Peru Hop is one of the best travel companies I have come across in my trips so I wanted to do a bit of a shoutout for them! I travelled by bus using Peru hop from Lima, Peru through to La Paz, Bolivia and I’m so glad I did – there is absolutely no better way to travel through Peru and into Bolivia.
Peru Hop is a very effective mix between a hop on hop off tourist bus; a tour company and an intercity sleeper bus. It’s best feature is that your travel and activities are seamlessly integrated into one by a company that knows what travellers are looking for while still providing options (rather than restricting you like a group tour sometimes does.
It was so fantastic to be able to stop at so many smaller places I may otherwise not have had time for in my travel and to do it in a logical order without having to stay extra nights due to the fuss of complicated logistics and multiple forms of travel.
The bus picks you up and drops you off door to door to your hotel and includes on board activity stops. They have thought of everything!
If you are planning to travel to Peru and or Bolivia taking Peru Hop should be the first thing you plan in to your itinerary. Visit their website here.
This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to book a stay or purchase an item I may earn a commission at no cost to you.
The Sacred Valley is the location of a fascinating world that you would not come across in everyday life. It is a lush green wonderland of treks, villages, ruins, agriculture, mountains and beautiful landscape in the interior region of Peru. The ruins of Machu Picchu are in the sacred valley but there is much more to do and see here and if you left your sightseeing to just Machu Picchu you would regret it!
For an idea of how to plan your itinerary for this region of Peru please see my post here on Cusco and the Sacred Valley. If you are looking for tips on visiting Machu Picchu you can see my post here.
Top Tip for Visiting the Sacred Valley:
Get a guide! I usually like to steer away from organised excursions and do my own thing at my own pace but I also know when it just makes sense to have a guide. The Sacred Valley is one of those places! It is worth splurging for a private tour so that you don’t feel like a flock of sheep in this beautiful place and so that you can make your own decisions about where to visit but you really need a guide to explain what you are looking at and learn about the Inca culture as it is really fascinating history.
It’s always best to check booking.com for the best accomodation deals.
Getting there, away and around:
You can take the Machu Picchu train in or out of the Scared Valley area, bus or get a private transfer from your guide. We took the train to Machu Picchu and then the train out to Ollantaytambo (a village in the Sacred Valley and the site of one of the ruins). Then our guide collected us from Ollantaytambo – taking us around the Sacred Valley by car before returning to Cusco.
The Sacred Valley is not walkable – except the ruins at Ollantaytambo are very close to Ollantaytambo town and you can easily walk to these if you are staying here.
Food:
The only location for food I can recommend in the Sacred Valley is the resturant at Ollantaytambo Train Station El Albergue. It is quite fine dining but they also don’t care if you arrive stinky and dirty and exhausted from Machu Picchu and its well worth a stop to work up the energy to walk back to your hotel. For other meals, your guide will be able to recommend stops that fit in with your schedule.
What to bring:
Comfortable walking shoes and comfortable clothes + a good camera!
What to expect:
Our route around the Sacred Valley took in the sites of Ollantaytambo ruins – Moray – Maras Salt Mines and Pisac ruins and market. We had already visited Machu Picchu the day before. This is around about the amount of places you can fit in in one long day in the area (with a transfer in or out). You will need a minimum of one full day for Machu Picchu on its own (either a day trip or including staying overnight in Aguas Calientes.
Ollantaytambo ruins were our first stop and these are located on the edge of Ollantaytambo town. You will need to purchase a Boleto Turistico here for Circuit 3 which allows access into Ollantaytambo, Pisac, Chinchero and Moray. Ollantaytambo has some temples, interesting ways of building to examine, a small climb through the ruins and then a beautiful view towards some granaries in the mountains and over the town.
From here, you can drive to Moray; this visit will take about 40 minutes and consists of 2 sets of giant crop circles. You will learn all about the amazing knowledge that the Inca had of agriculture and the purpose of the layered crop planting that you see.
The next stop of Maras is an above ground, outdoor salt mine that you will spend around 40 minutes at. You can view the beautiful pink, brown and white terraces, each of which is used for extracting salt and learn about the production process and the traditional salt mining practice still in use today. This stop is not included in your Boleto Turistico so you will need to pay separately.
A possible last stop is Pisac. There are ruins and a market here – you will find the ruins up a very high hill which can be incredibly windy. This is a large complex with a lot to wander and some incredible views. There is also a large market at Pisac.
If you can spend more time in the Sacred Valley you definitely should! We had a pretty tight timetable but it is a wonderful place to explore more. If you have the budget there is also an amazing hotel here where you stay in pods attached to the side of a cliff. You need to rock-climb up to the hotel and zip-line back.
This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to book a stay or purchase an item I may earn a commission at no cost to you.
There is so much to see and do in this Peruvian wonderland that I thought there was no way we could fit it into a 6 day itinerary. But we did!
This Cusco itinerary is perfect if you are on a VERY tight timeline. There is definitely more to see and do but this plan covers the must see locations in the most efficient way so you can fit as much in as possible. Be aware that you will have lots of early morning starts in the Sacred Valley and combined with the altitude this will make you VERY tired.
GENERAL INFO
Getting there and away:
I definitely suggest getting to and from Cusco using Peru Hop. It is affordable and helps you to see much more of the country than you would have had you flown to Cusco from Lima. There are some cool places in Peru that you can discover with Peru Hop: see my post here. You can also use Peru Hop/Bolivia Hop to travel from here to La Paz in Bolivia. However, flying is also an easy option if you are lacking in time or to cover one way of the journey.
Accommodation:
Cusco is not cheap but I recommend getting a place as close to the hustle and bustle as you can. Also beware of hills – your accomodation may be super close to the main square but it is likely up a hugre hill and takes a lot longer to walk than expected. I got fit walking around Cusco though!
As always I recommend booking.com – it has the best search function and you can easily see the location and narrow down hotels by a lot of different features.
Food:
La Boheme: A French Creperie in the centre of Cusco with both sweet and savoury crepes. A great option if you are looking for a light meal.
Kion: A Chifa restaurant in central Cusco. Very pricey but has great cocktails.
El Albergue: Traditional Peruvian Cuisine in a beautiful setting at Ollantaytambo train station.
Top Tip:
Drink Coca tea and suck Coca candies to prevent Altitude Sickness. Altitude Sickness is no joke and affects everyone so differently. You really have no idea if its going to hit you or not and how badly and it can be serious stuff. Neither me nor my husband felt it too much other than being a little more tired and out of breath (and even that was only on Rainbow Mountain at 5,000 metres above sea level) but we had a woman on the bus to Cusco with us who passed out in Arequipa and need to be taken to hospital.
DAY 1
On your first day in Cusco take some time to get acclimatised to the high altitude before doing too much strenuous activity.
The best place to start exploring Cusco is at the San Pedro Market. This is a great place to purchase souvenirs but shop around before buying and start haggling at half the given price or less. There are also lots of places to purchase snacks and drinks here.
From here, if you aren’t done with shopping you can visit the Artisan market at the end of Avenida del Sol.
It’s also worth doing some admin tasks for the rest of your visit on this day. Purchase some snacks for Machu Picchu (as there are no places to purchase food within the ruins) and check the weather forecast for Rainbow Mountain in case you want to change your tour day (many tours will let you amend your tour date up to 2 days in advance). Pack a smaller pack to cover what you need for the next 3 days and leave the rest of your luggage at your Cusco hotel.
If you still have time left in your day, you can people watch in Plaza de Armas – but don’t stay out too late as you have your first of multiple early starts the next day!
DAY 2
Today you should plan to take the one day Inka Trail to Machu Picchu. I find the one day Inka trail to have a good balance of adventure, great views, trekking and enough time at Machu Picchu without having to sleep in the jungle and take up too much of your time in the Sacred Valley.
It’s a good activity option for your 2nd and 3rd day as although it is physically strenuous its a lower elevation than Cusco. It also somewhat separates your early starts so you don’t have too many in a row.
We did this tour with Exclusive Inka Tour who paired us with a great guide and were quite amenable to the few changes I wanted to make to the standard itinerary (with some insistence from my end). Your tour will pick you up around 4am and take you to catch the 6:10am train from Ollantaytambo to KM 104. You will do a full day of hiking ending at the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu and descending into the ruins. You then get a short amount of time in the complex to take pictures before heading down to the town of Aguas Calientes to stay the night. Usually dinner at a local restaurant is included in your tour.
DAY 3
The first bus to Machu Picchu from Agaus Calientes in the morning is at 5:30am and any good tour operator will have you up and queueing early so that you can get on one of the first few buses. Go to the bathroom before you go into Machu Picchu as there are none inside the complex. Once inside, you will have a guided tour through the complex and are then left to explore on your own. I highly recommend booking tickets to climb up Huayna Picchu mountain (Purchased in advance of the day; the walk is a 2 hour round trip). If you purchased tickets, you will have a specific time-slot to climb soon after your guided tour.
View from the top of Huayna Picchu
Spend the full day at Machu Picchu. Your ticket allows you a half day pass and you won’t get kicked out but we purchased an afternoon ticket also so that we could leave the complex to use the toilet and then come back in. Machu Picchu will capture your attention for this long I promise – it also allows you to wait out any rain or cloudy weather (as we had in the middle of the day) and take more photographs afterwards.
The last train out from Aguas Calientes is at 6:20pm to Ollantaytambo. Don’t arrange for your Machu Picchu tour to collect you from the train and take you back to Cusco: stay the night in Ollantaytambo. Use the extra time you have just gained to have a beautiful meal at the train station restaurant El Albergue in Ollantaytambo (you need to book – the train arrives here just after 8pm).
The perfect view of Machu Picchu
DAY 4
Today is the best day to tour the Sacred Valley as you are already there! We suggest hiring a private tour guide as its super affordable, they really know their stuff, you can then choose where you would like them to take you and the area is rural so you can’t get to a lot of the sites without a tour anyway.
On our one day tour (we highly recommend all of these sites) we visited the following locations:
Ollantaytambo Ruins (need about 1 hour 30 mins here)
Moray (1 hour drive from Ollantaytambo Ruins – need about 40 minutes here)
Maras Salt Mines (30 mins from Moray – need about 40 minutes here)
Pisac (1 hour 30 mins drive from Maras – need about 1 hour here for the ruins and 40 minutes for the market).
After Pisac you should return to Cusco – this is another 1 hour drive.
DAY 5
Today you will have another extremely early start to climb up Rainbow Mountain. There are hundreds of tour providers. We went with Rainbow Mountain Travels which was a great choice as they are the tour that reaches the mountain earliest – unfortunately this also means the earliest tour start at 3am. It’s a 2 hour drive from Cusco to Rainbow Mountain and the tours provide breakfast nearby. Take the trek to the mountain slowly if you need to, make sure you go right up to the top for the best photographs and views and do the slight detour for views of the red valley afterwards if you can manage it – its well worth the extra climb and descent. You will have lunch and then arrive back at Cusco in the afternoon.
DAY 6
You will probably want to sleep in and relax today so plan to take it easy and not squeeze too much in. If you have the energy, you can walk up past the Saqsayhuaman ruins to Cristo Blanco for great views (of the city and free views of the ruins). Head back down into the centre via Hatunrumiyoc Street (take a pic of the 12 angled stone, admire the beautiful street) to Cusco Cathedral.
In the Afternoon, visit the Iglesia de Santo Domingo (Qurikancha) Don’t bother with the paid part just go inside the church. There is a nice view over the plaza here.
Use this advice to plan your ultimate trip to Peru!
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Ecuador is one of the somewhat underrated countries in South America. Its too peaceful to be notorious like Colombia and Venezuela and its not a tourist hotspot like Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. The Galapagos Islands are famous of course – but they are so out-of-this-world that they feel like a country in their own right and therefore sometimes left out of references to Ecuador as a tourist spot. Also, the Galapagos aren’t huge on the backpacker trail which is often how South America is explored as they are just so damn expensive to visit.
I hope to show you in this post why you just have to get to Ecuador right now as it is such a chill place with a great vibe! Oh and make the Galapagos Islands a must do even if you have to sell a kidney (JJ but not really).
Otavalo
Otavalo is an easy breezy mountain town. There’s not a lot to do here but relax! You may just pass through on your way to/from Colombia but Otavalo also has an amazing indigenous market which is the largest in South America and a gorgeous and easy hike around Lake Cuicocha nearby. Definitely worth a stop. See my post here for more info about visiting Otavalo.
Quito
Quito seems like any other big South American city from the outset (although I feel they all have something special and unique about them) but its actually quite charming. Relatively safe, quaint and relaxed. There are also some cool spots to visit around Quito such as the Equator (cheesy I know!). See my post here for things to do in Quito.
Baños
Baños is unexpectedly cool – don’t come here and expect to chill out in the mountains. It’s Ecuador’s home of adventure! Also, you need to be fit to manage all the hiking and biking and holding onto swings as you fly out over the valleys. As I said…adventure. Who’s up for it? Find out what I’m doing in the picture below here.
The Galapagos Islands
The jewel in Ecuador’s crown is the Galapagos Islands. It’s one of those places you visit and can’t believe its real. I really don’t need to go into detail about why you need to visit the Galapagos – just look at any photo and you’ll see. You can see all the beautiful things I spotted in the Galapagos in my photo essay here – I hope it inspires you to visit!.
What are you waiting for? Find a place to stay in Ecuador and get going!
This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to book a stay or purchase an item I may earn a commission at no cost to you.
Vietnam is a beautiful country with so much to see! This is definitely not an exhaustive list – going back I would definitely try to visit the Mekong Delta and a couple of the Southern islands (such as Con Dao or Phú Quốc). If I didn’t have young children tagging along I may have done a hike through one of the National Parks and braved some of the long rural stretches around northern Vietnam. BUT, this list gives a good mix of amazing places which all have something unique to offer. All were super child friendly locations too!
So here are all my must-see spots in Vietnam (ESPECIALLY if you are visiting with children):
Hanoi
Hanoi is chaotic, hot and frantic but is a must see part of Vietnam. The food and coffee scene is killer and the markets and shops are never ending! Definitely my kind of city!
Ninh Binh
Ninh Binh is beautiful and green – such a great place to just chill out and enjoy nature. There is also a big mountain you can climb if you like to challenge yourself a bit more (its particularly challenging in 37 degree heat!
Halong Bay
Halong Bay is the jewel of Vietnam – we did a cruise through the cheaper and less crowded Lan Ha Bay which is really the exact same as Halong Bay. Go luxury here and enjoy a 5 star cruise if you can because nothing beats sailing through this bay watching the sunset from the swimming pool of your cruise ship.
Da Nang
We stayed by the beach here – it was absolute bliss staying right next to the beach but being so close to all the amenities a city offers! Find a hotel by the beach on booking.com.
Hoi An
Hoi An is one of those towns you just want to keep wandering through as there is something new and beautiful around every corner! It’s also a great idea to time your visit for the monthly lantern festival where the night lights are extra phenomenal (although there is a little bit of this magic every night).
Vinh Hy
Vinh Hy is the place to go to feel those real authentic Vietnam vibes. Its still very much off the beaten track which is so rare these days. Hardly anyone speaks english and tourists are few and far between (international ones anyway!) If you like a local experience with great landscapes and seafood I highly recommend checking this bay out!
We went to Vietnam during rainy season in the south so we didn’t get down to that end of the country – if we had we would have visited Ho Chi Min City (Saigon); Phu Quoc Island, The Mekong Delta and Con Dao Island. If you have been to these places please let me know any must sees! – I’m planning to hit these spots up next time I go.
THE ONLY ERIKA IN THE VILLAGE 