PACING:
7 destinations in 15 nights: 2 nights in the Sacred Valley, 1 night in Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu), 2 nights in Cuzco, 2 nights in Quito, 2 nights in Otavalo, 1 night in Quito, 4-night Galapagos cruise, 1 night in Guayaquil
About your flights: Your flight to South America will connect through Miami. Most flights from Miami to South America depart in the late evening. Depending upon your home city, you may have a shorter or longer layover in Miami before your flight departs (on Day 1 in some cases, early morning on Day 2 in other cases). At the end of your trip, your flight from Guayaquil will have a late afternoon arrival in Miami, which may necessitate an overnight in Miami at an additional charge before your connecting flight home. Your trip also has 3 internal flights: Cuzco to Quito (via Lima) and round trip from the mainland to the Galapagos Islands for your cruise.

There will be some early departures to take the train to Machu Picchu ruins, and again to board the train through the Awakening Valley in the Otavalo region. The longest motorcoach rides includes the transfer from Cuzco to the Sacred Valley and some of the tours on the Ecuadorian mainland. However, rest stops and sightseeing are scheduled. We also have three train rides, none of which exceeds 2 hours. All will be in First-Class. Also, some early morning departures from your ship to see some of the wildlife.

Peruvian Amazon Pre-Extension: If you are taking the optional pre-extension, you will fly overnight from Miami to Lima, connecting to Iquitos, Peru to begin your extension, then flying from Iquitos to Lima before meeting the base tour at the conclusion of the extension.


PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:
Physical activity is quite intensive in this program. Tours run on modern coaches, but in some areas air-conditioned coaches are not available. The visit to the Inca ruins in Cuzco and Machu Picchu in Peru includes heavy walking, which may be affected by the cobblestone streets and high altitude in Cuzco (10,657 ft). There will also be steps and walking on uneven natural terrain in Machu Picchu and other ruins.

On the Galapagos cruise there is heavy walking on natural, uneven terrain, including beaches with sand and rocks and trails up small hills. There will be Zodiac rides of about 15 minutes each to reach the shore. Galapagos tours include both wet and dry landings. On wet landings customers may expect to wade in warm and calm waters below knee depth. The sun may be quite warm at times and some walks in the Galapagos may exceed 2 miles. There are generally two walks offered each day. This is an expedition-type cruise, and you should be active and in good physical condition before you reserve it.

CULTURAL FOCUS:
This program provides many opportunities to interact with the local culture. We visit Inca ruins and small indigenous towns where we will enter local homes and markets and interact with artisans, musicians and other local people. In fact, the whole time in Peru and on the mainland of Ecuador will be a fascinating Cultural Connection for Vantage travellers.

SPECIAL FACTORS:
High altitude in Cuzco (10,657 feet) and Machu Picchu (approx. 8,000 feet) The Sacred Valley and Quito are not as high, but some travellers may be affected.


The Galapagos cruise will be on an exclusively chartered expeditionary small ship with a capacity of just 33 passengers. It is a comfortable ship, nice and recently refurbished, but the cabins and the social areas are not large. Some cabins might be noisy if they are close to the engines and, although we will be in generally calm seas, depending on the weather conditions the sea movement might affect some guests. Depending upon when you travel, the Galapagos has a rainy season and a warm summer time.