Peru Family Vacation - July 19, 2011

[lb4747694]

Congratulation don't forget to be at least 2 days before star your trek in order to be climatized, check Innova Travel Peru this company is also recommendable
BR

Thanks for the recommendation. Yes, we're getting in 2 days early to poke around Lima and get acclimated. We don't want to be too out of breath for the rest of the trip

 

[goofy2008]

We want to do this trip someday.
How do you book thru Cosco ??
What is Cosco ??

 

[goofy2008]

How many points did it take??

 

[Bobo912]

We want to do this trip someday.
How do you book thru Cosco ??
What is Cosco ??

Costco is wholesale warehouse club, similar to Sam's Club, if you're familiar with them. You have to be a Costco member to book any travel, including ABD, through them. The lowest priced membership is $50 per year.

 

[lb4747694]

Costco is a membership club (like Sam's Club or Price Club or BJ's Warehouse). It costs around $50/year. We're members so we just went to Costco.com and found the 800 number. Called in and booked the trip.

Even if you're not a member, buying a membership basically pays for itself (and then some) by booking one of these trips. We essentially got back $700 more than if we booked with other travel agents.

 

[goofy2008]

So booking through Cosco you use your DVC points??
And how many ??

 

[Bobo912]

So booking through Cosco you use your DVC points??
And how many ??

You can't use DVC points to book through Costco.

 

[sayhello]

So booking through Cosco you use your DVC points??
And how many ??

You can only use DVC points to book an ABD through DVC membership services.

Sayhello

 

[smep013]

Question about altitude sickness.
Is it worth it to get in to Lima a day or two earlier to get adjusted, or will the real "issues" with altitude sickess not start until we all get to Cusco?
Thanks!

 

[Grifdog22]

Lima is essentially at sea level, so you won't deal with altitude until you leave Lima. Two things seemed to really help us - being in good physical shape really helps - and we had the altitude sickness Rx from our doctors. Only my wife used this out of the five of us. I can tell you that walking up and down the Circles of Moray, I thought my heart was going to pop out of my chest - and I was in good shape. However, I tried to walk/run/explore with my kids at this as I would at home, rather than at a slow, deliberate pace recommended by our guide.

Many others suffered from the altitude in our group, but honestly, I think a part of it was their physical conditioning. There was one very fit young lady, however, who had asthma, and the altitude gave her quite a fit. We shared the medication with her, and it seemed to help quite a bit.

My advice to anyone on these trips is that you will get much more out of it if you are physically fit to walk, climb and enjoy the trip. There are many things you can do in the "on your own" time and you'll have more energy if you are in good shape. Every little bit helps!

 

[Adena]

We arrived a day early (ABD late July 2010). My husband and I began taking prescription altitude sickness medicine while in Lima and 24 hours before arrival in Cusco. We had no problems. Our children did not take the altitude sickness medicine (pediatrician advised against it) and they were fine. My son (age seven at the time) only once complained of a headache, and he was okay after he had a dose of children's ibuprofen.

I know there's a fair amount of talk on these boards about altitude sickness and Peru, but IMHO it's somewhat overblown (and for good reason: Who wants to be sick on vacation?). I can't speak for everyone in our group (and it was a full group of 40), but I don't think altitude sickness was a big deal for most members of the group most of the time. I've no idea if others were taking the medicine as we were, but overall just about everyone seemed to be fine and enjoying the wonderful vacation ABD Peru is.

Another good reason to arrive a day early:

I think most of the flights to Lima arrive late at night, and it'll be an hour or more until you clear customs and immigration and make your way to hotel. Our flight arrived on time at 9:30 p.m. and it was about 11:30 p.m. when we walked into our room at Casa Andina Miraflores. We we able to sleep late the next morning and enjoy a leisurely day of sightseeing in Lima. The next day (the fly-to-Cusco day) we had to have our luggage outside our room at 5:45 a.m., eat breakfast around 6:00 a.m. and leave the hotel at 6:45 a.m. I was glad that we had booked a pre-day in Lima, for it would've have been hard on our children (and us) to hit the sack at midnight then be up and out the door at 5:45 a.m.

 

[goofy2008]

Thanks on the Costco and point thing.

 

[WeLoveABD]

We arrived a day early (ABD late July 2010). My husband and I began taking prescription altitude sickness medicine while in Lima and 24 hours before arrival in Cusco. We had no problems. Our children did not take the altitude sickness medicine (pediatrician advised against it) and they were fine. My son (age seven at the time) only once complained of a headache, and he was okay after he had a dose of children's ibuprofen.

I know there's a fair amount of talk on these boards about altitude sickness and Peru, but IMHO it's somewhat overblown (and for good reason: Who wants to be sick on vacation?). I can't speak for everyone in our group (and it was a full group of 40), but I don't think altitude sickness was a big deal for most members of the group most of the time. I've no idea if others were taking the medicine as we were, but overall just about everyone seemed to be fine and enjoying the wonderful vacation ABD Peru is.

Another good reason to arrive a day early:

I think most of the flights to Lima arrive late at night, and it'll be an hour or more until you clear customs and immigration and make your way to hotel. Our flight arrived on time at 9:30 p.m. and it was about 11:30 p.m. when we walked into our room at Casa Andina Miraflores. We we able to sleep late the next morning and enjoy a leisurely day of sightseeing in Lima. The next day (the fly-to-Cusco day) we had to have our luggage outside our room at 5:45 a.m., eat breakfast around 6:00 a.m. and leave the hotel at 6:45 a.m. I was glad that we had booked a pre-day in Lima, for it would've have been hard on our children (and us) to hit the sack at midnight then be up and out the door at 5:45 a.m.

We'll be doing the same--coming in a day early; and I'd like to see the highlights of Lima--did you do the hop on/hop off bus? If not that, how did you get around and what do you recommend? (We'll be there the first two weeks of August) thanks!

 

[Adena]

I know of one family in our ABD group that took a bus tour on their pre-day and raved about it, but I'm not sure if it was the hop-on, hop-off bus.

We took a taxi from Casa Andina to the Huaca Pucllana archaeological site, where we took the guided tour and afterward enjoyed lunch at the on site open air restaurant. Huaca Pucllana was interesting to us and a good warm-up for all that was to come on our adventure in Peru.

We returned to the Casa Andina to regroup, then walked down nearby Ave. Jose Larco (I think) to the Larcomar shopping center that's built into the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. That, too, was nice, and we enjoyed some fabulous gelato there. The walking time (one-way) is about 10-15 minutes.

After our walk, the kids wanted pool time at Casa Andina.

I have photos and an incomplete trip report posted here: http://kimbleandeanadventure.shutterfly.com.

 

[tufbuf]

Hi Adena. Did you just book the tour at Huaca Pucllana on site? What was the taxi fare?

Thanks!

 

[Adena]

Yes, you pay for a tour ticket on site. I can't recall the price other than to say it was reasonable.

The "taxi" really was a driver from the hotel that we arranged for through the concierge. I believe we paid about $15 (one way).

 

[tufbuf]

Sounds reasonable, thanks!

 

[WeLoveABD]

Did you need much in the way of local currency? Were you able to pay for your tour/driver/admission/meals with a credit card? I assume ATM machines were available in Lima...?

I always like to bring with me some of the local currency for small stuff--and rely on an ATM if I need more cash, otherwise go with the credit card.

 

[lb4747694]

In the info packet it actually talks about limited ATM availability during parts of the tour. Can't remember exactly where, but it was enough for my wife and I to think that we need to stock up on Sols in Lima.

 

[Adena]

Did you need much in the way of local currency? Were you able to pay for your tour/driver/admission/meals with a credit card? I assume ATM machines were available in Lima...?

I always like to bring with me some of the local currency for small stuff--and rely on an ATM if I need more cash, otherwise go with the credit card.

WeLoveABD:

We also brought Peruvian soles with us and used them to pay for taxi fare to/from Huaca Pucllana (the only time we needed ground transportation outside ABD's umbrella); Huaca Pucllana admission; snacks purchased while walking around Lima and Cusco on our own; marketplace shopping in Pisac and Cusco; admission to some of the churches in Cusco during on-our-own time, and a few other miscellaneous inexpensive purchases. We also used soles for tip money at various times when we were on our own and received good service or when, even under ABD's umbrella of tip coverage, we felt that we received extraordinary service. For restaurants and substantial purchases, we used a credit card.

The only minor challenge/inconvenience we ran into was at the end of the trip. We were low on cash on our final day and -- because of ATM withdrawal limits -- had to find two ATMs to gather enough tip money for our two guides.