Peru Holiday - few questions

not only for acclimatisation but it takes a while to get to places too. Peru is a large place and bet interested on how lima, Cusco, inca trail, Lake titicaca and amazon rainforest was all done in 3 weeks??
 
jonneymendoza said:
not only for acclimatisation but it takes a while to get to places too. Peru is a large place and bet interested on how lima, Cusco, inca trail, Lake titicaca and amazon rainforest was all done in 3 weeks??
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We did Lima to Cusco via internal flight, and cusco to Arequipa and lake Titicaca by 24 hour local bus, which was hands down the worst experience of my life and I woldn't recommend that to anyone.

Only bit of your trip that will cause difficulties is the rainforest bit, as I vaguely remember we could choose either Titicaca OR the rainforest as theyre at opposite ends of the country I think.
 
Boycey0211 said:
24 hour local bus, which was hands down the worst experience of my life and I wouldn't recommend that to anyone.
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We did all of our travelling around Peru by bus/coach.

The 24 hour bus we took was horrendous! If you do it then I highly recommend paying the extra for the seats that recline all the way back - like in business class on planes. We didn't do it and just had normal seats and were miserable because it was so hard to sleep - although a nun stole my pillow which didn't help!
 
Yeah those seats that go all the way back are worth the money. If you are not on a tight budget go for Cruz Del Sur coach company. They are a bit more, but are comfier.

I found when booking the inka trail trip that going between different tour companies saying that the other has knocked the price down to x, can easily save you money
 
I did Peru in August with GAdventures (Peru on a Shoestring) and they were great 2 weeks in total.

We did the nightbus with Cruz Del Sur and would definitely recommend using them. The bonus being the seats recline so you get a goods night sleep and don't have to pay for a hotel/hostel for the night.

The Inca trail permits sell out quickly I booked mine in January they had sold out by March. Half the people on the trip couldn't do the calssic 4 day Inca Trial and were put on other treks nowhere near Machu Pichu then bussed in! Also I have asthma and was fine, just take your preventer everyday. Apparently people with asthma cope with lack of oxygen better anyway!

Amazon is doable there is a small airport in Cusco and you can get an internal flight to Manu, I would suggest a nightbus to lake titikatta.

Amazing country you will enjoy
 
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Hayley-K said:
I did Peru in August with GAdventures (Peru on a Shoestring) and they were great 2 weeks in total.

We did the nightbus with Cruz Del Sur and would definitely recommend using them. The bonus being the seats recline so you get a goods night sleep and don't have to pay for a hotel/hostel for the night.

The Inca trail permits sell out quickly I booked mine in January they had sold out by March. Half the people on the trip couldn't do the calssic 4 day Inca Trial and were put on other treks nowhere near Machu Pichu then bussed in! Also I have asthma and was fine, just take your preventer everyday. Apparently people with asthma cope with lack of oxygen better anyway!

Amazon is doable there is a small airport in Cusco and you can get an internal flight to Manu, I would suggest a nightbus to lake titikatta.

Amazing country you will enjoy
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which airport goes to Manu?
 
jonneymendoza said:
im looking to do the 2-3 day trip inca trail as the 5-7 ones require camping
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How do you do a 2-3 trip without camping :confused:

I wouldn't worry about it, you'll be so knackered at the end of each day that you'll sleep in the open on a rock if necessary :P

Make sure you take a few days in Cusco to acclimatise to the altittude beforehand if you want to avoid altitude sickness.
 
mid_gen said:
How do you do a 2-3 trip without camping :confused:

I wouldn't worry about it, you'll be so knackered at the end of each day that you'll sleep in the open on a rock if necessary :P

Make sure you take a few days in Cusco to acclimatise to the altittude beforehand if you want to avoid altitude sickness.
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I would guess to do it without camping you would need to get the train to Aquas Calientes on day 1, stay there overnight, bus up to Macchu Picchu for the day, stay in Aquas Calientes again and then train back the next day.

That's the only way you could do it without camping. There is nowhere to stay along the way. I did the classic "Inca Trail" route. There are other routes you can take such as Salkantay or Lares so maybe these have lodges (but I doubt it).

I did the Inca Trail in 2008 so things may have moved on since then.
 
bignev72 said:
I would guess to do it without camping you would need to get the train to Aquas Calientes on day 1, stay there overnight, bus up to Macchu Picchu for the day, stay in Aquas Calientes again and then train back the next day.

That's the only way you could do it without camping. There is nowhere to stay along the way. I did the classic "Inca Trail" route. There are other routes you can take such as Salkantay or Lares so maybe these have lodges (but I doubt it).

I did the Inca Trail in 2008 so things may have moved on since then.
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Sort of like that
 
It's easy to fit in Machu Picchu if short of time - you don't have to do the trek. There is a train that gets you to Ollantaytambo - then there's a shuttle bus that gets you right to MP.
 
im in lima now in peru and it seems a bit meh so far and not even a lot of tourists around here.

they appears to be quite a few dodgy areas that we have been warned not to go and pretty much everyone here doesnt speak english so a lot of google translating and a bit of spanish speaking from my gf is helping us a tiny bit.

the food bit is harder, there is no english menus and most of the stuff dont come up in google translate... i really dont want to stick with mcdonalds every day!!

i'll be off to cusco tomorrow. high altitude so hope i feel ok
 
jonneymendoza said:
im in lima now in peru and it seems a bit meh so far and not even a lot of tourists around here.

they appears to be quite a few dodgy areas that we have been warned not to go and pretty much everyone here doesnt speak english so a lot of google translating and a bit of spanish speaking from my gf is helping us a tiny bit.

the food bit is harder, there is no english menus and most of the stuff dont come up in google translate... i really dont want to stick with mcdonalds every day!!

i'll be off to cusco tomorrow. high altitude so hope i feel ok
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Lima is pretty much like any large city. Surprised you are having trouble with food, I found plenty to eat and if you are a fussy eater then there's loads of chicken shops.

Cusco is only about 3000m in altitude so it's not that high at all although when I went, we came via Chile and Bolivia where we peaked at over 5000m so by Cusco it was like breathing normal air again (my lips and finger nails were blue at some points)
 
When I did the High Inca Trail we only stayed in Lima for one night on the journey home so didn't really get much chance to explore the city but the one restaurant we did go to that evening with the group was fine although we did have our guide with us so he could translate / order things for us!

I certainly do think now looking back that it was the best option to do the walk to Machu Picchu as you can really appreciate it that much more seeing all the other ruins along the way and hearing all the stories / tales from the guides!

The walk we did involved camping for 5/6 nights I think it was all the way from Mollepata - some very tough walking but so worth it for the stunning scenery.

When we camped under Mount Salcantay that was something truly special - if a little cold!
 
I would highly recommend doing the Salakntay trail if you cannot do the Inca trail. Its cheaper and quieter and you get the same result... Machu Pichu. If you plan to do it.

Also would highly recommend Oltursa buses over Cruz del sur. Full cama seats are a must for the negligible difference in price. And a lot of their buses are only full cama so all massive seats that recline right back and hot meals on the longer legs. Even bingo which you can win tickets :cool:

Have a great trip and make sure to try some alpaca.
 
Can't wait to do this myself, currently in the planning stages! Hoping to go sometime in April/May of next year. Not sure if it's worth holding out the extra couple of weeks though for the festival of the sun.
 
We did Peru a few years ago. Went over the tops to Cuzco. Got a bit hooked on the oxygen cylinder in the hotel lobby - lol.

Residing memory was one of awe at those huge stone walls with laser cut joints at Sacsayhuaman (Sexy Human?) How dey do dat?

We took the train from Ollantaytambo to Machu Pichu. Memorable journey.
 
I can't be asked doing the Inca trail as I am not a big fan of camping and hiking. I just want to see machu pitchu and the Secred Valley that I am going to see tomorrow
 
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