7 Days in Peru were just not enough. A friend and I sporadically decided we needed a vacation, and before the last day of our trip we agreed we needed way more time in Peru! We took off on an overnight flight on June 22nd and returned on June 28th. This was during Lima’s winter season, but the weather was perfect. Early mornings and evenings were chilly requiring a light jacket and mid-days were warmer requiring only a t-shirt. My favorite city had to be Cusco and the surrounding areas. I’m going to share with you my itinerary, tips, and things I would have done different in my 7 days in Peru. Did I tell you how AMAZING Peru is?!?

DAY 1 – Lima, Peru

Our flight to Lima was booked through American Airlines and operated by LATAM. We booked an overnight flight and arrived in Lima at 5:30am leaving us with a full day to explore Lima. Prior to our trip, we booked private airport shuttle service with *Peruvian Shuttle for $25 to and from the Miraflores section of Lima. Peruvian Shuttle greeted us at the airport with our name on a sign. It made getting out of the airport fast and easy. Luckily I was able to get an amazing friends and family rate at Hilton Lima Miraflores. Hilton Lima Miraflores is in a great location and the rooms are beautifully put together with contemporary décor. There is a small business center with a color printer, a beautiful roof top pool/jacuzzi and a delicious onsite restaurant. Since we figured our rooms would not be ready we freshened up, left our luggage with concierge and set off for our prearranged 9:00 am *Lima City Sightseeing Tour. This tour was booked with Viator and operated by Viajes Pacifico. It was a great way to get an overview of the city during our one day layover. The places that stuck out to me were Love Park with the beautiful sculptures and mural. We drove past Huaca Pucllana before stopping in Plaza de Armas where we saw the Lima Cathedral and Santo Domingo Convent.

Things I would have done differently...

I wish I had booked directly with LATAM as it would have saved me a few bucks and given me an option to choose my seats. I also would have flown straight to Cusco and only a 1 day layover in Lima on the return home. Uber works and it is cheaper than the taxis. I used uber to go to a few places around Lima and the price were half of what the taxis were charging. Taxis are already pretty cheap, but if you’re on a budget like me, I would use uber. I’d continue to use the shuttle service from the airport since it is nice to have your ride ready for you after a long flight.

Plaza Manco Capac, Aguas Calientes, Peru

DAY 2 – Aguas Calientes, Peru

We took a 9:30am flight to Cusco on our second day in Peru to begin the long trek to Aguas Calientes, the small city outside of Machu Picchu. Many suggest staying here first so your body can slowly acclimate to the elevation, since Machu Picchu is at a lower elevation than Cusco. Upon our arrival in Cusco we were given coca leaves to chew on to assist with elevation sickness. There was also a lot of entertainment in the airport as we were traveling during Inti Raymi, and Cusco is full of parades, music, and costumes for the religious celebration. I booked private transfer to the Ollantaytambo train station with *Unique Peru Tours and was greeted at the airport with our wonderful driver. Unique Peru Tours charged $30USD/100SOL for the car while others charged this per person. Peru Rail does not have enough space for larger pieces of luggage, so our driver let us drop our luggage off at our Cusco hotel before heading to the train station. Since we left ample time to catch our train our driver suggested we stop in Chinchero for a textile presentation. Before the textile presentation began we got to hold guinea pig, feed llama and view several Peruvian plants and spices. The textile presentation was beautiful and a nice break in our commute to the train station. There were some beautiful pieces for sale, but some of the same items were significantly cheaper in the Cusco and Lima artisan markets. We continued to the train station in Ollantaytambo in time to catch our pre-booked vistadome train with *PeruRail. We choose PeruRail so that we could take advantage of the vistadome train which has large windows on the top and side of the train. We were lucky to get train A seats 1 and 2 on both our train to and returning from Aguas Calientes. This provided the best view as we had the large front window of the train next to the conductor. We were provided a beverage and snack along with an amazing view on our ride. Since Aguas Calientes is a small city with no taxis, an employee from Panorama B&B walked us to our hotel and offered to assist us with our backpacks. In addition to being small, cozy and clean this bed and breakfast had wonderful customer service. After we checked in and freshened up we explored Aguas Calientes. This was a small city full of several restaurants and little shops. Plaza Manco Capac was very cute and had a nice Beinvenidos a Machupicchu sign for an awesome photo opportunity.

DAY 3 – Machu Picchu, Peru

The day prior, before meeting with our driver at the Cusco airport, we first paid a representative of *Cusco Transport for our pre-booked tour of Machu Picchu. We received our Machu Picchu entry ticket and bus tickets the day before. Our *Cusco Transport tour guide met us at our hotel to begin our guided tour of Machu Picchu on day 3. We walked over to take the bus which had a long line that moved very quickly. The views after entering Machu Picchu were magnificent. We climbed up for better views and walked down to truly appreciate the magnificence of Machu Picchu. Our tour guide gave us a great overview on the history of Machu Picchu. We than headed back to Aguas Calientes for lunch and souvenir shopping before catching the train to Ollantaytambo. Our Unique Peru Tours driver met us at the train station and took us back to our hotel, Andenes al Cielo. I loved the rustic feel of this boutique hotel. It included breakfast and was walking distance to Plaza De Aramas, the main center in Cusco. The room was very spacious and included a fire place which we lit each night, enabling us to have a relaxing cozy sleep. The only downfall of this hotel is that you seem to hear all of the noise in the evening. Despite the noise I loved my room so much I plan on staying here again when I return to Cusco.

Things I would have done differently...

I would have stayed an additional night in in Aguas Calientes to explore the hot spring as well as Putucusi Mountain. I would have also spent more time at the park and purchased an advance ticket for Wayna Pichu, and/or Machu Picchu Mountain. I probably would have purchased my Machu Picchu and bus tickets in Cusco or Aguas Calientes the day prior to my trip. There are several guides at Machu Picchu and I would have hired one there before entering the park which would have worked out to be a little cheaper.

DAY 4 – Cusco, Peru

We slept late than took the Sunday *Free Tours By Foot tour of Cusco. We met at 10:00am in Plaza Regocijo right behind Plaza De Armas. The tour took us to Cocina Novandina, Saint Clair Arch, San Pedro Church, Plaza De Armas and more. I really enjoyed the San Pedro Market, and the fresh juices sold at the market. Everything was available from food, produce, natural medicines, souvenirs and more. Another highlight of the walking tour was the Alpaca watching. We got to get up close and take selfies with with Alpaca and Ilama. Our tour finished with tasting several delicious local fruits. Our guide was knowledgeable and it was great to walk around and gain a little insight on Cusco. After the tour we grabbed lunch and did some shopping at several of the artisan markets on Hatun Rumiyoc. This isn't far from the 12 angled stone you will see several people line up to take pictures near. My favorite market was Artesanias Makipi. Elizabeth was so friendly and gave me great deals on my purchases.

Moray Archaeological Site, Sacred Valley, Cusco, Peru

DAY 5 – Sacred Valley, Peru

Our Sacred Valley 4x4 Quadbike Adventure from Cusco was booked with Viator and operated by Bamba Experience. The tour began when a representative met us at our hotel at 8:00am and walked us over to Plaza Regocijo. After picking up the remaining adventurers, we began our drive to the Sacred Valley. Our tour made 10 to 15 minute stops at Moray Archaeological site and the Salt Mines, which both required an additional entrance fee. This excursion gives you maximum time on the ATV. In addition to the amazing views at each site, the route getting there was spectacular. There was even a portion of the tour where we rode through a small town. We arrived back to Cusco around 3:00pm and we were starving. We took the advice of locals and visited La Casona Del Inka, which is a traditional Peruvian restaurant known for its amazing panoramic view. I was not disappointed. Out of all the meals I ate in Peru this was by far my favorite. The meals all begin with soup. I wish I could recall the name of the soup because it was phenomenal. I also tried the Peruvian delicacy, Guinea Pig. It was seasoned great and was the texture of chicken. I was happy there was no gamy taste to it. While it wasn’t bad, I don’t see myself rushing to order it again. We went to this restaurant with a couple we met while doing the ATVs and we made a buffet of our meals. I enjoyed everything I ate especially the fried pork. Since this was our last day in Cusco we finished the evening with more shopping. I loved that we were able to bargain and get unbeatable prices. I’m not much of a shopper, but between the beautiful and bright shawls, blankets, hats and art I found myself shopping a lot more than I normally would.

Things I would have done differently…

I would have purchased a set fee tourist ticket for Cusco, Boleto Turístico del Cusco, for admittance to several archaeological sites and museums. I would have also spent additional days in Cusco exploring all of these sites.

DAY 6 – Lima, Peru

Using Unique Peru Tours we paid 20 SOL/ 7USD for transportation to Cusco airport. After checking back into Hilton Lima Miraflores we took an uber to lunch at Brujas de Cachiche Restaurant. This was a more upscale restaurant full of business people. The food and the atmosphere were nice. We than walked to the post office so we could mail out some post cards and found several artisan markets on Avenue Petit Thouars. We were able to compare prices and learned the best bargains were in Cusco for similar items. We than stopped at a grocery store for some Peruvian chocolates and pisco sour to carry back home. We spent our last evening in the rooftop jacuzzi of our hotel reminiscing about the previous days and what to do on our return to Peru.

Things to know!

They do not take USD with any rips. Not even a small rip so make sure you head to the bank to get some clean bills.
UBER works in Lima. There aren’t as many cars, but it works in Cusco as well.
There are no taxis in Aguas Calientes. It’s a short walk to your hotel from the train station but pack light!
Needed to dial +1 before calling any US numbers while in Peru from my cell. (be sure to include the +)
Wish I did the Free Tours By Foot Mirafloras city tour instead. You see a few more interesting thing and they take you on public transportation to get to the other part of Lima which would have been an interesting experience. I really enjoyed there Cusco tour.
Try out the Peruvian drinks Pisco Sour and Chicha Morada
Machu Picchu tickets must be purchased in advance either online or in cusco tourist center. If you book a guide you will have to pay in advance but they can get the tickets for you as well. If I had to do it again I’d just get an entry ticket and hire one of the guides outside of Machu Picchu. This is their bread and butter so there are several English speaking tour guides available and they only charged either 10 sol or usd.

*Links/Contact

Peruvian Shuttle

$25 USD / 80 PEN each way
http://www.peruvian-shuttle.com/en/
(Whatsapp)+51 987 758 666 (be sure to include the +)

Lima City Sightseeing Tour (Viator/Viajes Pacifico)

Unique Peru Tours

Peru Rail (Vistadome)

$141 USD(prices vary)
http://www.perurail.com/

Cusco Transport & Tours

$132 (Machu Picchu/guide/bus)
http://www.cuscotransport.com/
WhatsApp No: + (51) 974 214123

Places to buy Machu Picchu tickets:

$152SOL or $47USD
Ministry of Culture website - http://www.machupicchu.gob.pe/
Machu Picchu Cultural Centre - Av. Pachacutec (off the main square),Aguas Calientes, Mon-Sun, 5AM-10PM
Ministerio de Cultura - Calle Garcilaso, (before the Plaza Regocijo),Cusco, Mon-Sat, 7AM-8PM

Free Tours by Foot

Just tip your guide (no reservation needed just show up)
http://www.inkanmilkyway.com/

Sacred Valley 4x4 Quadbike (Viator/Bamba Experience)

COSITUC (Comite de Servicios Integrados Turistico Culturales Cusco)

Boleto Turístico del Cusco
Avenida El Sol 103, Cusco, Peru

7 Days in Peru is No Bueno