Travel Review: Peru Tour, Cusco, Lima, Puno, Sacred Valley, Moray, Maras, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, Ollantaytambo

Review by traveler

paulette a.

10.15.2018

General Info

Traveler Review

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

Peru

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

We had a wonderful trip. The travel specialist who planned our trip listened well, and helped us work out our itinerary.

This was a 12 day trip - one day in Lima, then 3 days in the Sacred Valley/ 2 days in Machu Picchu/ 3 days in Cusco and 2 in Lake Titicaca. Plus an amazing luxury train ride from Puno to Cusco in the Titicaca Express.

The trip was extremely well organized and everything went like clockwork. Our travel company also handled a last-minute health-related glitch one of us experienced that threatened to ruin the much-anticipated Machu Picchu leg - we were so appreciative of their help and in the end, everyone was able to really enjoy and get the most out of that leg as well, though that morning we had feared disaster!

We also had very safe and careful drivers for all 3 segments of our trip, which meant a lot to us. A special highlight was our Sacred Valley/Machu Picchu/Cusco guide. He was really fantastic - so knowledgeable, and so enthusiastic. We received a real education on Inca culture and history from him. He really brought the sites and the period to life.

While our Lima stay was only for a day, our Lima guide was also very knowledgeable, and we got a great deal out of our Larco museum visit with her help.

I particularly want to commend this travel agency for the way they helped us make the Machu Picchu leg successful. Our daughter was supposed to do the 1-day Inca trail hike with a private guide and meet us in Augus Calientes in the evening, while my husband and I were to do an initial visit to Machu Picchu that day and hike to the Sun Gate, and then we were to tour Machu Picchu all together the next day. But the night before she developed a stomach upset, and at 3 am it became clear the hike was not going to happen. Her trail permit did not include a Machu Picchu entry that day, and site entry requirements are extremely strict, so our guide and our travel company scrambled to change the plan, and get her an entry ticket for that afternoon as soon as we disembarked from the train in Augus Calientes in the morning. After resting in the hotel, she was well enough by afternoon to make the trip to MP and enjoy a tour of the site. Without their help, I don't think we could have turned on a dime and made it happen.

Overall - excellent logistics, responsiveness and going over and above when last-minute problems arose.

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

The Sacred Valley sites we visited - Maras, Moray, Chincherro, Pisac, Ollantaytambo - and Macchu Picchu were certainly the highlight of the trip. It's a gorgeous scenic location, and our guide Guido was so knowledgeable about the history, culture and folklore - he added enormously to our enjoyment of the trip.

We also enjoyed the luxury train ride between Puno and Cusco. The scenery was not spectacular for most of the way - the best part was as we approached the Sacred Valley once again - but the Orient Express-class experience was amazing - totally worth it!

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

I wouldn't bother to go to Lake Titicaca. It's no more scenic than any other large alpine lake, and there's no local culture to learn about. And it is a huge time investment to fly there.

The whole Uros floating-reed-island thing is not authentic at all - they started to fashion those islands only in the 50s. Before that they lived in their boats. So there's no age-old culture around them, and there's a general theme-park feel to the whole thing, whether or not they live on their island (in many cases they don't - they only come there for the day). We visited an island where they apparently do live, but the way of life is of necessity modernized - for instance, they use motor boats for transportation. The reed boat is strictly for tourists. And so on.

The Tequile island visit is scenic once you've huffed and puffed your way in the thin air to the top, but here again the culture part could be had elsewhere for less trouble.

Net - I wouldn't advise anyone to take the time and effort to come here.

One possibility if you want the train ride through the Andes - take the wonderful Titicaca Express from Cusco to Puno and then fly straight out of Juliaca without bothering with the lake at all.

Photos

Travel Review: Peru Tour, Cusco, Lima, Puno, Sacred Valley, Moray, Maras, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, Ollantaytambo

General Info

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

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