Overseas Adventure Travel blog

A trip to any city or country won’t be complete without a trip to a museum or gallery. Here are suggested museums and galleries that are worth checking out in Cusco, grabbed from IGuide Interactive Travel Guide.

• Museo Municipal de Arte Contempor

If you plan to stay in Cusco for quite a long time, I’m sure you would want to do a lot of activities so you won’t waste your time just staying in your hotel. Here are some activities suggested by IGuide Interactive Travel Guide. You might want to try it!

• Walk around the Plaza de Armas; the square has churches, shops, restaurants and bars backing on to it and is a great place to spend an afternoon. The historical center of Cusco is beautiful, but you will have to deal with all the street vendors and hawkers of cheap paintings and other souvernirs. They are everywhere in and around the Plaza de Armas. They spoil somewhat the experience.
• Check out the Plaza de San Francisco, which is a few blocks north of the center, and is a great place to visit one of Cusco’s many great coffee shops.
• Play Sapo, a traditional bar game played in chicharias all over Peru. The game involves throwing small coins, called fichas, at a table with a bronze sapo (toad) attached. You get points for making it into holes on the table, and a ton of points for making it into the sapo’s mouth. Best played while drinking chicha (corn beer, traditionally fermented with saliva) at a local dive. Ask old men to show you the correct throwing form, as it’s difficult to master.
• Talk to local store owners, curators, waitresses and bartenders. They typically know a little English if your Spanish is not good, and are generally happy to share interesting information about the city not found in guidebooks. This is also a great way to find the best places to try cuy, alpaca, and chicha.
• Once you are accustomed to the altitude, go for a jog! This is a very humbling experience, as the hills and thin air prove a challenge to even those in great shape. It’s also a good way to explore. Head east or south of the plaza for the safest places. If you’re a woman out exercising, you may get a few cat calls, as this is common in much of Latin America.

These activities are only suggestions. You don’t have to follow everything since every travel is according to your preferences. There are people who like laid back activities like walking around the Plaza de Armas and visiting churches. Some people would rather jog and explore the whole city! Some would like to go through Inca Trail to reach the beautiful Machu Picchu. There are just lots of activities to choose from. The important thing is that you plan your itinerary before going to Cusco. You don’t want to waste your time thinking about what to do. Each day is very important especially if you are not staying long. You also have to consider travel time and traffic if there are any. In every travel that I do, I always come prepared to make the most out of it.

I’m sure you also have your own ways in maximizing time in every travel. Care to share some tips?

If you are traveling and splurging at the same time, then I highly recommend you check out the luxury hotels in Cusco grabbed from IGuide Interactive Travel Guide.

• The Garden House Hotel, Tel +51-(0)84-271117 (email: info@cuscohouse.com), cuscohouse.com. A fabulous family-run boutique hotel set in the largest private garden in Cusco. Beautifully decorated, modern (WiFi etc), and just the perfect place to stay if you want to have a genuinely non-touristy experience (in one of the most touristy cities in the world).

• Hotel Royal Inka I or II, royalinkahotel.com Located right in front of the Plaza Regocijo, about 150 meters from la Plaza de Armas. Royal Inka I is a renovated house while Royal Inka II is more modern with a spa (jacuzzi and steam room). There is a great breakfast.
• Hotel Monasterio, Calle Palacios 136, Plazoleta Nazarenas, ph: +51 (0) 84 24 1777, (email: info@peruorientexpress.com.pe), monasterio.orient-express.com. Housed in a former monastery, the Hotel Monasterio is a beautiful hotel that is steeped in history. The rooms are former monks’ cells, but they are far from monastic. By far the most expensive place to stay Cuzco. If you are looking for luxury in Cuzco, this is the place to find it. (avoid rooms 414 through 419, which are near a noisy generator)
• Hotel Marqueses Calle Garcilaso N

There are so many hotels to choose from when you go Cusco. You can choose depending on your budget and the location that you preferred. Here are some budget hotels that you might want to check out.

• Hospedaje Corona Real, Av Huascar 226, 808111. Quiet and cheap option about 15 minutes walk from the city center. Rooms are spacious and have private bathroom and local television and cost 15 soles pppn.

• Amaru Hostal I, Cuesta San Blas 541. Quiet and cheap option about 3 blocks from the Plaza de Armas. Rooms are decent sized; Rooms have private or shared bath facilities and television. Rooms cost between $18 USD to $55 USD per room depending on type of bed(s), occupancy and season. website: www.cusco.net/amaru/ email: amaruhostal@speedy.com.pe

• Amaru Hostal II, Chihuampata 642. Quiet and cheap option about 2-3 blocks from the Plaza de Armas. Rooms cost between $28 USD to $48 USD per room depending on type of bed(s), occupancy and season. website: www.amaruhostal.com email: amaruhostal2@speedy.com.pe

I’m a budget traveler so when I travel, I don’t go for 5-star hotels. My reason is that I won’t stay that long in my hotel room anyway. I would explore the city the whole day, shop until the wee hours in the morning, and just go back to my hotel to sleep.