Pre cruise tour to cuzco and MP DIY

[petlady7]

Hi

 

We have booked a cruise and want to do Cuzco , sacred valley and Macchu Picchu on our own without using any tour companies , eg book our own flights Santiago to Cuzco , book own hotels , tours , train to Macchu Picchu etc , any recommendations for anything or any info from anybody that had done this themselves , all info appreciated , thank you

[banditoo]

Hi petlady

We did Sacred Valley, MP and Cusco on our own a couple years back on the tail end of a month traveling in South America. Very easy to do on your own with a little planning. If you follow the link in my signature to my sharesite, select the South America trip tab along the top or on right hand side of my share site and you will find all the details of our trip including photos, journal and links to sites that I used for info, transport and accommodation etc. Feel free to ask me any other specific questions about the MP portion.

[petlady7]

Thanks Banditoo/Betty

 

Much appreciated , wow you are well travelled , great sharing site too

Where did you get the boxed lunch for the MP trip please ? , I have read that the food at the site is expensive and dont really want the buffet at the Sanctuary as heard it is very busy (unless anybody really recommends it )

[catergirl]

feb 16th flew out of toronto(7pm) with a short connecting flight to lima, arriving 2 am the 17th. stayed in the airport til flight a little before 8am. found coca tea to drink and left our big luggage at the 'lost luggage/storage for a fee for the next 5 days so we wouldnt have to slug them. which it turns out was a very good idea, as the train says you are only allowed 11lb/5 kg. our carry on was much more than that but no one blinked, in fact the guys that work for the train helped me up with mine and it was probably 30lb. so i researched and booked the samuq hotel in aguas calientes for 2 nights which include br and 1 other meal. kind of pricey, but not compared to the sanctuary lodge. little town, with stores you can pick up pop, water, beer etc. very nice hotel and great food. had the sonesta hotel in urabamba booked for 2 days as well, ok, but quite worn. br included. so then i had to find transportation etc. i knew the train from poroy would be gone by the time we got there so i had to arrange for transportation. contacted cusco transport and got a price for picking us up at the airport, driving us down to ollytambro to the train station with a couple of sightseeing spots on the way. had a driver and guide and they had coca tea for us when we arrived. i purchased my own rail tickets(perurail) then. i dint think there would be any problem getting a seat, but was lucky as it was really booked, so if doing over i would prebook. but i wasnt sure when we would get there...guess i could have asked cusco transport when would be good. so the road goes down from cusco to urabamba and then goes lft to ollytambro where the road ends(about a 2hr drive) from there its only the train to aguas calientes(town at bottom of MP. about 1 1/2 hr ride along the river). they also booked a guide for us and our tickets to MP for the next day. we arrived after 3pm on feb17th so it had been a longggg day with no sleep, DH was exausted and dint think he would be going the next day. met up with the guide and then went right to bed. up at 6am to meet the guide and took the bus up the mt. he was excellent and slow and patient for my DH who did go and was glad he did:D. was with us for 3hr i believe and saw all we wanted. we could have stayed all day if we wished. can bring your own bottles of water in to MP. next day we took the train back to olly and cusco trans was there to pick us up and drive us to our urabamba hotel. next day they picked us up and took us on a tour of the pisac area and market, ruins and ruins in ollytambro as well. last morning they picked us up and drove us to the airport for our flight back to lima. they were prompt,friendly,curtious and very reasonable. i booked our flights as well. from there i booked a hotel in lima for 1 night and had a our/flight booked for the nazca lines after which we went back to the airport(which i was really getting to know:rolleyes:) picked up our luggage and flew to rio. 3 nights, tours, flew to iguazzu falls 2 nights and then BA where our cruise left from... martha:)

[banditoo]

Thanks Banditoo/Betty

 

Much appreciated , wow you are well travelled , great sharing site too

Where did you get the boxed lunch for the MP trip please ? , I have read that the food at the site is expensive and dont really want the buffet at the Sanctuary as heard it is very busy (unless anybody really recommends it )

Our boxed lunch for MP was provided by our hotel El Albergue in Ollantaytambo. We stayed there while in the Sacred Valley. El Albergue is right on the train line (outside the door of their dining room) so it was easy get up first thing in the morning and catch our prebooked Perurail train to Aqua Callientes where you then catch the short bus ride up the mountain to MP. The buses run continuously from right by the train station in AC. We loved being based in Ollantaytambo; lovely ruins right in the small town, lovely winding cobbled streets and beautiful plaza...everything I hoped for for Peruvian culture. Also really enjoyed our final few nights in Cusco staying at Hotel Rumi Punku; the hotel was set into a traditional Peruvian door in the wall off a side street close to the main plaza.

[4774Papa]

banditoo,

What was the approximate cost of your trip to MP? How many days for your trip?

[banditoo]

banditoo,

What was the approximate cost of your trip to MP? How many days for your trip?

Flew into Cusco then spent 3 nights in Ollantaytambo (did day trip to MP from there round trip on Perurail) then final 2 nights in Cusco before heading homeward. So a total of 5 nights in Sacred Valley. I don't recall the price as that was 2011 but what I do recall is that is was WAY cheaper than any package deals we looked at. Only paid for the 5 nights hotel, round trip train between Ollantaytambo and MP, admission to MP and other archaeological sites, our meals and driver from Cusco to Ollantaytambo and back to Cusco. My planning notes and all other info on our trip can be found here. The Peru portion was at end of our trip. https://sharemytraveladventures.shutterfly.com/southamericabrazilargentinaper

[DoulaAnn]

Out of curiosity, how long would the average person need/want to spend at MP? Trying to figure out whether 2.5 hours is enough and/or whether 2 half days is enough/too much. Thanks for posting what you have done.

[banditoo]

Out of curiosity, how long would the average person need/want to spend at MP? Trying to figure out whether 2.5 hours is enough and/or whether 2 half days is enough/too much. Thanks for posting what you have done.

2.5 hours would be quite limiting though you could certainly see quite a bit in that time. It really depends on what you want to do while at MP and how much walking you are up for. MP is spread over a fair bit of ground and on different levels. You can take a guided tour for some history, explore the various structures on your own, you can sit and take in the views, you can climb to some of the high view points. For us a half day on the site was good as we were able to take a 2 hour guided tour with one of the guides for hire at the entrance, then wander around on our own, taking pictures from every angle and then sit and just enjoy the experience for awhile.