Pre Book Tour in Cusco?

Old Jul 31st, 2012, 04:13 PM
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Pre Book Tour in Cusco?

Hi All - should we pre-book tours in Cusco - or just wing it when we are there...we have tours booked for Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca...wondering if we should pre-book tours for Cusco.....
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Old Aug 4th, 2012, 07:21 AM
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Tours of what sites? There are guides at Qoricancha and the cathedral so that would be redundant. I
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Old Aug 5th, 2012, 10:59 PM
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You don'really need a guide for Cusco. Just take a guidebook and buy a bolleto touristico on arrival.
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Old Aug 6th, 2012, 01:31 PM
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What tours are you looking at? If you want a guide to take you to multiple sites (in a private car), then yes, you should pre-book them ahead of time. If you want a guide at specific locations, some sites already have tour guides like mlgb said. Others don't.
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Old Aug 6th, 2012, 04:33 PM
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maras and moray, Ollantaytambo and Pisac - in Cusco area...and Taquile/Uros on Lake Titicaca...

Thanks All!
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Old Aug 6th, 2012, 10:54 PM
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Maras, Moray, Olly and Pisac can all be done in a (long) day from Cusco. Your hotel will be able to recommend a driver/guide and you probably stand abetter chance of getting a decent one than by taking pot luck with the many agents in Cusco. We used a taxi driver we met on a trip to our language school and had a great time but unfortunately, he tried to rip us off on the agreed price at the end of the day!

Do consider stayin in Ollantaytambo to acclimatise on arrival in the SV it really is a beautiful town and much better place to explore the SV.

As for Titicaca, Check out the Inkatha Express which provides a great trip across the altiplano stoping at many places of interst along the way to Puno. As for tours on the lake, they are more or less all the same, using the same boats, guides etc. and probably best arranged with your hotel in Puno as a package .

http://www.andeantravelweb.com/peru/ is a non profit site which has some great info on tours
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Old Aug 7th, 2012, 04:58 PM
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Great suggestion.... I LOVE the idea of doing all 4 in one day...that gives us a half of day to enjoy Cusco before heading to Puno. Thanks! So you think we can do this from the hotel rather than book in advance - i.e. now? Wonderful!
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Old Aug 11th, 2012, 06:24 AM
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I second others: wait unitl you get there to get a better idea. You might want to add time to your stay, seems very tight and 1/2 day in Cuzco would not be that much time, unless you are going to do the touch and go.
If you are doing Pisac, make sure is on a market day. Same for Chincheros.
An arranged drive in Cuzco makes sense if you are going to visit the sites outside of town (Puka Pucara, Tambomachay, Sacsayhuaman, etc). If anything, I'd reco Sacsayhuaman at the edge of the city and walking distance from main square, and give at least 2 hours.
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Old Aug 11th, 2012, 06:31 AM
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One more thing....You are going to be asked to pay cash. (the main reason is that they want to avoid the CC fees). If you use a CC (which I recommend always), they would pass the CC fee to you (about 4-5% usually). The reason I always reco CC is that if something does not work as you planned, you have some recourse to get money back, and they know it. If you pay cash only, you would save some $, but in the event of a problem, you could be on your own. Not saying all agencies are bad, but you will not know before hand. In any case, do some in cash and some with CC. The only exception to the rule is when payment is at the end (very rare, most want payment upfront). -Been to Peru and Cuzco more times that I can count-
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Old Aug 11th, 2012, 06:36 PM
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Thanks for the tips!
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Old Aug 13th, 2012, 04:40 PM
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My friend sent an email to the hotel (Monesterio) to ask about an all day tour to Maras, Moray, Ollaytantambo, and Pisac.....they came back (looked like it was from a tour company) and said we could do two due to the distance...so are you saying we'd just hire a taxi in order to do all 4 in one day? Thanks for the clarification.....
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Old Aug 13th, 2012, 11:29 PM
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Here is al link to our blog entry covering our day exploring the Sacred Valley, visiting all of the places you mentiioned. It was a long day. As I recall we started off at 8.30 and got back to Cusco around 7 or 8. It didn't feel particularly rushed and we had plenty of time at each place and for lunch in Pisac. Although there is a lot of driving, the scenery more than compensates. As indicated in my blog, If you do use a taxii as opposed to a tour, negotiate the price in advance and write down the details so there are no "misunderstandings" later. It is a long day but doable and the best way to see as much as possible in a short time. We stayed in the SV for a month and so went back to most of the places again. Pisac , Ollantaytambo and Chinchero are must sees IMO.

http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blo...8980/tpod.html
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Old Aug 14th, 2012, 02:33 PM
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I notice that crellston's one day marathon tour did not include Ollantaytambo. It was Pisac, Moray, Salineras and Chinchero. That is doable. Cramming the Ollantaytambo site in there as well, I wouldn't.
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Old Aug 14th, 2012, 05:31 PM
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Thanks mlgb...that was going to be my question.....so....with 1 1/2 days...we were going to do a prearranged tour Ollantaytambo/Pisac...then the next day moray/maras.....but that said....that leaves NO time to just hang out in Cusco...go to the church there, etc. What do you think?
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Old Aug 14th, 2012, 10:52 PM
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It would be possible to include Ollantaytambo but I would agree with mlgb's that it is probably a step too far and Ollantaytambo is to pretty just to be "crammed in". If you only have 1/ 1/2 days and cannot extend that, even by a day, then you will have to drop something. Only you can decide what is important to you but, as I said in my previous posts, my must sees are Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero. I know it is considered a heresy by some, by I actually preferred Pisac to Macchu Pichu..

Do not forget about the effects of altitude if this is your first time and you are arriving from sea level. It will effect most people to some extent and that effect wil be felt more in Cusco which is at a higher altitude than the SV.

If I understand correctly and you have a total of 1.5 days for Cusco and the SV then, upon reflection, you probably need to sort out your tour in advance with a guide as you will need every minute on arrival. That way your guide could perhaps collect you from the airport and take you to the SV immediately. David Choque comes highly recommeded by some on this forum (although I have not used him myself.
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Old Aug 16th, 2012, 07:52 AM
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Moray and Salineras do not take that much time. When you come Are you staying overnight in Aguas Calietes? If so on your return you can take a train to Ollantaytambo, and see the ruins, then take a taxi back to Cusco. The Ollantaytambo Ruins close at 5 pm, so the 12:58 Expedition works pretty well, gives you at least 2 hours inside the ruins.

It should only be a 10% change fee from Peru Rail to modify your train tickets, although I know the travel agencies can be brutal with change fees.

Or instead of going all the way back to Cusco when you are done with MP, you can spend the night in Olly, and then take a tour of the ruins in the morning, visit Moray and Salineras on the trip back to Cusco.

For me Pisac works well as a half day round trip from Cusco since it is a slightly different direction. You can also see Sacsayhuaman when you go that way.
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Old Aug 16th, 2012, 01:59 PM
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Here is our trip - in 29 days but who is counting...yes, we are cramming a lot in for only a week, but that's how we roll.....would love to hear your thoughts though!!!!!

1. Fly in to Lima - arrive at night so staying at airport hotel
2. Fly to Cuzco - drive immediately to the Sacred Valley - staying at Rio Sagrado - should arrive by 1pm(ish)...our plans were to just hang out at the hotel - recoup from the airplane ride and start to get used to the altitude
3. Take morning train to Aguas Calientes - not planning on going to MP that day...we are staying at the Sumaq...plan is maybe the hot springs, explore the town a little
4. Next morning...take 530am bus to MP - explore on our own, then meet up with a guide mid- morning.
5. Take 4pm train back to Cuzco. Staying at Monesterio
6. Next day take all day tour to Ollantaytambo and Pisac
7. Next day - open - this is where we need to decide wheter we go to Moray/Maras - we have a 3pm flight to Puno
8. Next day - take all day tour to Taquile and Uros Islands on Lake Titicaca
9. Next day - fly to Lima in the morning
10. Same day - take a 1/2 day city tour of Lima
11. Next morning - Fly home.
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Old Aug 16th, 2012, 03:03 PM
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Is your itinerary already booked as far as train tickets and hotels? Is this something that a travel agent has packaged for you or do you have any choice in the matter other than what to see on tours?

For example, can you stay in Ollantaytambo on Night 2 instead of Rio Sagrado? That would give you a chance to see the ruins in the afternoon that day at leisure. You can hire a guide at the entrance.

There is nothing to explore in Aguas Calientes, really. The Inkaterra has some nature walks on their property but I don't think the Sumaq has anything that special. I would rather spend the morning in Ollantaytambo if you don't have the ability to change your hotel. You can take a 10:30 Vistadome train which gives you a few hours at the ruins and puts you in MP around noon.

This kind of itinerary is exactly why I hate using travel agents!

It is really sort of silly to take a tour all the way to Ollantaytambo from Cusco.

Pisac is quite easy to do from Cusco. You can add Moray and Maras/Salineras to any taxi transfer from Cusco to Ollantaytambo, I would include Chinchero in that visit.
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Old Aug 16th, 2012, 03:04 PM
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Oh yes, on Day 7, I would be seeing sights in CUZCO, not Moray etc.
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Old Aug 17th, 2012, 05:46 AM
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With a 3PM flight to Puno, you won't have much time that day. The recommendation is to be at the airport VERY early. I've heard of flight times being bumped earlier and you don't want to miss your flight.

It took us a while to get out to Maras... I want to say a 40-60 minutes' drive from Cusco. (I didn't write it down in my journal, though, so can't say for sure.)
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