After much discussion, my cousin Brianna and I have finally landed on our vacation destination: Peru! We literally pulled up a map of the world and strategically went through all the viable options. The only caveat was that we wanted to go someplace neither of us has been to which was a surprisingly difficult thing to do for two people who travel for work and who both studied abroad in college.
Our first choice was Croatia, but flights were so expensive (like $3400 expensive!) and duh - they are on the same seasons as us! So while we dreamed of splashing around in the turquoise water on the different islands, the reality was that late September/October would more than likely mean sweater weather instead.
I threw out Peru to Bri since it's been on my bucket list forever, hoping that she wouldn't laugh in my face. She was totally into it! Here are the selling points:
1. There is a non-stop flight from Newark to Lima
2. Despite the longer flight, there is only a one hour time change from NJ (it is an hour behind)
3. MACHU PICCHU!
We quickly put together a shared Google Sheet with different thing we wanted to do and a sample itinerary so we can keep everything in one place.
Our current itinerary:
A few tips we've gotten along the way:
- Cusco is a super cool town, so it's ok to spend a few days there (it also helps to acclimate to the altitude before going to Machu Picchu) and a lot of the hotels will pump oxygen into their guest rooms to help with the acclimation
- Aguas Calientes doesn't have much to offer aside from souvenir shops and other touristy things, so don't plan to spend much time there
- you don't need much time in Lima either, but there are great restaurants
If you have any other suggestions for us, please send them to me at ash@thewanderingash.com
Stay tuned for more updates including what I'll be packing!