Hi,
I’m travelling in Peru with my wife and two children (5 and 7 years old). I’m putting the schedule together. Our (intended) itinary :
May 4th Amsterdam-Lima
5th: Lima-Arequipa (air)
6th: Arequipa-Cobanaconde (bus)/ Colca Canyon
7: 1 day trek colca Canyon
8: Cobanaconde – Arequipa
9: Arequipa-Puno (bus)
10: Islands (Uros; isla taquile or Amantani)
11: Puno- Copacabana Bolivia (bus)
12: Island(s): Isla del Sol or Isla de la Luna
13: Copacabana – Puno (bus)
14: Puno- Cuzco (bus or train??)
15 Cuzco –pisac-Ollantaytambo- Agua Calientes (bus)-> is it possible to get in agua callientes in the afternoon?? Is the train the only way to get there?
16 Agua Calientes- Machu Picchu- Cuzco (train)
17 Cuzco
18 Cuzco-Lima (air)- Amsterdam
As this is al the time we have, can it be done? Do we miss out on "must see" things or should we skip something. We would be glad with any of your feedback.
Cheers!
Poor kids!
This is a terribly rushed schedule, you don't have a single day to rest and you will need them.
For starters, you fly Amsterdam-Lima-Arequipa in 2 days. Your kids will need a few days to adjust to the surroundings and to acclimatise. They are not getting those days. Instead, you propose to take them the next day on a trip to Colca Canyon. The road there goes over a 4200m high pass. If your kids (and yourself) have not acclimatized you will be carrying some pretty miserable-feeling kids around and you won't be feeling too great either. Cabanaconde is at 3200m, when you were at sea level 3 days before and have been travelling pretty much non-stop. Not a good idea. Especially when you want to go trekking the next day. If you haven't properly acclimatized (2 or 3 days in Arequipa at 2300m should help) you won't be able to walk for 100 meters before feeling very tired.
Next, you want to do both the Uros Islands and Isla del Sol. I'd cut out one of those if I were you and use those days in Arequipa to recuperate from the flight and to acclimatize. My choice would be Isla del Sol, but others would disagree. Probably Puno and the Uros Islands would mean less travelling.
Also, you need to spend more than 1 morning in the Sacred Valley. Rushing through Pisac and Ollantaytambo on your way to Aguas Calientes would not be my way to see the area. And I'm guessing your kids wouldn't be too happy either at being dragged from bus to bus with short stops at "piles of stones" (as your kids would probably see them) in between.
My advice would be to cut out the islands entirely and do something like this:
May 4-5: trip Amsterdam - Lima - Arequipa
May 6,7: Arequipa. See the city (plenty to see), rest, acclimatize
May 8: Trip to Colca Canyon
May 9: See the condors in the morning, light trek during the day
May 10: Back to Arequipa
May 11: To Cuzco
May 12,13: Cuzco
May 14,15: Sacred Valley, ending up in Aguas Calientes
May 16: Machu Picchu, back to Cuzco
May 17: Cuzco
May 18: Flight back.
3 days in Cuzco might seem too much (trust me, it isn't), but there's also the inevitable day that one of the kids (or both, or one of the parents) will be sick. Either from the altitude, or from the strange food, or from being tired. Travelling with kids, you will lose more days to that than when travelling with just adults.
Have fun!
I have yet to go (Come on September!) but from all I have read, you should listen to Valk.
Here is the place for train information. You can only get to Aguas Calientes by train (or trekking!)
http://www.orient-express.com/web/tper/tper_rates.jsp<BR><BR>You should email them. I think you can leave from Ollantaytambo and return direct to Cuzco, but you should check.
I have travelled with young children and I agree they will be bored with endless tours of "piles of stones."
Definately agree about needing some time to aclimatise, especially when you´re coming from somewhere below sea level! My partner and i are very fit and healthy but still felt awful for at least the first day in Cuzco, our first stop`at any real altitude and could do very little for about three days. A possible solution would be to come up slowly over a few days, rather than fly directly, though this would mean mopre long bus trips which are painful even without children.
For my money, I thought the Uros islands were amazing, and if you have time restrictions you can see them on a four hour tour. The train between Cuzco and Puno is quite comfortable (though it takes 10 hours) - it goes over the tops of the Andes and it is beautiful scenery practically the whole way.
You need a day to go from Cuzco to see Pisac, Urubamba, and Ollantaytambo. Overnight in Ollantay and catch the MP train the next day.
Overnight buses from Puno to Cusco are comfortable if you get the higher level of service. 15 soles, much cheaper than the tourist train.
Hi,
We're a dutch family doing about the same. But we (can) take more time. With our children (8 + 9) we'll be about 5 weeks in Peru/Bolivia during summer holidays. We still are not sure what to do exactly though we already booked the inca trail (26-29 July).
Probably we'll start flying to Arequipa and do about the same things you do, with an extra trip to La Paz.
My wife and I travelled a lot in South America before we had children and now we're taking them with us for the first time this far away. We are looking for other things besides the 'obligatory highlights'. We've seen these before. We'll try to make a mix of 'must-sees' and new things. We don't want to reply the same trip of 11 years ago.
Suggestions anyone?
And djosev, take account of the recommendations of #1. Take your time and remember that travelling by bus also takes its toll. Take some days 'off'. I'd recommend rather Taquile (from Puno) than Isla del Sol (from Copacabana).
Have a good trip and please post your experiences here afterwards. I'm curious to them.
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