mlgb

All Ways in Puno

www.titicacaperu.com

I had tried to get in a number of hotels which were full, and found Qelqatani on booking.com Basic but serviceable, nice staff.

There is now a Terra Viva there if that one has room as well as some pricey lakeside hotels.

dwdvagamundo

kay2--

Good to see you decided to stay a day in Lima to see a museum.

Hate to disagree with mlgb on archaeology museums, but I recommend the Nacional Archaeological and Anthropological for history and culture over the Larco Herrera. The Nacional seemed to me to be laid out more for learning about the history of Peru than for showing off the artifacts. Once you see all that Peru has to offer, you'll want to go back for a longer stay.

However, if you get an early start, and don't like the Nacional, you can walk to the Larco which is only blocks away.

mlgb

I don't recommend Larco for history and culture. I just like it better all around as a museum.

But they are near each other as you said, see both if you can, but for just one I would say Larco.

Kay2

We have booked Friends Hostel in Lima near the Nacional with the itention of walking there for our morning after arrival. If we do not like, we will procedd to Larco. We also have the half day when we return that we can see the Larco. We really haven't decided what we will do on the half day on return when waiting for our 1am flight home. I think we will plan the alternatives (Larco, city center, coast) and decide once we are there depending on how the rest of the trip has gone and what interests us by then.

We are in communication with AllWays about their day tour to Uros and remote side of Taquile. Just pinning down if they will also provide our transfers or if we are just booking the day tour with them.

We are going with pricier hotels in Cusco and Puno--paying US$100+ per night verus $50 for simple hostels and hotels in the smaller towns. It will be the end of our trip and I think we will appreciate a larger room, 100% nonsmoking, and some extras like lounging looking at the lake rather than the noise of town center. We are really outdoors and small town folks, so being in the center appeals to us if we are walking to see the sights, but not if the destination is the lake.

dwdvagamundo

A couple of suggestions for last day in Lima:

Barranco, a colonial/entertainment/Oceanside town.
Callao--there may be safety issues in Callao, but there is a Spanish fortress there that is very well preserved and very interesting. Spent a wonderful day there, visiting the fort and then sitting along the esplanade watching fishermen working their nets from their boats. Callao harbor is near the airport, and Barranco is not that long a cab ride.