1

Remember, Puno and Lake Titicaca are at high elevation, and you will need to slow down or your will get altitude sickness if you don't allow time to acclimatize. If you want to stop at villages en route to Cuzco, then the bus is the way to go.

2

The boat tours leave early in the day so I don't think you'd be able to visit the floating islands.

I've taken both the train and the bus and it depends on what you're looking for. The train is pretty luxurious, 3 course meal on board, comfy seats, the ability to get up and walk about. Not much to do though apart from watch the world go by - which some people enjoy. The bus stops along the way, archeological sites, colonial era church and a lunch stop in Sicuani - it's still a bus journey though so you stuck in your seat for most of the time.

Both take about the same amount of time - 10 hours give or take.

3

Totally agree with trekker502 about the high elevation of Puno and the lake.
As soon as you arrive in Puno go to the pier which is only 10' from the city center and jump on one of the boats after you have negotiated a price, boats leave all day. It's more or less 35' to the Uros Islands a.k.a. Disneyland Puno.
An organized tour with a travel agency shouldn't cost more than 15 USD.

IMHO the best way to go to Cusco from Puno is by bus, a local bus is much cheaper but there are several tourist buses stopping at a few places en route among them the interesting Wiracocha ruins @ Raqchi and the 'sixtine chapel of the Americas' in Andahuaylillas.
Lunch is included in the rate.

4

Yea the elevation might hit you like a ton of bricks. It might be possible to see the floating islands of Los Uros if you're really gung-ho, but you won't make any of the other islands. Most island tours hit Los Uros, then one of the big islands with a homestay and then the next day is the other one and then back to Puno.

5

Tourist bus from Puno to cusco is great--very interesting --but very expensive lunch which was not included in out fare. We just walked down the street and bought cheese sandwiches at local tienda.

Take small bills as if you want to buy something at one of the stops, no one will have change.

6

Here's what we ended up doing:
Day 1: Arrived Lima late at night and spent the night at a hostal near the airport – we paid a little extra to have transportation from the airport to the hostal and back to the airport the next morning.

Day 2: Taca 9:35 a.m flight to Juliaca, shuttle to Puno/Lake Titicaca (15 soles/person), boat trip to Uros Island (booked through All Ways Travel) or ask your hotel for group boat trip information. The only disadvantage to just spending an afternoon at Lake Titicaca was that we were only able to see a small portion of the lake. We were on a private tour so didn't have to waste time waiting for our boat to fill up with passengers. Yes, it cost more, but we wanted to make the most of the limited time we had.

Day 3: Puno to Cusco. There are many ways to get from Lake Titicaca to Cusco (fly from Juliaca, train from Puno, regular bus, or InkaExpress bus). We chose InkaExpress because you visit four sights along the way and stop for a nice lunch. There is a guide on the bus who speaks both English & Spanish. Cost was $60 (US dollars)/person, and it took all day (7 am - 5 pm). We thought it was a great way to go as we got to see extra sights that you wouldn't see on a plane or train. And, the bus driver was a very safe & cautious driver.

We didn't have too much problem with the altitude - took diamox and drank coka tea when we got to our hotel. The main side effects were slight headache for a day and some loss of appetite.

7

Thanks for the After Action Report--very few people ever say how their trip was.