We are a family volunteering in Cusco for a week in July 2013. My plan was to fly into Cusco a few days before to get acclimated. We can visit Machu Picchu either during our volunteer week or after. Then I'm not sure if we should stay in Cusco and fly home from there, or go somewhere else for a few days. We can't afford to spend much. Any help would be great. Thanks.
You are going to be so close so definately visit Machu Picchu and sites in the Sacred Valley such as Pisac (market and ruins) , the town of Ollantaytambo and its fortress , as well as Maras and Moray. The loads of little ruins between Cusco and Pisac and dont miss out on Sacsayhuaman which is in the hills above Cusco. Theres the Souther Valley sites of Piquillacta and Tipon as well and tours usually include the church at Andahualillas.
You could make a quick trip to Lake Titicaca but you need to plan for at least 3 days for Lake Titicaca...one day of travel to, at least one day to tour, and another travel day back. The boat tours depart quite early in the morning so unless you find an overnight bus it wont matter the mode of transportation you use, you will most likely arrive to late to tour the lake that day. The tour all return to Puno around 5-6PM so again unless you find a late bus or flight you will have to plan a second night in Puno and plan to travel the day after. If you are headed to Lake Titicaca after Cusco you may want to consider flying back to Lima from Juliaca insted of returning to Cusco and then flying back to Lima.
How many days would you stay in Cusco?
Not too expensive to go south to Lake Titicaca for a few days, and fly back to Lima from Juliaca. Daily tourist busses run from Cusco to Puno (First Class / Inka Express / Tour Peru) and then a trip out on the Lake will cost you about $20 per person, booked locally - Google Suri Explorers an boat operator.
We were advised by friends, who did this trip a few years ago, to take the time to go to Parque Nacional Manu and to spend an entire day at Machu Picchu, arriving the night before and staying in Aguas Calientes. I'm not sure we could then add Lake Titicaca to the list.
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