I wish I had packed....
Hi everyone! We depart April 2nd and I am deep in packing mode - which apparently means I'm in the "pack everything just in case" stage. 😄
To the experienced travelers on this trip: please help me fill in the blank with something other than "Less" — because I know that's coming!
A few things I've already acted on from this thread:
@MikeHenderson - your blog was gold. A waterproof hearing aid case for the Zodiacs and snorkeling is now packed! ✅
@British — shoes sorted based on your recommendations, thank you! Plus a walking stick!
We also just heard from our guide Jonas with a ship-specific tip: men should wear collared shirts at dinner aboard the Silver Origin, so my husband is sorted there too.
What am I still missing? I feel like the unknowns and weather changes are driving overpacking. Any last-minute "wish I'd brought that" items from those who've done this itinerary?
Thanks again!
Fayeron
Comments
One thing to be careful of. Back when I took the trip, Silversea was using a "Vox-like" system that required you to have a smartphone and earphones (wired or wireless). It worked very well, but make sure you have some earphones.
The way it worked is that the guide carried a transmitter that sent his/her voice to an app on your smartphone and your smartphone sent the voice to your earphones. So if you have hearing aids with Bluetooth, that's all you need. You do need to download the app, which you can probably do on the ship, using their Internet access.
Thank you for your kind words about our blog.
Not all hearing aids with Bluetooth work with all smart phones. My Phonak HA only work with Apple products (iPhone and iPad).
Off the subject, but here is the listening device we had on a recent tour. Rechargeable, they do not turn on or off, they work only when tour guide is talking into it. I thought it was nicer than the ones Tauck uses. I really think the Tauck ones are so outdated, we’ve had them on every tour since 2003.
I guess I should have phrased that differently. "If your hearing aids connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth, so that you can receive phone calls directly into your hearing aids, that's all you need."
We took the trip in 2017 and Jonas was our TD. He's great! Half of the tour's luggage was lost between Peru and Ecuador. On the first Galapagos Island, he escorted us to a shop to pick up a few things. Days later, the luggage was flown to a nearby island. In the middle of the night, Jonas and a crew member took the panga and retrieved everyone's luggage. It was outside our doors, first thing in the morning. And that's why we continue to travel with Tauck. Their TDs are always willing to go above and beyond!
One of our ‘lost luggage’ stories was after a Galapagos tour back to the Guayaquil hotel. Our luggage did not get to our room. After a long search it was found in an empty room. On the next Galapagos tour, at the end when we collected our luggage at the airport, it was wet and stunk of fish. We could not get the smell off. Of course it was newish luggage. The airline wanted photos of the damage…does anyone know how to take a photo of a smell?….we had to toss the luggage.
We were very happy we took rashguards when snorkeling. My husband had one with a hood since he is bald.
OK- we are back from this amazing trip! I'm going to complete the sentence for all "future" travelers while everything is fresh in my mind!
1. We flew business class on Copa Airlines which was a fraction of the cost of the other airlines. It was fine and we had no issues. One thing I wish that I had known before we booked our flight is that Copa is the airline of Panama and they currently have a deal where you can book a stay in Panama and then continue on for no additional cost. I think I might have wanted to take advantage of that had I known.
2. Walking sticks- you only need one (so you can buy a set for a couple). They did not provide walking sticks in Machu Pichu and it was pouring rain when we went (it was fine but it was slippery and we used our walking sticks). People who did not bring their own sticks were able to buy them at Machu Pichu but they were not retractable and did not fit into their luggage so they had additional carry ons. The walking sticks that they provide on the ship are pretty bad- better to buy retractable that fit in your luggage.
3. Not sure when they used to check for marine safe products but that is not the case anymore. The ship does provide very nice sunscreen in the rooms but no one checks what you brought.
4. For hearing aid users- they used a hearing device in Peru and it required some sort of alternate earpiece if you were unable to use the one provided. It does not have blue tooth capabilities. No devices were used in the Galapagos.
5. Bring 2 bathing suits and 2 rash guards so they have time to dry between snorkeling which was offered daily.
6. We wore our close toe keens and salomon shoes for hiking. Don't use goretex shoes since they will not dry.
7. People changed and looked nice on the ship- not dressy dressy but no shorts are allowed for men at night, and men are supposed to wear collared shirts. Women wore sun dresses or pants iwth nice blouse. It gets cold so bring a wrap of some sort.
8. Do everything - I mean know your limitations but go snorkeling even if it's raining. It's not as hard as you might think.
9. The altitude was an issue for some people on our trip. We took the Diamox but most people did not and seemed fine. Honestly the people who had the hardest time might not have been as careful about alchohol and keeping hydrated. We had an 87 year old man on our trip who needed oxygen and they provided it to him at the hotel. He was fine once he got to sea level!
10. They take really good care of you on this trip! We were on the Silver Orgin - I enjoyed getting to know the other guests that were non-Tauck.
You will have a great time! The first part (Peru) is pretty exhausting- just be prepared!
When we went to Galapagos the guides told us those who had been to Machu Pichu first were exhausted.
We went to Machu Picchu first and we were certainly not "exhausted" when we got to the Galapagos. I did not find Machu Picchu difficult.
Yes it was exhausting because there were many early mornings- luggage needed to be out very early 4:30am. There were very long travel days. It was not exhausting because it was Machu Pichu was challenging, it was exhausting because we didn't stay in one place overnight. We all put that into the comments at the end. Remember that Machu Pichu is really only 1 1/2 days. But Peru as a destination is long- we needed to get from Lima to Cusco via commercial airlines, and then drive to the Sacred Valley. That's a long travel day. The next day everyone was up early again. However, if I was going to choose the order I would keep it this way. I would not want to end with Peru. As an aside, I spoke with the National Geographic travelers and they had the same experience. Also, they divided the group up into 3 groups for Machu Pichu so people who were more comfortable going slower could do so- there was no pressure on anyone.