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Where I stayed and how I made my reservations
For travelers like me on a tight schedule, trying to see as much as possible, good planning is essential.

Peru & Ecuador 2002 - Part Five: Travel details

Dougburnett
2003-11-24 14:44:36

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Where I stayed and how I made my reservations
For travelers like me on a tight schedule, trying to see as much as possible, good planning is essential. The Internet has made this much easier: it is possible to directly contact most travel agents and hotels and to nail down travel details far in advance.

The first problem, after selecting a date and destination, is always finding a trustworthy travel agent. I prefer to use an in-country agent figuring that they will know more about local conditions and will be able to get the best deals.

After a little Internet investigation I decided to use Raymi Travel (raymi_travels@perusat.net.pe) in Lima. I got several favorable recommendations from people on Lonely Planet's Thorntree (http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com). When I wrote to Toon, the owner, he promptly replied and made several air reservations for me. In the end the ticket for Lima-Cuzco-Puerto Maldonado-Lima cost $214. The Lima-Quito-Lima flight was $258. Best of all, he wanted to wait until I arrived before accepting payment. It's worth noting that he will only accepts cash. He also bought my Lima-Nazca bus ticket for $20.

I also made reservations at Toon's hotel, Mami Panchita (http://www.bed42.com/mamipanchita) which is close enough to the airport to be a convenient stop over when passing through Lima. I also arranged to have Toon send a car, solving the problem of how to get to and from the hotel. It cost $15 for a spartan but perfectly adequate single room, while the transportation both ways was $25. I stayed at the hotel three times. I highly recommend both Raymi Travel and Mami Panchita - they were friendly, helpful and always reliable - plus I found lots of interesting people to talk to at the hotel.

I flew from Detroit to Lima via Houston and returned via Newark. I used Northwest Airline Frequent Flyer miles but actually flew ...