want to include the inca trail in round rtw trip. should we pre book or will it be easy enough to arrange a week or so before we arrive ?
we will be spending approx 3 months in south america and amongst everything else want to hike the inca trail to machu pichu (4 to 6 day hike ?) As we are trying to keep all arrangements as flexible as possible will we be safe to book the hike at about a weeks notice ?? ( with a reputable guide/company) ? Any clues on the likely cost would also be a help. cheers Tony & Kat. p.s. hi all. this is our first posting !!
Reply to this Nah you dont need to book. There are about 100 companies in Cuzco that will be more than happy to take you. Keep in mind though for the month of Feburary (usually i think) the trail is closed for cleaning. Also if you pre-book you will be charged about 200 dollars more! so wait until you arrive. its easy
Reply to this You could wait, but you have to take into consideration that you are going to be going during the busy season, where there are a lot of tourists. Also there might be a 100 companies, but they are still limited to the amount of people that they can take on the trail. For how big of an attraction Machu Picchu is, they don't let a lot of people into the park per day, trying to conserve the wonders of it. So if you can I think it might be a good idea. Or maybe in a month in advance try to book it, just look online, or in a travel book, that you hopefully have.
Reply to this This is true, but there is still a lot of people allowed on the trek at one point. The main problem with booking in advance is the amount they charge. I looked in advance (about a month) on the net, and all the companies were quoting prices of 300 and above US. I didnt end up booking, and found the general price there to be 140 US. So in that aspect, i wouldnt book.
Reply to this This is true, but there is still a lot of people allowed on the trek at one point. The main problem with booking in advance is the amount they charge. I looked in advance (about a month) on the net, and all the companies were quoting prices of 300 and above US. I didnt end up booking, and found the general price there to be 140 US. So in that respect, i wouldnt book.
Reply to this I went to Peru two years ago and we did not pre-book the hike thinking it would not be a problem to book a tour there. We were wrong, we went to over 15 booking companies and received the same message - not a chance. It was so disappointing, that I plan to go back next year only this time I'll pre-book. We were told at the time they allowed 500 people each day. If only one person shows up then only one person goes on the trail. They do not resell no shows.
We were there in early May so it was not the high season. We did have one tour operator give us directions on how we could sneak onto the trail during the middle of the night, but we were just not that adventurous.
Reply to this I think you should do it, some friends of mine were trying to book early in this year for september, and he couldn't since all Inca Trail permits were sold out until september. You should try to save your spot and prebook this permits since even if people cancel their permits cannot be resell or transfer to another person. I will recommend you to talk to Barbara in Adventures Within Reach. Just search for the company's name in the internet and contact them, they are awesome helping with your trip. Now my friends are going on November, and they are almost done!
Reply to this thanks for all the advice (lot of different ideas !!). As it may be the only time we get to do this then i think it sounds like a pre-book will be the best option. thaks all.
Reply to this Book...Book...Book....Limited number allowed on the offiical trail each day....(500ppl)
We were there last month and it was booked out till August! We ended up doing the Salkarey (Spelling?) trek and it was awesome....away from all the crowds and some what harder than the offical route.
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