Vantage Amazon Discovery/ Machu Picchu

[TravelerThom]

I think there was only one train to Machu Picchu...

There are quite a number of trains every day to Machu Picchu, sixteen (16) if I am reading the schedule correctly. Note that most of these originate in Ollaytaytambo. All trains end at the town of Aguas Calientes sometimes called Machu Picchu Town. The ruins are a maybe 15 minute bus ride (or a long hike) up a steep hill from town.

http://www.perurail.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/horarios.pdf

Edited January 9, 2016 by TravelerThom

[deec]

Yes there are many trains during the day...I meant just one company seemed to be running them. The walk from the train to the bus was quick and the buses were running continuously so there was minimum waiting.

 

We had a great dinner in town before boarding the train back!

[TravelerThom]

...Can you tell me which train you took to Machu Picchu? Was it comfortable?..

I have been to MP several times, but never with Vantage as I was traveling independently. The 16 trains a day come in three levels of comfort. At the top is the Hiram Bingham, catered by Belmond (formerly known as Orient Express); this is all-inclusive and I'm pretty sure this is NOT used by Vantage. The mid-grade train service is Vistadome, and I think this is what Vantage uses. The lowest-grade train service is Expedition; IMO comfortable but not luxurious (adequate leg room, no standees).

Service details are available at http://www.perurail.com/service-details/?comparar=Expedition

[deec]

yes it was vistadome!!!

[pbnjrockette]

thanks for your review! Brought back memories. We traveled with Vantage to Machu Picchu , the Amazon and Galapagos. We traveled in May and there were almost NO mosquitoes (we did not travel on the Haimark boat but instead stayed in a cabin and explored the Amazon by small boat daily). We used bug spray as a preventative but the only mosquitoes were seen at night in the night lights!

 

As for time of year--May seemed to be a good time for animals as we saw several types of monkeys, sloth, large tree iguanas, tapir, hawks, toucan, macaws, frogs, tarantulas and many, many varieties of birds. Our cabin at the edge of the jungle was alive (and loud) with critters.

 

Machu Picchu is breathtaking... we were fortunate to have blue sky for the two days we were there. The train ride is smooth and comfortable--have your camera ready for sights out the window!

[deec]

a remembered moment from the train ride.......

an elderly woman in traditional Peruvian dress (can't remember her hat...they differ depending on the local region) was walking along the train track with a beautiful bouquet of flowers not sure why ...we could not stop to purchase them. Nice picture opportunity unfortunately all photos are "in process" according to my husband.....who knows when he will get to them.

[pbnjrockette]

a remembered moment from the train ride.......

an elderly woman in traditional Peruvian dress (can't remember her hat...they differ depending on the local region) was walking along the train track with a beautiful bouquet of flowers not sure why ...we could not stop to purchase them. Nice picture opportunity unfortunately all photos are "in process" according to my husband.....who knows when he will get to them.

 

We have a wonderful picture of an elderly woman (with flowers) and some children walking along the tracks (so unsafe!). Not sure if they thought the passengers could somehow make a purchase?

[H2Otstr]

Dee, we received a call a few days ago from Vantage asking if we would postpone our trip until next year because they have overbooked the trip.

 

We would have considered doing that but we are so excited about going I don't want to wait another year. :D

[deec]

I guess it would depend on what the incentive is to postpone the trip!!!

what did you decide??? It would be very hard for me to readjust my thinking!

 

I wonder if this is a result of the newly marketed "vantage adventures" that advertise smaller groups than what the ships can accommodate. We have just decided to go on the Mekong trip and with the "smaller" group, I am anticipating other non Vantage travelers on the small ship. Can't figure out the advantage other than maybe it was too many people with a full boat for only one tour director.

 

Any one have any inside info about Vantages change of not chartering an entire ship? by the way both our Amazon and Irrawaddy trips had one empty cabin.

[H2Otstr]

We turned them down. We are leaving on March 12th. Bought our bug spray and face nets at REI this past week :D.

[deec]

you will have a great time!!!

glad you did not postpone.

 

Do you know who your trip director is yet?

 

I am anxious to hear if you see more while on the Amazon because of the high water. You will probably wear the provided boots because it will be wet and muddy but make sure to take socks that can be pulled over the bottom of your pants.

 

Not sure if I shared that while in Machu Picchu make sure to cover up in case the bugs are bad when you are there. Light colored clothes seemed to be better.

[H2Otstr]

you will have a great time!!!

glad you did not postpone.

 

Do you know who your trip director is yet?

 

I am anxious to hear if you see more while on the Amazon because of the high water. You will probably wear the provided boots because it will be wet and muddy but make sure to take socks that can be pulled over the bottom of your pants.

 

Not sure if I shared that while in Machu Picchu make sure to cover up in case the bugs are bad when you are there. Light colored clothes seemed to be better.

 

Have not received any info yet. Although I did see on the Vantage website that they are "going green" and will no longer send name tags or luggage tags. That's OK, I'll just use my Grand Circle luggage tags; they're pretty nice :D.

 

I did take your tips into consideration when I purchased some clothing for this trip. I have some short sleeved tops with long sleeved fishing-type shirts to go over. I do need to get some high topped socks, though.

[H2Otstr]

Dee, when you tipped the local guides did you use dollars or local currency?

 

I viewed several You Tube videos of the train ride from Cuzco to MP and one said to have lots of dollar bills to give to the local people when photos are taken of them in their local dress. Did you do this?

[TravelerThom]

Dee, when you tipped the local guides did you use dollars or local currency?

I viewed several You Tube videos of the train ride from Cuzco to MP and one said to have lots of dollar bills to give to the local people when photos are taken of them in their local dress. Did you do this?

I'm not Dee, but have traveled in Peru several times (South America many times). US$ are an unofficial secondary currency in Peru and are accepted most places. Some ATMs in Peru give you a choice of US$ or PEN (Peruvian Nuevo Sol). Virtually everyone knows what a US$ is worth, and every entrepreneur is happy to take them if it completes a sale. Many stores in Peru with computerized cash registers will ring up the total in both PEN and US$. Modest, non-tourist stores may operate only in PEN. Guides are a lot more interested in the amount of the tip, than in what currency it is. A number of locals dress in their finest and essentially work as models, posing for tourist photos; if they are the centerpiece of your photo, they deserve payment. A quick street scene photo which may include similarly dressed people does not require a tip. As anywhere, be respectful (I wouldn't want someone barging into my backyard and taking pictures of the natives [that would be me] grilling strange animals on my Weber).

 

Thom

[H2Otstr]

Thank you, Thom.

[deec]

I agree with Tom.

Our trip director gave us an opportunity to trade USDs for SOLs from a money changer which amazingly had a better exchange rate than the ATM that we used!!! ATM's were plentiful and easy to use. While we were on the Amazon River part of the trip Sols were needed in the local villages. The ship was able to break large bills but could not exchange USDs.

[H2Otstr]

Dee, one more question :D. Did you or anyone in the group take a gift for the Home Hosted lunch? I always take one for the Grand Circle home hosted event, but I don't see anything in the Vantage material that suggests that we should.

[H2Otstr]

Dee, was any material mailed to you from Vantage? I did download the final docs and printed them this morning. Seems like there is a lot of information lacking. Were you provided a list of the travelers ? Did you have to show the paper with the flight info to anyone once on the trip?

[TravelerThom]

Dee, was any material mailed to you from Vantage? I did download the final docs and printed them this morning. Seems like there is a lot of information lacking. Were you provided a list of the travelers ? Did you have to show the paper with the flight info to anyone once on the trip?

Thom (not Dee) here again. We had a Vantage trip to Africa in Nov 2015 and did receive mailed docs. HOWEVER we are doing Douro in Apr 2016 and have been told that mailed docs are ceasing on/about 1 Mar. One of the ways to check-in for the flight involves use of your PNR (Passenger Name Record - the six character code that identifies you and your itinerary - sometimes called a Record Locator Code), so we always keep that at hand. We never have to show our flight info to anyone UNLESS something has gone wrong, so I would take a copy with you.

 

Thom

[Hydrokitty]

Thom (not Dee) here again. We had a Vantage trip to Africa in Nov 2015 and did receive mailed docs. HOWEVER we are doing Douro in Apr 2016 and have been told that mailed docs are ceasing on/about 1 Mar. One of the ways to check-in for the flight involves use of your PNR (Passenger Name Record - the six character code that identifies you and your itinerary - sometimes called a Record Locator Code), so we always keep that at hand. We never have to show our flight info to anyone UNLESS something has gone wrong, so I would take a copy with you.

 

Thom

 

Hi Thom...I just booked by 9th trip with Vantage and it's well after 3/1. Where do I find the Record Locator Code? Is it the same as my membership #? I have never had to show our flight info to anyone either...but I always carry final docs in my backpack just in case. I also take a picture of the really important things, like flight info, hotel info and shipinfo with my smart phone...but I'm not familiar with the PNR/RLC. I also understand we'll not be getting plastic luggage tags or name tags either. Too bad....I really like the name tags....I'm terrible with names and I like being able to "fake it" as opposed to constantly asking "What's your name again?"

Edited February 23, 2016 by Hydrokitty

[TravelerThom]

...Where do I find the Record Locator Code? Is it the same as my membership #?...

I also understand we'll not be getting plastic luggage tags or name tags either. Too bad....I really like the name tags....I'm terrible with names and I like being able to "fake it" as opposed to constantly asking "What's your name again?"

PNR is NOT your membership number. Assuming that you got air through Vantage, in ""My Portfolio" on the Vantage website, click on "Flights" (probably the first item below a picture on the left side) and flight info will pop up. On the left it should show (by row):

Outbound Departure date

Airline providing service

Flight Number

aircraft type

Class of service (ECONOMY or whatever)

seat number

a letter which I think is associated with class of service.

PNR (it should look something like 5CS7VG; always 6 characters, any of which can be number or letter)

 

The Passenger Name Record is issued by the airline, not Vantage. With the PNR you can go to the AIRLINE webpage and pull up the info the airline is showing, and check if they have your passport info, contact info, special meal requests, wheelchair request, etc and generally you can enter incorrect or missing info directly. There are generally other ways of accessing your record, but this is the one I use.

 

I am not good with names, and I will still be taking my Vantage name tag from previous trips (and hoping others will also).

 

Thom

[H2Otstr]

PNR is NOT your membership number. Assuming that you got air through Vantage, in ""My Portfolio" on the Vantage website, click on "Flights" (probably the first item below a picture on the left side) and flight info will pop up. On the left it should show (by row):

Outbound Departure date

Airline providing service

Flight Number

aircraft type

Class of service (ECONOMY or whatever)

seat number

a letter which I think is associated with class of service.

PNR (it should look something like 5CS7VG; always 6 characters, any of which can be number or letter)

 

The Passenger Name Record is issued by the airline, not Vantage. With the PNR you can go to the AIRLINE webpage and pull up the info the airline is showing, and check if they have your passport info, contact info, special meal requests, wheelchair request, etc and generally you can enter incorrect or missing info directly. There are generally other ways of accessing your record, but this is the one I use.

 

I am not good with names, and I will still be taking my Vantage name tag from previous trips (and hoping others will also).

 

Thom

 

The documents that I downloaded this morning indicated that the Locator would be on the upper RIGHT HAND corner of the flight information and it is on the LEFT HAND side of the document :eek::D. We have two Record Locators because we are on two different airlines.

 

Thom, did you receive a list of the names of all the travelers on your last trip? We did when we were on our yacht trip.

[Hydrokitty]

PNR is NOT your membership number. Assuming that you got air through Vantage, in ""My Portfolio" on the Vantage website, click on "Flights" (probably the first item below a picture on the left side) and flight info will pop up. On the left it should show (by row):

Outbound Departure date

Airline providing service

Flight Number

aircraft type

Class of service (ECONOMY or whatever)

seat number

a letter which I think is associated with class of service.

PNR (it should look something like 5CS7VG; always 6 characters, any of which can be number or letter)

 

The Passenger Name Record is issued by the airline, not Vantage. With the PNR you can go to the AIRLINE webpage and pull up the info the airline is showing, and check if they have your passport info, contact info, special meal requests, wheelchair request, etc and generally you can enter incorrect or missing info directly. There are generally other ways of accessing your record, but this is the one I use.

 

I am not good with names, and I will still be taking my Vantage name tag from previous trips (and hoping others will also).

 

Thom

 

Thanks Thom...when you described it, I knew what you meant, what I didn't know was what it was called! It's what I always called my confirmation #. :) Most of the time I do let Vantage book my air because I can't seem to beat them on BC and have used that # to choose or change my seat.

 

I wish I had kept my name tags from prior trips. :)

[TravelerThom]

...Thom, did you receive a list of the names of all the travelers on your last trip? We did when we were on our yacht trip.

I'm not positive if we received a list of fellow passengers before we left - I think so, but I'm in Florida for the winter, and that info would be North. Also complicated in that we travel in many different ways with many different vendors, and they start to blend together. I do know that at the end of our last Vantage trip the Tour Manager provided a list of names and email addresses of everyone who did not opt-out (only one person opted out).

...I wish I had kept my name tags from prior trips. :)

Oh, I never throw anything out - and if you saw my houses you'd believe it:eek:

 

Thom

[H2Otstr]

Thanks, Thom.