Travel Peru from Arequipa

[bfahrion]

Hello, first time caller. My wife and I are planning to fly to Arequipa for 12 days, use as home base, and tour Lake Titicaca and Machu Picchu and other sites as time permits. Is Sept/Oct a good time, less tourists and dry weather? Are cheap tours and bus/train transportation available once we get to arequipa, or do we have to prearrange tours?
I have a million questions, but will log on again soon.

Happy travellers.

[d360]

September and October is a great time to travel to Peru as the summer crowds have moved on. Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca is not too cold at night and has the all important sunny days.

There is always cheaper tours and buses on-site but what I always say to people is do you want to be spending your time booking and arranging things at home or waste precious travel time on location? I personally prefer to book ahead and enjoy my trip since it always takes longer than you think it will when traveling. On the other hand if you have plenty or time and little money then it makes sense to book when you get there.

Do you have route in mind? Are you flying into Lima and then on to Cusco?

[Richard Leon]

Hello there,

as D360 says, Oct/Sep are ideal months as the weather in the Andes could not be better; no rains, no cold, no tourist crowds. Also, many flowers bloom at this time of year macking the andean senery even more colorful.

I like the comments below, if you have time and little money, and know spanish, then it is easy to get around Peru. But do remember that Peru is still a 3rd world country for a reason, things that should be easy sometimes are difficutl. For example, you can purchae your train to Machu Picchu tickets once you are in Cuzco, but it will take you an entire morning just to wait in line and the service is horrible and frustrating.

You should see what we offer and we can coztumize all our packages to fit any traveler's needs. Feel free to visit www.peruforless.com and ask questions as you wish.

Enjoy!

[bfahrion]

Thankyou for the replies, I will look at the peruforless site and will get back to you.
The plan is to fly into Arequipa from Lima, then book some travel from there if it is not too difficult to arrange trips to Cuzco, Machu Pichu, Lake Titicaca, Puneo etc. Pre-arranged trips would probably be the way to go.

Sept/Oct would be the time we would be there.

Thankyou.

B&C

[juliux77]

Arequipa is a great choice, as a matter of fact, i am from arequipa.
From there you can take buses to Cusco, Puno or Nazca. If you want to head to cusco directly take a fligth, about $74.
Sep/Oct perfect time. You can arrange a tour to the Colca Canyon for $35 (transfers included)
feel free to contact me
Julio