So to make my way through southern Peru I booked an all in 1 hop on, hop off bus ticket from a company called Peru Hop. The company is run by 2 Irish guys and overs a variety of routes starting in Lima (office in Miraflores) or Cusco (office on same street as Pariwana hostel nr San Fransisco Sq). I got a ticket from Lima to Cusco (without the lake) for $169 with my 1st stop being Paracas. Paracas is a small seaside village (town?) located 4hrs south of Peru. The main attraction of is to take a tour to the Ballestas Islands & the national reserve. How I got there: Peru Hop - 7hrs. it takes a little longer as you make stops along the way. What I did: So after our 1st stop at ... read more

Huaraz is a small town that is central for hiking in the Cordillera Blanco. It is the base for the Santa Cruz trek (4D, 3N) & for smaller day trips out from the town. Me & Jin travelled together to here. How I got there: Booked our tickets with Linea for S/.25 at the agent in Huanchaco - you need your passport (or at least the number) to complete the booking. The bus left at 8am from the Linea terminal in Trujillo on Avenue America. So we had to catch a "H" (no heart!) bus from Huanchaco at 6.30am in order to be at the terminal on time as the trip takes 1 hour. Tell the conductor you want Linea/Av America & they stop right outside the station - the agent wrote it down for us ... read more

OK So here's a quick 101 on crossing the border from Cuenca Ecuador to Peru & getting to Trujillo in 1 day. 1st Bus: Super Semeria bus company goes from Cuenca - Chiclayo, stopping at: Mancora, Piura. Departs at 10pm Cost: $15 Mancora, $20 Chiclayo. Luggage: Stored underneath, it's tagged you are given a matching sticker that is put on the back of your ticket. Seats: Comfy and spacious with leg rests. Journey time: Approx. Mancora 5.5hrs, Piura 8.5hrs, Chiclayo 11hrs - we arrived at 9am in Chiclayo. *Tip - book in the morning/day before to be able to choose your seats you don't want to be near the toilets!* Border crossing: This was extremely simple. You walk into the building, fill in the Ecuadorian form, hand over your passport get an exit stamp. Go to ... read more

I arrived in the tourist town of Baños from Quito which could not have been more of a change! How to get there: Caught the Trole bus 25c at Banco central - C4 bus - & rode to the end of the line to get to Quitumbe Bus Terminal. The trole can get very crowded but come often so if the 1st is very busy just get the next one. If heading to somewhere other than Quitumbe on it make sure you stay near the door if you have luggage! Walk into main Quitumbe terminal (this is very smart! Especially after Carcelen in the north) & go upstairs to buy tickets. Quito - Baños $4.50 including 25c platform entrance fee with San Francisco tours buses. Took just under 3.5hrs. Where I stayed: D'Mathias Hostel $6/night for ... read more

From Otavalo I travelled to Mindo cloud forest (west of Quito) to stay for 3 nights, get some birdwatching in and maybe an adrenaline fix or 2 as well in one of the most laidback towns on Earth. How to get there: Caught a Quito bound bus from Otavalo $2.50 (2hrs). Taxi from Carcelen terminal to La Ofelia terminal $3.50. 1pm Quito to Mindo bus $3.10 2hrs. Buses direct to mindo only go from La ofelia terminal which is about a 10 minute taxi ride from Carcelen (Terminal Norte). The bus departs from directly outside the ticket office & luggage is stowed underneath. You can also catch a number of buses leaving from carcelen which will drop you at the mindo road junction but that is a few km out of town. Where I stayed: Mindo ... read more