Travel Tips

Ask Peter: Peter Answers Your Travel Questions–1.7.12 Edition

Locations in this article:  London, England Miami, FL San Francisco, CA

Chris from San Francisco asked: I’m going to the Galapagos Islands and Machu Picchu in March. Do you have any advice?

PG: Make sure your tour operator actually has access to the Galapagos Island. Government restrictions limit the amount of people that are allowed to go there for a period of time. It’s one thing to get a package to Ecuador, it’s another to be able to go to the Galapagos Islands. Make sure you have full access.

In terms of Machu Picchu, it all depends on how you want to do there. Do you want to do the 4-day hike to the top, a combination of a hike and a train, or fly to Cusco and just take the train? If you’re a first timer and not in great physical shape, I say take the train because the high altitude is difficult to adjust to and once you get up there you don’t want to be taken down on a stretcher. Also, get there the night before and wake up at 3 am because you want to get there before the sun rises. The key to going to a place like Machu Picchu or the Taj Mahal or the Great Wall of China is to get there before sunrise when you’ll have that incredible life-changing moment without the tour buses crowds. So if you want to do Machu Pichu get an early start and do it before the sun and before the crowds get to it.

For more information, check out Melinda Newman’s Guide to Amazon Cruises and Machu Picchu.

By Peter Greenberg for Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio