Machu Picchu
 

Hey folks,

So my wife and I are looking at heading to Machu Picchu in May, likely with Gap Tours due to recommendations from other firneds who have used them. Anyone been before? Got tips to share or other cool places to see while we're down there?

No one has been there before??

i am 1/2 peruvian and i've lived there too...
i'm trying to make plans to go back in december (summer there)..my advice to you is that if you're going to go, you should take the INCA TRAIL...its a 3 day hike through the mountains and is absolutely beautiful beyond belief...and you end up in machupicchu the 3rd day....right there where the mountain is...the popular view....oh man!! i am jealous...i'll do the 3 day hike again someday but for now I have 3 little ones to take care of...but when they get a bit older, we'll all go!!

I'm actually planning to go down this winter and was looking at going with gap adventures as well. $1200 though... no wonder I don't take guided tours but this is a must have

http://www.gapadventures.com/trips/i...very/PID/2011/

We ended up booking with GAP Adventures. Headed down there in early June with a bit of extra time in Lima and Cuzco tagged onto the end - looking forward to it!! I have a client who has been down there with GAP and had great things to say, which was the final bit that pushed me into doing it. She and her husband are fit and adventurous, but in their early 60's. No worries about it physically then since if they had a good time of it, then it will be no problem for my wife and me ;)

P.S. Mananetwork - the folks at GAP got cheaper local Peru flights than what I could get myself (with LAN airlines) so if you want to do some flying around once you get down there, don't be afraid to let them book the flights for you.

Went down there last year, two things

1.TAKE IT EASY, the altitude is a bitch, rest alot and drink coca tea. Or you will get altitude sickness ( not fun )
2.The mosquitoes at Machu Picchu get u good, fucking annoying as HELL, bring some bug repellent with DEET

Thanks for the help, I'll give them a shout!

I know its an old bump
Anyone that posted here want to update there experience?

Going there is a dream trip of mine!!

I found gap to be the most expensive and constricting to my schedule. If you like to do a lot of transferring yourselves and don't want to be stuck to a schedule, I suggest going with Peru Treks. It's a hell of a lot cheaper and it's the same services (as I asked a lot of travels who they went with; even GAPers)

What you'll have to cover is the transport, food, hotel. No biggy :)

Got back from my trip just about a month ago. Travelled from Peru > Bolivia > Chile in a month and a half. AMAZING!

**Watch out for tons of theft, robberies and everything in between :/

Thanks for the info :)

my gf is doing it in June with her friends. I hope she enjoys herself.

Our trip was definitely one of those bucket-list experiences. We couldn't have been more pleased with it all.

I do agree with Mananetwork that if you want to beat to your own drum and make up your own schedule, that GAP might not be the way to go. You do pay a premium to go with them and have them figure out all the details for you, but that was exactly what we were looking for on this trip, so it was perfect for us.

You want share how much the flights were, how many days you were there and total cost was?
What month did you go?

Hm...I'm trying to recall exactly what the prices were. I think we might have spent $1k each on flights. We were down there for about 11-12 days or so. 7 day package for the two of us ($1k each if I remember correctly), plus a couple extra days in Cusco and a couple extra days in Lima, plus not being stingy with our food spending while there...I think we might have gone through $6k-$7k maybe in total? I could be out $1k either way, though.

We were there in early June.

Booked with Peru Treks as well back in December. Paid under $500 for just the trek. If you plan to move around S. America a bit. Look into the South American Air Pass. Discounted airfare for flights.