Machu pichu tour company info

We will be sailing from San Francisco to Santiago in Dec. 2012 on Celebrity and would like to book our own land tour to Machu Pichu. Has anyone ever done this and if so is there a reputalbe company you could recommend? We usually just take the ship's tours but this one seemed a bit steep. Any guidance would be appreciated.

We will be sailing from San Francisco to Santiago in Dec. 2012 on Celebrity and would like to book our own land tour to Machu Pichu. Has anyone ever done this and if so is there a reputalbe company you could recommend? We usually just take the ship's tours but this one seemed a bit steep. Any guidance would be appreciated.

We were on Infinity in December and the Machu tour they offered cost 150% of the cruise. It was ridiculous.

We used a tour company in Lima called Monicatours that was excellent. They indicated that they could arrange for a Machu tour. I suspect that was from Lima.

Vantage offers a great tour that includes other sites, but it is not cheap.

We flew from Lima to Cusco and then took the train to MP. We splurged & took the Hirram Bingham (Orient Express) and it included a tour with a very good guide but it was expensive. There are 2 other trains , tourist (mostly backpackers) and adventure class that also go to MP. The train station is in the town at the bottom of the mountain and there are buses that go up to the entrance all day long. Guides are available.

We just got back from our cruise that included a trip to Machu Picchu that we did independently. I have the perfect guide out of Cuzco. We made all our own arrangements as far as hotels etc online and then booked Jimmy as our tour guide which included a driver and vehicle. However I know that he can help you with the entire process. I can't say enough about how fantastic he was. His name is Jimmy Vasquez Calderon. His website is www.peruincawonder.com, his email is info@peruincawonder dot com. BE careful not to add an 's' on wonder as there is another tour company in Lima with the same name except with wonders instead of wonder. Even though we made all our own arrangements he ensured that everything went smoothly.

If you can afford it I highly recommend that you stay at the Sanctuary Lodge at the MP site. It was worth the extra money to have access to the site after most people had left for the day and early morning access without the hassle of the bus first thing.

If i can provide any further details on our itinerary please email me at klbarr@shaw dot ca. The trip to MP was the highlight of our 22 day cruise.

We just got back from our cruise that included a trip to Machu Picchu that we did independently. I have the perfect guide out of Cuzco. We made all our own arrangements as far as hotels etc online and then booked Jimmy as our tour guide which included a driver and vehicle. However I know that he can help you with the entire process. I can't say enough about how fantastic he was. His name is Jimmy Vasquez Calderon. His website is www.peruincawonder.com, his email is info@peruincawonder dot com. BE careful not to add an 's' on wonder as there is another tour company in Lima with the same name except with wonders instead of wonder. Even though we made all our own arrangements he ensured that everything went smoothly.

 

If you can afford it I highly recommend that you stay at the Sanctuary Lodge at the MP site. It was worth the extra money to have access to the site after most people had left for the day and early morning access without the hassle of the bus first thing.

 

If i can provide any further details on our itinerary please email me at klbarr@shaw dot ca. The trip to MP was the highlight of our 22 day cruise.

Their website doesn't include prices. That usually runs me away. What would a one week tour cost?

Their website doesn't include prices. That usually runs me away. What would a one week tour cost?

He customizes the tour to your needs so that is probably why there are no prices. We found him very reasonable. There were 6 of us and we paid $225 plus tips per couple for 3 days for his time, along with a driver and vehicle as required. We paid all our own entrance fees, hotels etc. We found him after we had made most of our own arrangements so we didn't talk to him about anything but being a guide for us. He is a very experienced guide and is really easy to work with so you might find it worth your time to contact him, tell him what you want and he will come back with pricing.

We paid him at the end of each day so for us there was no up front deposit.

Another couple on our cruise hired Abercrombie and Kent for a 3 day tour with the same timing as us. Not sure how much it was but they were very happy with them and she mentioned that even though it was 1 day longer it was less expensive for the 2 of them than for 1 person for the one offered by the cruise ship. Theirs also included staying at the Sanctuary Lodge for 1 night.

If there is anything else i can help you with please let me know.

We will be sailing from San Francisco to Santiago in Dec. 2012 on Celebrity and would like to book our own land tour to Machu Pichu. Has anyone ever done this and if so is there a reputalbe company you could recommend? We usually just take the ship's tours but this one seemed a bit steep. Any guidance would be appreciated.

Are you trying to do this during the time you are on the ship or a separate trip AFTER the cruise ends in Santiago?

If trying to do this during your cruise, please post the dates and itinerary. It IS doable at a cheaper price BUT you will have to fly from Ecuador or maybe even Panama to make it work. The ship tours are all charter aircraft-example: leave the ship in Lima, fly to Cusco, go to MP, THEN fly to Arica Chile or someplace like that.

There are NO commercial connections to get back on the ship in Arica. You MUST fly through Santiago to get to Arica which means you can't get from Cusco to Lima (where 99% of the Cusco flights originate) then to Arica without flying through Santiago and back North to Arica.

But you can fly from Ecuador to Lima, fly to Cusco, then return to Lima and reboard the ship.

If you mean a tour either during or after your cruise, please think this through when you book your return ticket home. IF you book with either LAN or a OneWorld Airline (AA in your case to the USA), you are eligible for either the LAN South America Pass or the OneWorld Pass. Saves about 50% of airfare. You MUST fly 3 segments on LAN intra South America for the pass to be valid. Another example-for a trip AFTER the cruise, you would purchase your pass for Santiago to Lima to Cusco to Lima. That is your three segments. Then return home from Lima. Here is info on the LAN Pass. http://www.lan.com/en_ca/sitio_personas/southamericanairpass/index.html

You REALLY don't need a guide to do MP. You can book all hotels in Cusco yourself. Your hotel will have a car service available to get you around. ALL decent hotels offer tours/guides to MP if you need such a service. But as many times as I have been there (probably at least 12-I have lost count), the most fun I have had was just take a very good guidebook and wander around. You have time to stop and smell the roses and enjoy what you want to enjoy instead of listening to a guide drone on and on about stuff you are not interested in.

Please let me know what you have in mind. I recently helped someone plan a trip off the ship (Northbound repo). They are leaving the ship in Lima, going to Cusco for 3 days, then flying to Guayaquil Ecuador to meet back up with the ship. Three days in the Sacred Valley/Cusco, then fly back to Lima and on to Guayquil. They had plenty of time to enjoy the trip-not like those short very expensive ship trips.

Hi 1982CruzStart! You beat me to it. Jimmy Vasquez Calderon is the best, and indeed was the highlight of our 22 night cruise.

I hope to find time to write a review of the cruise, and will certainly list his contact information.

To the Op.

Contact Jimmy

info@peruincawonder dot com

You won't be disappointed. He is fantastic! Btw, I found him by accident, and a very good accident it was. Had a great time with 1982CruzStart and friends. Stay at the Sanctuary Lodge.

Regarding costs, the biggest variable will be the flights which is why it is hard to give you a number. We did LIM/CUZ/LIM and then met up with the ship in Ecuador. We paid about $346.00 pp for all 3 flights after getting the tip from Greatmm on the South America Pass (Thanks Greatam!) which did require us to fly internationally on LAN for the best pricing. We know someone else (not in our group) who paid in the $800.00 range for the same flights, so that will be the biggest variable when figuring out total costs.

My DH and I paid $1,500.00 each (not including tips to guide and drivers) to put this "1st class" tour together independently for 4 days/3 nights and that included international air from Peru to Ecuador, trains (Visadome), 1st class hotels including one night at the Sanctuary Lodge (price includes B, L, D and all drinks), two entrance tickets to MP including extra hike, ticket for Sacred Valley entrances (approx $48.00 USD) and lunch at the Wayra Resturant in Sacred Valley with Paso demo (About $50.00, it was our favorite meal on this trip). This included private driver and guide including MP hikes. It also included a private van to take us to the Lima airport in the morning and another private driver in Ecuador to pick us up at the airport and take us on a short tour and back to the port (we arranged with the other two tour operators). Jimmy's driver took us from our Sacred Valley hotel to the train station, and from the train station to our hotel in Cusco on the return.

Note that HAL charged $4,300.00pp for 2 days/2 nights and that did not even include the Sanctuary Lodge.

I liked Jimmy so much when I first contacted him that I never bothered to get any information from anyone else! I still have not even looked at his website.

Their website doesn't include prices. That usually runs me away. What would a one week tour cost?

Contact Jimmy. He will treat you well. He is not interested in overpricing anyone, but wants to welcome you to his country.

Another couple on our cruise hired Abercrombie and Kent for a 3 day tour with the same timing as us. Not sure how much it was but they were very happy with them and she mentioned that even though it was 1 day longer it was less expensive for the 2 of them than for 1 person for the one offered by the cruise ship. Theirs also included staying at the Sanctuary Lodge for 1 night.

 

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They told me they paid something like $2,200 or $2,300.00 per person not including air (which cost them $800.00 plus per person). They were happy with the price and thrilled with the service as it was half of what HAL was charging, but for 3 nights instead of two and with the Sanctuary Lodge. They also had entrance tickets to MP for two days but did not go back the second day. We saw them on the train with their guide going to MP. With A&K they travel with you all the way and even met them for the LIM airport transfer. So, this is a good option for someone who wants to be hand held the entire way and guaranteed good guides.

 

Please let me know what you have in mind. I recently helped someone plan a trip off the ship (Northbound repo). They are leaving the ship in Lima, going to Cusco for 3 days, then flying to Guayaquil Ecuador to meet back up with the ship. Three days in the Sacred Valley/Cusco, then fly back to Lima and on to Guayquil. They had plenty of time to enjoy the trip-not like those short very expensive ship trips.

Hi, and that would be us and we ended up a group of six, and had a great time. Btw, we paid under $50.00 pp per day for guiding services (group of 6 with van and driver) for the 3 days in Sacred Valley and MP and that included driver and guide and transfer to/from the train station. Thanks again Greatam! It was fantastic! We just got back from the ship early last week as she repositioned back to NYC.

We are planning a trip to MP before our cruise out of Lima this Jan. I will definitely contact Jimmy in order to plan our stay in Peru. We are cruising on Oceania, I think which leaves Jan 23. Do you think I can book my own flt from lima to cusco and then hook up with Jimmy or does he do Lima as well thanks

We are planning a trip to MP before our cruise out of Lima this Jan. I will definitely contact Jimmy in order to plan our stay in Peru. We are cruising on Oceania, I think which leaves Jan 23. Do you think I can book my own flt from lima to cusco and then hook up with Jimmy or does he do Lima as well thanks

Book your tours through LAN.

Are you flying international on LAN or a partner? If so, you can use a South American pass for significant savings but you need to book three legs.

Book your tours through LAN.

I meant to say to book your flights through LAN.

We just got back from our cruise that included a trip to Machu Picchu that we did independently. I have the perfect guide out of Cuzco. We made all our own arrangements as far as hotels etc online and then booked Jimmy as our tour guide which included a driver and vehicle. However I know that he can help you with the entire process. I can't say enough about how fantastic he was. His name is Jimmy Vasquez Calderon. His website is www.peruincawonder.com, his email is info@peruincawonder dot com. BE careful not to add an 's' on wonder as there is another tour company in Lima with the same name except with wonders instead of wonder. Even though we made all our own arrangements he ensured that everything went smoothly.

 

If you can afford it I highly recommend that you stay at the Sanctuary Lodge at the MP site. It was worth the extra money to have access to the site after most people had left for the day and early morning access without the hassle of the bus first thing.

 

If i can provide any further details on our itinerary please email me at klbarr@shaw dot ca. The trip to MP was the highlight of our 22 day cruise.

We are booked on a Seabourn tour departing Fort Lauderdale in November 2012 and were planning to take a Macchu Picchu excursion. However, Seabourn does not yet have the excursion price details available although we understand that the cost is quite high. We were wondering with which cruise line did you sail and whether that line also offered the Macchu Picchu excursion and, if so, at what cost please?

We are booked on a Seabourn tour departing Fort Lauderdale in November 2012 and were planning to take a Macchu Picchu excursion. However, Seabourn does not yet have the excursion price details available although we understand that the cost is quite high. We were wondering with which cruise line did you sail and whether that line also offered the Macchu Picchu excursion and, if so, at what cost please?

We were on Holland America. Their tours were very expensive. All the options were for 3 days, 2 nights and my understanding is that neither night on any option was a stay at the Sanctuary Lodge up at MP.

Luckily I still have the downloaded shore excursion brochure on my computer. Standard double $3200 pp, Superior double $4300 pp, Superior single $4900 and standard single $3500.

We spent roughly $4000 for the 2 of us for 3 nights and 4 days including 1 night stay at the Sanctuary Lodge. We could have saved money by pre-planning our flights, taking advantage of LAN's South American pass and by not staying at the Sanctuary Lodge. I must say that we all thought it was worth the money to stay there so we wouldn't have changed that to save money. To us it was a once in a lifetime trip and have no problem with what it cost us.

Good luck with your plans. If you want to see the brochure please email me at klbarr@shaw dot ca.

Dear Cruzstart, thanks very much for that advice. We shall make some alternative enquiries so that when Seabourn publish their prices, we can make a decision.