Peru - TAT (The Away Today) Score
| Peru | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Cost Per Day (including transportation, lodging, food, activities, etc.) | $39.00 | ||||
| Architecture | 4 | ||||
| Food | 5 | ||||
| Walkability | 4 | ||||
| Public Transportation | 4 | ||||
| Activities | 5 | ||||
| Vibe | 5 | ||||
| All Around | 5 | ||||
A Ten Day Itinerary for Peru
Have you always wanted to see Machu Picchu, one of the seven wonders of the world? Do you dream of screaming your lungs out while plunging over sand dunes in the desert? Does your mouth water at the thought of eating delectable ceviche everyday? Does even one of these things sounds fun?! Then you’re in luck, you can go to Peru! This amazing, incredibly diverse country in South America was so surprising. I hadn’t given it much thought, I just knew I wanted to go to Machu Picchu. Three girlfriends and I met in Lima, and spent ten days exploring the country. It was quite a bit of research to find out what to do and how to do it, so I’ve spelled it out here to give you a better idea – a complete ten day itinerary for Peru.
Day 1: Fly to Peru
We all flew into Lima because the flights were cheaper, but you can also fly into Cusco, or even Arequipa (in southern Peru). I was coming from Colombia and the rest of the girls were coming from different cities in the US. I highly recommend going to Machu Picchu at the beginning of the trip, and that requires adjusting to the altitude for about two days. We all got to Lima at night and then took an early flight to Cusco the next day, round trip flights from Lima were about $100.
Side note: The Lima airport was terrible. It’s incredibly small, especially for the volume of people that arrive and depart from there everyday. The traffic lanes for picking up and dropping off are horrendous and always took 15-20 minutes to go 50 feet. You almost always have to get on a bus from the gate because there are too many planes for the number of gates. There are two lounges, and both were incredibly packed (we went in and out of that airport four times, so we experienced it a few times). Basically, don’t expect much from this airport, and give yourself plenty of time to get there from downtown.
Day 2: Explore Cusco
Either explore Cusco or fly to Cusco if you started in Lima & acclimate to the altitude change. Cusco is at about 11,150 feet (3,400 meters). To put that into perspective for Americans, Denver is at 5,300 feet (1,609 meters) and Breckenridge is at 9,700 feet (2,900 meters). I felt so ill in Breckenridge, which is lower than Cusco, so I was a little worried. We took altitude sickness medication and still felt a little sick in Cusco that first day, so I highly recommend you visit your doctor and get a prescription before you go. Take this day in Cusco to get some cash out, buy your bus tickets to Machu Picchu, and explore Cusco, it’s a gorgeous city.
Day 3: Cusco to Aguas Calientes
Use this day to leisurely make your way to Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu. You have a few options – you can spend the majority of the day in Cusco and then take the train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes. You can also take a cab (barter to find a good price) to Ollantaytambo, and get the train from there. Train tickets are oddly expensive (~$65 each way), so we decided to get ours from Ollantaytambo to cut down on costs. We ended up paying 200 Peruvian Sol ($62 between the four of us) for our taxi driver to take us from Cusco to the Maras Salt Flats, an Alpaca & Llama stable, stopping to take pictures of beautiful views, and finally to Ollantaytambo. It took about four hours total. Our train left Ollantaytambo at around 8PM and we arrived to Aguas Calientes at around 10PM.
Day 4: Machu Picchu
Go to Machu Picchu today! Read my complete guide to getting tickets and planning ahead for Machu Picchu so you’re not stressed out about making it happen (guide coming soon!). Give yourself around six hours at Machu Picchu (especially if you’re doing one of the extra hikes at Machu Picchu Mountain or Huayna Picchu). After Machu Picchu, we took a 4PM train back to Cusco, getting back to our hotel around 8PM. Get some dinner, relax, and relish in your journey so far.
Day 5: Cusco to Lima
Fly back to Lima on day five, it’s only an hour flight from Cusco to Lima. To be totally honest, I wasn’t terribly impressed with Lima. It’s extremely humid, kind of dirty, super spread out and without good public transportation. We stayed in Miraflores for two nights and had a great time, but it was my least favorite part of the trip. The food was pretty incredible though, so use this time in Lima to eat ceviche, causa, wontons, and drink Pisco Sours.
Day 6: Lima
Explore Lima for one full day & go out experience the nightlife in Miraflores or Barranco. We ended up staying out until four AM and having a blast! You can also take a chocolate making class, watch a soccer match, chat with the locals, or just walk around.
Day 7: Peru Hop
Meet your Peru Hop bus and begin your three day tour. This was probably my favorite part of the trip and I highly recommend you do a Peru Hop tour of some kind! There’s a tour that goes from Lima to Cusco or Cusco to Lima, so you can do that instead of flying. We opted for a three day round trip from Lima, and that worked out well. The bus picked us up at our Airbnb at 6:30AM and we made our way over to Paraca in Ica, where we explored the slave tunnels and the small seaside town. For three days, with lodging and all activities included, we paid $159.
Day 8: Peru Hop
For the second day of our Peru Hop tour, we toured the “Poor Man’s Galapagos” and then made our way to the desert oasis town of Huacachina. At around 4PM we got in a dune buggy, got driven around the sand dunes by a completely insane (but super fun) driver, and attempted sand boarding. We made our way back to the dunes as the sun was setting – which I highly recommend. Watching the sunset from the sand dunes was absolutely breathtaking. We stayed in the Carola hotel, which seemed like the nicest one in Huacachina. Side note – be prepared for finding sand EVERYWHERE for a few days.
Day 9: Peru Hop to Lima
For the last day of the Peru Hop Tour, we toured a Pisco vineyard and just hung out in Huacachina before making the four hour journey back to Lima.
Notes: There’s not a lot ot do in Huacachina, but you could go hang gliding, dune buggying again, paddleboating on the small lake, or just relax.
Day 10: Relax in Lima
Get your last fill of ceviche, treat yourself to a few pisco sours, and reflect on how amazing your trip was before flying home! Alternatively, you can head over to Rio de Janeiro like me on my world tour 😊
Side Note: The flight times out of Lima are strange, especially back to the United States.
Have you been to Peru? Is there a “must-see” you want to recommend? Let us know below!
Be sure to check out my guide to Machu Picchu, as well as what Peru’s neighbor, Colombia, has to offer!