Peru Master Thread

[Fan of Dan]

I just booked my trip to Peru getting to Lima on Sunday morning and leaving Cuzco to connect in Lima Wednesday night. Does it make sense to go to Cuzco Sunday afternoon so I can spend 3 nights in the area? Or is Lima worth a night?

[txtmax4]

I just booked my trip to Peru getting to Lima on Sunday morning and leaving Cuzco to connect in Lima Wednesday night. Does it make sense to go to Cuzco Sunday afternoon so I can spend 3 nights in the area? Or is Lima worth a night?

How long is your stopover in Lima on the return?
I guess you can spend a night in Lima, Cuzco is relatively small and 3 days/2 nights days including 1 day (morning till evening) in Machu Picchu should fit just right IIRC.

[Fan of Dan]

How long is your stopover in Lima on the return?
I guess you can spend a night in Lima, Cuzco is relatively small and 3 days/2 nights days including 1 day (morning till evening) in Machu Picchu should fit just right IIRC.

I have an 8 hour stopover and I have a driver who can show us all the sights in Lima then.

[txtmax4]

I have an 8 hour stopover and I have a driver who can show us all the sights in Lima then.

I don't want to mess up your vacation based on my old recollections from when I was there...
Also, I don't know what you like and what type of trip you are taking.
All I can say is Cuzco is unique, Lima is a big city with its attractions.
Your best bet is to check out tripadvisor.com, it is really a great site with real people's reviews and ratings about each attraction.
It will make it much easier for you to plan your trip according to your needs/wants.

[Fan of Dan]

I don't want to mess up your vacation based on my old recollections from when I was there...
Also, I don't know what you like and what type of trip you are taking.
All I can say is Cuzco is unique, Lima is a big city with its attractions.
Your best bet is to check out tripadvisor.com, it is really a great site with real people's reviews and ratings about each attraction.
It will make it much easier for you to plan your trip according to your needs/wants.

Ok I will definitly do that. Tnks for all the pointers. Just curious was the Tambo del Inka around when you went? If not check it out, awesome cat 4. http://www.starwoodhotels.com/luxury/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3285
 May just spend 3 nights based out of there.

[txtmax4]

Ok I will definitly do that. Tnks for all the pointers. Just curious was the Tambo del Inka around when you went? If not check it out, awesome cat 4. http://www.starwoodhotels.com/luxury/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3285
 May just spend 3 nights based out of there.

That looks gorgeous, looks like a trip in itself.
In my experience I stayed at a place right by "Plaza de Armas" at the old city where all the action takes place.
I landed there with a friend with no prior hotel reservation and we did just fine, although I agree that thing need to be more planned out with the wife..
Bear in mind that said hotel is about an hour away from all the "action"..

[Fan of Dan]

That looks gorgeous, looks like a trip in itself.
In my experience I stayed at a place right by "Plaza de Armas" at the old city where all the action takes place.
I landed there with a friend with no prior hotel reservation and we did just fine, although I agree that thing need to be more planned out with the wife..
Bear in mind that said hotel is about an hour away from all the "action"..

Yes a wife changes the entire equation.  On TA about this hotel, 292 ppl rated it the highest score, 18 ppl the second highest and just 7 ppl rated it lower than that, so it looks pretty solid. Sometimes SPG can be pretty usefull.

As I am flying out of Cuzco on Wednesday at 430 pm I figured I would just hang out in cusco on the last day. Tues I am going to MP (hotel is in that direction) so that really just gives me Monday to figure out what to do. It looks like I will get a kick out of just seeing those Peruvians running around in their interesting clothing!

[Fan of Dan]

I spent a week in Peru as part of my South America trip. Any interest in a trip report?

[Dan]

Yes!

[sky121]

Yes!

+1 of course

[Fan of Dan]

+1 of course

Yes!

Sure thing I will put it together now.

[Fan of Dan]

I started my summer trip with the wife flying from EWR to ASU, Paraguay and we went from there to Iguazu falls. We then flew to Buenos Aires. After that is when we went to Peru.

We flew out Sunday morning from EZE to LIM using BA points on LAN, which was 20K points for flatbed business. Was an amazing flight considering what it cost us. We were scheduled to have an hour and a half layover in Lima and then we were going to fly to Cuzco, Peru.

Our connecting flight to Cuzco was with an airline called Peruvian Airlines. My wife was a bit worried about using them but as we got the tickets for $105 per person we went with it. There was no mileage availabilty on the Lan flight to Cuzco. Our flight into Lima got delayed by about 50 minutes and our luggage took a while to come out. By the time we got to the Peruvian counter they did not allow us to check in. We tried everything in the books but they were not hearing of it. We were so frustrated being stranded in Lima, not really speaking that much Spanish, and being unable to get to Cuzco. The next flight was Monday morning but we already had reservations in Cuzco and had no interest in going into Lima. We went over to the LAN counter in the airport and bought on the spot 2 tickets to Cuzco for 300 a piece. Just like in the movies. Was upsetting, but did not want to throw off my vacation over 600 dollars. I ended up winning a dispute with Peruvian so at least we got that money back. We had to run to catch the LAN flight but fortunately we got into Cuzco by 3 PM.

[Fan of Dan]

Before I go into what we did after landing I just want to explain a little bit what there is to do in the Cuzco region. Cuzco is in the heart of the Peruvian Andes, and the scenery is really pretty. That comes with a price. The altitude in Cuzco is really high, and therefore a lot of people choose not to stay there. There is an area called the sacred valley, which is around an hour out of Cuzco. The sacred Valley has a lot of really nice hotels, and is therefore a great place to be based out of. The sacred valley is in a lower elevation than Cuzco and that helps you get used to the altitude. The theory is that if you go to a lower elevation to sleep than you will have an easier time. We stayed in the Sacred Valley and had no issues whatsover.

Cuzco is this huge city, although different than any city I have ever seen. A large percent of the local population goes around wearing colorfull robes and hats. The women carry their kids in sacks on their backs. They all wear these really interesting long braids, and are a lot of fun to watch. The sacred valley has a lot of these people as well and in the valley there are different ruins and other tourist attractions. When you drive down the road you will see sheperds on donkeys, etc. There are many different locals markets and they are not to be missed. The cream of the pie though, is Machu Picchu of course. Machu Picchu is located in the Sacred Valley as well. Machu Pichhu is an Inka fortress built in the clouds. Nothing can prepare you for seeing it in real life, it is just very cool.

Now I will go into what we did while in the area.

[lcyitz]

Some people get altitude sickness in cusco..... Just saying

[Fan of Dan]

Some people get altitude sickness in cusco..... Just saying

Agreed, that is why I was saying it may be worth staying lower down in the sacred valley.

[Achas Veachas]

Thanks alot! Please do continue and don't forget pics!

[Fan of Dan]

Thanks alot! Please do continue and don't forget pics!

It's a deal!! You do deserve it I must say.

[Fan of Dan]

So we landed on Sunday and needed to get to our hotel located in Urbubamba, Peru. This is an hour drive however as it was Sunday we wanted to make a stop in a place called Pisac first. Pisac has this huge market on Sunday where all the locals trade local produce as well as livestock etc. People are grilling lamb and lamma meat all over the place and it is quite a sight. So we asked around at the airport for different prices until we made up with someone for 40 dollars to take us to the market, wait for us there for as long as we want and then drive us to the hotel. Pretty cheap for what we got. On the way our driver stopped at all the scenic lookouts until we got to Pisac. When we got there I was nervous to leave our luggage with him, however he did not want to visit the market with us. I made him give me his drivers license to guarantee our stuff. He did not seem to mind that I didn't trust him. We got to the market and spent around an hour there and we then went to the hotel.

We stayed for the 3 nights we were there at the Tambo de Inka resort. It is an SPG cat 4 and well worth it. The grounds are reallly nice, with great views of the mountains, and a river running right behind the rooms. We had this magnificent suite, along with a personal butler who made all of our travel arrangements for us. He even emailed me before we came, asking if I wanted extra pillows or towels in the room. I asked for an extra fridge as we brought along all of our food. On tripadivsor it is rated as one of the top 10 hotels in the world, and if you stay there you will see why!! So we arrived Sunday night at the hotel, had our butler get all our luggage into the room while we sipped tea and called it a night.

More to come.. Just only doing piece by piece when I have a minute.

[Fan of Dan]

Market at Pisac

[Fan of Dan]

Cuzco Peru