Even for off-the-beaten-path travelers, the thought of seeing the famous Machu Picchu is tantalizing. As I always say though, there is more to a destination than its sights, so I’m going to tell you about the diverse experiences that collectively made the journey to Machu Picchu unique in my Peru Travel Guide.
Just a few highlights that come to mind include: the friendly locals, insanely lush vistas, delicious Peruvian cuisine, grimly fascinating history lessons, and the ever-so-adorable llamas and alpacas happily grazing throughout the countryside. Machu Picchu may have been the main attraction, but all the cultural delights I experienced along the way are what made the trip remarkable.
WATCH MY VIDEO (AND CONTINUE READING BELOW)
PERU TRAVEL GUIDE OUTLINE
My Peru Travel Guide will be split up into a total of 6 blog posts and videos, covering all the cities I recently visited.
Part 1: Introduction with Itinerary Highlights
Right now, you’re reading Part 1 of my Peru Travel Guide, which summarizes what I’ll be covering in the next several blog posts and videos. This is where to find my itinerary, the cost of my trip, and highlights from my overall journey.
Part 2: Essential Tips to Know Before you Go
I have a ton of tips to share to help your journey in Peru go as smoothly as possible. For example: how to cure altitude sickness! You don’t want to let dizziness or vomit prevent you from enjoying your trip, so check out my advice on preventing and curing altitude sickness, in addition to other essential tips.
Read & Watch Part 2 here: Peru Travel Guide: Part 2 – Top 12 Essential Tips (With Video)
Part 3: Cusco City
This is where we started our adventure after catching a flight from Lima to Cusco. Once the capital of the Inca Empire, Cusco City is where you’ll see a mix of archaeological remains and Spanish colonial architecture.
Read & Watch Part 3 here: Peru Travel Guide: Part 3 – Exploring Cusco City on Foot (With Video)
Part 4: Sacred Valley
Not only did we love staying in the Sacred Valley–we cherished the drive there too. I’ll list out all the places we stopped at along the way, show you the sites we explored the following day, and review the lush Airbnb property we booked–yet didn’t want to leave!
Read & Watch Part 4 here: Peru Travel Guide: Part 4 – Sacred Valley and the BEST Airbnb EVER (With Video)
Part 5: Machu Picchu
Some places simply can’t be put into words. So I’ll just have to do my best and show you through my videos and photos!
Read & Watch Part 5 here: Peru Travel Guide: Part 5 – Machu Picchu (With Video)
Part 6: Lima
Don’t make the mistake of ignoring Lima! Carve out time in your schedule to include at least a full day of exploring this city–especially if you’re a foodie.
Read & Watch Part 6 here: Peru Travel Guide: Part 6 – Lima (With Video)
ITINERARY AT A GLANCE
DAY 1: Arrived in Lima and checked into a hotel near the airport
DAY 2: Flight from Lima to Cusco City first thing in the morning
DAY 3: Full day of exploring Cusco City
DAYy 4: Checked out of hotel and drove to the Sacred Valley, stopping to explore several places along the way
DAY 5: Full day of exploring the Sacred Valley
DAY 6: Train ride to Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu
DAY 7: Flight from Cusco City to Lima
DAY 8: Full day of exploring Miraflores district in Lima
DAY 9: Adios Peru
COST OF TRIP
For flights, hotels, attractions, and accommodations, I spent a total of $860 (this number doesn’t include food, taxis, trains, souvenirs, etc.). All accommodations, with the exception of where I stayed in Cusco City, were split between my two friends and me. We used the Travefy app to keep track of our itinerary and major costs.
PERU TRAVEL GUIDE: CONTINUE TO PART 2!
Continue on to the next post in this series: Peru Travel Guide: Part 2 – Top 12 Essential Tips (With Video)
This covers all the essential planning and survival tips you’ll need to know BEFORE traveling to Peru!
For the full rundown on where my two friends and I stayed, what we did, and how we traveled from one place to the other during our journey to Machu Picchu, subscribe to the newsletter and follow me on social media so you don’t miss when the rest of the guide gets posted!
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Are you planning a trip to Peru? Let me know in the comments below!
We are hoping to travel to Peru this fall so your guide is very helpful. I love your videos!
Thank you @our@ourfamilytravel:disqus ! I hope it helps. I have so many tips – the #1 thing is to make sure there are tickets available to see Machu Picchu before you buy your ticket (if you plan on going there). You can’t see it without a ticket and depending on the time of year you go, they could be sold out!
What a lovely and useful post. Machu Pichu, is the stuff that dreams are made of and we hope to travel there some day. BTW, lovely video!
I hope you go there one day too! Thanks for watching the video 🙂
Definitely a dream trip for me that I hope to experience before the big 5-0! Thanks for the helpful hints, looks much easier working from this guideline.
Peru would be a great place to bring in the big 5-0 too!
You had me at the cost! I can’t believe that! What a deal! Loved the video! Colorful and vibrant! Can’t wait to keep up with your journey! Peru is definitely on my bucket list!
Yeah, it’s totally possible! I got a really good flight deal and since I split my accommodations with two of my friends, I saved so much money!
Machu Pichu is definitely very high on our list! WIll be returning back to this post and itinerary when we start planning our trip to Peru 🙂
I hope it helps! 🙂 Thanks for reading
What a great way to find what you need for planning. It’s great to use somebody else’s itinerary to make your own plan.
Exactly! I find looking at other people’s itineraries to be so helpful. 🙂
Peru is really high on my must-see list, so this is perfect for me. I love all your photos. The whole experience looks sacred and beautiful. Your travel tips video is super awesome too!
Thank you! I saw a lot of people visiting on spiritual retreats, so yeah it’s a very sacred place to visit.
Aaah….this is on top of my bucket list and every post that I read on it gets me so tempted to head there now. Saving up for it.
You must go! 🙂
OMG! Mesmerizing pictures… I have to take my husband here soon because he keeps talking of Machu Pichu all the time 🙂
Lol! You two will love it.
I LOVE your videos! They’re so well done. And also love your guides, perfect for when I eventually make it to Peru!
Thank you for watching my videos Taylor! I’m glad you find the guides useful.
We are going to Peru in September for three weeks! Up until now I felt like I’ve researched seemingly everything that exists on the internet about Peru, but I found your blog/videos and have learned some new things for sure! Super helpful tips and guides. You’re awesome, thanks a ton 🙂
I am so glad my blogs and video guides have helped you! I know the feeling – it took soooo much research to make this trip happen. That’s so exciting though! Your trip is next month!!
Great videos and article! I couldn’t believe you had seen so many beautiful things in only 9 days.
Same here! I work full-time so I always have to plan my trips wisely so that I experience as much as I can in a short amount of time.
Wow..that’s a pretty comprehensive guide! Kudos to you!
Thank you! Hope it helps people. Peru takes a lot of planning lol.
That is a very well made video. And very helpful too… Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much for watching!
It is so cool that you have taken the time to pull together a really comprehensive guide. I will definitely be checking out the other parts.
Thank you! It took so much time planning this trip, so I figured I’d put something together to help others out.
Useful itinerary for first-timers to Peru! I visited all of the places on the list back in 2003 with my famil, but I definitely have to go back now that I am older.
Yes you should! I want to go back and see more.
I have always wanted to go to Peru. In fact it’s on the top of my bucket list. Especially Sacred Valley and Macchu Picchu.
I like that you also mentioned the price – an estimate is always great.
Thank you 🙂 I hope you make it out there soon and that my itinerary helps you out
I have explored Peru for 3 weeks a few years ago and loved it so much that at the end of this year I will be going back, to explore it for more, then head south to Bolivia and Chile. I am so looking forward to it. I actually have a similar photo like you, me and a llama, at Machu Picchu 🙂
The llamas were just so adorable! Omg I am dying to go to Bolivia….
I’ve never explored that region, but it’s good to know that if you go with a friend you can do it on a (relative) budget! Great guide!
Yep! Splitting the hotel rooms really helped us save on accommodations!
Did you try any alpaca while you were in Cusco?
I’m vegetarian, so I did not try any alpaca meat. My friends had some though and they really liked it.
I loved reading and especially watching your Peru series!! Niko and I love your videos and it’s super interesting to see and learn more about it!! The itinerary you provided is very useful and I think for people who have a limited time to go on a holiday to Peru, this is the one they should follow to get the most out of this gorgeous country! I’m already looking forward to your Canada series 🙂
Thank you so much! I’m happy you have enjoyed the series. I hope this guide helps people like me who have limited vacation time. When I go on vacation I have to carefully plan each day so that I experience as much as I can in a short amount of time.