Lima, Peru - Machu Picchu Oceania Overland Tour

[plimsol]

We are contemplating a cruise at includes an overnight in Lima. One feature that appeals to us is Oceania's overland tour to Machu Picchu where one returns to the ship at next port of call. In the past, we have met fellow passengers who did Oceania overland tours in other countries but never Peru. In perusing Lima's tour, we found the pricing very expensive compared to ones in various other countries.

 

Have you or anyone you know ever taken this Oceania overland excursion, and if so, what was your positive or negative experiences?

 

I did go on Ports of Call but could not find any answer to my particular question.

[ORV]

Is this the tour that leaves the ship for 2 or 3 days? To go from Machu Pichu from Lima requires flights, trains, buses and a hotel stay. So you would expect it to be a bit more pricey than a regular tour. I think it was a 3 or 4k add on during our recent trip. You also have to figure in the cost of the missed days on the ship. I'd like to go to MP but I plan on saving it for a trip specifically to there.

[TrulyBlonde]

We took it this past November. If I had to do it again, I would have done it on our own but using the same hotels (Belmond) and a must is to take the Belmond luxury train with it.

This issue with O tour was there were not enough participants in the luxury tour. O shortened the trip by a day which entailed getting up at 3am for a flight, bus trip, train trip, and finally a rushed tour of MP. Exhausting and too much in one day. That is the risk you take.

We did have 2 nights at the Belmond Cusco and it was one of the most beautiful hotels we have been to.

If we would do it on our own, my suggestion would be to use Belmond for all of it. Belmond(Lima), Belmond (Cusco), and Belmond(Machu Picchu).

Do your research and plan accordingly, but do not rush it.

[Queen of DaNile]

Many people on our cruise in 2015 went to Machu Picchu at the end of the trip. You can search this thread and read about options and other operators. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1920520&highlight=lima

 

As Portofinoitaly said, you don't want to rush your time there. And seconding ORV, it involves complicated logistics. Fly to Cusco, train to Aqua Caliente, bus to MP-all relying on the Peruvian infrastructure which is not exactly "modern".

We waited until we had more time and went for 10 days in 2016. We stayed at Belmond Sanctuary Lodge so we could be last out in the evening and first in the next morning. This gave us the opportunity to avoid the massive crowds that fill the site during peak hours.

Maybe if this the only opportunity you will ever have to see Machu Picchu you should consider it, but you will also be missing many fantastic sites in the Sacred Valley and Cusco and not have very much time in the citadel itself.

 

 

Just us and the llamas :)

[Paulchili]

I would echo the previous posts.

I would do it on my own as a pre-cruise trip for 3 or 4 days before boarding the ship. That way you have full control over your MP trip (for less money) and will not miss any days on the cruise (that you are paying for anyway).

If you choose to go this route, why not add another day or two and go down south of Lima to fly over Nazca lines.

Edited January 28, 2017 by Paulchili

[plimsol]

I want to thank everyone who responded to this query, Your advice was extremely enlightening and has helped in deciding to forego this short strenuous overland tour.

 

The cruise we are contemplating is from Miami to Papeete which includes the overnight stay in Lima. Machu Picchu is not an option as a pre- or post- cruise stay.

[RachelG]

Good decision, IMO. We have done Machu Picchu as part of a land trip. The logistics are complicated. If you do it from the ship, you are going to have no time at all to acclimate to the high elevation.

 

So, best case scenario would be just feeling very exhausted. Worse case would be altitude sickness.

[sammiedawg]

I want to thank everyone who responded to this query, Your advice was extremely enlightening and has helped in deciding to forego this short strenuous overland tour.

 

The cruise we are contemplating is from Miami to Papeete which includes the overnight stay in Lima. Machu Picchu is not an option as a pre- or post- cruise stay.

 

We were on Papeete to Lima last spring and hundreds went to MP post cruise. Many hired their own guides or booked tour companies. I've heard good things about Abercrombie and Kent and several others.

Don't rush MP, allow plenty of time to acclimate to altitude changes.

[Mura]

Add me to the naysayers ... not that we did the overland trip. Our cruise started in Lima so we did a 6 day land trip in advance with two other couples. This way we had reasonable time at MP as well as a good part of the Sacred Valley.

 

I just advised a friend who is doing her first Oceania cruise this spring who booked a two trip in advance for MP. I suggested to her it wasn't enough time but it's already booked, so that's that!

 

Mura

[rallydave]

Strongly recommend Kuoda Travel http://www.kuodatravel.com/ Their based in Cusco and we got off our ship in Manta Ecuador and reboarded in Lima.4 nites including one at the Sanctuary right at the entrance to Machu Pichu and it was wonderful. Less than half the price of any cruise line I have seen and more nites. Everything was perfect!!

 

Mari Caldaron is the owner and lives in Cusco as do all the planners who will customize your trip for no extra cost. It was in 2013 and we paid about $2100 pp and had a perfect 4 nite holiday. People on the ships tour paid about $4400 pp for only 3 nites.

 

I don't get anything from Kuoda but, they are a local owned and operated company and extremely reasonable. YOu can pick the hotel and modify the itinerary as you choose and small groups, think we had about 12 people. Mari even met us for dinner one nite and paid the entire bill. Excellent, simply excellent and so much less than any ship's tour.

[Mura]

We used Kuoda also and couldn't have been happier with their services (April 2015). I think we paid about what Rallydave did but for 6 nights. We were six people which might account for the price.

 

Our guide told us that Kuoda is the ONLY Peruvian agency in the country. All the others are big international companies that get tax breaks from the government. So it's very hard for a small local company to compete with outfits like A&K.

 

Mura

[rallydave]

Mura sure the one nite at Sanctuary drove up our price as rooms on their website were close to $1000 pp per nite. All depends what you want and where but much much less expensive than any cruise line

 

 

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[mringenoldus]

Another recommendation for Kuoda!! We sailed from Tahiti to Lima and a group of us arranged for a post cruise tour. Mari is a gracious ambassador for Peru - she met us at the start and conclusion of the tour and generously provided us all with a going away gift. The Sanctuary is a true gem. I also second the need to consider possible altitude affects. I became ill the second day and suspect it was altitude sickness. Luckily for me a bottle of Gatorade, which I had never drank before in my life, was like a magic elixir! Kuoda's staff and the MP guide they arranged made it memorable every step of the way.

 

 

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[PaulMCO]

I want to thank everyone who responded to this query, Your advice was extremely enlightening and has helped in deciding to forego this short strenuous overland tour.

 

The cruise we are contemplating is from Miami to Papeete which includes the overnight stay in Lima. Machu Picchu is not an option as a pre- or post- cruise stay.

 

Since the OP has no chance to do it pre/post cruise, I would do it only if you would not expect to be back in the area. Machu Picchu is amazing and is a place not to be missed. Another issue is you go from the plane right to sightseeing without any time to acclimate to the high altitude. For me that would be an issue as I did get sick and the afternoon I had free helped. We did a post cruise (4 day) and it was very leisurely. We saw people from HAL at our hotel in Cuzco (Monasterio). We had 3 nights there - they did 1 night.

 

The price O chargers for the overland is very high. You could almost fly from the USA and do a week for the price they are charging (2,899 pp for the standard and 3,599 pp for the deluxe). Because this is a back to back -- you run the risk of O cancelling the trip for lack of participation (The pre and post cruise trips are run on a different schedule).

 

So comes down what your preference is.

[H20mac3]

Can I also sing the praises for Kuoda? We used them pre-cruise on our Lima to New York cruise last year. Everything was top notch and Katerina, our guide through Machu Picchu was amazing. We let them pick our hotels and have absolute no complaints! Our only regret was that we couldn't stay longer! Take your time when you go to Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley and Cusco it should be savored and enjoyed!

[Canada 59]

You can do a land tour including flights for 4 grand and have time to enjoy it.

 

 

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[Mura]

We didn't pay anything like four grand. Provisos: we were three couples, not one, and we paid in U.S. dollars. If you are paying in Canadian, maybe it IS four grand. For us it was more like two grand in the spring of 2015. This included everything except a few meals.

 

Mura

[Carol From California]

This thread caught my eye because we are planning a cruise that starts in Lima on Silversea's new ship, the Muse and we have wanted to visit Machu Picchu so I have been investigating this. I actually found Kuoda Travel and that is the company we are booking with, so I am happy to read the great reviews here. We are using all the Belmond hotels as part of our package they are arranging. They customized the tour for us based on what we want to see and do. They have been very helpful in planning this. The total tour is 7 nights including one night in Lima, a private guide the entire time, train and plane transportation and some meals. The cost is $4300 pp.

[mringenoldus]

Kuodo travel is amazing! You are in good hands with Meri!

 

 

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[Playtennis]

Kuodo travel is amazing! You are in good hands with Meri!

 

 

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We have reserved a tour with Kuodo for our post cruise. I did some research and found them to be well applauded. It's great to have that confirmed again!!

 

 

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[rockdoctor]

I do not recommend either O's pre or during excursions to Manchu Pichu. We spent 6 nights in Peru and the trip was still frantic. With the flights and train trips, a full night's sleep didn't happen. So IMHO, 6 nights is a minimum.