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Street Sellers Cusco
5 Reviews Everywhere you turn you'll see street venders plying their wares. You can't blame them they are trying to make a dollar. Alpacha sweaters are big on the list of merchandie. It's good to know when...
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Disenchanted Machu Picchu
6 Reviews Hi, Just a quick warning for those thinking of booking a tour company to see Machu Pichu in the future. We went recently with Gecko (Peregrine) Travel and after promising in our itinerary that we...
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Too Expensive Machu Picchu
1 Review Don't get me wrong. Of course you need to visit Machu Picchu, of course you need to get there. But because of this obvious necessity of mass tourism, the whole place has evolved and continuing to...
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Sure, you pretty much have to visit Cuzco if it is your first time to Peru. It's a beautiful city, perhaps the nicest in South America. With it also being the entry city for Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail, you can't escape it. Try and stay away from the city center as much as possible. The winding side streets offer some solace from the mad crush of sales pitches for shoe shines and tours you will encounter everywhere else. www.virtualtourist.com/richiecdisc/Cuzco
Stores at the main square are pretty expensive, I have 2 tips, one for jewelry: there is a great little store up in San Blas named Spondylus, I found the most beautiful things there, and rememeber to negociate the price.My second piece of advice is to go to the market right across the train station to buy crafts and textiles, they are two or three times cheaper than every where else. Never take the first price merchants give you!
Aguas Calienete almost looked like a flea market. There are rumors of scapping the town & starting over. They are in dire need of planning it out. depite how it looks the people are helpful and friendly. Find a place to stay, and place to eat & spend your time at Machu Pichu. Have a couple Cerveza Grande & you will not care.
Hey, mister.. I'll shine your shoes for only S/3.... Hey wait.. I did lots of extra work on your shoes.. that'll be S/10........The shoe shine kids are Exhausting.... Give 'em an inch and they'll take 4 miles...
Near every tourist spot people are selling the same things. Never pay the first price offered. Always bargin shop. here is a picture of some venders at an inca Spring near Cuzco. If your going to Ecuador buy your sweaters there, unless your buying an expensive one.
Yes, Lake Titicaca is very beautiful and it's high up there, but in all fairness it's a lake like any other: nice if the weather is sunny but dull if it's raining. Spend a day there or drive along the shore but don't stay longer than that!
Although no trip to Peru would be complete without it, Machu Picchu can be quite crowded during ceratin times of the year. It was not the foreign tourists that were overwhelming, it was the students on field trips from Cusco.
Beware of package tours within Peru. Everything in Peru comes with 10% service and 15% tax on top but the package companies often try to apply it twice. Organise your package from abroad or better still go your own way, for example train tickets for Maccupiccu can easily be bought from the station in Cusco
reed islands, lake titicaca.these reed islands are designed for the tourists, who arrive in boat loads. we went onto taquile, which isnt a reed island, but still packed with tourists. to get you back into travller mode, dont go back with the rest of the boat brigade! when all the other tourists had gone back, we stayed with an island family and clambered up to the highest point to watch the sunset, shared the families meals and toilet ( an experience in itself!) and caught the tourist boat home 24 hours later. a much better way of seeing the island!
If you use common sense, there aren't any more tourist traps here than anywhere else. One thing that you will notice is that there are people trying to sell you something everywhere you go, but if you are firm and polite, they will not harass you. Having said that, this photo is taken from the trail and shows the Urubamba river as it winds through the mountains towards Machu Picchu on its way to the Amazon.
7 Reviews and 251 Opinions We did not stay here, but it was pointed out to us as the hotel used for some of the VIPs that came...
Hostal Rumi Punku Cusco
7 Reviews and 486 Opinions Very nice hotel including all amenities, even wi-fi. Recommend the tours booked via Sergio at the...
Sumaq Machu Picchu Hotel Machu Picchu
303 Opinions
Reviews and photos of Peru attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Peru sightseeing.
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Q: We will be traveling in Dec. can only spend about 6 days in Peru. Would appreciate any suggestions on how to best use our time. ...
A: Firstly, if you stay on the coast, be prepared for heat and humidity. If you go inland, be prepared for altitude. I imagine you will be arriving first off in Lima? Six...
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