Peru - Traveling to Peru and Chile

Hello all,

I am currently in the planning stage of vacationing to Peru and/or Chile. I know I will want to visit Machu Picchu in Peru - however I am having the hardest time in finding a decent accomodation around there. I guess I am just not looking at the right places. The several hotels/hostels I found were quite low in recommendation scale from tripadvisor.com thus I question those places.

As far as Chile, I am still not sure which places are worth visiting or should I skip that country altogether? I heard from one of my friends that it is not really that great. But for some reason I doubt him. So if anyone can give me inputs for these two countries, it will be greatly appreciated. I would love to discover these two places. Thanks in advanced.

Moving this thread to the Latin/Central America forum. Thanks for your understanding.

Jouy31
TravelBuzz moderator

What kind of price range are you looking at?

Sanctuary Lodge is just outside the gates to Machu Picchu. The Pueblo (with a new name: Terra something I think) is terrific. I stayed there two years ago. I dealt with a Peruvian travel agent who set up hotels and tours in some cities. They also arranged the train from Cusco to Machu Picchu. The Pueblo (and Sanctuary Lodge) is expensive.

If you're not set on staying in Aguas Calientes (the town near Machu Picchu) you can always find a good place in Cuzco, and do a daytrip to MP on the train. In Cuzco, I'd recommend the Sofitel, which is not cheap but is very nicely done, especially the heated courtyard which is very welcome especially if you're there in July.

Between Peru and Chile, for me Peru is a much more interesting country with a geography and culture very unlike anything in North America or western Europe. There are enough tourist destinations to keep you busy for months including colonial Lima, Arequipa, the rain forests to the east of the Andean cordillera, Cajamarca, trekking in the Cordillera Blanca, the northern beaches including Máncora, and so on. A bonus is that Peru has one of the world's best (and least marketed) cuisines, especially the seafood available along the coast. The major downside of Peru is extensive poverty which can be a shock to those not accustomed to it. Security is generally not a big issue but you have to be careful and you need to watch where you're going in Lima.

Chile is on average less poor (although there are still plenty of poor people) and more "western". It has an interesting an varied coastal geography from the arid Atacama desert in the north to fjords, glaciers and temperate rain forests in the south. There is also lots to see in the Andes which are never far away. If you like wine, go to Chile. Unfortunately the food in Chile leaves much to be desired. There are some good restaurants in Santiago but in general the cuisine isn't anything to write home about, and it's ridiculous how bad the Chilean seafood is in comparison with what's on offer just north of there in Peru. Security in Chile is generally better than in Peru (although I've been robbed in Chile and not in Peru).

To some extent your choice may be influenced by the time of year you travel. In Peru the months of December to March are best on the coast when the sun is shining every day; the rest of the year is plagued by low marine clouds and fog. In the highlands including Cuzco and MP, you're probably best off traveling between May and September which is the dry season (and locally referred to as the summer). In Chile the summers feature long sunny days and little rain (although in the south it rains all year). Winters are cool and rainy. Santiago is unpleasant in the winter due to a serious smog problem, but the summers are wonderful.

My recommendation would be that if you have lots of time, go to both countries. If you don't, see Peru unless you'll be put off by the poverty or you're a red wine fanatic, in which case you should visit Chile.

While Santiago is a nice and safe town, there's not a lot to do there. If you're there during the winter, good skiing is less than an hour out of Santiago at La Parva and other sites. If you're there in warmer weather, you can drive 75, or so, miles to the coast to see Vina del Mar, Valparaiso and other shore towns. There are also a lot of vineyards between that double as bed-and-breakfasts. You can also go south, either via car or train, and see the lakes and glaciers around Puerto Montt. Chile's a terrific country with great security and fantastic food.

I stayed in Cuzco at a nice little hotel as stated there are loads of them in Cuzco (http://www.expedia.com.au/pub/agent.dll?qscr=htwv&from=m&stat=1&khst=1&locn=Cuzco&ploc=Cuzco&loid=&star=&name=&date1=&date2=&cadu1=&crom=1&cadu1=&rdct=1&semcid=GOG.accommodation_in_cuzco.Expedia_com_au_-_Hotels_America%20Cuzco_July06&&zz=1202002051812&).

As for Chile I would try and get out of Santiago and go south. The city is a nice place but there are many other places I would go in South America before Chile.