Valparaiso-Atacama-Machupicchu(24N/25D in Dec. 2014 to Jan. 2015)

 

 

This was a post-cruise trip in December, 2014.  We had sailed on the Celebrity Infinity from Ft. Lauderdale to Valparaiso, Chile through Panama Canal.  Christmas is season peak summer vacation time in this part of the world, thus, flights back to the U.S. were quite expensive. We decided to see Macchu Picchu & fly out of Lima in January. Three other friends joined us.  Since this was to be a long trip, we built in lots of relaxation time.

The total housing cost for the two of us was about $1000, and the airfare & other transportation and tours were about $972pp(excluding the flight to Florida). Meals were under $10pp in most areas except for some fancy gourmet meals at well-known restaurants in Santiago and Lima. But even those were around $20-25pp. Lots of pisco sour to drink!

Day 1: Exited the ship in Valparaiso & checked into our Airbnb 3-bedroom house($240/night) not too far from poet Neruda’s famous house. Took a free walking tour.

Day 2: Walked around the city. The steep hills left us panting,  but murals were everywhere & discovering them was a pleasure.

Day 3: Our host called a van taxi for us to take us to Santiago with a stop in the  Casablanca Valley wine region. Our plan was to check out a couple of wineries, but we were so happy with the tour and the meal at Casas del Bosque winery, that we did not need to see another one. $150 for the whole trip. We checked into our Airbnb 3-bedroom apartment($105/night) 7 minutes west of the cathedral.

Day 4: Joined a free walking tour. Walked around the city.

Day 5: relaxing. Some of us attended the midnight mass at the cathedral, which was magical.

Day 6: Flew 2 hours north to Calama on Sky Air($133) & were picked up by a van taxi($75) arranged by our host in the Atacama Desert. Checked into our Airbnb 2 bedroom suite($265/night) right outside of San Pedro de Atacama downtown.

Day 7: private tour of the desert($250)

Day 8: private tour of the desert($250)

Day 9: overnight lux bus to Arica(10 hours, $36pp for a sleeper seat). A reservation was not necessary, but we did buy the tickets that morning just in case.

Day 10: arrived at 6 am in Arica; got on a colectivo van(1 hour, $5pp) to cross the border to Tacna, Peru. You will find these drivers looking for customers at the bus station & they help with the border crossing formalities. Then we got on a lux bus – in our case, we had to go across a small street to get to a different bus station where we left the collectivo & and bought tickets to Arequipa, a 6 hour ride($20pp). Took a cab to our 3-bedroom house($90/night) south of downtown.

Day 11: a free walking tour

Day 12: relaxing

Day 13: Joined a small group tour to Colca Canyon. A nice room in a lodge was included in the $162pp fee. About 3-hour drive to Chivay, the main town in Colca area. A trip to a hot spring was included & we took advantage of it.

Day 14: Condor watching(well, there were a couple of them far away). The tour van took us to Puno, 4 hours away. Airbnb 3-room apartment was cheap($19 per room), but there was just one small bathroom & the apartment was cold. We cut our reservation here to just one day.

Day 15: Joined a group tour to Lake Titicaca. It started at 7:45 AM, and the $40pp fee included a nice lunch and a home stay in a village on one of the islands. Our host had prearranged the tour for us, but there are so many agencies selling this tour in town that you may not need a reservation.

Day 16: Returned to Puno after breakfast & checked into a hotel right downtown($45).

Day 17: 10.5-hour bus ride($55, lunch included) to Cusco with several sightseeing stops on the way. We booked this tour in advance online & there are many choices. They all do the same thing pretty much. Got to Cusco around 5:30 PM & checked into our Airbnb 3-bedroom condo($105/night) which was a bit outside of downtown. But cabs were cheap & it was interesting to get a glimpse of local life.

Day 18: Cusco Free Walking Tour. There are many. We picked up the train tickets that we bought online(https://www.perurail.com) at their Peru Rail office in the center square area of Cusco. We also got the entrance tickets for Machu Picchu at the downtown office of Ministerio de Cultura near the Chocolate Museum, just west of the central square. From June to September, an advance ticket purchase online on their very very slow website(http://www.machupicchu.gob.pe) may be necessary. $47pp(152 Peruvian Sol) to enter the ground. Extras for climbing up the mountains within the park. Only one of us was ambitious enough to do so & she thought it was worthwhile.

—— News Update ——–

Visitors to Machu Picchu will have to hire an official guide to enter the Inca Citadel starting July 1, 2017, a top official at the Ministry of Culture told Peruvian Times on Friday.

“Most tourists have made those arrangements long in advance, but for those who have not, there are official guides available (for hire) at the entrance,” said Dr. Elías Carreño Peralta, the Ministry of Culture’s official in charge of implementing the 2015-2019 Machu Picchu Master Plan.

Currently, the official guides at Machu Picchu’s entrance charge approximately a hundred soles for up to four visitors, or approximately 25 soles, or just under $8, each.

———-

Day 19: A 20-minute cab ride to Poroy Station to get on the train to Agua Caliente. About 4 hours,  $220pp for the round trip. Walked 15 minutes to our hotel, Terrazas del Inca($60 including breakfast).

Day 20: Took the shuttle bus($14 R/T) & went up 30 minutes to Macchu Picchu. We walked around on our own. Had lunch at a cafe near the hotel(Belmond Sanctuary Lodge) by the park entrance. The restaurant at the hotel is quite expensive, but the snack bar is not too bad. Took the afternoon train back to Cusco.

Day 21: A day at leisure.

Day 22: A private tour of the Sacred Valley arranged by our Airbnb host. $125.

Day 23: Relaxing.

Day 24: Flew 1.5 hours on Star Peru to Lima($120).  Taxi to our 3-bedroom Airbnb condo($120) near Kennedy Park, south of downtown.

Day 25: Jet Blue to Miami. about 6 hours. $520pp.