If you are a citizen of India or any other country realistically portrayed in the Indiana Jones movies, you need to have a visa in hand before you can board the plane to either Peru or Ecuador. Citizens of most western nations can get one upon arrival though. My rants on this grave injustice and the unnecessarily painful paperwork process deserve their own separate blog. Later perhaps.
However, Galapagos cruises and Inca trail permits (everybody needs one) tend to sell out months in advance. So you gotta book them before you even book your flights. April being a shoulder season we were able to do so just 3 months before the trip. Making arrangements for the Inca trail is easy - you just pick an outfitter (we chose SAS), tell them your travel dates, pay some advance to buy your permits. And you are done. Costs about $450/person. Galapagos on the other hand needs a bit more research, which was done by our friends we went with (thanks Nandu!). We did all our Galapagos arrangements through an agency in the US, Untamed Path Adventures. Costs about $2500/person. Both the Inca trail and Galapagos cruise can be booked locally in the last minute too, but you should be extremely lucky and also be flexible with your schedule. Air tickets with TACA costs about $700/person, for USA-Peru-Ecuador-USA.
This was our itinerary, 2 weeks is far too short :-(
Apr 3: San Francisco to Lima, Peru
Apr 4: Lima
Apr 5: Cusco
Apr 6, 7, 8, 9: Inca trail to Machu Picchu
Apr 10: Cusco
Apr 11: Fly to Quito, Ecuador
Apr 12: Quito
Apr 13: Fly to Galapagos, board yacht
Apr 13-20: Galapagos cruise
Apr 20: Fly to Quito
Apr 21: Fly back to San Francisco
Outfitters:
1. Inca trail: SAS Travel Peru. Highly recommended.
2. Ecuador and Galapagos: Untamed Path Adventures USA. Highly recommended.
3. Galapagos Boat: Aida Maria. Could've been better for the price.
4. Airlines: TACA. Cheap and reliable.
Best:
1. Siestas after lunch
2. Inca trail
3. Galapagos snorkeling
4. People we met!
Worst:
1. Airport fees!
2. Cannot flush toilet paper
Tips:
1. Learn spanish
2. Don't forget your sunscreen and bug spray
Wishlist:
Amazon basin and rainforest, Lake Titicaca, Cotopaxi climb
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