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Peru Trip '23
Let’s go on an authentic adventure to Peru together! This is not your average cookie-cutter group tour! Ditch the big tour bus and Instagram hotspots and let’s go on a REAL adventure! From the city to the jungle to the mountains and Machu Picchu, we’ll explore Peru through the lens of a local.
Travel education included! Throughout the trip, your trip leader will also be teaching essential travel skills to those of you that hope to backpack the world on your own some day! From water purification techniques to saving money and using public transportation, you’ll be ready to travel the world responsibly on a low-budget! From photography skills to fun Spanish mini-lessons, you’ll be ready to seek out authenticity and capture and seize the moment!
Read on for more info or fill out the form if you are ready or have any other questions!
Trip Profile
Duration
10 Days
price w/ flights
$3000 (estimate)
difficulty
medium
Max Altitude
11,200 ft
group size
6-10
Arrival
LIMA
Departure
cusco
accomodation
homestays
meals
B+d included
season
jun-aug
Interested?
Use the form below to get in touch and be added to the trip email list!
Interested?
Use the form below to get in touch and be added to the trip email list!
Trip Highlights
- Homestay in the jungle with a local family that has a private waterfall in their backyard.
- Explore the Maras Salt Mines and surrounding small towns in the Sacred Valley.
- Machu Picchu. Enough said!
- Participate in local celebrations in Cusco and explore the many artisan markets.
- Try out different local staples in the food markets of Lima.
- Free time to explore and let the authenticity come to you!
Overview
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What's Included
- All Flights included if flying from CVG! If not, mention so in the contact form and we will give you a custom price!
- Accommodations
- Basic Travel Insurance
- All breakfasts and dinners included. Lunches, alcoholic drinks, snacks and street foods are on you and can be very cheap if you want, or upscale if you want!
- All entrance fees including Machu Picchu
Tentative Itinerary
- Travel day
- Check in to local home in Lima and get a late dinner
- Meet up with a local friend for breakfast at the market
- Head downtown to walk around and explore El Malecón
- Lunch, sites and street art in Barranco
- Transport to the park of the magical fountains for dinner and a laser show
- Stroll the historical district checking out the architecture, sampling street food and an optional local drink
- Visit the home of our local friend and try out some of grandma’s delicious cooking!
- Flight to Cusco
- Late afternoon spent slowly wandering the streets of Cusco and getting used to the altitude.
- We’ll go on a tour of the main sites of Cusco, learning some history and sampling some local foods.
- Lunch today will be a fun challenge of ordering at a local market with many delicious and cheap options to choose from!
- Optional shopping at the artesan markets.
- Night spent exploring town, experiencing local festivals and sampling street food
- Meet our driver Elvis, who will take us into the mountains of the Sacred Valley!
- Explore the Maras Salt Mines
- Lunch in Urubamba
- Check in to our peaceful homestay on the river
- Optional Afternoon Hike or option to relax at the homestay
- Dinner and optional drinks at the Sacred Valley brewery
- Drive through the mountains and into the jungle
- Meet our jungle hosts at the market to load up on local foods
- Begin hiking into the jungle until we reach our off the grid paradise!
- Spend the rest of the day relaxing, swimming in our waterfall and learning about our host’s natural way of life.
- Full day relaxing, eating natural foods cooked up by our hosts, hiking and waterfall swimming!
- You can do as much or as little as you want here!
- After a delicious breakfast, we’ll say goodbye to our hosts, hike out of the jungle and drive to the end of the road to Machu Picchu.
- We’ll hike a couple more hours along the Urubamba river, following the path of the railroad tracks into Aguas Calientes, the hub for visiting Machu Picchu!
- We’ll stock up on snacks for tomorrow and have a big early dinner before early bed time!
- This is it! You can choose to hike up the Incan Steps or take a bus to the top of the mountain to the gates of Machu Picchu.
- At the top, we’ll meet up with a local guide who will teach us all about the sacred city in the sky!
- As the sun rises and the clouds dissipate, this wonder of the world will reveal itself.
- You can choose to stick with our guide throughout his tour, learning about this marvel, or just relax at a viewpoint and take it all in.
- At the end of the day, we’ll hike back down the mountain and back along the river where Elvis will be waiting to drive us back to Cusco.
- We will be exhausted and most likely sleep for the whole drive.
- Depending on flight schedules, we’ll either make a quick connection in Lima and then fly home from there, or we’ll spend the night close to the airport and fly out the next morning.
Essential Information
Packlist
Vaccinations
Accommodation
Transportation
Meals
Travel insurance
Extra Gear
Packlist
- Clothes
- 3-4 t-shirts
- 1-2 pair pants- hiking pants are great if you have them! Leggings or yoga pants a good option too.
- 1 swimsuit- in case you want to take a dip in any jungle waterfalls!
- 1 pair athletic or hiking shorts- it’ll be warm hiking in the jungle!
- 3 pair hiking socks
- Hiking or running shoes/boots- this is personal preference, just be ready to wear them A LOT over lots of miles! Make sure they are durable and worn in, you do not want blisters!
- Light casual shoes- up to you if you want to carry an extra pair of shoes or just wear your hiking shoes the whole time.
- Warm hat and light gloves- it gets cold at night and early in the mornings. Option to buy these things in Lima if you want to stock up on some alpaca gear!
- 1 light or medium-weight sweater or long sleeve shirt- a base layer or under armor is a good alternative.
- Lightweight jacket- light down is great, amazon brand has a cheap option (men, women).
- Rain jacket
- Souvenir alert! Some of the best souvenirs to get in Peru are alpaca wool clothing! Sweaters, scarves, hats and gloves- we will go to a market to check out our options, so consider leaving some room or planning to buy those clothing items in Peru!
- Hat and/or sunglasses- if you don’t like the sun in your eyes.
- Gear
- Water bottles or hydration pack/reservoir- minimalists may choose just to buy and reuse water bottles in Peru, but you should be able to carry at MINIMUM 2 liters, I carry 3, sometimes 4!
- Camera- our phones have great cameras too and I will take lots of photos with my professional camera, so no need to buy a camera if you don’t have one!
- Chargers- whatever tech you bring, keep it alive or else it’s dead weight!
- Carry-on size backpack- there are great options below. This is definitely a good investment, but there’s an ultra-budget option down there too!
- Water bottles or water reservoir- be able to carry a minimum of 2 liters of water.
- Daypack- any lightweight backpack that you can fit your camera, water and some extra clothes in will do. Suggestions below.
- Eating utensil- a simple camping spork is always great to have!
- Toiletries
- Whatever you need! Remember it must be TSA-approved sizes, keep it compact!
- Towel- travel towel highly recommended. Suggestion below.
- Insect repellent- this link is the best I’ve used!
- Extras
- Snacks! We have long flights and layovers, plus lots of hiking time, so energy-dense snacks like granola bars and trail mix are a great idea!
- Any extras you’re thinking about bringing, just remember that you will not regret packing light! Leave some space for souvenirs too!
Vaccinations
Please visit https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/peru
NST recommends Passport Health for travel vaccines.
Accommodation
We will be staying at various homestays throughout the trip. Some will be booked through AirBnB, others are provided from personal relationships that NST has built with local people! You are not promised your own private room. We will quickly become one big family and you will love it!
Transportation
We will be flying, taking public buses, taxis and a private ‘sprinter-style’ van at different points throughout the trip.
Meals
We’ll be eating local food while we are in Peru! If you are a vegetarian, gluten-free or any other dietary restriction, we can most likely accommodate you! Just make sure to let us know ahead of time!
Travel insurance
Small group travel insurance is included in your trip price. There is no extra cost to you. Exact details vary from trip to trip and you should contact your trip leader to learn more!
Extra Gear
Pro travel gear to consider:
(disclaimer: these are affiliate links. They do not cost you more, but No Strings Travel may receive a tiny portion of the sale from Amazon. Regardless, we swear by these items and regularly travel with them!)
- Steripen– Wanna know a major hidden cost in travel? Water. All those cheap water bottles that you buy really add up for your wallet and the environment! It does not take long for this nifty UV water filter to pay for itself, and it will do so over and over and over again!
- Travel/camping Pillow: An inflatable pillow that packs down to pocket-size.
- Travel towel– probably the biggest space saver on this list! Definitely a great investment.
- Carry-on bag- We may not always be checking bags on the trip, only a carry-on is always included. You’ll find that this is a much better way to travel anyways! Here are some nice pack options:
- Osprey farpoint (men) and fairview (women)– Review video here.
- Not looking to spend a ton of money on a travel backpack? It is a worthwhile investment if you are hoping to travel more in the future, but you may find a good cheap Amazon option by searching for ‘carry-on size travel backpacks.’
- Daypack (my go-to or the cheaper Amazon brand)- to carry the day’s essentials.
- Nalgenes water bottles: You’re going to need to be able to carry a minimum of two liters of water for our longer hiking days. These are great because they are lightweight and have a wide mouth for water filters.
- Buff– great and versatile! Keeps you warm. I also use mine as an eye-mask to help me sleep on flights and long drives!
- Merino socks- merino wool! Experience it’s smell-resistant magic!
- Merino shirts (men and women)- Not necessary and may seem silly to spend so much on a t-shirt, but they are great at resisting odor and easy to hand wash and dry! One of these plus an athletic-material shirt is all you need for the whole trip!
- Merino base layers– Really looking to treat yourself? Woolpower is ridiculously nice! This stuff keeps you warm in the cold and cool in the heat. What can I say? Magic!
- Packing cubes– lots of great options on Amazon.
- Travel lock– great for keeping gear safe and secure!
Reviews
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★★★★★ 5/5
★★★★★ 5/5
Interested?
Use the form below to get in touch and be added to the trip email list!
Interested?
Use the form below to get in touch and be added to the trip email list!