Machu Picchu advise

[justluv2cruisewithhubby]

Hi all

I am thinking of doing a cruise where we can see Machu Picchu has anyone ever done this sailing? If so when is the best time of year?

 

Is there such a sailing that goes to Machu Picchu and the Canary Islands?

Thanks for your help

[SilvertoGold]

The Canary Islands are off northern Africa, so a World Cruise might work.

 

Anytime HAL does the Inca cruise is fine. Quite a trip!!

Edited April 14, 2015 by SilvertoGold

[greyskier]

HAL has 2 Incan Empire cruises a year in March and November. They spend 3 days moored in Lima. We did the cruise last March and it was perfect, We booked the Machu Pichu tour through HAL it was expensive about $3500 AU each but suited us for peace of mind if anything went wrong. We could not fault the experience we were really looked after the whole time. Some on our cruise organised the trip independently at about half the price. If you are interested in the HAL excursion be aware you have to book it at least 2 months out from when it goes.

[Cruzin Terri]

With some planning and a bit of homework you can do this for a lot less money than Hal charges. Join the roll call for your cruise and I am sure you will find others doing it independently.

Just as a bit of a geography lesson the Canary Islands are off the coast of Africa. Did you mean the Galapagos Isands instead? That is doable in the same cruise.

My DH and I went to MP with. Private guide for an extra night than HAL's trip and it cost us about half the price HAL was charging. We were able to customize the trip to suit our needs and did not have to keep up with a group.

I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Terri

[take us away]

If you mean the Galapagos Islands, HAL does not stop there. You will need a tour, either thru HAL or independently thru another agency. Had friends do this independently and they were on the same flights as the HAL tour at about 1/2 the price. Their hotel was not as quite as nice but it was clean and had hot water so they were happy.

[makai 7]

Many years ago did this thru Princess - and it was well worth the extra money for the peace of mind. A few things to be aware of...

Cuzco elevation is incredibly high (13,000 feet; higher than MP)- and you won't know beforehand if you will suffer from Altitude sickness. I was OK but DH had worst headache of his life.

Our tour stayed at the Monestario and we had a room where they could pipe in Oxygen and it was well worth it - we actually were able to sleep and others without the O2 could not.

This shouldn't stop you from going- just to be aware and prepared.

By the time you get to MP, it is a lower elevation and you feel better!

 

Other issue is that the Cuzco airport often gets fogged in - on our trip our return flight departure to Lima was delayed about 5-6 hours. If we were not on the ship's tour I am not sure they would have waited for us before they left Lima.

 

The trip was well worth the pain and suffering - and we would definitely do it if we hadn't already!

[justluv2cruisewithhubby]

Great advise everyone - I was not aware that there is a separate tour that puts you in a hotel in order to see Machu Picchu but it makes sense as I'm sure its quite inland. This is all good information

thank you

[Jade13]

Hi all

I am thinking of doing a cruise where we can see Machu Picchu has anyone ever done this sailing? If so when is the best time of year?

 

Is there such a sailing that goes to Machu Picchu and the Canary Islands?

Thanks for your help

 

Two different cruises unless you are going around the world.

 

There are Canary Islands cruises typically leaving from Spain (maybe not on HAL) or transatlantic cruises that stop in the Canary Islands.

 

We were on Veendam from Valparaiso, Chile to NYC. We left the ship on our own in Lima and flew to Cuzco and than went to Machu Picchu. We stayed 3 nights and flew back and met up with the ship in Ecuador. We booked the flights, train, hotel, and entrance fees on our own and hired a guide who met us in Cuzco with driver and charged us something like $30.00pp US per day for a group of 6 (which covered the driver with AC minivan and his train and hotel stays). He has worked for A & K before and was probably the best guide we have ever had.

 

The ship does do a tour there but it is too short, does not stay at the only hotel at the foot of the ruins, and no chance to go back in the morning for sunrise.

Edited April 14, 2015 by Jade13

[Bostonjetset]

I have been to Machu Picchu on a land trip to Peru and it truly is an amazing place to see; a definite trip of a lifetime.

 

That said, we planned everything on our own [without a TA or tour] and it was doable but quite stressful. Between organizing flights/trains/taxis along with choosing a good hotel, pre-ordering tickets, etc. it was quite a hassle. I am lucky enough to have a {very} rudimentary understanding of the Spanish language which surely helped with some of the websites needed for research [mostly tickets to the site and train scheduling]; if I were to do it again I would likely go with an organized tour even though it would cost more.

[FLACRUISER99]

If you can find a HAL trip that ends in Lima consider doing a post tour. I did the attached tour in 2011 for $1400/pp through HAL & it was about at least 50% cheaper them the shore excursion.

Machu Picchu post tour.doc