Peru - when?

[Anonymous]

DD is becoming fluent in Spanish and last year we took a trip to Miami (and the Keys) so she (and her Dad) could practice speaking. She loved talking to the people in all the Cuban restaurants we visited!

We would like to take her to a Spanish speaking country and tour like a local as well as see significant sites of that country.

We were thinking about Peru as we love hiking (the Andes) and rafting (the Amazon) and the history MACHU PICCHU.

What time of year is better (weather wise) to visit - our summer or Christmas?

[Anonymous]

Christmas vacation time is better if you like warm weather.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Christmas vacation time is better if you like warm weather.

Like Dallas in July warm?

[Anonymous]

Much depends on the altitude. Peru is the size of Texas. We did a family vacation in Peru in August. Weather was lovely if you don't like it hot. I wouldn't go to all those places unless you have 2.5 weeks at least.

[Anonymous]

DH and I went in mid-Dec last year, right before Christmas. The weather was great. We didn't do any whitewater rafting but we did do some canoeing on one of the Amazon tributaries and we did plenty of hiking. It was really warm and humid in the Amazon (think summer in Atlanta) and jacket weather up in the Andes, really pleasant for hiking. It rained most days but only for a short time each day. We thought it was a great time to visit!

[Anonymous]

I've also been in December and found the weather fine.

[Anonymous]

Pur summer is their winter so the mountains are freeeeeeezing!!!! Feb is raimy season in the south of the country. Dec is usallu very good but loads of tourists. Nov is my fav time.

[Anonymous]

Isn't Peru dangerous?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't Peru dangerous?

Omg ignornat poster. Why do you think that?

[Anonymous]

We traveled to Peru in end of Jan when my DD's school had teacher working day which gave us a week to explore Peru. Air tickets were cheaper in Jan and less crowded. Weather is perfect!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't Peru dangerous?

Omg ignornat poster. Why do you think that?

You know what is dangerous? The USA.

[Anonymous]

we went in october - weather was decent then.

[Anonymous]

We went in August and it was fine. As PPs have said, depends on the region. In Cuzco/mountains, you layer up because it is cold in the mornings and evenings, but gets comfortably warm during the day (70s). The Amazon is hot and humid all the time. Lima was chilly and misty but we didn't spend much time there.

I would agree that you need minimum two weeks to go to both Machu Picchu and Amazon - but both are so worth it. We spent a week in each.

This is a great opportunity for your DD - we took ours when she was 8 (she's 14 now) and she is in an immersion school so was also speaking Spanish very well. She absolutely loved it. On our first day there, we happened to walk by a public park in Lima that was packed with local kids, and she wanted to play so we stopped. Well she jumped right on the merry-go-round and started playing with them, chatting away in Spanish. We spent a good chunk of time there letting her hang out and play with a bunch of kids. When we were up in the mountains, we were on a bus one day visiting the Sacred Valley stopping at various sites. There was only one other kid on the tour that day and he was a little boy her age from Lima, who didn't speak English. The two of them hung out all day having a great time because she could communicate with him in Spanish. On the bus they were singing songs together that she knew because she had learned them in school from her Peruvian Kindergarten teacher!

To me, these were two priceless highlights of an amazing trip. We try to travel to Spanish-speaking countries every year with her and have since been to Costa Rica, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Spain. In Argentina, we stayed on a horse ranch where she rode horses all day with the local kids. Again, priceless experience.

Good luck - you're going to love it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went in August and it was fine. As PPs have said, depends on the region. In Cuzco/mountains, you layer up because it is cold in the mornings and evenings, but gets comfortably warm during the day (70s). The Amazon is hot and humid all the time. Lima was chilly and misty but we didn't spend much time there.

I would agree that you need minimum two weeks to go to both Machu Picchu and Amazon - but both are so worth it. We spent a week in each.

This is a great opportunity for your DD - we took ours when she was 8 (she's 14 now) and she is in an immersion school so was also speaking Spanish very well. She absolutely loved it. On our first day there, we happened to walk by a public park in Lima that was packed with local kids, and she wanted to play so we stopped. Well she jumped right on the merry-go-round and started playing with them, chatting away in Spanish. We spent a good chunk of time there letting her hang out and play with a bunch of kids. When we were up in the mountains, we were on a bus one day visiting the Sacred Valley stopping at various sites. There was only one other kid on the tour that day and he was a little boy her age from Lima, who didn't speak English. The two of them hung out all day having a great time because she could communicate with him in Spanish. On the bus they were singing songs together that she knew because she had learned them in school from her Peruvian Kindergarten teacher!

To me, these were two priceless highlights of an amazing trip. We try to travel to Spanish-speaking countries every year with her and have since been to Costa Rica, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Spain. In Argentina, we stayed on a horse ranch where she rode horses all day with the local kids. Again, priceless experience.

Good luck - you're going to love it!

Can you share the info for the horse ranch in Argentina?