We had the experience of a lifetime in Peru! ...

Peru | Apr 10 - Apr 15, 2022

We had the experience of a lifetime in Peru! Jesus was so helpful in planning our trip with the restraints that we gave him. He worked with us on fitting all of our desired excursions in our timeframe. There were occasional delays in response time, but communication overall was very timely. Some of the transportation/timing details were not entirely clear to us at times. For me, the more details the better, so I would've appreciated being told things like where our driver would be waiting for us at the airport or what time we might expect to have free time to grab lunch on a given day. One big thing I was missing was transit time, as we often didn't know if we'd be in the car for 30 minutes or several hours until we actually got in the car and asked. I suggest always bringing extra snacks and water in case you're out and about longer than anticipated!

Here is how we spent our time in Peru!
1 free day in Lima: We walked around Miraflores and went to Museo Larco. The museum had lots of pre-Inca and Inca relics, which were so beautiful and fascinating. We had some trouble waiting on Uber rides and having them canceled, but we eventually got to where we wanted to go.
1 day in Cusco with walking tour: The flight from Lima to Cusco was short and sweet. We met our guide, Fredy, who would be with us for the rest of the week. The tour around Cusco was so interesting! We went during Holy Week, so we also got to see a huge gathering of people in the plaza celebrating. We got really good drinks at Museo del Pisco!
1 day exploring Incan ruins on the journey to Machu Picchu: Lots of really big rocks in really cool formations! One of our favorite parts of the whole trip was feeding the llamas, alpacas, and guanacos at Sulca. We got to participate in a traditional Inca dining experience called "pachamanca", which was so unique. When we finally got to Aguas Calientes outside of Machu Picchu, our hotel was right on the bank of a roaring river. We had a great dinner at Julian a couple doors down!
1 day at Machu Picchu: No words can describe this incredible experience. The views were just breathtaking! Afterwards, we explored Aguas Calientes a bit more and ended up renting swimsuits to go into the hot springs.
1 day hiking Palccoyo (unable to do Rainbow Mountain as originally planned): It was about a 4 hour drive to get here, which we didn't know until getting in the car. We also had to switch plans because Rainbow Mountain was closed due to disagreement among the communities. The hike was no joke in terms of elevation! The views were well worth the physical exertion, though. We had a beautiful picnic by a stream afterward, which was so lovely. When we got back to Cusco, we had dinner at Uchu, which was AMAZING!
1 free day in Cusco prior to departure: We got to explore more of the city and just take it all in before leaving :)

Hotel Review

Casa Andina Standard Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu, Cusco

Being right on the river was so fun! Super convenient location right near the train and bus stops.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Machu Picchu Exploration

Aguas Calientes/ Machu Picchu

Fredy shared so much rich history with us as we took in the iconic views!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The bus trip is a bit unsettling at some points, but the bus drivers seem like they really know what they're doing.