Peru summer vacation with a 6 year old: itinerary ideas?
 

Hello---Our family is planning a possible trip to Peru for summer 2016. Our 6 year old son will be with us. Any suggestions for a 10-12 day itinerary? We want to spend a few days in Lima and for sure Machu Picchu. We were hoping for one more destination. My husband has a ton of Hilton points and I saw the beach resort in Paracas. Any positives/negatives to this area? Or would the Amazon area/tour be more dynamic? We are adventurous and well traveled, but want it to be appropriate for a 6 year old boy. Much thanks!!!

I love Peru, the people are super friendly and the tourism infrastructure is well developed. Not sure how I would feel about going with a child that young. For example...

How do you feel about your 6-year old being on a site with steep drop=offs and no railings (Machu Picchu). Also you will have to deal with extra time and possibly down days to acclimatize to the altitude (starting at about 9000 feet in the Sacred Valley). Cusco is higher (11.000 feet) so I would not spend nights there until after you've been to MP.

I think the beach in Paracas is kind of meh, the sand isn't white coral, the water is cold in Peru! It is a beach resort because it is near Lima, a huge city which reminds me of Los Angeles with a few colonial touches. The usual activities are a day trip boat ride out to the islands to look at seabirds, possibly a few dolphins. More of an adult resort IMO.

Amazon is super hot and humid, although if you are from somewhere with a similar climate it may be more tolerable.

In case you couldn't find your other posting, more good advice
http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...-itinerary.cfm

We took our son to both Machu Picchu and an Amazon lodge from Iquitos when he was 5-6. He loved both. You obviously have to keep an eye on them and allow for adjusting to altitude in Cuzco. Big pluses were the train to Aguas Calientes and swimming in the Amazon. The trick is not to pack too much into a holiday and allow for plenty of down time.

We also spent a lot of holidays in Paracas. It isn't much good for the beach unless you can go off to better spots than around the hotel, which has a pool. The boat ride to see the seals and sea birds is fun. I don't think Paracas would pack nearly as much punch as a lodge in the Amazon region and Machu Picchu.

Steep drop with no railings only up on Huayna Picchu. The main tourist routes inside Machu Picchu are totally safe.

I guess you will have to define "Main tourist route"/

I recall a bad case of vertigo up by the 'Hitching Post'.

The only railings are on a few areas of steps. But they do not have railings on all of the terraces, around the hitching post, near the watchman's hut ledge where you get the iconic view, and etc.

To have railings everywhere up there, would destroy the ambiance would it not?

mlgb - I guess we just have different opinions on what's safe and not for a 6 year old.

I'm sure that depends on the 6 year old also.

Some are less feral than others.

MIGB, hahahha!