Planning for Peru: An Evolving Itinerary
So, we weren’t entirely sure what was going to become of our upcoming honeymoon. We had discussed Eastern Europe and Africa, but were pretty set on the fact that we wanted to explore South America. As I’ve mentioned before, Machu Picchu is on my bucket list; a major life to-do, and Peru and Chile have always topped my South America list (unlike most people’s fascination with Brazil and Argentina).
- Now, our talk of planning for Peru is becoming a little less abstract and a little more real! We’ve found out that our flights are fairly solidified, as is our schedule after we arrive. Here’s what our agenda looks like thus far:
- Fly into Lima
- Spend 2 nights in Lima
- Get from Lima to Cuzco (still not sure how we’re doing this, but probably train or coach — any insight is appreciated!)
- Spend 2 nights in Cuzco
- Take the Hiram Bingham Train to Urubamba
- Spend a night in the Sacred Valley
- Head to Machu Picchu
- Stay a night in Machu Picchu
- Back to Cuzco
We’re thinking of tacking on a 4 or 5-day Amazon trek at the end of the trip to explore a different side of Peru. From Cuzco, we’d fly over to Puerto Maldonado, which is the entry point for Amazon exploration. We spoke with an incredible traveling couple at the hotel about a week ago (the same one that inspired us to prioritize traveling), who mentioned that ‘budget travel’ was an idea we’d want to jettison when exploring the Amazon. They decided to cut costs and travel on the cheap (and get a real taste of Amazonian life) while in the area and found it to be a bit too down and dirty. Their advice: spend a little more and enjoy a much richer experience.
Have any of you been to Peru? What should we be adding to this experience? We want to make sure that we’re getting the most out of this 10 – 14 day adventure, so let us know if there are any must-sees that we’re missing out on!
xoxo from the islands,
