After an overnight bus ride from Cusco, we arrived around 5am in Puno, gateway to Lake Titicaca. Our Peru Hop bus dropped us off at our hotel, where we found a place to stash our luggage and then a place to sit and wait for breakfast. Breakfast (and more importantly coffee) finally arrived at 6:15am […]
We used Cusco as a base to see the surrounding area, Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo and the Peruvian Amazon. We also had some logistical tasks to complete in the aftermath of our unfortunate incident in Lima, e.g. buying some replacement gear and picking up my new U.S. passport. After all this activity, we eventually had a […]
When we were researching our itinerary for Peru, we discovered that the Peruvian Amazon was a very short flight from Cusco. This prompted further research to see if there was a way to see it that would fit our budget. We found a lot of lodges that looked amazing, but were too expensive. Other cheaper […]
Ollantaytambo is best known as the place where you catch the train to Machu Picchu, after a taxi or bus ride from Cusco. Most travelers don’t spend any time here, but it’s well worth spending a night or two here if you have the time. We decided to spend a couple of nights here, which […]
After our day trips from Cusco, it was time to visit a major site on our Peru itinerary – Machu Picchu. We decided to do this a bit differently to the way most visitors do it. Instead of spending a night in the town of Aguas Calientes and joining the crowds at sunrise, we booked […]
We had to rearrange our itinerary a bit due to our extended time in Lima, so we ended up doing a couple of day trips from Cusco before we saw much of the city itself. Arriving in Cusco The long bus ride from Arequipa on our Peru Hop bus was made more tolerable by our […]
As well as the city itself, the other reason to visit Arequipa is to do a Colca Canyon tour. This is one of the deepest canyons in the world at 3,270 meters or 10,730 feet. As well as the stunning scenery, these tours provide an opportunity to see the increasingly rare Andean condor. Colca Canyon Tour […]
The next phase of our Peru adventures was a couple of days in Arequipa. We had originally planned to spend more time here, but we had to make some adjustments to our itinerary after spending more time in Lima than we had planned. Note – links on this page may be affiliate links. If you […]
Having avoided Huacachina‘s famous party scene, we managed to get up bright and early to grab breakfast at our hotel before leaving for our 8:30 shuttle bus pickup. We were taking a detour from the main Peru Hop bus route to take a sightseeing flight over the mysterious Nazca Lines. Leaving Huacachina The drive from […]
After our short stay in Paracas, we headed inland to the desert oasis of Huacachina. Based on our research, this place exists for two purposes – 1. playing in the sand dunes on buggies and sandboards and 2. partying. While we weren’t particularly interested in number 2., the videos we had seen of the dune […]
Two Aussie/US dual citizens and one American sharing stories, pics and recommendations based on their family travels. Made it 10 months through a planned 14 month RTW adventure before COVID interrupted. Now settled in Brisbane, Australia waiting for the world to open up again so the adventures can continue.
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