Machu Picchu Cruisetour questions

[gem lady]

Hi everyone, I am in the pre pre planning stage of a Galapagos/Machu Picchu cruisetour. Looking at doing the 15 night. Can anyone tell me how much time is actually spent at MP and how much physical walking is necessary. A friend told me you must walk at least 3 miles. While I am not looking to hike to the top, I want to be able to experience it and DH cannot walk for long periods of time. Any input on this would be appreciated.

[ozark74]

Hi everyone, I am in the pre pre planning stage of a Galapagos/Machu Picchu cruisetour. Looking at doing the 15 night. Can anyone tell me how much time is actually spent at MP and how much physical walking is necessary. A friend told me you must walk at least 3 miles. While I am not looking to hike to the top, I want to be able to experience it and DH cannot walk for long periods of time. Any input on this would be appreciated.

 

The best place to ask this question is on the Expedition roll call. In the roll call look for Expedition- Anyone back. A lot of people on that have been there. They have a lot of very good information.

[stag]

There are several ways to Machu Picchu. The easy ones are taking the bus all the way to park gate. I bet Cruisetour would take the easiest route. The ruin site is not very large. Paths in the park are easy with gentle slopes and steps. Most people don't need walking sticks unless they want to climb the challenging peaks.

 

From your description, your DH should have no problem to walk inside the ruins.

[Kitekat]

The most difficult thing you will find is the altitude. Although Machu Picchu is several hundred metres/yards below Cusco, it is still quite high at 1800m. Slow walking and frequent stops are necessary, especially if you do not have long enough to acclimatise to the height. Even fit young people can suffer from altitude sickness.

 

On the plus side. It is fabulous, even when filled with other tourists. Do not miss it!

[Lyndihop]

We just returned from a land tour that included MP. The bus ride up is about 15 min of a pretty scary ride. We came in around 2:30pm one afternoon, and not many crowds. There were lots & lots of steps, no handrails. I didn't have a problem with the altitude but others did. Honestly not bad at all. The next day we arrived around 9:30am. Many-many more crowds. Better in the late afternoon. Remember it cost to use the restrooms. And while in Peru-don't drink the water or eat fresh veggies/fruit without first peeling. MP is a site that few places in world rival. It is grander than the photos. Go for it!!

[Tummy]

We didn't do a ship excursion, but went over Memorial day weekend on our own...in retrospect that was probably too short.

 

Once we got to the gate, our tour took about 3 hours, but we saw everything. Both blue and red lines in the photo. Old guy was huffing and puffing a bit, but we weren't in a hurry.

 

[44cruises]

We did it with another company but tour was wonderful. Some of us who had more difficulty walking would sit on a rock wall while the stronger hikers did more climbing but that did not interfere with our enjoyment of this spectacular place. Take a walking stick if you have one.