Peru Itinerary Suggestions?

[keweenawlove]

I just booked tickets to Peru for next June so H and I can hike the Inca Trail! I've got a tentative itinerary pulled together and I'd appreciate input. So far, I've got:

-Flight arrives in Lima around midnight. We'll probably just suck it up and stay at the airport hotel since we're looking at a morning flight out and I don't want to sleep in the terminal.
-Fly to Puno and stay for 2 nights. The idea with going here first was it's a place we can take it easy and acclimate as much as possible before the hike. I'm looking at the kayak tours on the lake.
-Get to Cusco. Initially I'd looked at the train because it looked like a gorgeous ride but it doesn't run the day we'd need to get there. Trying to decide between the bus and flying.
-3 nights in Cusco. At least one day we're planning on doing a Sacred Valley tour. Any recs for a good tour? Other things to do do around Cusco?
-Inca trail with Peru Treks. I took the recommendations from old threads here. I booked the hike already so we're locked into starting at this time.
-1 day in Lima before flying home. We'll probably have time for 2 good meals which it sounds like should be our focus there.

[emilyinchile]

Mercado was my favorite meal on a recent trip to Lima. Make reservations for lunch. Central was also really good (one of the top 50 restaurants in the world), although we didn't do the tasting menu and just ordered a la carte. Amaz was a let down - the concept is Amazonian ingredients and dishes to share, but our waiter only answered specific questions about the ingredients and didn't tell us the idea was to share until he brought the dishes, by which point we'd ordered things that not everyone wanted. Food was fine but not amazing. I want to go to Maido based on recommendations.

[sunnysally]

We're doing the same trip in May. We plan on staying in Peru for 2 weeks. I posted my proposed itinerary a few months ago.

[sunshinedaydreams]

I think this looks good, and is about the right amount of time everywhere.

This was roughly our itinerary when we went a few years ago, except we did Puno after the Inka Trail, and I think that was a mistake. We were both worn out and the altitude kicked our asses, so we didn't explore as much as we could have. Several people we were on the trail with had done Colca Canyon while in Puno and really enjoyed it.

We took a tourist bus from Cusco to Puno because it was cheap, and a good way to see the area in between. We stopped at Raqchi and a few other towns along the way - not overly exciting, but neat to see. And we stopped for lunch along the way. I think it cost around $30pp. We booked this from a tour office off of the Plaza de Armas near our hotel.

I don't have any recs for a tour company to the Sacred Valley. This one we also booked with a tour office near our hotel off the Plaza de Armas. We went to Pisaq, Ollantaytambo, and Chinchero and I would highly recommend them all. Ollantaytambo was amazing! Pisaq had a neat little local craft market. Chinchero I don't remember a ton because I got altitude sickness.

Have fun on the trail! We loved Peru Treks! The food they fed us on the trail was better than what we eat at home.

[keweenawlove]

Oct 7, 2015 20:53:58 GMT -5 sunshinedaydreams said:

Have fun on the trail! We loved Peru Treks! The food they fed us on the trail was better than what we eat at home.

I think one of your posts was one of the ones that steered me to Peru Treks It sounds like a great time. I'm excited. 

[osumelissa]

We used Peru Treks two years ago for our hike - you will love them. Great food and nice guides.

We actually went to Puno after our hike to relax and did a day tour on Lake Titicaca. So relaxing and peaceful. I would recommend flying between Puno and Cusco - the intracountry flights weren't expensive and saved us a lot of time. We also did a Sacred Valley tour one of the days we were in Cusco before the hike. We actually booked with Peru Treks when we paid our hike balance. Actually we saw some of the people on our day tour on the Inca Trail hike a few days later. In Cusco there is a pub off of the plaza that is fun to go to - we met a lot of people who just finished the hike so it was nice to talk to them and get their stories.

I really liked Cusco. Much better than Lima.