My husband and I had an incredible journey from deep in the jungle in Manu National Park to the breathtaking Machu Picchu. We explored the amazing city and countryside cultures of Cusco and the many varieties of birds and other wildlife that live in the Amazon jungles. Beautiful views seen through the many variations of transportation and campsites. We had a truly magical trip.
Plaza de Armas in Cusco (Erin Correia)This morning we got up and enjoyed the hotel breakfast (which was great!) before heading back to the airport to check in for our flight to Cusco. The area where we had to wait was the waiting area for about 10 different flights, all heading to Cusco. It was crowded and confusing, but we eventually figured it out. As we were waiting, some Peruvian guys came in and sat down a row away from us. They pulled out instruments (a guitar, a pan flute...) and started to play music and sing. They were practically sitting on top of some American girls who looked like they didn't know what to do with themselves. It really looked like something from a hidden camera show and that these girls were being pranked. Functioning on very little sleep, it was hard to process what was going on without laughing.
Eventually, we recognized our flight number being called and boarded a bus that took us to our plane. The plane was really nice (MUCH nicer than our international flight) and they served us another cold breakfast during the flight. When we arrived in Cusco, we were met by our driver and taken to our hotel - Hotel Taypikala - where we were checked in and helped to our room on the third floor. With no elevator, we were able to feel the altitude on our way up the stairs, and Kepler was grateful for the free coca tea in the lobby.
The hotel was nice and the staff was very friendly. We wanted to set right out to explore the area, but sat down the bed and ended up passing out for a few hours instead. We were glad we did when we woke up an hour into our nap to a big rain/hail storm. We felt a lot less guilty just staying inside and resting!
When the weather cleared, we got directions from the front desk and set out on our own to explore. We walked to the Plaza de Armas and took a ton of photos of the beautiful buildings along the way. We ran into a little parade, saw beautiful churches, did some people watching , went to an ATM, bought water and snacks and then returned to the hotel just in time to meet the guides from Manu who came to the hotel to brief us on our amazon trip. They described the next 6 days to us so we would know what to expect and how to prepare. Afterwards, we went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner. I had alpaca and Kepler had a local typical beef dish. Mine was pretty dry, but Kepler's was delicious! We went back to our room and packed our bags for Manu before settling into bed nice and early.
Cruse ship was great. Fantastic food and service. Cruise itinary got changed so not what we expected, but not an major issue. Japan portion was great. Drivers/guides arranged by 80 Days were great. Hotels were mostly ok. Did not know that most hotels outside of major cities do not allow shoes to be worn in the hotel. again a minor inconvenience. Overall a great trip. Adventure Life communications were timely and much appreciated as far as changes/requests.
Peter Goff
2 days ago
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
1 week ago
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.
Nicola Maxwell
1 week ago
Mary Curry and Elma are always so responsive and nice to deal with.