LatinPass/Cuzco
 

Has anyone spent any time in Cuzco? I will be in LIM in 3 weeks and will have a friday/saturday at leisure.

Need tour operator/driver etc for Cuzco along with place to stay. We'll be probably 6 people.

JL

just got back. We stayed at a nice place ($20/nt) on Garcilaso street (sw of the Plaza de Armas). I can't remember the name but it is across the street from Hostal Las MArquese and has blue doors. The courtyard is very nice and the rooms comfortable.

Have fun - don't miss Sacsayhuaman and Machu Picchu

jamiel: A friend of mine tried to see Cuzco on the weekend of a two week business trip to Lima. He ended up spending the whole weekend in bed with altitude sickness. Cuzco is way up there. You might want to check with your group if a side trip is worth it without having a couple of days to adjust to the altitude.

OTOH, not everyone is prone to this problem. I had no difficulties making a quick adjustment in BOG, which lies at about 8,000 feet up.

Do not miss Cusco! This is a beautiful city, with some great restaurants, and some good sights. The people are very friendly. We stayed at Royal Inka for $45/night and it was more than acceptable. The altitude is high, so take it easy and consider some Diamox to help.

If you have a couple of days, you MUST go to Machu Picchu. I've travelled the world, and it is truly unbelievable. The only place that came close was diving on the Great Barrier Reef.

jamiel: Highly recommend Cuzco as well. Had three full days there (would have had 4, but lost a day due to series of airline mechanical problems before we arrived in Lima). Found a great new place to stay called the Hostal San Isidro Labrador very near the Plaza de Armas (main square) in Cuzco. It is on Calle Saphi, which is the street that Calle Plateros turns into after a block. It is about 2 blocks from the Plaza de Armas, on the right side of the street. The place just opened up last fall, so not too many people know about it yet. We paid US$30 for a double, although you will be going in the high season, so it should be more (maybe US$45 or so). It is a cute little place with great hot water, space heaters, excellent location, nice people running the place, and very secure. 5 soles should get you from the airport to just about anywhere in town by Taxi when you arrive. My wife and I hired a private guide for the day to visit the four major ruins around Cuzco plus what is known as the Sacred Valley Tour. We paid US$65, which I think was a bit more than we should have paid, but it was excellent. We went on the Autovagon to Aguas Calliente and took a group tour to Macchu Pichu the following day. We actually enjoyed the first day more. This due to the fact that we had an EXCELLENT private guide. His name was Antonio Aguilar Argandona, Telephone 262603. He spoke excellent English and was extremely knowledgeable. He was one of a handful of guides who was highly recommended in Footprint's SouthAmerican Handbook 2000 (which I also highly recommend). If you call him directly, you can cut out the middleman. The price included a car for the whole day, but no meals. The Visitor's Ticket which is needed for most of these sights is an additional US$10 per person. If Antonio is not available, check with any of the other recommended guides in the SA Handbook. The other thing that made our tour with Antonio so wonderful was that the Sacred Valley Tour is only offered to groups on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays to coincide with a market at Pisac. On the off days, NO ONE else was there! This was a huge plus! We nearly had Ollantaytambo to ourselves, and we've seen enough markets while traveling over the years that missing one in Pisac was a very small price to pay. Booking fast transport to Macchu Pichu can be difficult on short notice in June. Therefore, I would try to book in advance. The best rate we were able to find from Cuzco to Macchu Pichu and back was about US$90 per person, including a guide at Macchu Pichu. We booked through SAS Tours in Cuzco. If you have can't get to MP, it is still worth getting a private guide to take you and your group to the Sacred Valley and around Cuzco for the day. You will probably have to pay more for a mini-van for your group, but the guide will also know that he or she will get more tips from having more clients, so you may not have to pay too much more than we did. The e-mail address for the hotel is "[email protected]".

Happy Travels!

Rhinochaser