Peru

250882

I'm not a seasoned traveller(only ever been to the algarve, Andorra and gran Canaria) but I want to bring my girlfriend to Peru on a holiday. I dont know much about the place, how to get there, where to stay or what to see(except Maccu Pichu which is the reason we are going).
Anybody been there before and have any experience good or bad, would you reccomend renting a car etc.
Any help appreciated

Glowing

Hey, Peru is GREAT! I spent a few weeks there last December - did the Inca Trail (the 4 day hike was excellent, go with Llama Path for a responsible, sustainable company)

How long do you plan to go for? I'd recommend Cusco (departure point for Machu Piccu), Arequipa, lovely walled town with Inca Stonework, and great scenery. I didn't have time for much else but I heard the area north of Lima is amazing.

I'm not sure about car-hire - but the busses are reasonable and the roads a lot better than places like Bolivia.

It was one of my favourite countries in South America, great food, friendly people and so much to see and do. Go for it!

Meathlass

How long are you going for and when?
What's your budget?
What are you into - sun holidays, adventure sports, history and archaeology, cities?

I spent about 2 months there travelling through most of the country on the bus network which is very good and cheap - no need to hire a car, crazy idea.

I think you can get flights out of Madrid to Lima, can't really help you there as I came in and out of the country overland.

Lima - large smoggy city with great colonial churches and houses

North of Lima - beaches (Pacific can be very cold though!) Great archaeological sites like Chan Chan, Sipan and Trujillo.

Nasca and surrounds - Nasca lines and sand 'surfing'

Ballestres Isles (sp) 'poor man's' Galapagos, lots of sea lions and birds.

Arequipa - gateway to Colca Caynon with views of Condors, nice small town, see Ice Maiden in Museum and Convent.

Cusco - gateway to Cusco, very touristy, lots of colonial buildings. Great Inca sites all around Cusco and the sacred valley. You need to book the Inca Trail months in advance as there are limited departures. You can just get the train up to MP though without all the hiking. There is no road network up there.

Puno - Lake Titicaca and floating islands of Uros.

You could certainly see a lot in a crazy 2 weeks but don't underestimate the altitude as it can really hit you for the first few days.

250882

Thanks for the replies

nottooxabi

Hi, Thanks for the info too. I plan to be in sth america around end feb/march... but am trying to find the best time to walk the inca trail..
Not much point in doing it it its going to be rainy and cloudy.. which i feel it may well be around then..

I'm also trying to plan out my route to make it most efficient...and catch the best weather..

Current plan is to be in sth america in feb (around the 10th feb 2009).

I want to visit
cuzco -inca trail
[FONT=&quot]Iquitos - then quito - galapagos
then argentina for at least 5 weeks. I pretty much know my route in Argentina.
Flying out of buenes aires ..around the end of april.

In total i have about 2.5 months.
[/FONT]
Alternatively i could arrive in santiago and go to argentina first.. then fly to quito, down to peru/lima/cuzco and go to [FONT=&quot]Iquitos.. get a boat all along the amazon to brazil and make my way and fly out of Rio..

advice / suggestions / ideas from people who have been would be much appreciated.
thanks a lot
[/FONT]

How Strange

Peru is fantastic. Cusco is touristy but well worth a visit. You have to book the Inca Trail about 6 weeks in advance at this time of year. One tip on the Inca Trail, don't go for the rock bottom, cheapie tours. The chances of bad food, leaky tents and huge groups is more likely on the cheaper tours. Aim to pay around $250.

From an ethical point of view, the cheaper the tours the worse the guides and guys carrying all the equipment are paid and treated appallingly and believe me when you they have to carry up there you'll understand why it's important to pay a fair price. Also, on the cheaper tours the guys carrying the gear have to sleep outside.

Re the weather, you just have to wait and see. I was there in Dec a few years ago and it rained out of the heavens for two days and the last two were beautiful. Once you have a rain jacket it doesn't really matter and I certainly wouldn't skip it because it may or may not be raining.

Puno was good in the sense that it's very frontier like and the complete antithesis to Cusco and you really feel like you're in South America but I found lake titicaca a bit boring. The islands were interesting but the whole day on the boat which was overcrowded and very uncomfortable was probably one of the dullest days I spent in Peru. Other people I met went to Cocacabana (sp) and enjoyed it much more. I didn't get to see the Nasca lines.

I wouldn't recommend renting a car from a pure road safety point of view. The driving standards are erratic at the best of times so best off sticking to the buses. Some of the trips may be white knuckle affairs but I'd prefer to take my chances in a bus than drive myself.

Tiriel

Hey guys,

Did you all book your flights etc. independently or did you go through travel agent with guides etc. pre-arranged? Enquiring as a family member is hoping to do a tour - 10 days or so - using the bus to do the trail.

Any advice appreciated.

dereko1969

it's a good few years since i went to peru but i booked flights myself, into lima with klm (via amsterdam) and then a flight from lima to cusco, if your friend is doing the inca trail they'll have to book soon (wasn't the case when i went there but they've changed the rules) but i'd make sure to get to cusco a good few days before the hike at it's very important to acclimatise, as the altitude can affect everyone differently. it's a pity they've only 10 days as Peru is an amazing country. maybe also look at the lonely planet thorn tree discussion board for more up to date advice about peru see here
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forum.jspa?forumID=22&keywordid=241

markesmith

Peru is brilliant, was there during the summer on a tour around S America. Never got to Lima, but never heard great things about it either (though Miraflores area is meant to be nice). Apparently Lima can be quite dodgy.

The two places I did visit - Cuzco and Arequipa - were brilliant, really good fun. My brother and I used Cuzco as a base for Machu Pichu / Aquas Calientes and all that.

Cuzco is a really nice city, surrounded by mountains. Town is famous for its Cuzquena (sp?) beer, which has won awards at Oktoberfest. Seriously worth checking out a few bottles of that, costs about €0.20 a bottle. Also, there's a restaurant on the top-left of the square - you'll know it when you see it, ground floor, lots of windows - and it does the best meal I've ever had. Guinea pig is the national dish, well worth a try.

But Arequipa is the nicest place I've ever been to. Brother has blonde hair, and the ladies loved that over there so we had a great time. The people in Arequipa are really friendly, it's a bustling little college town, some great bars, and the scenery is amazing. Dormant volcanoes dot the skyline.

I'd strongly recommend Peru - it's cheap, friendly, and a great place to explore Inca-type stuff, as most of the people are indigenous. Machu Pichu is amazing of course, but after six hours of walking around it you kind of just want to go back to Cuzco.

Highly recommended! You lucky buggers.

theCzar

Peru remains my favorite ever holiday. I spent a month there with a friend. We flew in and out of Lima with KLM. Went Lima-Cuzco-MachuPichu-Puerto Maldonado-Cuzco-Copacabana (Bolivia)-Arequipa-Nazca-Huacachina-Pisco-Lima(-home)

You only need to book the "offical" incan trail a month in advance. The official tour follows a preplanned route through some of the Incan highlights but you don't need to take that route to get to Machu Pichu, other routes don't have the incan ruins but are arguably more impressive hikes and frankly Machu Pichu is the true highlight and I don't believe you would regret not having seen the smaller ruins on the way.

Ollyantaytambo is an old incan fortress and worth the day trip from Cuzco.

As long as you stay out of the jungle to the north or east, night time can be cold bordering on freezing as you are either high altitude or in the coastal desert. Wear layers yadda yadda yadda! If you're doing the trail I'd recommend a sleeping bag lining but I didn't have a GF to keep me warm wink wink ahem.

Unfortunately, I never made it to Iquitos but I did get to Puerto Maldonado for my jungle fix. There are plenty of eco trips in the Amazon jungle fringes if you like wildlife.

Arequipa is a nice town. One of the places I'm sorry I didn't have more time to see. You can do a hike in the nearby canyons if the track to Machu Pichu whetted your appetite. If you're heading south to take in Lake Titicaca, I would reccommend popping across the Bolivian border to Copacabana to see it from there. Much nicer than Puno (I think that was the name)

Renting a car would be a bad idea I think. The headaches of where to park it alone would drive me crazy. Some roads are very good, like Highway 1 along the coast and the road leading south from Cuzco but many are not. As mentioned already, the buses are good and safe by a large.

I stayed in Miraflores area of Lima, which is the best the town has to offer but tbh you're in Lima while you wait to get out.

Huacachina, near Ica, north of Nazca, south of Pisco (excessive directions because my town spelling is atrocious!!) is a fantastic place to chill fora few days. Its an oasis town in the middle of the vast coastal desert. Get a hotel with a pool and eat BBQ for a few days to recharge after hiking.

All in all, Peru, 9 thumbs up.

Zamboni

TMB asking for 220 per person.
Jaysus!
Looking at going in June. Looks amazing.
Anyone do a GAP adventure?
I'll probably go with them as they seem reasonable enough.

RATM

Zamboni wrote: »

TMB asking for 220 per person.
Jaysus!
Looking at going in June. Looks amazing.
Anyone do a GAP adventure?
I'll probably go with them as they seem reasonable enough.

Not sure if you are in Dublin or not? If so try ringing the trinity College Health center om 01-8961556-Im not 100% sure if they take non-students but their price list does state visitor consultation fees so they probably do.
Hep A €50
Typhoid €20
Tetanus €25
Yellow Fever €40
Rabies 3x€50=€150, ouch!
Not sure how that compares with the TMB but let us know for the sake of comparison.

Also STA have some great fares to Peru at the mo- got me an open jaw return London-Lima overland to Buenos Aires-London for just over €660 return last week. Then the Ryanair to London was €35, all in for €695 in total, complete bargain compared to the €1200+ USIT and Trailfinders wanted to scalp me for :pac:

Zamboni

Hey thanks for that RATM.

I will definately give them a shout.