://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/desti...tica/peru.aspx

One thing to consider is altitude see http://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/advic...nd-travel.aspx Diamox, after consulting a doctor is worth considering. You can by it in any farmacias in Lima under the name Acetazolamide. Travelling straight to Ollantaytambo, at a lower elavation Cusco will also aid acclimatisation - the train to AC also goes from their.

Provide us with some detail of your budget and I am sure you will get loads of accomodation recs. Again, start booking now?

I really wouldn't worry too much about the safety aspect. Take the basic , sensible precautions you would at home and you will be fine. The most important thing to pack is common sense. It is a wonderful part of the world. I am sure you will have a fantastic time.

Divya123

HI @crellston Thanks so much for replying. I will be booking everything between today and tomorrow. Yes, I am American. Thanks for letting me know about the pets.

I am now reconsidering my plans of staying on the island. I will probably just do a boat tour on the lake and see the floating islands. I dont want to be uncomfortable.

what kind of rural areas will have dogs ? i am thinking since i have 2 day on my trip left now ( now that I wont be doing the home stay), I will probably go to Nazca lines. my only other cities are Lima, Cusco, Puno and AC - Do we have a dog situation in these cities ?

my budget is 1000 usd including all hotels and in between tours and trips.

I have been looking at Mysteryperu tours as they have a lot of options when it comes to trips and tours.

Again, thank you very much for the detailed feedback. very well appreciated.

mlgb

There are pretty much dogs everywhere. Even in big cities, like Lima, many dogs sleep outside although they are looked after and fed by people.

There are some double-decker bus sightseeing tours in Lima which might work better for you since you aren't walking around.

I don't remember too many dogs around the town of Aguas Calientes, although I could be wrong.

If you have this unnatural fear of animals perhaps you could use taxis to take you everywhere so you don't have to walk on the streets, but just go straight inside any attraction or train station.

Or you might find some escorted tours so that you will have someone else with you to shoo away any stray dogs. Inside Machu Picchu, if you are afraid of the llamas don't go up to the terraces to the left, where most of them are.

The boat tours of the floating islands stop on the islands. I suppose you could stay in the boat if you see a cat or dog. The one where we stopped had a cat but no dogs, and the cat didn't approach tourists. Just hanging around where they prepare trout.

Divya123

HI @mlgb , that is great info.. thanks a lot ... yes I will be taking guided tours for every place, as I dont want to be scared all the time.

this is what my final itinerary looks like.

July 2nd - NYC to Lima (reach around 12 30pm), Lima sightseeing by night (Mysteryperutours)
July 3rd - Lima- Cusco flight early morning , Cusco sightseeing (mysteryperutours)
July 4th - Sacred Valley Tour from Cusco (Mysteryperutours)
July 5th - Full day MP tour from Cusco (Viator)
July 6th - Cusco to Puno Train - 10 hours (PeruRail), night in Puno
July 7th - Lake Titicaca boat tour (Mysteryperutours)
July 8th - Puno to Cusco Bus (Inka express - Reaches at 5 pm), and night flight Cusco - Lima, night stay in Lima
July 9th - Full day Nazca Lines Flight and Ballestas Islands tour ( SAS Travel)
July 10th - Lima - NYC