laurelwoods94

Hi! Planning our next trip and hoping to do some of Peru and the Galapagos Islands in early June. Looking for feedback on our itinerary. We have 3 weeks max and if we do do Galapagos we will want to do a cruise (5D4N). In Peru want to focus on Cusco and the Amazon, thinking as follows

day 1: Land in Lima, see Miraflores, do cooking class if time and not too jetlagged
day 2: fly to Cusco, transfer to Ollaytaytambo (lower altitude to help adjust with Altitude sickness), see Ollaytaytambo sites
day 3: Sacred Valley tour to see Pisac and Moray salt mines, stay night in Ollaytaytambo again.
day 4: Embark on Inca Trail hike
day 5: hike
day 6: hike, arrive at MP
day 7: revisit MP in AM, train back to Cusco, recuperate in Cusco
day 8: visit Cusco sites
day 9: visit Rainbow Mountain
day 10: last day in Cusco, visit sights.
day 11: Fly to Amazon (Iquitos or Puerto Maldonado TBD)
day 12: Amazon, full day at lodge
day 13: Amazon
day 14: fly out of Amazon, go to Quito
day 15: Fly to Galapagos, embark on cruise
day 16-19, cruise Cont'd
day 20: fly back to Quito
day 21: fly back home

Things I am considering:
- whether or not to do the Inca Trail hike, we have a few pricey stays (Amazon Lodge/Galapagos) and are thinking to maybe cut costs here and take the train to MP
- If not doing the Galapagos, I am considering a week in Colombia to see Medellin and Cartegena.

I wish we didn't have our full time jobs but we try to make the best of our vacation time!! -- We can travel pretty fast paced without getting tired, although I do know altitude sickness is something we are going to have to consider with this trip.

Thank you for your feedback.

LAX_Esq

I'm a fan of tight, fast-paced itineraries and not wasting time; and wife and I have jobs and don't have all the time in the world to spend 6 weeks in one country. However, IMHO a 5D4N Galapagos cruise isn't doing the Galapagos justice -- and you should do a week-long cruise. Keep in mind that "5D4N" cruise is only 3 full days of landings, when you get past the cruise-company marketing that it's "5 days." You're not going to be able to do that much cool on the arrival and departure days. The Galapagos is such a unique place and you probably aren't going back, so 3 full days there is a little short. It's doable, though. If you're not so into wildlife and you're mainly wanting to check the boxes, it's certainly fine.

To make more time, you could cut out some of the stuff in Cusco (Rainbow Mountain, Sacred Valley tour). If you're doing the full Inca trail, how much Inca stuff are you really going to want to see?

Quito is a nice little city and if you can get the greater part of a full day there either on the way in and out, or together, it would be good.

mlgb

Most Inca Trail guides want you to spend a few nights in Cusco to get the best adjustment to altitude for Dead Woman's Pass. Ollantay is only suitable if you are taking the train/bus.

7-8 days for Galapagos including transfers, same for Macchu Picchu and the SV. You can definitely trim the Cusco sites. No one ever went to Rainbow Mountain until instagram for example.

The first day of a Galapagos cruise can be good if you go with the right company, but the last day is a bust. Look at the itineraries carefully.

I would consider dropping the Amazon leg.

LAX_Esq

Regarding this...

Seriously consider Diamox. Of course, discuss it with a doctor.

crellston

I understand the desire to pack in a lot of destinations on a trip to South America , especially if travelling a long way to get there but is really would be a mistake. Travel takes time in South America and acclimatisation to the altitude in certain places can slow you down.

Breaking your trip down into individual components you really need to allow seven nights for Cusco and the Sacred Valley, plus time for your Inca Trail Trek. There is a LOT to see in the area. Best leave teh trek until the end of your time there when you are better acclimatised. Contrary to popular belief it take longer than a couple of days to acclimatise to the point where you find trekking at altitude comfortable.

Given the time it takes to get to a decent Amazon lodge , you really need to allow 4 nights there. I haven’t been to the Galapagos but know lots of people that have and I would entertain anything less than a week. IMO you don’t have enough time for anything other than a rushed trip and I would save it for another trip. Aside from the destinations you mention, there is a huge amount to see in Peru and I would consider spending all your time there. Arequipa, Colca , Trujillo, Chachapoyas, Titicaca are all worthy contenders for inclusion in a three week trip. A few of of these I covered in detail in our blog @ https://accidentalnomads.com/category/peru/

If you really did want to add a second country, I like your idea of time in Colombia. We spent several months there travelling around the country and loved our time there. Cities like Medellin and Bogotá were great. not so keen on Cartagena , very pretty but excruciatingly hot when we were there and not especially safe in certain areas. I would pick a few days in a city like Bogotá or Medellin and take side trips to some of teh smaller towns and villages - there is a section in Colombia in out blog linked above.

P_M

It's been about 15 years since I hiked the Inca Trail, and unless things have changed since then, you can't just show up and get on the trail. You need to get a permit well in advance of your trip. I strongly urge you to look into that before making any plans around the Inca Trail.

If you do get a permit and hike the Inca Trail, I agree with the advice to spend more time in Cusco in advance. Unless you already live at an altitude of 14,000 feet, Dead Woman's Pass will damn near kill you if you aren't properly acclimatized.

Alia_m

Thank you for sharing.
Can you give me any ideas about scuba diving in Galapagos?

juanmagallanes56

If you are taking a cruise, make sure you do your scuba immersions before, this way when you disembark from the cruise you can fly home without having to wait another day before flying back, this due to the fact you cannot fly the day after your last immersion.

Consider staying in Puerto Ayora for daily dive excursions, best dive shops here are: Nautidiving, Scuba Iguana and Galapagos Sub Aqua.
If you cant to get out to Darwin and Wolf, you definitely have to do a Scuba cruise on a liveaboard.

Make sure you have experience before trying the Galapagos, currents and surge are a real thing here.

ClaritaCarrasco

Hi Laura, you really want to take into account the altitude, you never know this is going to affect you. Everyone is different. When you arrive to Cusco 2 days is the minimum recommended acclimatization time. The Inca Trail is an expensive hike and even more so if you cannot do it due to not acclimatizing for long enough!

Hope this helps!

KTtravel

We did a similar trip six years ago and loved it. We did not attempt the Inca Trail but went to Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Quito, the Galápagos Islands and the Amazon rainforest. We did a 5 day/4 night Galapagos cruise and did feel we got a good sense of the islands. More time at the islands would have been nice, but we just didn't have time and we were satisfied with the experiences we had there.

We arranged our trip with the help of a Peruvian travel agency which we learned about on this forum but, unfortunately, it no longer seems to be in business.

mlgb

Cometa Travel who owns the yacht Angelito I has a 5D/4 N cruise, called the A5 which is good for a taste and starts and ends in Baltra. In this itinerary the first day is very good, you start early with and airport pickup and go to the boat and on to North Seymour. Last day ends with a tour of the highlands and Charles Darwin Center. On the last day you can end in town. I spent a few independent days before my cruise in Baltra and made my own way between town and airport (twice).

https://angelitogalapagos.com/itineraries/

A few people on my cruise left us on the 5th day, and headed for Peru thereafter.

Any agency that does Galapagos Cruises can book you, but I went direct with Cometa. An American adventure specialist recommended them, as a good affordable option (after being cancelled by Road Scholar). I was very lucky to have Maja as my onboard guide.

As mentioned above, diving excursions would be separate from Baltra.

IMO Peru is very easy to DIY...