Day One - Arrive Lima
You will leave London on a morning flight to Lima, where you and your family will arrive in the early evening. We will meet you at the airport and take you and the family to your hotel in Miraflores - one of Lima's safest and most cosmopolitan districts. The streets are full of life until late in the evening so if you want we can recommend a friendly restaurant for an evening meal, or if you prefer you can get a bite to eat in the hotel and just relax after your flight.
Days Two and Three - The Sacred Valley
In the morning, we will pick you up and take you to the airport to catch a flight up into the Andes to Cuzco, the ancient Inca capital. Because of the difference in altitude between the coast and the mountains, however, we will take you straight from the airport in Cuzco to a hotel in the Urubamba valley, which is about a thousand metres lower, so you and your family have an easier acclimatization. The hotel is in Yucay, in the middle of what the Incas called the Sacred Valley. It's a great place to start to unwind in the hotel's large gardens, complete with playground. If you're feeling like more of an adventure, we can arrange for you to get mountain bikes so you can go out and explore the stunning surrounding countryside.
Day Four - Sacred Valley Tour
Today you'll get right out into the Sacred Valley to visit some of the important Inca sites in the area. You'll have a private guide to make sure that everything is explained to your satisfaction and so that things go at a family's pace rather than at a rush! You will visit the fascinating local market at Pisac, the fortress-temple of Ollantaytambo and several other locations, before ending up back at the hotel for once last night in the Sacred Valley.
Day Five - Machu Picchu
Because you're staying in the valley, you won't all have to get up at the crack of dawn for what is many peoples' highlight of Peru - the trip to Machu Picchu. This famous lost Inca city is deserving of every bit of praise it's been given since it was rediscovered, high in the cloud forest, in 1911. We will pick you up in the morning and take you to the train station at Ollantaytambo, where you will take the Vistadome train to Aguas Calientes, at the base of the mountain of Machu Picchu. Again, you will have a private guide so you can be sure you get the most out of what is one of the most amazing sites in the world. After a full day at Machu Picchu, we will take you by train to Cuzco and the hotel we have booked for you. You will arrive in the early evening and you should all be nicely acclimatized so you can take a short stroll to the main square and enjoy the spectacle that is Cuzco by night. As in all the places you stay, you'll be able to benefit from our expert advice so we can recommend family-friendly places to eat and if you'd like to spend the evening watching some traditional dancing and music then we can book that for you too.
Day Six - Horseback city tour of Cusco
You'll have a free morning in Cusco to enjoy the breakfast at your hotel before having a wander around this fascinating city. Once your appetite has been whetted, we'll pick you up from your hotel for a guided tour of both the city, and its surrounding attractions. Depending on how you all feel, we can either arrange this to be by bus or by horseback - a great way to see the sights and have a great time!
Day Seven - Free day in Cusco
Today is up to you! We can give you plenty of recommendations on things for you and your family to enjoy, from shopping in the colourful local markets to taking some lessons in traditional Andean instruments but our biggest recommendation is just to wander around and see what inspiration hits you. Cusco is a beautiful medieval mix of Inca and colonial architecture, full of winding cobbled streets and the sound of people speaking Quechua - the language of the Incas. Around every corner there's a new experience waiting to grab you so often it's just best to go out and let it find you!
Day Eight - Paracas Nature Reserve
After a last morning in the Andes, we will pick you up and take you to the airport for a flight back to Lima. Rather than staying another night in the capital, however, we will take you by private transfer a few hours south to your hotel on the edge of the Paracas Nature Reserve - often described as Peru's answer to the Galapagos Islands. You will arrive here in the early afternoon so you will have plenty of time to relax before enjoying a delicious meal while you watch the sun set over the Pacific.
Day Nine - Free day in Paracas
Today is a day of relaxation as you enjoy the warm Peruvian sun and take advantage of the lovely grounds and swimming pool of your hotel or maybe take advantage of the numerous watersports opportunities such as windsurfing and jet-biking. You can also take a trip into the nearby town of Pisco, which would give the older member of your family a chance to try Peru's national drink - the famous Pisco sour!
Day Ten - The Ballestas Islands and a desert oasis...
This morning you will leave from your hotel's private jetty ona trip out to the Ballestas Islands, about 40 minutes out from Paracas. The islands are home to a stunning array of wildlife, from penguins and sealions to dolphins and giant starfish. This trip will take all morning but in the afternoon we will pick you up and drive you and your family to Huacachina - a genuine desert oasis, surrounded by palm trees and towering sand dunes. Your hotel has a large and lovely pool and can also arrange mountain bikes for you if you want to have a go at cycling through the dunes!
Day Eleven - Sandboarding and the Nazca Lines
This morning we will pick you all up for a short drive to the airport, where one of our expert pilots will take you up in a light aircraft for a flight over the mysterious and enigmatic Nazca Lines. These huge animal shapes drawn in the desert are only visible from the air which makes their creation a real puzzle. The only thing you can do is go and see them for yourselves and come up with your own theory! In the afternoon we'll take you back to Huacachina in time for you to take a dune buggy ride out into the sand dunes where the more adventurous of you can indulge in a spot of sandboarding (like snowboarding but down the dunes!) while the more sensible watch everybody else fall over!
Day Twelve - Free day in Huacachina
Today is a chance for you to improve your sandboarding skills or your tan as you relax by the pool or head out onto the dunes again to finally master those tricky turns. If you fancy something of a more cultural bent, we can arrange a trip to the regional museum in nearby Ica, which has a fascinating collection of pre-Inca mummies!
Day Thirteen - Back to Lima
After a last morning at the oasis, we will pick you up and drive you back to Lima. If you haven't already, then this will be your final chance to get those crucial souvenirs and if you have then it's time to say a last goodbye to the Pacific from the cliffs of Miraflores before your last night in Peru!
Day Fourteen - Last day of your family holiday in Peru
This morning we'll take you for a private tour of colonial Lima. You'll see the famous cathedral and churches, as well as the grisly catacombs where early Limeños were buried before we head off to the kids favourite - the Larcomar center which overlooks the ocean and has everything from ultraviolet bowling to KFC! After all this we'll take you to the airport in the afternoon to catch your international flight back to the UK.
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