Peru - self organised trip

woodchuck

I'm looking for advise about organising a trip to Peru. We're not keen on going with an organised group as we'd like to do things at our own pace, but I'm not sure where to start when it comes to the logistics of getting around and booking things in advance. I don't want to leave anything to chance as we'll be tight for time! (2-3 weeks)

Can anyone recommended reliable websites for booking trains, buses, internal flights and macchu picchu? What is the best mode of transport to get between different places?

We figure we'll need to fly in and out of Lima, but don't particularly want to spend much time there. We definitely want to visit:
- Arequipa
- Colca canyon
- Cusco
- Macchu Piccu (not hike the Inca trail though - but is it best to travel from Cusco or stay somewhere else?)
We're a bit undecided about the Nazca lines and Lake Titicaca, but they are also on the cards depending on time.

I also love the idea of going to the jungle and observing wild animals, but I haven't heard much about this and I'm not sure how feasible this is?

Would it be feasible to fit in a trip to the salt planes in Bolivia?

We're also conscious about the potential for altitude sickness, so want to try and gradually work up to higher altitudes.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! We want to make the most of the 2-3 weeks, but don't want to go crazy trying to fit in too many places either. Macchu Picchu is an absolute must though, so the more advice about that the better!

Antar Bolaeisk

I Flew internally with LCPeru, Peruvian Airlines and LATAM, they were all perfectly fine to use.

For visiting Machu Picchu you'll probbaly want to stay the night in Aguas Calientes in order to get the most out of your day there. Aguas Calientes is the town just outside from where you can get a morning bus up to the site (Buy your tickets in the town first before you go up).

You'll probably want to stop off at Ollantaytambo for a night between Cusco and Aguas Callientes as well. It's a living Incan town though rather touristy but very impressive to see. Getting there you take public transport or collectivo (sort of like a shared taxi) from Cusco to Ollyantaytambo then train from there to Aguas Calientes. I ended up not doing this as I took the Camino Inca. I didn't suffer from altitude sickness at all though did struggle a bit at the highest point of the Inca trail. Do see about getting altitude sickness tablets to have just in case.

If I were going back I would definitely try to see the Nazca lines but, the reason I didn't when I was there was the time involved, it was going to eat up two days of my travel so ended up chopping it out. Instead I went to to Puerto Maldonado and stayed a few days in the rainforest. One of the highlights of the trip for me was having a troupe of monkeys swing by just as we were approaching the accommodation.

I went as a solo traveller and, while certain things required going with groups of people, I still went around at my own pace and did my own thing.

jay0109

I went to Peru over 10 years ago and as internal flights then were more expensive for Gringo's, we booked them through a Sth American based agent. But not sure if that pricing discrimination applies anymore.

Flew into Lima and on to Puno the next morning for Lake Titicaca. Booked with a local travel company for a tour of the lake and a visit to the floating islands as well as Taquile where we had lunch.
We then got a train across Peruvian highlands to Cusco which was a great trip. 10 hours or something like that.

Remember that there's a lot more to Cusco than just Machu Picchu. Some great day trips for hiking around Cusco and we used local buses to get there and back (1 woman got on with an alpaca under her arm!).
We stayed in Aguas Calientes for our Machu Picchu trip the night before. And instead of getting a tourist bus up, we followed the path up the mountain. It was a tough hike up but we wanted to get there before the swarms arrived and were up there just after dawn. Got a couple of hours with only a few people around.

That took a week. Would love to have had more time there, especially in the Cusco area.
And as I said, that was 10 years ago so local laws may have changed etc.

You'll not regret going

woodchuck

Thank you so much for all of the advice! Sorry for the delay replying, I wanted to look into some things myself also and have some more questions...

Does anyone have any information about booking trains and buses in advance? I.e. reputable companies and websites?

I'm assuming a lot of the ground transport can be booked locally when we're over there, but I'm particularly mindful of Machu Picchu and would prefer to book everything for that leg of the trip in advance to make sure we don't risk missing out over something really trivial such as not having a bus/train booked.

Our provisional plan for that part of the trip would be to stay in Cusco, then get public transport to Ollyantaytambo, staying there for at least 1 night. Then get the train to Aguas Calientes, staying there 1/2 nights and visit Machu Picchu from there (need to get a bus to MP?).

In addition to the transport between Cusco, Ollyantaytambo, Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu, does anyone have any advice about booking our entrance/tour for Machu Picchu itself? Again, this is something we'd obviously want to book in advance and therefore would appreciate any advice about this (reputable tour groups, websites etc).

Thanks in advance
(just to add, we're thinking of September - I'm assuming we don't need to be overly worried about booking everything asap? Not that we plan to put it off, but I heard the inca trail can book up 6+ months in advance, but since we're not doing the trail, I'm hoping we'll be ok...)