Travel from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado (or maybe Pilcopata) (1 Viewer)

Hi everyone,

In 1999 I went with my then girlfriend to Peru and did a trip from Cusco to Manu Wildlife Centre, travelling down the Manu road with a driver and staying at Cock of the Rock Lodge, Amazonia Lodge, and MWC before flying back to Cusco. It was a brilliant trip but even then was very expensive.

17 years later my g/f is now my wife and we have two children, aged 15 and 11. We really want to take them back to Peru and have booked flights for July/August. We'd love to show them a taste of the Amazon, but basically cannot afford the astronomical prices our 1999 trip would come to today. So we are thinking of going to Puerto Maldonado and doing something a little closer to the town just to give them a taste. I just did a quick costing for return flights with LAN from Cusco to PM and it came out at a staggering £1000+ (US$1250+). So I have a few questions if anyone can help.

1. Flights to PM from Cusco. Could anyone advise me of whether it would be OK to buy tickets in Cusco when we arrive (or would that be leaving it too late?) and how much it might be? If you think we should book in advance can anyone direct me to a cheap airline/booking site and give an indication of how much I should expect to pay?

2. What good two day excursions have people done from PM, seeing a fair range of birds and some primates?

3. Another completely different possibility would be to drive back down the road to Pilcopata, the jumping off poijnt for Manu, as we saw loads of wildlife along this road. Has anyone done this recently independently, either on public bus or hire car or car/driver, and managed to keep costs down? Are there cheap places to stay along the road if you cannot afford the likes of Cock of the Rock Lodge? I see that in Pilcopata itself there is a hotel called Paraiso Pilcopata Inn. Have anyone stayed there?

Many thanks
Sean

A possibility that might work out as relatively cheap would be to get a bus from Cuzco down Manu Road (I think these still run). It would be a bit frustrating as you couldn't easily stop for birds, but maybe you could stop overnight e.g. at Manu Paradise Lodge (near Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge but less expensive). You could then get to Atalaya by bus and perhaps stay at Amazonia Lodge, which has very good birding at a lower altitude. It used to be fairly reasonably priced, but I don't know about now.

None of this is going to be really cheap, but it might be a bit better than the price for flights to Puerto Maldonado. It may even be better to go on an organised tour. This one might be worth looking at:
http://www.easybirdingperu.com/noticias.item.11/birdwatching-manu-road-3-days.html
I guess about £500 per person from Cuzco. Is that too much?
Their non-birding ones seem to be a bit cheaper and maybe will go down better with the family:
http://www.easybirdingperu.com/noticias.item.15/manu-cultural-zone-3-days.html

1.- You can see flights in a cheaper company that is http://www.starperu.com/en/index.html
2.- In Puerto Maldonado there are some lodges that have birding tours for 5 or 6 days, I think the Tambopata reserve is a good option.
3.- If you want to go without a guide to the Manu, you can rent a van with a driver who knows the area (Public bus is impossible to enjoy the birds) There are some lodges near Cock of the Rock Lodge but some do not have the option of food, San Pedro Lodge or Manu Paradise Lodge can be cheaper. There are some small hostels near Pilcopata, but most do not have a website and normally the people no speak english. One good thing is Bambu Lodge (very comfortable nut no meals, but it is possible to go to Pilcopata)
I also think that going to Manu with a guide or without a guide, is cheaper than going to Puerto Maldonado.
Grettings form Cusco!

Sean,
You should consider taking the overnight bus from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado, far cheaper than any flight especially for 4 people. Leave Cusco at night, and arriving at Puerto Maldonado just in time to go directly to the jungle.
From Puerto Maldonado, the macaw clay licks are the best option to your children enjoy the Amazon. In the way to the clay licks, the Tambopata river is great to see wildlife including jaguar (last November I saw one).
I will suggest to take a 3d/2n tour to Tambopata Reserve (macaws and parrots galore) and another full day at Lago Sandoval (giant otters, hoatzin, black caiman). A total of 4d/3n. Then you can take the bus to Puno or Cusco.
I was scouting the area last November and it was exactly what I did.