#hucachina

[brando8888]

Ain’t no board in the whole world I can’t tail grab on. 🏂🌵 . . . #sandboarding #peru #hucachina #tailgrab #ica #sandboard #traveler #sandsnow #gopro #travel #boardsports #backpacking #southamerica #desert #goproeverything #traveling #goprophotography #sandeverywhere #winter #travelphotography #sand (at Huacachina, Ica, Peru) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Y3Itjl7_N/?igshid=2iemba2ecvrm

[funfoodtravelling]

Ica + Paracas 🇵🇪 Finally, we arrived at the coast😎 so we were hoping for nice beaches and some relax time 🏖😉 FUN: Let's just say that the only clean beach was in the National reserve which was totally full of people, we were just dreaming of Sardinian beaches in September 😁😎 . FOOD: Yes, finally fish 🐟 and seafood🐙 and we were totally ready for it! Ceviche bring it on baby😋 And don't forget Pisco🍸 which is produced in this area as well. . TRAVELLING: There were good parts, and bad parts. We saw many beautiful places like Playa Roja, Playa de la Mina in Paracas National Reserve and also some places which were a bit disappointment like Huacachina 😤 . We continue on the coast🇵🇪 , enjoying some hot weather 😎😎 #funfoodtravelling #perú #perutravel #hucachina #paracas #playaroja #viaggiareinsieme #travelcouple #Wanderlust #wanderlustcouples #travelmore #travelsouthamerica #goodvibes #goodfood #ceviche #ceviches #travelblogger #backpackersperu #backpackerlife #budgettravel #travellingthroughtheworld #travel (presso Huacachina, Ica, Peru) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8px7CiAD2M/?igshid=1wf3vtqiescs9

[buckeye306]

Hucachina, PERU

[livinnng]

I love the pictures with sthongest colors 😻 #photographer #ph #photoshop #photoshoot #photography #photographylover #photographerlife #photooftheday #photographylife #photographyislife #photographysouls #photographylovers #photoadaychallenge #photographyeveryday #influencer #youtuber #itslit #af #youtube #hucachina #tubulares #sandboard #ica #paracas #living #life #livelife #lifestyle #influencerstyle (en Huacachina, Ica, Peru)

[susannaprouse]

Twenty Five - Lima & Huacachina

Another lie in and hostel breakfast before we went out to get some more money out and the obligatory bus snacks ready for our 4.5 hour bus to Huacachina. The pastelerias are even better in Peru than they were in Ecuador, or at least the one around the corner from our hostel is.

Peruvians crowd round the displays of fresh bread, biscuits and cakes piled high while we try to decipher what everything is. We chose a couple of pastries and traditional biscuits.

We spent the rest of the morning before our bus trip relaxing in the hostel, making the most of the garden and hammocks. While we were waiting Mike decided to eat his pastry but as I'd had a craving for the key lime pie that is everywhere here I decided to go back to the bakery to buy a slice. Mike also asked me to buy him a cookie so we were both happy.

We caught a taxi to the bus terminal and got onto our bus. It was the cheapest of the fanciest buses at £11 for the 4.5 hour journey. The seats were huge and comfy, each head rest had a screen like a plane and we got a sandwich and drink! Much better than the megabus!

The journey went quickly, passing along the coast and desert and we were soon in Ica, the busy and dirty town closest to Huacachina. We swiftly got into another taxi to get to our desert destination. It was strange arriving in the dark and seeing the looming shadows of sand dunes but not sand dunes themselves. Hucachina was really busy because of the Independance Celebrations so it took a while to drive through the town packed full with taxis and tuk tuks.

After finding our dorm room and finding out the dune buggy morning tour was fully booked at our hostel we immediately went out to sort that. We wandered around the lake, again seeing it's presence in the occasional ripple but not seeing it fully, looking for other tour companies. We found a hostel we nearly stayed at and managed to book a tour with them instead. Finally it was dinner time, we walked to a restaurant with a evening meal deal consisting of pesto pasta, passionfruit juice (I'm now completely addicted to passionfruit) and brownie and ice cream. All for the bargain price of £4.25! Huacachina isn't known for its food so we were pleasantly surprised at how good it was! You can't go wrong with a big plate of pasta. Plus another ice cream day, winner.

[traveldotearth]

Just Pinned to Peru: Peru 2-Week Itinerary - The Best Things To Do in Peru - Cusco, Rainbow Mountain, Humantay Lake, Sacred Valley, Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Maras, Moray, Machu Picchu, Lima, Hucachina Desert Oasis and more! https://ift.tt/2ZDXJ1d

[mysocialmate-blog]

Here’s some travel tips if you’ve got Huacachina on your to do list!⁣⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀ 1 - Huacachina is a popular stop on the backpacker trail in Peru and the accommodation in the Oasis is known to be mostly party hostels. If you’re looking for a good night’s sleep, you should book a stay in the neighboring city of Ica, which is only a 10m taxi ride away! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀ 2 - The oasis isn’t paradisiac at all and is actually not natural anymore either. They continuously fill it up with water to preserve the landscape for tourists. It’s also… Here’s some travel tips if you’ve got Huacachina on your to do list!⁣⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀ 1 - Huacachina is a popular stop on the backpacker trail in Peru and the accommodation in the Oasis is known to be mostly party hostels. If you’re looking for a good night’s sleep, you should book a stay in the neighboring city of Ica, which is only a 10m taxi ride away! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀ 2 - The oasis isn’t paradisiac at all and is actually not natural anymore either. They continuously fill it up with water to preserve the landscape for tourists. It’s also quite dirty so we’d encourage you to be particularly careful of your single use plastics here, because much of it unfortunately gets carried away into the beautiful surrounding sand dunes. For us, those massive sand dunes were the real beauty of this place ️⁣⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀ 3 - Although we almost always encourage you to take your time when travelling, you don’t need more than 24 hours to visit Hucachina. Just make sure to not miss the awesome dune buggy & sand boarding tour (we booked ours with Arenas through @peruhop and it was amazing) ⁣⠀ ⁣⠀ Location: Huacachina, Peru⁣⠀ ⁣⠀ Traveller Tips and Photo by @mapping.along⁣⠀ ⁣⠀ Do you want to see your travel tips and photos featured here?! Go to the Photo Submission link in in our bio to submit your photos⁣⠀ ⁣⠀ #wearetravelgirls #travelgirls #travelcommunity #femaletravelcommunity #travel #travelblogger #traveltips #peru #huacachina Here’s some travel tips if you’ve got Huacachina on your to do list!⁣⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀ 1 - Huacachina is a popular stop on the backpacker trail in Peru and the accommodation in the Oasis is known to be mostly party hostels. If you’re looking for a good night’s sleep, you should book a stay in the neighboring city of Ica, which is only a 10m taxi ride away! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀ 2 - The oasis isn’t paradisiac at all and is actually not natural anymore either. They continuously fill it up with water to preserve the landscape for tourists. It’s also…

[campfiresandsandcastles]

The Best Way to Visit Paracas and Huacachina with Teens

Keeping teens interested and occupied can be a challenge, however, our trip to Paracas and Huacachina was definitely one of the most memorable tours we’ve done. PeruHop is a highly reputable bus tour company that offers many tours throughout Peru and even other South American countries too. One of their most recommended tours is from Lima to Paracas to Hucachina and back to Lima, in one day. It’s a very long day, but well worth the trip.

Board the Bus

The bus picks you up at your hotel between 5:30 and 6:30am, depending on the location of your hotel. The bus is very nice, like a typical plush tour bus. There are USB plugs to charge your devices, but there is no WiFi.

Speed Boat to the “Poor Man’s Galapagos” in Paracas

The first leg is to Paracas and the Ballestas Islands, also known as the “poor man’s Galapagos.” The town of Paracas is small, but we managed to snag a fruit smoothie from Fruzion before our 2-hour boat ride around the island. The boat is a large open-air speed boat. A guide shares fun facts in both English and Spanish on the boat and he’s experienced in taking photos of you too. We visited in December, so it was brisk on the water and required pants and a jacket. Oh, and if you sit in the back of the boat, you’ll likely get a bit wet from the boat crashing through the waves.

The islands themselves are only allowed to be viewed from the boat, you do not get to disembark. And they are covered in hundreds of thousands of birds and sea lions too. The stars of the tour are the penguins, but there are also cormorants, boobies, and many others. The boat captain takes you right up to the rocky cliffs so you can see and photograph all of the animals…sometimes a little too close, you may just get a little bird poop dropped on you.

The tour is devised so that you get to eat a pre-ordered lunch at Restaurant Paracas in Paracas before you get back on the bus for the next stop. We were so impressed with the professionalism and experience of the driver and tour guide on the PeruHop bus. They have got this trip down, so you can just sit back, relax, and follow their lead.

Question Your Sanity While You Dune Buggy and Sandboard in Huacachina

The second stop was to the oasis in the middle of the Peruvian dessert, Huacachina. The town itself isn’t much, but their big attraction are the surrounding sand dunes. Once the sun starts to set, you hop in a dune buggy and take a ride all over the dunes. You ride up them and down them, and when I say down them, I mean straight down them. Like at times you think the buggy is going to topple end over end as it goes down steep inclines. It was a blast, and the drivers have a lot of experience, but we did have to ask our driver to take it down a notch because one of our nearly teenagers was a bit apprehensive about the blind drops (and after living in South America long enough we know that if anything happens, getting emergency help isn’t really possible in these remote locations). To make the ride more enjoyable certainly bring a face scarf/mask and sunglasses to block the sand spray. Although, if you don’t have one, there are vendors and stores throughout the town selling the scarfs/masks.

Once most of the ride is over, the driver stops and teaches you how to sandboard down the dunes. This involves laying on your stomach on a snowboard without the bindings, and sliding down the dune face first. The first time it looks death defying, but the drivers teach you how to tuck your arms, hold the board, and use your feet to slow down. It ended up being super fun, and my son and I both hate heights and we both did it and enjoyed it.

[Full disclosure, you sign a waiver before the ride that lists the dangers involved in sandboarding and state that 1 in 2,000 people experience an accident. We experienced one of the “1 in 2,000” when an older woman in our group received a nasty gash when her face smacked her board on the way down one of the dunes, which required emergency care. Since emergency care doesn’t really exist on the dunes, it resulted in my husband and our friend using the first aid kit our friend was smart enough to bring to wrap the wound, stabilize the woman onto a sandboard, and put her in the back of buggy to be treated at the larger nearby town of Ica.]

Relax on the Way Home

The day ends with grabbing dinner to go from a restaurant in Hucachina and boarding the bus for the long 4 to 5 hour ride back to Lima. PeruHop has a relationship with the restaurant in Hucachina (however, I cannot remember its name) and that is where we ordered burgers and fries to go. But, I cannot recommend the restaurant because the burgers were really terrible and, I believe, they upset my stomach and made the ride home pretty miserable for me. But, again, PeruHop has this trip down and put on a good movie for us (Mrs. Doubtfire) and our guide even handed out bags of popcorn to munch on during the movie and ride home. We were dropped off at our hotel at approximately midnight, so it was a long day, but well worth it.

From Lima we traveled on to Cusco and Machu Picchu. To continue to learn details of our adventure read my post titled “How to Entertain Teens in the Town of Cusco.” [INSERT LINK]

Helpful Hints

Bring face scarf/mask and sunglasses: Both are needed to block the sand that will be sprayed into your face while on the dune buggies, and maybe even while sandboarding too.

Bring snacks: This is probably a given when you are traveling with any aged children, but with limited food and restaurant accommodations and long periods of riding a bus, it’s good to have snacks.

PeruHop has an app: Before you go, download the PeruHop app to keep track of all of your reservation details. They provide a handy guide via PDF too.

Get cash before you arrive in Huacachina: There are no cash machines in Huacachina, so be sure to get all the cash you may need before traveling to that town.

Cost: $125 US dollars per person (including a $5 fee to use a credit card when purchasing) as of December 2019 for the Full Day Tour from Lima to Paracas and Huacachina. Food is not included in this price.

Tip your tour guide: Because it’s a nice thing to do after they have spent the entire day with you.

[thephoblographer]

A Common Mistake New Photographers Make: A Lack of Focus

Look at the smaller part of the bigger picture.

In this blog article I will share a very useful tip which Brendan Van Son explained to me when I was on the second day of his photography workshop in Hucachina, Peru.  He saw what I was doing when trying to photograph the above scene and saw that I was making the same mistake that lots of photographers make when photographing landscapes and showed me where I was going wrong.  His advice helped me…

[asonofabeach]

Beautiful Oasis in Peru - Hucachina

[ellejia]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Elle Jia (@elle.jia557)

#dance #hucachina

[hectorial85pics]

Peru (April 2011)

[campfiresandsandcastles]

Travel Guide to Huacachina, Cusco and Machu Picchu With Teens

Our recent adventure to Lima, Paracas, Huacachina, Cusco, and Machu Picchu in Peru was easily one of the most fun trips that we’ve taken. One reason is because we didn’t go it alone, we went with another great traveling family, who also has teens. Both were key. First, the fact that both families liked to travel and had a lot of experience doing so, made our trip easy and laid back (plus, our friends are just great people, so that makes traveling with them a pleasure too). And, second, since both families were traveling with teenage (or nearly teen-age) kids, we were interested in doing much of the same things…which meant more adventure, and less time spent at ruins and museums. So, if this sounds like your kind of trip, here’s more details and our itinerary:

Table of Contents

Day 1 - Arrive in Lima

Day 2 - Day Trip to Paracas and Huacachina

Day 3 - Arrive in Cusco

Day 4 - ATV to Moray and the Salt Mines of Maras and Zip Line Across a Canyon

Day 5 - Discover Cusco

Day 6 - Whitewater Raft or Visit the Nearby Ruins

Day 7 - Relax on the Train to Machu Picchu Pueblo

Day 8 - Hike Machu Picchu

Day 9 - Say Goodbye and Fly Home

Helpful Hints

Day 1 - Arrive in Lima

We currently live in Cartagena, Colombia, and there is a direct flight from Cartagena to Lima on LATAM. We arrived late to Lima and checked into our hotel Holiday Inn Express. The hotel does not have transportation from the airport, so we hailed a taxi at the airport. Lima airport has strict rules that you cannot hail just any taxi outside the airport, you are supposed to use one of their designated taxis. The cost was $45 US dollars (or about 150 Peruvian soles, written “S/”). The hotel is one of the newer hotels in Lima and was clean and modern. The staff was very friendly and breakfast is included too, which is always a great perk when feeding teenagers.

Day 2 - Day Trip to Paracas and Huacachina

Definitely one of the most memorable tours we’ve done was the day trip with PeruHop to Paracas and Hucachina. PeruHop is a reputable bus tour company that offers many tours throughout Peru and even other countries too. One of their most recommended tours is from Lima to Paracas to Hucachina and back to Lima, in one day. It’s a very long day, but well worth the trip.

The first leg is to the town of Paracas with the islands nearby that are known as the “poor man’s Galapagos.” The islands themselves are only allowed to be viewed from the boat and they are covered with hundreds of thousands of birds and sea lions too. The stars of the tour are the penguins, but there are also cormorants, boobies, and many others.

The second stop was to the oasis in the middle of the Peruvian dessert, Hucachina. Once the sun starts to set, you hop in a dune buggy and take a ride all over the sand dunes. It was a blast! The drivers have a lot of experience, but we did have to ask our driver to take it down a notch toward the end because one of our nearly teenagers was getting a bit too nervous going over the blind hills with sharp drops.

About midway through the trip, the driver stops and teaches you how to sandboard down the dunes. This involves laying on your stomach on snowboards, without the bindings, and sliding down the dune face first. The first time it looks death defying, but the drivers teach you how to tuck your arms, hold the board, and use your feet to slow down. It ended up being super fun, and my son and I both hate heights and we both did it and enjoyed it.

The day ends with grabbing dinner to-go from a restaurant in Hucachina and boarding the bus for the long 4 to 5 hour ride back to Lima. PeruHop has this trip nailed down and put on a good movie for us (Mrs. Doubtfire) and our guide even handed out bags of popcorn to munch on during the movie.

For more details about this day of our trip, read my post “The Best Way to Visit Paracas and Huacachina with Teens.” [INSERT LINK]

Day 3 - Arrive in Cusco

The flight from Lima to Cusco is a little over an hour and LATAM flies that route about once an hour, so there are many flights to choose from. With our crowd, we chose a mid-day flight that got us into town with enough time to just relax and acclimate a bit to the altitude. (Read my post on “Top 10 Things to Know Before you Visit Machu Picchu” for some tips on how to combat the altitude.) [INSERT LINK TO POST]

We checked into and spent four nights at the Hilton Garden Inn located on the north side of town. It was lovely and the staff was so attentive. The hotel claims to be one of the newest hotels in Cusco and the place is modern, with an old world charm. We highly recommend it. Breakfast is not included, but they do serve buffet breakfast every morning in their restaurant. And, similar to many of the nicer hotels in Cusco, they are able to blow oxygen into your room for 5 to 10 minutes if you need it to alleviate any altitude sickness symptoms.

My husband did a fantastic job of finding us fabulous dinner locations each night, and this night did not disappoint. We ate an early dinner at Morena. The restaurant is beautiful and feels cozy with their underground location. They made their signature pisco drink right at our table.

For further details about our first day in Cusco, ready my post “How to Entertain Teens in the Town of Cusco, Peru.” [INSERT LINK TO POST]

Day 4 - ATV to Moray and the Salt Mines of Maras and Zip Line Across a Canyon

One of our most fun days spent in Cusco was probably our day trip to Moray and the salt mines of Maras, via ATVs, and zip lining with Cusco Zipline Adventures. Cusco Zipline picked us up very early from our hotel and first drove us via a van to the town of Racchi, about 40 minutes from Cusco. There we were introduced to our ATV driver extrodinaires who got us all geared up and taught us how to drive the ATVs (in both English and Spanish).

Our tour started with a drive around a nearby plot of land to be sure we were comfortable driving the ATVs and then we set off for about a 40 minute ATV drive to the salt mines of Maras. Just outside the mines we got in a van to drive the final stretch into the area of the mines. And, to be clear, these are not underground mines, these are open-air terraced evaporating pools. At the entrance to the terraces there are plenty of vendors selling the salt from the mines, along with various other Peruvian knickknacks that are plentiful throughout the area. Entrance to the salt mines was S/10 soles/person (approximately $3 USD).

From the salt mines, we ATV’d to the Inca archeological site of Moray. Moray is an ancient Inca settlement of terraced circular depressions. Entry into the area requires the purchase of a pass that includes either 3 or 13 other ruin sites. The first pass cost S/70 soles (approximately $20 USD) and can be used for one or two days, the second pass that included 14 sites cost S/140 soles for adults (approximately $45 USD) and S/70 soles for children under 12 years old and can be used for a longer period of time (I believe it was 8 or 10 days). From Moray, we drove the ATVs back to near where we started and we were introduced to the zip lining team.

After a provided lunch of chicken sandwiches and fresh fruit, the zip line team suited us up in the harnesses and gave us instructions. Zip lining was a highlight of our trip, and that is seriously saying something because we have never zip lined before and both my son and I are afraid of heights, like seriously afraid of heights. But the team was so confident and the equipment and lines were well maintained (which is not always the case in South American countries). We had a blast. Cusco Zipline Adventure owns their own property and lines that stretch across a canyon. They have 4 lines, the longest is 700 meters and 300 meters high. The view was beautiful with striking green mountains. Even my son and I loved it. We would have done even more lines.

My husband came through for us again by taking us to a beautiful Italian restaurant right off the main plaza in Cusco called Incanto. They have a wood fired oven in the center and the most yummy mint and basil lemonade that I’ve ever had. All of us loved our dinners and couldn’t recommend this restaurant enough.

For further details about our ATV and zip lining adventure, ready my post “How to Entertain Teens in the Town of Cusco, Peru.” [INSERT LINK TO POST]

Day 5 - Discover Cusco

We did what everyone who has gone before us told us to do, we took an extra day and just spent it in Cusco. We slept in, ate breakfast in the San Blas neighborhood and just walked around the city exploring. We didn’t have an agenda, and honestly, we had done very little research into what there was to see in Cusco itself.

We spent time in the San Pedro market, which is located next to the San Pedro train station. It is a market probably visited equally by locals and tourists alike. There are plenty of stalls of Peruvian knickknacks, but also designated areas for fresh meat, fruit and vegetables, flowers, hot lunches, chocolate, dried fruits, seafood…a little bit of everything.

I cannot even give you an idea of where we went, we just walked. We saw some of the more touristy sections near the main plaza (Plaza de Armas) and we saw some of the areas that are more frequented by the locals, such as a few blocks outside of San Pedro Market. We walked up one street and down another. This day could have been filled with an official tour of the city, but just spending the day without an agenda was perfect.

We ate dinner at another delicious restaurant, Limo Nikkei Kitchen. It’s a Japanese-Peruvian fusion. So, they have both sushi, ramen, and udon along with more Peruvian influenced dishes such as ceviche and lomo saltado too. They are located right on the Plaza de Armas with a great view onto the plaza if you score a table next to the windows.

For further details about our walk around Cusco, ready my post “How to Entertain Teens in the Town of Cusco, Peru.” [INSERT LINK TO POST]

Day 6 - Whitewater Raft or Visit the Nearby Ruins

The nearby Urubamba River is a very popular river to whitewater raft. During the rainy season, areas of the river can become Class IV or higher rapids. Given we were traveling with teens or near teens, we decided to find a whitewater rafting company that would cater more to families. We found one in Eric Adventures. We scheduled a full-day rafting trip that would have taken us on six Class II and III rapids for the day. Or, at least that was the plan. I would love to tell you all about our whitewater rafting adventure, but I can’t because we had to cancel that morning. Myself and my husband ended up with a stomach bug that forced us to spend the day in the hotel room. However, I feel that I need to still recommend you consider doing a rafting adventure because it is such a popular activity in the area.

The family we traveled with decided to take the day and visit the ruins that surround Cusco. They hired a taxi for the day who took them from Sacsayhuaman (which is pronounced similar to “sexy woman,” no kidding) and Cristo Blanco, Qenqo, Puka-Pukara, and finally Tambomachay. Entry into the ruins does require purchase of a pass similar to the one purchased at Moray [insert link to previous post]. So, if you decide to tour the ruins, check which ruins are included on the various passes and for how many days the passes are good.

Our friends also purchased tickets to enter the Cathedral located on the main plaza, Plaza de Armas. The Religious Circuit ticket also allows entry to the San Blas Temple (whose altar is apparently carved out of a single tree), Archbishops’s Museum, and San Cristobal Temple.

Either way, a whitewater rafting adventure or a ruins/cathedral tour were both great ways to spend a day in Cusco. In fact, if I had to recommend an itinerary, I may even suggest adding another day to the trip to be able to do both!

For further details about whitewater rafting and visiting the ruins, ready my post “How to Entertain Teens in the Town of Cusco, Peru.” [INSERT LINK TO POST]

Day 7 - Relax on the Train to Machu Picchu Pueblo

Day 7 we woke fairly early to catch the PeruRail train from the San Pedro station in downtown Cusco to Machu Picchu Pueblo (formerly known as Agua Caliente). Two different train companies make the trip, Peru Rail and Inca Rail. We chose Peru Rail for no particular reason. And we chose their Vistadome option that includes windows that wrap to the ceiling and a light Peruvian-themed snack (which none of our kids ate, but we liked).

The train ride from Cusco to Machu Picchu Pueblo was fabulous. It was comfortable and relaxing. Much better than a bus or taxi ride. The total trip was close to 5 hours. We just chatted, enjoyed the view, napped, and the kids played cards and snacked.

You need to pre-purchase the train tickets from PeruRail. In fact, most people recommend that you purchase your train tickets and tickets to enter Machu Picchu before scheduling any other portion of your trip because both sell out.

We were met at the train station by a representative of our hotel for the night, Gringo Bill’s. The town of Machu Picchu Pueblo is very, very small, with pretty much just the train station, a central square, two branches of river running through the town and train tracks crossing the town. So, you simply walk from the train station to the hotel. The room at Gringo Bill’s was nice in that it was two bedrooms and had separate beds for the kids and a wrap around porch. Plus, it included breakfast. We would recommend the hotel for families with teens.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the town and ate at a local restaurant along the tracks. There are actually many restaurants in this town. It’s pretty much just restaurants, hotels, and shops, perfectly catered to everyone heading to Machu Picchu. We also bought our bus tickets to Machu Picchu. There are signs around town to follow to the bus ticket office, or just ask anyone for directions. Again, the town is not that large.

For further details about the train ride, purchasing tickets for the train, bus, and entrance to Machu Picchu and other details for entering Machu Picchu, read my post “Explore Machu Picchu with Teenagers.” [INSERT LINK]

Day 8 - Hike Machu Picchu

Finally the day had come to visit Machu Picchu, one of the newly named 7 wonders of the new world! Everyone was super excited to finally see the site in-person.

We started with breakfast that was provided by the hotel. You can start to line up in town for the bus 30 minutes before your entrance time. Just ask and follow the crowd on where you need to line up. Suddenly a person holding a large sign with your designated entrance time will appear and escort the long line of people onto the waiting buses. The buses are really nice and the ride is about 30 minutes from the town to the entrance of Machu Picchu.

You need to pre-purchase the tickets to enter Machu Picchu. As I noted above, these are some of the first tickets you should purchase when planning your trip because the Peruvian government restricts how many people may enter the site every day. In fact, you purchase tickets for a designated entrance time and you have an hour to enter within that time slot. Tickets are purchased directly from the Peruvian government here.

We chose the entrance time of 10am. Many people say to be the first ones in the site to be able to catch the sunrise over the mountain peaks, but we were traveling with teenagers and knew better than to expect them to want to enter at 6am. We were hoping that a 10am entry would ensure we’d be in there early enough, but maybe late enough in the afternoon too in case we needed some of the fog to burn off. In the end it was a perfect time for us. The weather was great, we had some fog that clung to the surrounding mountain tops, but the valley was clear.

You are required to hire a tour guide to enter Machu Picchu. You will have no problem finding one either by your hotel, near the bus ticket station, or even right outside Machu Picchu. Our tour guide was clearly very experienced and loved to share all that he knew about Machu Picchu, plus he answered all of our many questions. As you’re leaving the site, be sure to get your passport stamped for fun (we forgot).

After the bus ride back to town, we had a bit of time before our train back to Cusco. We grabbed a late lunch/early dinner at one of the many restaurants in town. It was ok, but really expensive and they did not take credit card. Our train was delayed a few hours due to a landslide on the tracks, so we ate dessert at a popular Italian restaurant that we loved called Incontri del Pueblo Viejo. It apparently is #1 on TripAdvisor and it definitely deserves to be. The food is very good, we had the lava cake and gelato, but more importantly, the staff was fabulous. They performed close-up magic tricks for us, which were amazing! I don’t want to share any more details of their tricks, because you need to experience it for yourself.

At day’s end we enjoyed the train ride back down to Cusco. There is a point in the ride where the train needs to wait for another train to pass, so the staff performs a bit of local dancing for you and a fashion show of Peruvian clothes that are also available for purchase.

Overall, each aspect of visiting Machu Picchu is a well-oiled machine. From the train ride, to the hotels, to the bus ride, to the tour of Machu Picchu, every person or organization involved makes the trip easy to navigate.

We returned to Hilton Garden Inn in Cusco for our final night and slept hard.

For further details about entering and hiking Machu Picchu, read my post “Explore Machu Picchu with Teenagers.” [INSERT LINK]

Day 9 - Say Goodbye and Fly Home

Our final day was a simple taxi ride to the airport, and two flights home. We were home by dinnertime and already talking about where we were going to go next as two traveling families. Europe here we come!

Helpful Hints

For my overall advice on the Top 10 Things to Know Before you Visit Machu Picchu, read my post by this name. [INSERT LINK]

For further details on our day trip to Paracas and Huacachina read my post “The Best Way to Visit Paracas and Huacachina with Teens.” [INSERT LINK]

For helpful hints from our time spent in Cusco, Peru read my post “How to Entertain Teens in the Town of Cusco, Peru.” [INSERT LINK TO POST]

Helpful hints learned from our visit to Machu Picchu can be found in my post “Explore Machu Picchu with Teenagers.” [INSERT LINK]

Recommendations on the best places to eat in Cusco and Machu Picchu Pueblo read “The Best Places to Eat with Teens in Cusco and Machu Picchu.” [INSERT LINK]