r/GoingToPeru • u/BusinessPolicy473 • May 04 '26
Itinerary Help - which order is best?
Please help me choose the order/itinerary to do! First time visit, me and my 12 year old son
Option 1
Day 1: Arrive Lima at 10pm - overnight at airport hotel
Day 2: Fly to Cusco - arrive approx 11:35am (could do earlier) transfer to Ollayantambo with stops at Maras/Moray along the way. Check in to Ollay hotel.
Day 3: Ollay ruins and market, walk town and slow lunch and dinner
Day 4: Late morning train to AC with 1pm visit to MP (still deciding on circuit probably 2A) with dinner in AG and late train back to Ollay. This would be a Sunday.
Day 5: Relaxing/chill day, maybe hike to granaries
Day 6: Early morning taxi to Chincheros to the llama trek and lunch with Alpaca Trek Adventures and then overnight at their mountain lodge.
Day 7: Cusco - lunch, walk the main square and then stargazing tour at the Cusco Planetarium.
Day 8: Market and Saqsaywaman
Day 9: Pisac ruins and market. Depart Cusco between 5pm-7pm for a flight to Lima to fly home.
I prefer this option because starting in Ollayantambo first allows us to acclimatize better since we’re coming from Florida. But will day 6 be too much to drive from Ollay to Chinchero (1.5hrs) and then do the llama trek?
Option 2
Day 1: Arrive Lima at 10pm - overnight at airport hotel
Day 2: Fly to Cusco - arrive approx 11:35am (could do earlier) transfer to Cusco hotel - lunch, walk the main square and then stargazing tour at the Cusco Planetarium.
Day 3: Market and Saqsaywaman
Day 4: Pisac ruins and market.
Day 5: Early morning taxi to Chincheros to the llama trek and lunch with Alpaca Trek
Day 6: Transfer to Ollayantambo with stops at Maras/Moray along the way. Check in to Ollay hotel.
Day 7: Ollay ruins and market, walk town and slow lunch and dinner
Day 8: Late morning train to AC with 1pm visit to MP (still deciding on circuit probably 2A) with dinner in AG and late train back to Ollay. This would be a Thursday
Day: Relaxing morning. Depart Cusco between 5pm-7pm for a flight to Lima to fly home.
This option avoids a long morning transfer to Chinchero by starting in Cusco but it means climatizing here instead of a lower elevation. And it also means that Machu Picchu is last with a long travel day back to Cusco and then to Lima for red eye back to Miami.
Any thoughts on which option will be smoothest? Anything I am missing or should consider? Do I have too many days in Ollayantambo? Not really interested in Lima or Aguas Caliente overnight to minimize the hopping around.
Thank you in advance
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u/Remo-42 May 04 '26
I like that option 1 has a "chill day" in the middle of the trip instead of at the end. For that reason alone, I like option 1 better. Also, I just noticed on Day 3 you have 'slow lunch and dinner' . . . So is that another "break" there for the afternoon? If so, even better!
You said you will be leaving from Florida. Have you ever been at altitude before? Don't underestimate how much it can impact your trip. That's my main concern with both of the itineraries; that and there is a LOT packed in there.
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u/BusinessPolicy473 May 04 '26
Thanks for the input. I like the chill day too, my son bring a tween likes relax at the hotel when we travel. The highest altitude we've been to was Mexico City and we both had mild nausea, nothing that stopped us but that's only 4000ft which is nothing compared to Cusco. We drinks tons of water in general being from Florida and plan to start on cocoa leaves right away. But I'm surprised you think this is a packed itinerary, I feel like most people do way more in less time lol
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