A note on links: some of the booking links in this article are affiliate links. Everything I’m recommending here is what we actually used or researched firsthand for our own trip. I’m not linking to anything I can’t personally speak to.
Peru is not a trip you wing. Or rather, you can wing parts of it, and some of the best moments will be the unplanned ones. But the big things need to be locked in before you leave, or you’ll spend your first week in Cusco scrambling instead of acclimating. This is everything we booked ahead, why, and what we’d do the same way again.
Machu Picchu: Book This First
This is non-negotiable. Machu Picchu limits daily entry. There are time slots, entry caps, and specific rules around which trails and routes you can take. In high season the popular options sell out weeks in advance. If you’re going during any kind of peak travel window and you haven’t booked, you might get there and find out you can’t get in.
Most people go with a guided tour and honestly that’s the right call. The site is massive, the history is dense, and navigating the logistics, buses, train, entry timing, what’s open, is genuinely complicated. A good guide makes the whole thing make sense.
We booked through GetYourGuide and it was the right move. The platform has multiple tour options organized by length, difficulty, and price, with real reviews from people who actually did them. You’re not just reading the tour company’s own marketing, you’re reading what travelers thought. We did the two-day Inca Trail with panoramic train option and it was exactly what we wanted. They also were able to book and add Huayna Picchu trail to our tour as well. Not having to book the park admissions and entries made the process seemless.
Once you book, the tour operator contacts you almost immediately. We had questions about Huayna Picchu availability and got answers the same day. They handle your passport information, entry permits, everything. Once it’s booked it’s done and you can stop thinking about it.
One tip: build in at least two days in Cusco before any Machu Picchu excursion. Altitude acclimation is real and you do not want to be hiking on day one.
The Amazon: Book Ahead and Contact the Lodge Directly
There are a few different entry points to the Amazon in Peru. We went through Puerto Maldonado in the Madre de Dios region, which puts you deep into the southern Amazon. If you’re looking for a longer stay and a more remote experience this is the route.
We stayed at Lago Soledad Lodge and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s off the main tourist track, deeper into the jungle than most lodges, and was recommended to us by another well-known lodge that was fully booked for our dates, which tells you something about the relationships between these places and the quality of who they’re sending guests to.
For research I used TripAdvisor for reviews and Reddit for honest traveler opinions. Google gets cluttered fast with tour operator websites that bury the actual reviews. TripAdvisor and Reddit cut through that.
Book at least a month out if you’re traveling in October or November. We were booking in September for an October trip and one lodge was already full. The dates matter because flights into Puerto Maldonado have to line up with your lodge availability and you don’t have a lot of flexibility once you’re in the Amazon.
A Word on Vaccines and the Travel Clinic
This is my cautionary tale so you don’t repeat my mistake.
When you start researching Peru you’ll see recommendations for yellow fever vaccination and malaria pills, especially if you’re going into the Amazon. Both are legitimate considerations. The problem is where you go to get them.
I went to Passport Health. I walked out having paid around $400 for a yellow fever shot and the appointment combined. My friend went to a local doctor and paid around $200 for the same thing. Yellow fever vaccines just need to be stored correctly. Plenty of regular doctors’ offices have them. Passport Health would not tell me the price before I arrived, by which point I was out of time to go elsewhere.
My advice: call ahead, get a price, and compare. Don’t walk into a travel clinic without knowing what you’re paying. The vaccines themselves are the same wherever you get them.
One more thing: when we spoke to Lago Soledad directly they told us that given how remote their location is, malaria was not actually a risk in their specific area. We had already started the malaria pills and got sick from them. The lodge owner told us to stop immediately. Contact wherever you’re staying in the Amazon before you start a medication protocol. The risk level varies significantly by location and the lodge will give you the most accurate information.
The yellow fever shot I don’t regret. Ecuador had recently lifted a travel ban requiring proof of yellow fever vaccination for entry, so it was necessary for our next stop regardless.
Accommodation: Airbnb Worked Well
We used Airbnb for most of our accommodation across Cusco, Lima, and Arequipa. Cusco especially had great options at reasonable rates. We prioritized views and location and found something that delivered on both. Arequipa we needed a washer and dryer after the Amazon and jungle hiking, which narrowed the search but was easy to filter for.
Book accommodation with enough lead time to have options. The closer you get to your travel dates the less flexibility you have on location and price.
Experiences Worth Booking Ahead
We used GetYourGuide and Viator to research additional excursions, hikes around Cusco, Arequipa, Lima some examples of tours we did not have time to do but looked fun and other travelers recommended were the Rainbow Mountain, Colca Canyon 2 day Trek, Lima’s Historic Center Street Food Tour. We ended up not booking most of them in advance and preferred the flexibility of deciding day by day, but the platforms are genuinely useful for seeing what’s available and reading real reviews. Also be very aware of your timing, we did not have much time in Cusco and after Machu Picchu we were exhausted and so happy we did not book another early morning tour to see Rainbow Mountain. So do not try and force to much into one trip unless you have time. Travel can be stressful if you need get time to rest and reset!
One thing worth booking ahead: the cooking class in Arequipa. We booked through Airbnb Experiences, a feature most people don’t know exists on the platform. It’s where local hosts offer hands-on experiences: cooking classes, walking tours, craft workshops. We did a cooking class hosted by Marisa in her home kitchen where she taught us three traditional Peruvian dishes. It was one of the highlights of the whole trip. Personal, local, delicious, nothing like a formal cooking school.
Check Airbnb Experiences wherever you’re going in Peru. The options are genuinely interesting and it’s a way to connect with locals doing something they love rather than just seeing the tourist sites.
Flights: Book Early and Plan Your Itinerary First
Domestic flights in Peru, especially into Puerto Maldonado for the Amazon, get expensive last minute and popular routes fill up. Figure out your rough itinerary before you book flights so you’re not locking in arrival and departure dates that don’t give you enough time between stops.
The general flow we’d recommend: fly into Lima, head to Cusco first to acclimate, do the Amazon and Machu Picchu from Cusco, then work your way back through Arequipa and Lima on the way out. This keeps you at altitude when you need to be and at lower elevation when you’re recovering.
