CUZ, IPC, PPT, MOZ, BOB

[ML1219]

Same for GA in Indonesia. Found it was a lot cheaper for domestic flight there. If you are staying in a chain hotel, ask them to book it locally for you and earn points as well

Good to know. This type of advice we're giving should come with a word of caution that you should check online before buying to ensure that the tickets aren't restricted to locals. I think in Chile and Peru they have much cheaper local fares as well, but they supposedly enforce the rule that you need to have some form of local ID to use them.

The lack of a restriction is particularly useful in FP becuase there is no way to use miles to get to BOB, and the cash fare is pretty exorbitant. Not that a $300 roundtrip is so cheap, but it sure as heck beat $500.

[ML1219]

Dan's rental car post on the front page reminds me of another point I should make:

Renting a car in IPC (and you WILL need to rent a car) is completely different than renting a car anywhere else in the world. There are no real rental agencies there like Hertz or Avis - there are a few local companies that have mostly Suzuki mini-SUV's and a lot of locals who you just barter with to get a rental car. Oftentimes the manager of the hotel/inn you are staying at will likely just negotiate a price with you to take their car for the day. There is no insurance on the island (including with CC's I believe)..... so you'd better not let anything happen to the car or you're screwed

That being said, if you do crash the car, you might just be the single worst driver in the world. There are maybe 3 or 4 roads in all of IPC + the road going around the perimeter of the island. And there are pretty much no cars on them - the road is empty, certainly when you get out of Hanga Roa (the only city in IPC). You have a better chance of hitting a horse or bull than you do of hitting another car. So I wouldn't be too concerned that you're driving uninsured.

[ethana]

How were the two Luxury Collection hotels in CUZ area?

[Yaalili]

Awesome tips, would love to hear more about how you planned out CUZ and IPC, with some pics when you get around to them.

[ML1219]

How were the two Luxury Collection hotels in CUZ area?

One in Cuzco, one in Urubamba (sacred valley). The former is solid, the latter is specatacular.

The latter is one of the highest rated hotels in all of South America. It's a fantastic hotel and an excellent base for getting around the Sacred Valley on the cheap and going to Macchu Picchu (it's a 5 minute walk to a large bus station hub that will get you anywhere in the sacred valley)

[ML1219]

Awesome tips, would love to hear more about how you planned out CUZ and IPC, with some pics when you get around to them.

CUZ and Macchu Picchu is fairly easy to plan - there is no shortage of information on the internet

IPC is a little trickier because of its obscurity, but you don't need to do too much planning because it's one of those "just drive around the island and stop at the places marked on the map you picked up at the airport" kind of locations. The entire island probably doesn't take more than 1.5 hours to drive around without stopping and there's only 1 city on the entire island which is just a few blocks and can even be walked to from the airport

[ML1219]

Another few tips that come to mind (consider this thread a rambling trip report where I just dole out information as I remember them):

1) Obviously there is zero kosher places on IPC. But water, coca cola products and packaged Nestle ice cream are plentiful in the grocery stores

2) There was a supermarket maybe a 5 minute walk from PPT airport that was very well stocked with American products - snacks, drinks, Barilla past etc. Just walk up the steps out of the parking lot of PPT, make a left on the main road and walk about 5 minutes until you see a supermarket.

3) in France, some people consider baguettes kosher in some circumstances even without a hashgacha. They are readily available all over French Polynesia as well (including MOZ and BOB) and extremely cheap. I will leave it to you to make your own personal decisions on the matter.

4) When you go to Macchu Picchu, take the train from Ollantaytambo, not from CUZ or Urubamba. Even if you are staying at a hotel in CUZ, it is cheaper, quicker and more frequently scheduled to take a taxi to Ollantaytambo and take the train from there than it is to take the train straight from CUZ. The private train station by the SPG hotel in Urubamba is a cool novelty, but is useless in practical terms - only one arrival and departure per day, and you have to buy the tickets through the tour agency on site at the SPG hotel which has a 40-50% markup.

5) There is an orthodox shul in PPT that has (or attempts to have) minyans at least on shabbas. I wasn't in PPT for shabbas, but there definitely is one. and from minimal googling, it appears that you should have little problem finding someone there who would be happy to have you over for Shabbat meals

6) Personally, I thought the main island of BOB was nothing impressive. Obviously it's of little importance when you're on a 5* $1200/night resort on it's own private island a 30 minute ferry ride from the main island.... but still. Taking the world class resorts out of the equation, I thought MOZ (and the Hawaiian islands) had more natural beauty than BOB.