Travel period – June 2017

Services

Travel Agent: Peru Best Tours
Peru Rail: Expedition
Tourist Bus: Turismo Mer

Accommodations

Lima : Casa Wayra
Sacred Valley(Ollantaytambo): Tunupa Lodge
Machu Picchu(Aguas Calientes): Santuario Hotel
Cusco: Casa Elena
Lake Titicaca(Puno): Qelqatani Hotel

Peru Best Tours

We used Peru Best Tours as our travel agents and they were simply amazing down to every little detail.  We had quotes from a few travel agents, Peru Best Tours beat everyone’s quote and helped answer all our questions quickly and professionally, changed our itinerary multiple times based on our requests and even changed our reservations to accommodate our request for Inti Raymi when we found out about it after making all our reservations. We worked with Diana Montes and she remained very professional through out all our changes and requests.  We had to delay sending our final payment as I had ankle surgery in April and needed the doctor’s okay 3 weeks before the trip. They were very understanding about our delayed payment and we were very happy to make the trip without the added stress.

While in Peru, we were taken care of in every way.  We were dropped off and picked up at every airport by an English speaking representative of Peru Best Tours. In Lima, they told us what to expect, gave us a phone with which we could make and receive domestic calls.  We could not figure out how to make calls on that phone our entire stay but they were able to call us when needed so it worked out.

There was hardly any hiccups in our trip.  There was a minor problem with our shared tour of Machu Picchu.  Once we talked to the travel agents at around 8 at night, they had a different guide ready for us by 6 in the morning.  It was a fantastic experience from start to finish, we couldn’t have asked for a better group organizing our trip.

Expedition

We chose to travel from Ollantaytambo, Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu by Peru Rails’ Expedition train.

The train to Machu Picchu is actually the train to and from the base city of Aguas Calientes. The railway offers two categories of train travel, Expedition and Vistadome.  Vistadome tickets cost 50 USD more than a ticket on the Expedition.  We booked Expedition and really enjoyed our ride. We did not feel cheated of the views as the Expedition has wide windows as well.

The coaches are organized with clusters of four seats facing each other with a good sized table between them.  It was large enough for our drinks and books and even to put our head down and take a nap!

There was a snack and drink service during the 2 hour train trip and a beautiful scenery to admire during the ride.  The Urubamba river flows by the rail tracks the entire way, so the left side of the train going to MP and the right side coming back has the best views.

Turismo Mer

We used the Turismo Mer bus for our travel from Cusco to Puno. The buses are very comfortable, with wide windows to enjoy the beautiful Andean landscape during the 10 hour ride. The bus has a chemical toilet aboard for a emergency use but it stops every hour for a visit to some attractions on the way that also has reasonably clean bathrooms that may be used for couple of soles.

There is an English speaking guide on the bus who is also the tour guide during the stops along the way. There is also an attendant on the bus who provides drinks service during the morning and afternoon parts of the trip.  The bus stops at the La Pascana II restaurant in Sicuani for a buffet lunch.  They serve traditional Peruvian food in a beautiful setting for a relaxing lunch and a chance to stretch our legs and take some pictures.

Accommodations

Casa Wayra in Miraflores,Lima

We stayed at Casa Wayra, a bed and breakfast in Miraflores, a more modern residential and upscale shopping district south of downtown Lima.  It is within 15 minutes of walking distance from the pacific ocean and Larcomar Mall with many restaurants and shopping areas and within short driving distances from most Lima city attractions.  Most international flights reach around 11 PM local time and the hotel is about 25 minutes drive from the international airport.

We had booked a room with 4 beds.  It was a nice sized room with 4 beds, 4 nightstands, a desk w chair and a couple of stuffed chairs. The bathroom was decent sized, with a small table on the side to keep all the toiletries, a toilet and a large shower with never ending hot water at any time of the day or night.

The breakfast is served in the outdoor, covered courtyard and is the normal continental breakfast served everywhere in Peru.  We were served eggs cooked to order, plentiful bread, butter, jelly and preserves, coffee, tea and freshly made juice.  We had papaya and strawberry juice the days we stayed.

Pros – Location, clean and safe, close to restaurants, wifi

Cons – None

Santuario Hotel at Aguas Calientes

Santuario hotel is a 4 story hotel on the main street of Aguas Calientes within a 5 minute walk from the train station and the bus stop to Machu Picchu.  It has beautiful views of the mountains and river from every room.  It has a nice lobby, restaurant/breakfast area and the bar.

We did not eat dinner at the restaurant so cannot speak to the quality, service or value.  Breakfast was typical of the Peruvian restaurant with eggs cooked to order, plentiful bread, butter, jelly and preserves, coffee, tea and freshly made juice.  We had papaya juice the day we stayed.

The room was stayed at was a quad, it had 2 comfortable full-sized beds and one queen sized bed. The bathroom was very clean but very tiny, there was very little space to stand after getting out of shower.  It has plentiful hot water at all times, we did not find it too challenging as we stayed for only one night.  Our room had a balcony with a fabulous view of the mountains and the river in front of the hotel.

Pros – Location, clean and safe, wifi, amazing views,close to restaurants, and the bus stop and train station

Cons – No elevator, receptionist did not speak English at all, we had some challenges getting in touch with our tour guide for the morning Machu Picchu tour.

Note: An elevator was being built at the time of our stay in June 2017.

Tunupa Lodge in Ollantaytambo

Tunupa Lodge is a hotel with multiple 2 story buildings set among the mountains of beautiful Sacred Valley.  It has a couple of small tiki huts and easy chairs in the front grounds to relax and enjoy the surrounding mountains and glaciers and also the Ollantaytambo ruins.  There were also some resident alpacas that were happy to hang out and pose with the guests. Our kids had a great time with them.

The quad room we got was pretty large with 4 comfortable beds, lots of space for luggage and a decent sized bathroom.  There was plenty of hot water morning and evening.  The dining room was quiet large and had the typical breakfast of bread, butter, jelly, eggs cooked to order, fresh fruit, juice, yogurt, cereal and coffee.  The view was spectacular as from any other place on this property.

Pros – Views, location, quiet and safe, large rooms

Cons – None

Casa Elena in Cusco

Casa Elena is a small bed and breakfast about 5 minutes walk from Plaza De Armas.  It is in a quiet location away from the nightlife and we appreciated the quiet after long days of sightseeing.  It has a few small cafes nearby with both Peruvian and international cuisine.

Our quad room was clean and spacious with 2 full sized beds and one queen sized bed.  It had a coat rack and some storage.  The bathroom was a decent size with a large shower with plenty if hot water. None of the bathrooms in Peru have hooks to hang your clothes so we had taken some door hooks that we used over any variety of public and private bathrooms for hanging our stuff.

The breakfast at Casa Elena was minimal with some bread, butter, jelly, coffee, juice and eggs made to order. It was however sufficient to start our day.

We had originally booked Rojas Inn which was a larger hotel with some history in its building.  However, changing our plans a few weeks before trip left us with very few options during the festival of Inti Raymi.  Thousands of tourists descend on the town and its hard to find hotels around that date.  We were very happy with Casa Elena and would stay again.

Pros – Location, wifi, quiet and safe

Cons – None

Qelqatani Hotel at Puno

Qelqatani hotel was in a safe and quiet location, close to cafes and restaurants.  We had one of the best burgers ever at a nearby German cafe.  Our quad room had 4 beds and the window looked out on a hill which was lit up at night with the lights from all the homes on the hill side.  It was the end of a long day on the bus so we appreciated the hot shower and comfortable beds and just crashed early.

The bathroom was decent size for a change with some vanity space a really high tub and shower.  Breakfast was typical of the Peruvian restaurant with eggs cooked to order, plentiful bread, butter, jelly and preserves, coffee, tea and freshly made juice.

Pros – Location, wifi, quiet and safe, cable TV, large bathroom and vanity

Cons – None

Also see: Traveling to Peru with kids