Best time to go to Galapagos and Machu Picchu

[cool cruiser 14107]

Hi,

We're torn between going to a combo Galapagos/Machu Picchu trip either:

last week in May or

3rd or 4th week in July

 

Galapagos:

anything spectacular we'd miss by doing one of those time frames over the other?

The weather seems relatively comparable I think?

 

Machu Picchu

one is probably better than the other?

 

we can either to Machu Picchu before or after.

 

and still deciding between Celebrity and Silversea

 

thanks!

[lawgirl]

I have the same question.... we have been to Galapagos in May and it was awesome. My research says April/May is great for both. But I was wondering is we should try Galapagos in October?  MP in October? We love sea lions and want to snorkel with sea lions again.  Also love penguins, seals, tortoises, as much wildlife as possible...we are not birders. Any answers? Thanks! 

[dreamercruise]

I went to both by land tours at separate times this year.  Had a fantastic time in both places.  I did consider combining these land tours with cruises.  From my research and experience,  however, cruises and land tours do not mix weather-wise.  (Examples are Africa Safari with South Africa cruise, Iguazu Falls with Antarctica cruise, and etc.). Hence, I decided to enjoy these areas in great weather by land only.

There is no wrong time in the year for Galapagos, because you see various wildlife at different life stages throughout the year.  Best is to go in the months:  May, June, October, November, and December, to have least chance of rain.  Just because you get wet anyway is no reason for an outing in the rain (can be dangerously in fact).  I went in late May, and the weather was perfect and sea was calm.

As for Machu Picchu, best time weather-wise is July and August.  I went in early to mid July.  Again, weather was near perfect.  One small hiccup was a shower early in the morning before I hiked up Huayna Picchu.  In spite of the early rainfall, I had no trouble doing this challenging hike.  The ground was not slippery.  Only con is the cloudy sky at the peak.  I heard that a clear sky is a hit or miss anyway.  One consolation is the perfect weather with clear blue sky and comfortable breeze on the previous day when we toured Machu Picchu.

if you want to combine both places in one trip, I suggest to visit La Galapagos in mid June, followed by Machu Picchu in early July (assuming that you allow a few days for your body to get used to the high altitude when you first land in Cusco and then move on to Sacred Valley).

lawgirl, we saw plenty of sea lions in ocean (while snorkeling and kayaking), at the beach, and at the docks.  One unexpected highlight of the Galapagos cruise was seeing hundreds of hungry sharks feeding next to our yacht just before dinner when we docked in the ocean near Floreana Island at the end of the cruise.  Best to be prepared with a video camera or iPhone to capture the thrilling action.  Hard to imagine that these “little” guys (bigger than I of course) appeared so calm and mild swimming next to us when we were on the dinghy boat, kayak, and glass bottom boat in previous days.

i can go on and on talking about my wonderful, luxurious Peru trip, but do not want to go off topic.

Edited August 18, 2019 by dreamercruise

[lawgirl]

2 hours ago, dreamercruise said:

I went to both by land tours at separate times this year.  Had a fantastic time in both places.  I did consider combining these land tours with cruises.  From my research and experience,  however, cruises and land tours do not mix weather-wise.  (Examples are Africa Safari with South Africa cruise, Iguazu Falls with Antarctica cruise, and etc.). Hence, I decided to enjoy these areas in great weather by land only.

There is no wrong time in the year for Galapagos, because you see various wildlife at different life stages throughout the year.  Best is to go in the months:  May, June, October, November, and December, to have least chance of rain.  Just because you get wet anyway is no reason for an outing in the rain (can be dangerously in fact).  I went in late May, and the weather was perfect and sea was calm.

As for Machu Picchu, best time weather-wise is July and August.  I went in early to mid July.  Again, weather was near perfect.  One small hiccup was a shower early in the morning before I hiked up Huayna Picchu.  In spite of the early rainfall, I had no trouble doing this challenging hike.  The ground was not slippery.  Only con is the cloudy sky at the peak.  I heard that a clear sky is a hit or miss anyway.  One consolation is the perfect weather with clear blue sky and comfortable breeze on the previous day when we toured Machu Picchu.

if you want to combine both places in one trip, I suggest to visit La Galapagos in mid June, followed by Machu Picchu in early July (assuming that you allow a few days for your body to get used to the high altitude when you first land in Cusco and then move on to Sacred Valley).

lawgirl, we saw plenty of sea lions in ocean (while snorkeling and kayaking), at the beach, and at the docks.  One unexpected highlight of the Galapagos cruise was seeing hundreds of hungry sharks feeding next to our yacht just before dinner when we docked in the ocean near Floreana Island at the end of the cruise.  Best to be prepared with a video camera or iPhone to capture the thrilling action.  Hard to imagine that these “little” guys (bigger than I of course) appeared so calm and mild swimming next to us when we were on the dinghy boat, kayak, and glass bottom boat in previous days.

i can go on and on talking about my wonderful, luxurious Peru trip, but do not want to go off topic.

Thank you for the advice! We have actually booked May.  It’s a good time for Galapagos (as we were there before in May ) and I have spoken with a number of tour operators from Peru.  They suggested May was good as well for MP, mainly because it is after the rainy season, but before the crowds.  I assume that the weather may be ideal as you noted, in summer, for Peru.  But given the cost of air, we wanted to combine them. It is my one regret from my prior Galapagos trip that we did not do MP.  Thank you again for the excellent advice!

[dreamercruise]

34 minutes ago, lawgirl said:

Thank you for the advice! We have actually booked May.  It’s a good time for Galapagos (as we were there before in May ) and I have spoken with a number of tour operators from Peru.  They suggested May was good as well for MP, mainly because it is after the rainy season, but before the crowds.  I assume that the weather may be ideal as you noted, in summer, for Peru.  But given the cost of air, we wanted to combine them. It is my one regret from my prior Galapagos trip that we did not do MP.  Thank you again for the excellent advice!

In terms of handling high altitude problem, many of people in my travel group brought prescription medication.  Some people suffered side effects of the prescription meds.  My husband and I brought over-the-counter ibuprofen (200mg per tablet) instead, and had no problems whatsoever.  We took 2 tablets each time during meal times (B, L, D) and before bedtime.  We started the meds the night before flying to Cusco from Lima, and continued with decreased dosage until we flew back to Lima from Titicaca.  Note that Titicaca is at a higher altitude than Cusco, and that Machu Picchu is similar to Lima at a comfortable, normal level.

You (and your doctor) need to decide for yourself what is appropriate for you.  Definitely, do not go without any medication.