4 weeks Peru and Bolivia itinirary

Hi,

i am planning my trip to Peru and Bolivia. I will be there for 31 days and I will fly in and out from Lima. What do I expect from this trip? Well I want to see great landscapes and a different culture. Especially Bolivia is very interesting for me.

My plan so far is:

Day 1 Lima
Day 2 flight to Arequipa
Day 3 Arequipa
Day 4 Colca Canyon
Day 5 Colca Canyon
Day 6 Arequipa
Day 7 Bus or Train to Puno
Day 8 Lake Titcaca
Day 9 Lake Titcaca
Day 10 Lake Titcaca to La Paz
Day 11 La Paz
Day 12 La Paz
Day 13 La Paz to Uyuni
Day 14 Tour
Day 15 Tour
Day 16 Uyuni
Day 17 Cusco
Day 18 Cusco
Day 19 Cusco
Day 20 Cusco
???

So now I have some problems. How to I integrate Salar de Uyuni in my itinerary? The best way to get there is to fly I think.
I would also be interested in trekking to MP and Choquequirao or Salkantay. But all these Treks are very expensive. A 4 day Trek to Choquequirao is about 700€. But So far I don’t think that they are doable without a guided Tour or? I think in Cusco alone you could easily spend 3 weeks if you do more than one trek. What could you recommend if I want to trek alone? I don’t have trekking experience so far.

In Cusco I would also like to see the sacred valley.

Do you have any advice for me? My Budget is about 60€ a day. Less would be good but I don’t like to sleep in dorms or very cheap hotels/hostels. My own room in a nice B&B or Hotel would be nice. I don’t make party but I don’t want to look to much on my budget when I am eating out.

Thank you very much

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As you are on your own I suppose you will take a tour to the Colca Canyon from Arequipa. Make sure you choose a tour with hiking in the canyon (as opposed to tours that only go to the Colca valley and the Cruz del Condor). You could add a day to the canyon and go to Cabanaconde on your own. All hostels there can help you plan a trek, with or without a guide. If you would like to go on your own like we did you would almost certainly meet people at the hostels to hike with. This website helped us a lot when we were planning our trek:
http://www.pachamamahome.com/tours.htm

You can actually go from Chivay (Colca) to Puno without backtracking to Arequipa. The tourist buses are more expensive than the public bus but it would save time. Look at 4M Express and Rutas del Sur.

I can't help with Bolivia. Yet. We are going in March for 7 weeks! I think that the most popular way from La Paz to Uyuni is by overnight bus. You can also fly.

We spent 9 days in the Cusco/Sacred Valley area and that was without a trek. You can do treks on your own (but not the Inca Trail). For example google "Choquequirao on your own". But if you have no trekking experience that is probably not the way to go. Again, you could find others to go with. Or you can do day hikes. Many great day hikes in that area.

If you do still have time after Cusco I highly recommend northern Peru. Trujillo, Chan Chan and Huaca de la Luna, Chiclayo/Lambayeque, Chachapoyas (Kuelap!, Gocta Falls!...), Leymebamba, Cajamarca... And, for hiking and trekking, Huaraz but I have not been there (yet).

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You've allowed enough time for everything, but if you want to add in a trip to Uyuni and do the 3 day tour from there, you might not have enough time to do a trekking tour from Cusco too in one month. But you might have time to do both. If you're concerned about the cost, you'll probably find that booking a trek once you get to Cusco is cheaper than the prices you see on the internet.

How to I integrate Salar de Uyuni in my itinerary?

You can fly from La Paz to Uyuni, or actually you can take an overnight bus from La Paz that should get you to Uyuni early enough to take a jeep tour the same day.

The other thing is, your trip would work much better if you fly into Lima and use a flight from La Paz to leave South America at the end. And visit Cusco before Bolivia. Or if your international airfare is already booked, fly from La Paz to Lima at the end a day or two before flying back home. The land journey to go back and forth from La Paz to Peru would retrace the same route past Lake Titicaca and be time consuming.

Your itinerary looks a bit strange, hence the problem with logistics.
I made a similar trip that took exactly one month. My itinerary was: Lima - Pisco+Paracas - Ica - Nazca - Cuzco+Sacred Valley - Salkantay trek+MP - Cuzco - Puno+ Titicaca Islands - Copacabana - La Paz - Uyuni+Salar - San Pedro de Atacama - Arica - Tacna - Arequipa+Colca Canyon+whitewater rafting - Lima.
All on busses, at normal pace, without rushing.

Thank you for all your advices. 

There are no direct flights from Peru or Bolivia to Germany. The flights to or from Bolivia back were extrem expensive so I already booked a flight to Lima and back from Lima.

I have some offers for the Salkantay Trek with MP between 300 und 400 Dollar. I think this is a good price. No I am thinking about witch treks and how long to stay in Cusco. At the weekend I will take my Guide book and plan again.

@Fieldgate: Thank you very much.

Your itinerary looks a bit strange, hence the problem with logistics.
I made a similar trip that took exactly one month. My itinerary was: Lima - Pisco+Paracas - Ica - Nazca - Cuzco+Sacred Valley - Salkantay trek+MP - Cuzco - Puno+ Titicaca Islands - Copacabana - La Paz - Uyuni+Salar - San Pedro de Atacama - Arica - Tacna - Arequipa+Colca Canyon+whitewater rafting - Lima.
All on busses, at normal pace, without rushing.

I don't want to "steal" this topic, but how much time did you spend at each city? Lima, Cuzco, Titicaca etc. We are looking at either spending 40 days in Peru or do something very close to your itinerary. We're worried we have to rush a bit and not get enough time, but I see you didn't rush doing it in a month.

That itinerary sounds great but seems like a lot in one month. But maybe not. Like I said, I have not been to Bolivia yet. We had one month too and spent the whole month in Peru. 1 day Lima, 11 days northern Peru (highly recommended: Trujillo, Chan Chan and Huaca de la Luna, Chiclayo/Lambayeque, Chachapoyas (Kuelap, Gocta Falls...), Leymebamba, Cajamarca), Lima for one night, 9 days Cusco/Sacred Valley/MP, Arequipa 1 day, Colca Canyon 5 days, Huacachina 1 day, Paracas 2 days, Lima.

With 40 days it looks even better. You'll have more time for Bolivia.
On my first trip I spent only one week in Bolivia which was really short, but a few months later I made another trip, spending 5 weeks in the country.

Another alternative would be spending all 40 days in Peru (south and north), but, the disadvantage is that it's difficult, if at all possible, to make a loop in the country, without backtracking. So, I'd suggest southern Peru + Bolivia for this trip, and to leave northern Peru for another trip.

As for time spent at each place, usually 2-3 days, depending on what's there. For example, Nazca only one night, Cuzco 3+2 nights (before and after the trek).

So,

i changed my plan a little bit

Arrive Lima
2N Lima
Flight to Arequipa
2N Arequipa
Bus to Colca Canyon
3N Colca
Bus to Puno
1N Puno and Lake Titcaca
Train to Cusco
3N Cusco
5 Days Salkantay Trek
2N Cusco
4 Days Trek to Choquequirao
2N Cusco

I would like to do Cusco and the Treks not at the End of my trip because i think i would be too exhausted.
After Cusco i could fly to la Paz. I think i have a Little bit more time to plan what to do after Cusco. I first Need to book the Treks and the Train from Puno to Cusco.

After Cusco i dont know if i should fly to La paz or spend the rest of the days in Peru and do Bolivia next year in combination with the North f Chile and Argentina.

What do you think?

Re treks.
I usually recommend not to book treks in advance. I've met people backtracking and breaking their itineraries to catch the fixed date of their treks. You can do both Salkantay and Choquequirao without prebooking. They can be booked with short notice, when you arrive there.
It's much easier and more enjoyable to travel with an open time schedule.

Thank you very much. I thought i have to book the Treks before because they are usually sold out Long time before.
Or is this jus for MP?

It's only the classic Inca trail. Most popular and easier than the other treks.

I have not been to Puno and Lake Titicaca but consider an overnight stay on one of the islands (Taquile, Amantani).
I have also read that unless you are a railway enthusiast you could just take the bus from Puno to Cusco. Cheaper, faster and the scenery is very similar.

I would leave Bolivia for next time. Like I said, we are going for 7 weeks in March and I already wish I had more time!

I would go to northern Peru (see post #2). It is an amazing area. We had 11 days.

Or, depending on how much time you still have left, take more time between Lima and Arequipa: Paracas (Ballestas Islands, Paracas Reserve), Huacachina, maybe Nazca.

Thank you very much. I will skip Bolivia for next year. Instead i want to take a flight over the lines of Nazca.

Sometimes the tour operator try to ripp you off. I had an offer from a german tour operator for the Choquequirao Trek. As a single Person who joins a group as a fix price for 700€ for the 4 days trek. But the point is that if you book a private tour with 5 people everyone just pays 435€. If you join an international group and you are 5 people in total than everyone pays 700€? Thats just ripp off!!

A German tour operator? Do you mean located in Germany?
If you book with a local Peruvian operator it'll be much cheaper. You don't need a middlehand.

Yes its located in Cologne. It was recommended on a german travel blog.

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