WHY THIS TRIP
If you like to discover the wonders of your destination by biking, hiking, rafting, and snorkeling, rather than by taking bus tours the Galapagos and Machu Picchu Multisport is for you. In Peru your daily adventures will get you off the beaten path to visit remote ruins, see spectacular views, and experience local culture, culminating with hiking the last day of the Inca Trail to arrive in Machu Picchu on foot. In the Galapagos you will paddle, hike, snorkel and bike to different landscapes in search of the Galapagos’ iconic wildlife.
TRIP DESCRIPTION
In Peru, you will acclimatize to the altitude in the ancient city of Cusco, a place steeped in Inca history and in touch with the present. Designed by local guides to avoid the rush of crowds and optimize each day with rich experiences, this multisport trip is true to its word and delivers a variety of activity-based days. Relish scenic whitewater rafting on the Urubamba River. Hike ancient quarries & Incan pathways to Machu Picchu. In wandering among mesmerizing off-the-beaten-path Inca sites you will whet your appetite for the grand finale: an unforgettable exploration of spectacular Macchu Piccu.
In Ecuador, the flight over water from Guayaquil to the Galapagos will get your adrenaline pumping for what’s ahead, and there’s a lot. The wildlife you’ve heard about gets real and really close as you sea kayak into the world of blue-footed boobies and marine iguanas. More memory-making comes at you fast, out in the surf where you frolic with friendly sea lions. Then, as your personal story could go, there’s that time you went for an unforgettable snorkel along rays and hammerhead sharks. Put boots into the adventure with a hike up an extinct volcano. Be prepared for an explosion of bird life, including a generation of the finches the naturalist Darwin studied as he theorized evolution. At the volcano’s top, take in a 360-degree view. Unforgettable — what a trip!
HIGHLIGHTS
• Explore Machu Picchu
• Raft the wild waters of the Urubamba River
• Hike Inca trails (there’s way more than the one you’ve heard of)
• Mountain scenery
• Snorkel in the Galapagos (a living aquarium)
• Sea kayak the shoreline in search of penguins, blue-footed boobies, marine iguanas and more!
• Hike volcanoes on Isabela Island
• Local guides with homegrown knowledge of Peru and Ecuador
LOCAL PROVIDERS
Apumayo Expediciones: Apumayo Expediciones specializes in adventure travel and non-conventional tourism with a strong environmental and social agenda. It offers activities and tours for people with disabilities and supports Andean community projects, maximizing the positive effect of local tourism. A Peruvian company based in the City of Cusco, Apumayo Expediciones combines culture, education and natural history into its adventure trips.
NeoTropic Expeditions: Since 1991, NeoTropic (formerly Ecuador Adventure) has been a leader in adventure travel by skillfully handling complex itineraries to Ecuador’s most exciting travel destinations. Travelers explore Ecuador’s landscapes at the wing of passionate and professional Ecuadorian guides who promise the ultimate eco-adventure experience. For indigenous community encounters, adventure, diverse wildlife or a combination of sights, sounds, flavors, and naturalist experiences in one of South America’s biological hotspots, Quito-based NeoTropic Expeditions carefully handles the details.
Jimmy T. –
1.) Pre-trip Layna was great with the planning.
What to Bring comments: I’m not sure about others, but we severely overpacked. We accounted for washing clothes in hotels on certain nights, but we still overpacked. One light sweater and one light puffy jacket was sufficient for the entire trip. For the Galapagos, we were in shorts and t-shirt the entire time. I was so surprised this. I would recommend emphasizing this issue to help future travelers pack lighter. Shoes – I really appreciated having hiking boots for the hiking in Peru. My wife and kids settled for sneakers. Both of my teenage children sustained mild sprained ankles during the hikes. Bugs – Very pleasantly surprised that this was not a serious issue for us. We normally get bit like crazy. However we didn’t use repellant once on the entire trip. The ONLY time we got bit was during one of the snorkeling trips in the Galapagos where we had an excursion on a beach that had horseflies.
2.) Actual Trip Galapagos Weather – We were wowed by the pleasant weather. My understanding was that we were travelling there during winter. However the weather turned out to be tropical minus the extreme heat. We couldn’t have asked for better weather.
San Cristobal, staying at Casa Opuntia Hotel was nice. We loved having the great view of the bay. Shower didn’t work well, but we were understanding. Our guide took us out to a home cooked meal for dinner. This was wonderful. It was one of our favorite meals of the trip. We liked supporting the local community. Sea kayak northern coast was fun as was the snorkeling at Kicker Rock. Isabela – stayed at Casita de la Playa The hotel was ok. I WISH we had known that a “matromonial bed” means a double/full size bed. I thought it would be a queen size bed. Had we known this, my wife and I would probably have preferred just to have our own individual beds rather than sharing a double/full size bed. Note this was an issue at a couple of the hotel son the trip. The hotel location was fantastic! It was across from the beach. Isabela was by far our favorite island. We liked how it wasn’t too touristy. My family all indicated the snorkeling at La Calera was the best snorkeling experience that have ever had. Mountain biking- perfect level of challenge for us. We would liked to have spent another day or two at Isabela. Santa Cruz island – We stayed at Hotel Mainao Rooms were nice with our first good shower on Galapagos. Right next door to the hotel was an awesome place to wash clothes. The local woman charged $1 per kg, which we thought was a steal compared to the $6 per kg rate we were quoted at the hotels. You must tell this to other people who stay at Hotel Mainao. In general, we though Santa Cruz was too touristy. One day at Isabela was more than sufficient for us. Sea Kayaking divine bay and Punta Estrada were nice, but not as nice as Isabela or San Cristobal. The hike to Tortuga Bay was long. Definitely should recommend people wear the right shoes for this hike. To be frank, while Tortuga bay was a fun excursion, I would rather have spend more time at Isabela or San Cristobal. The water in Tortuga Bay wasn’t particularly clear. It essentially was just a long hike to a beach with nothing to see in the water. Not a highlight.
Travel day to Lima – Not sure what could be done not to waste a day travelling. It worked out having a pseudo-rest day as we were pretty tired from the activities of the previous days. Cusco- Elevation really hit most of the family. I’m in good shape and even I was affected the first day. My teenage son was probably the most seriously affected. It took him more than two days to adapt. The first half day walk around Cusco was nice as it was an easy way to get acclimated. Maytaq Wasin Hotel – this hotel was fine. Not memorable. No complaints. Location was close to the city center. Sacred Valley Mountain biking – This was amazing. HOWEVER, I would highlight that there is some technical riding involved on this trip as well as some uphill climbs. The mountain biking in Galapagos was easy by comparison. Anyone who can ride a bike can do the ride in Galapagos. However this ride to Urubamba and the ride after was more challenging. There were some technical downhill portions. Our guide was excellent in helping us navigate. The lunch was spectacular. It couldn’t have been planned out better. We had a wonderful view of the valley all to ourselves. 5 Stars for the lunch. We stayed at Tierra Viva hotel. Definitely our favorite hotel of the entire trip. I loved the layout of the hotel. The room was nice. I commented to Eudora that couples could have a destination wedding at this location. Sacred Valley Urubamba rafting We loved the rafting. The guide was excellent. We camped in Cachiccata. The set up was fantastic. We loved looking at the stars. We aren’t really a camping family, but the staff really made it easy for us to enjoy this type of camping. Second day hike to Inca Quarry Please note and prepare future visitors in explaining that this is a decently long and strenuous hike. We climbed up switchbacks in the morning on the way up and then spent the second half of the day hiking back down. We camped in Cachiccata for a second night. Short Inca Trail to Machu Picchu LOVED the this hike. By this day, the whole family was acclimated and prepared for the hike. I am curious if we could have been offered to do the 4 day FULL Inca Trail hike rather than the previous days activities. While rafting was fun and the hike to the Inca Quarry was challenging, they both felt more like activities rather than getting to see and know the Sacred Valley and Peru. A part of me would rather have substituted the rafting and the Inca Quarry for doing more of the Inca Trail. Not sure if this would have been possible. The Waman Hotel at Machu Picchu was probably our worst hotel experience of the trip. I can’t really recommend this hotel moving forward. In one of the rooms, the bathroom literally had an opening to the hallway. There was no way to keep out sound and light. It looked like our rooms were still half under construction. I would NOT stay here again. The hike to Huayna was totally worth it. Loved having this hike. When we returned back to Cusco, we had most of the following day free to do some tourist shopping. This was nice. We liked the Maximo Laura tapestry museum that was next to the hotel (https://maximolaura.com/). We booked our own chocolate making class at the Choco museum. This was a really fun. You should look into adding the chocolate making class as a part of the trip.
One thing that I’m glad you prepped us for was the tipping. My wife and I spent an evening before we left setting aside cash for different people we expected to have to tip on the trip. However on a whole, my wife and I were always fretting about having enough to tip different people on the trip. We would rather NOT have had to prep for tipping. I’m not sure if this could have been avoided. Thanks for a great trip. We had a wonderful time.
Jeff Allen –
Fabulous trip all around. We went August 2016 with our two kids (ages 11 & 13) We especially enjoyed the Peru segment – very active, and having just our family with the same guide all week meant that we built a real rapport. Our guide Elias totally had our kids figured out, especially our young daughter, who can be a handful. Galapagos section was beautiful, though a lot less active (hiking here seemed to mean walking 30 minutes on pavement…) The folks at Detour were really helpful and flexible in letting us customize the trip a bit (adding on a visit to Ottavalo, for example) and advising on what to pack and where to go. We had some trouble with their travel agent, Exito (LAN cancelled one of our flights and we had to re-buy it at the airport) but after a few weeks of follow through they did refund the extra ticket. All around, i would say great people and a great trip. We would definitely consider another trip with Detour!