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Archive for November, 2011

Visiting Machu Picchu during a Peru vacation is the highlight of many people’s trip to South America. But if you’re flying all the way to South America for a vacation, you should be sure to see as many places as possible. Luckily, Peru is perfectly situated for combination vacations, meaning you can visit more than one main destination in one vacation. Here are 3 great ideas for extending your Machu Picchu vacation.

Amazon and Machu Picchu tours. The Amazon Rainforest is a deep, dark, and mysterious place that most people only dream about visiting. But a tour of the Amazon isn’t really that difficult, especially if you choose to visit the southern portion of Peru’s Amazon. The jungle town of Puerto Maldonado is about an hour flight from Cuzco, which is the launching point for most trips to the mountain to ruins. If you want to combine a Machu Picchu and Amazon tour into one trip, the best thing to do is to first visit the rainforest. Three or four nights in the jungle will allow you ample opportunity to see the diversity of flora and fauna the Amazon has to offer. You’ll then fly to Cuzco where you can fit in a Cuzco tour, Sacred Valley excursion, and Machu Picchu tour before returning to Lima, making the entire trip last less than 10 days.

Machu Picchu and Galapagos tours. This pricy but one-in-a-lifetime vacation package takes you to two of the most sought after vacation destinations in all of South America: Machu Picchu in Peru and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. You’ll fly into Quito or Guayaquil in Ecuador and the next day fly out to the Galapagos Islands to start your Galapagos cruise. To make this entire trip last only 11 days, you can take a 4 day cruise, or extend the vacation by making it 5 days. A cruise is the best way to see the Galapagos Islands because you can cruise in luxury at night and visit different islands with different wildlife during the day. You’ll then fly to Peru and onto Cuzco. If you’re keeping your vacation to a week and half, you will still have time to tour Cuzco and the Sacred Valley before finally getting to visit the Incan citadel. This vacation combination allows you to see many varied environments and ecosystems, and is perhaps the best South America vacation combination possible.

Ultimate Peru tour. If you’re already coming to Peru to see its most famous ruin site, why not see the rest of the country as well? A tour that takes you to the highlights of Peru usually includes visits to Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake in the world), Arequipa (a beautiful colonial city), the Colca Canyon (one of the deepest canyons in the world), and of course the highlights around Machu Picchu: the Sacred Valley and Cuzco. This trip can be done in 12 days. If you want to add on the Amazon, you will need at least 17 days to see it all.