september adventure? - Page 2 - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**worldwidemike** · 03-19-2008, 06:04 PM

You're a cruel woman, Nicole. My vacation starts around Sept. 20, and yes, I'm planning on using it to go to Macchu Picchu. That 500 buck fare you found is astounding...was that WITH taxes...? I may have to jump on the Spirit Airlines website myself and snatch one of those up. I've never heard Peru tickets that cheap...well, other than my standby ones, which (with taxes) will likely get closes to at least half that fare. And that's standby.

Hmm...

Definitely plan on doing the Inca Trail (or Inca "trial" as the full, supposedly grueling hike is sometimes called. September is perfect season for it, from what my research has shown.

Let me know if your fare was with taxes, btw...

worldwidemike

**maracle** · 03-19-2008, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinknic38

are there like websites or something about the bus system? this might be in my LP guide which I haven't had time to crack open yet and then left it in my office in a haste to leave early without being seen hahaha

The bus system is kind of crazy...if you don't know spanish it will be an adventure. There are tons of companies and most routes you're likely to be doing will have many departures daily. You show up, haggle a price, and get a ticket. Make sure to ask around at your hostel to figure out what it should cost (this applies to taxis too, you need to know what you're supposed to pay so you can negotiate). Also check around to see what prices various companies are offering at the bus station.

Getting around in Peru is absurdly easy because there are so many busses, and when there aren't busses there are little vans that people drive around informally picking up anyone who needs a lift. It is all very chaotic but works really well, you'll always be able to find a ride.

Now if you really want to use a website I think the one you can probably try is Cruz del Sur. They should have an english verison of their site. They're the highest-end bus company in Peru, and by far the most expensive. But you'll be assured of a late model bus with a good bathroom and on longer trips they sometimes offer meals and blankets and other amenities.

For example I just priced Lima-Arequipa on their site and it was $65. They also list another service on their site for that route at $25. If you use a cheaper bus I bet you could get a ticket for around $15, maybe less if you're a good negotiator. The interesting part is that a one way flight would be $95, or round trip $115 (taxes included). So if you're trying to fit a lot in flying can make sense for the longer flights. You have to book them in Peru though or they'll charge you way more.

By the way, my lonely planet says you can get a bus from Arequipa to Santiago for $90, but it takes 3 days. I assume you don't have time for that, but it's pretty cheap.

**pinknic38** · 03-20-2008, 02:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by worldwidemike

That 500 buck fare you found is astounding...was that WITH taxes...?

yes!!! it was like $520 all together cos I got the travel insurance. without it, it would have been $508. certain days are more and you can choose like "previous day" or "next day" to see the fare. they do it by to and from flights so if you want the fare I got, make sure your arrival and departures are on a tuesday or wednesday. maybe mondays too. those fares will be 212.00 each way. some days are like 264.00, but I think if it's a tuesday or wednesday for sure you get the 212 fare. then with taxes it's $508... you just gotta uncheck the boxes for travel insurance and the other stupid trial thing they try to get you to buy.

so, there you have it! :D

edited to say: kayak showed me the fare from O'Hare, and once I was on the spirit air website, I saw that you cannot fly from Chicago to Lima... I ended up going with Detroit. That's only like a 3 hour drive from Cbus so won't be so bad. Chicago is huge so I don't get why Detroit would go to Lima and they wouldn't but whatever.

**pinknic38** · 03-20-2008, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maracle

By the way, my lonely planet says you can get a bus from Arequipa to Santiago for $90, but it takes 3 days. I assume you don't have time for that, but it's pretty cheap.

good thing I know a lot of spanish then!

I might have time for that since I'll be there a little over 2 weeks. We'll see though.

thanks for the bus info, sounds like it won't be too hard to get around then. I took 6 years of spanish and remember quite a bit. I'll prolly get with my old spanish professor before I head out for a refresher since we still keep in touch.

**pinknic38** · 03-20-2008, 07:43 AM

Hey Brett have you ever been to Iquitos? I've clicked around online for awhile and found this tour place over in that neck of the woods called Dawn on the Amazon. Apparently this place is only accessible via plane or boat. So I was thinking about flying then boating back down the Amazon. I've been emailing the guy who's the head of the tour company and told him I was backpacking Peru in September and Iquitos was definately going to be one of my stops, and he said he owns some property out there also in the jungle with some cabins that don't have electricity or anything and it's pretty basic but he offers it to backpackers who come by. It's like a 40 min hike to get there and stuff and he has stuff if you want to fish. So he kinda sold me on the Iquitos thing. Anyway he does a lot of different boat tours and I guess Iquitos has this "floating market" and it's kind of known as the "Venice on the Amazon (check out pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dawnont...7594470006536/ )

Anyhoo, just wondering if you (or anyone else) has been there and had any thoughts.

**maracle** · 03-20-2008, 08:13 AM

Well my plan was actually to go up to Iquitos and spend most of my time in the jungle and on the amazon (I got a shitton of immunizations for it, so if you don't have them you might want to see about those. I think they recommend, hep a, hep b, yellow fever, typhoid, and DPT, plus you should get prescriptions for Malarone and Xifaxan).

But then I realized that knowing absolutely no spanish was a little more challenging than I thought, so I decided to stay on the beaten track for a few days to get a bit more comfortable with it, and then I met some people and never actually made it up there. Oh well.

So I haven't been there but I still recommend it! Because next time I'm there I need to do Iquitos and Trujillo and anything else in those areas.

**pinknic38** · 03-20-2008, 09:38 AM

yeah in the army I have to have all those immunizations anyway... I don't think I've got the yellow fever one but all the other ones, yes. plus I have leftover malaria medicine I didn't take in afghanistan hehe. gave me some assed up dreams.

okay yeah I am definately going to plan on making it up there then. sa-weet. I am excited about this floating market.

**LiveFreeorDie** · 03-20-2008, 08:48 PM

Quote:

maybe I'll call you on your new cell phone

wait, wait, wait....not to thread hijack...but Mike got a cell phone???? WTF...hell froze over and nobody told me??!!

I guess I don't get why you wouldn't want to go to Peru first anyway simply for Macchu Picchu, that would be my choice. Looks like you are headed in that direction anyway which is the right answer haha. You should talk to our own Cbus local Tpunk member Andy. He has some great South America stories.

**pinknic38** · 03-22-2008, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiveFreeorDie

wait, wait, wait....not to thread hijack...but Mike got a cell phone???? WTF...hell froze over and nobody told me??!!

yeah it's on another thread, mike finally confessed and said for all people to PM him with cell phone numbers if you thought he should have it or something... I don't remember what thread it was. but it's there. I swear! haha

petros · 03-22-2008, 10:09 PM

Peru is a great choice. I remember it in two ways... Granted it's been 8 years since I've been there, but the moments that stood out were like this: Stuck in a hotel room in Cusco facing nausea and a headache, unable to go anywhere because the rest of the family (minus my somehow immune to altitude sickness mom) was also out of commission. Then deciding to leave despite sickness and puking on the ground at some ancient Incan ruins. I live at 5,000 feet and still we got it pretty bad, so be careful and drink the coca tea they provide (as in the coca they use to make cocaine), because it helps.

Then there's the positive of seeing places like Machu Picchu. The ancient architecture all around the country still amazes me. To think that 2000 years ago they were cutting stones that still to this day you couldn't fit a razor blade between, using no mortar... Wow.

Don't rule out Lake Titicaca if you can budget it into your trip. The floating islands are impressive, and take a ride on a reed boat from a native.

As for transportation, we took a train from Cusco to the town that Machu Picchu is based out of (no way I'll remember the name). I can still remember the rhythmic rocking back and forth for about three hours. Combine that with altitude sickness and it's a bad bad ride. They offered helicopter rides for about $100 a person and it would have been money well spent. That's about the only tip I can throw out for you. Other ways we traveled were via a tour bus, and somehow they forgot to come to our hotel to get us, so the next day an entire tour bus, guide and all, came and picked up our family of four and we were the only riders for the whole day. It was hardly a tour, but it got us to Lake Titicaca.

Have fun, I'm jealous of that cheap flight you found...

**maracle** · 03-22-2008, 11:54 PM

Machu Picchu is a fair bit lower than Cusco, which might help a little if you're feeling sick in Cuzco. But if you're worried about altitude there's a prescription you can get for that called Diamox. You take it for a few days before you go to altitude.

I got altitude sickness in Cusco, and had it for at least a week...the most common symptom is headache but for me I felt fine but just had no appetite at all. After a few days of hardly eating I was starting to tremble (low blood sugar or something I guess) so I started forcing myself to eat candy bars to get as many calories out of the little I could force down

Anyway, whether you decide to get meds or not, altitude sickness is very common and I'd definitely suggest you plan on 2-3 days of minimal activity to get used to it, especially if you go direct to Cusco from Lima since thats around 12000 feet higher.

**worldwidemike** · 03-23-2008, 02:52 AM

I'm really tempted to book this fare...I had no idea that tiny little Spirit Airlines flew to Lima, Peru! As Nicole would say, "holler...!"

Thanks for the tip, Nic! I'm going to check how much the "standby" fare with my airline benefits will be on American Airlines, or whoever, and compare them. If the difference is minimal, I guess I'll be shelling out part of my tax return to book Peru!

worldwidemike

**pinknic38** · 03-24-2008, 07:12 AM

hell yes! yeah I'd never even heard of spirit airlines. but whatever, the price is totally worth it.

mike do you know who you're going through to book your inca trail hike? I found one place (peru treks) but as I was trying to book, they won't actually let me book without my passport number, and my appt to get my new passport isn't until april 15th. hopefully I can find somewhere else or it won't be full when I get my new passport.

**worldwidemike** · 03-24-2008, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinknic38

do you know who you're going through to book your inca trail hike?

There are a ton of places. Get the latest Lonely Planet and they list a bunch of recommended, reputable companies. I know I have a few saved as bookmarks on my home computer. I would check out a good half dozen, price them, see who's used them and recommends them.

I checked how much my standby fare is, and it's quite a bit cheaper than I thought it would be. So, I may take a risk and go with that. Or I might buy just the DTW-LIM portion and fly standby coming home. That would allow me to book my Lima to Cuzco flight, as well as my Inca Trail hike. Hmmm....

I'll let you know once I come up with a narrowed down list of companies, Nicole...

worldwidemike

**maracle** · 03-24-2008, 09:28 AM

What airline are you with? I know the Miami-Lima flight on American I was on was half empty both ways. Maybe thats seasonal but if not it would be really easy to fly standby on that one.

**worldwidemike** · 03-30-2008, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maracle

What airline are you with? I know the Miami-Lima flight on American I was on was half empty both ways.

I work for USAirways. I would likely be flying on Continental, American or United if I fly standby. Those are the carriers we have the best agreements with...

What time of year did you fly that MIA-LIM flight...?

worldwidemike

**Sijuki** · 03-30-2008, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinknic38

LOL! No turning back now! I just booked my ticket to Peru... I am doing 16 days there!!

September 2nd-September 18th, flying from Detroit to Lima! With travel insurance it was $520... holler, bitches! :D

Detroit??? Well you should stop in early... we can have a beer.

**maracle** · 03-31-2008, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by worldwidemike

What time of year did you fly that MIA-LIM flight...?

I left on an afternoon flight on Wednesday, May 16 and returned on an evening flight I think June 2 or 3...I ended up coming back a couple days early standby so I don't remember.

I could have sworn my trip was longer than that! But thats what my itinerary email says so I assume it's right.

**pinknic38** · 03-31-2008, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sijuki

Detroit??? Well you should stop in early... we can have a beer.

you're going to be there then? I have to drive up to Detroit so let me know! :D

**worldwidemike** · 03-31-2008, 07:56 AM

What happened to Vegas, Rob? I thought you were still there...? Or are you planning on moving back to Detroit by September. If so, heck, I'll go up the night before and hang out...

For the record, I went ahead and purchased the ticket from Detroit to Lima, but without a return. I'll go home standby and save a couple hundred bucks that way (hopefully). So, my flight departs Wed, Sept. 17th. I'll likely stay in Peru for about 8-9 days, depending on what the loads look like coming home.

Now, I'll buy my Lima to Cuzco flight, then my Inca Trail Hike. Woo-hoo! Looks like you won't have this Tpunker to flaunt Macchu Picchu to anymore...!!!

worldwidemike