wondering if anyone has any ideas about this journey, buses, trains etc
Lima to Cuzco
Joe..
U can take a bus from Lima to Cusco.. I believe it takes close to a day to do this journey.
If you have a little extra money.. U can fly via lan chile for about $100 USD.
Hope this helps.
Cusco is fun! Make sure you go to the Plaza De Armas.
any recommendations for good hostels in Lima or Cuzco?
Depends how much time you have and how adventurous u are as to whether u fly or go by bus. I would recommend the flight as the views are mindblowing.
There are hundreds of hostels in Cusco. Spend as much time there as u can as there is so much to see and do.
If u want to be right in the centre of town I can recommend Sumac Wasi on Procuradores. Its not cheap but it is very comfortable and very safe and has great hot water showers and TV! If youve been travelling a while u really appreciate these things for a few days.
If u want an apartment with your own facilities and a kitchen, I can recommend The Alba in San Blas on Tandapata, 5 min walk from the Plaza. Its terrific and I stayed there for 3 weeks and didnt want to leave!
Otherwise, just trawl the streets, there are lots of choices of every description and price range. You can ask for a lower price too if its not too busy.
Spend a few days checking out all of San Blas- its a really funky area with cobbled streets, great shops, great people, great bars and cheap restaurants and Saturday markets.
I was in Cusco last September and stayed in 3 places in San Blas. My favorite was Hostal Marani. It has clean, comfortable rooms and is very secure. A single with private bath was US$18 including breakfast.
That sounds a bit expensive to me from what i found.
My apartment was 25 sols (US$8 ??) a night but didnt have breakfast but did have all facilities including kitchen. I found breakfasts not a great deal in Cusco as its usually white bread rolls and coffee while you can go to a nice cafe and have scrambled eggs and the works for next to nothing.
The place on Procuradores (Sumac Wasi) was US$20 for a big room, beds for 4 people and great bathroom and breakfast.
Shop around!!
Hey Mate
Stay at the Loki. Lots of packbackers there with pretty comfy beds. The service is quite good. Whats good is that there are alot of travellers so you can pick their brain on your next destination.
I stayed almost 2 weeks in Cusco at Samay Wasi Youth Hostel. It didn't really seem like a youth hostel though because it was a little more expensive (about $8-10, though it includes breakfast, free internet, and free pick up from airport or bus station). Plus, there were plenty of adults staying there. It is also in the San Blas area and has an amazing view of the city. I would definately recommend it. Really nice staff too!
http://www.thebackpacker.net/travelhostels/6927_cuzco_travelhostels.htm
Quoting guerrita
any recommendations for good hostels in Lima or Cuzco?
Without a doubt the hostels to stay here are the Loki/Incahaus in Lima and the Loki Hostel in Cusco.
Two awesome hostels where i spend a total of 3 weeks in.
As for how to get between the two i went by plane 3 weeks ago.Ive met so many people that did the bus journey only to have people being sick all the way because of the roads.