10-Day Peru Honeymoon: The Itinerary

The Peru honeymoon has a specific question no other trip raises: what does the couple want to live together they could not live anywhere else? To answer it, we have designed a ten-day itinerary combining hotels designed for couples, intimate dinners, and a single shared adventure day —not a demanding trek, but something memorable that will leave a photo. Intimacy is priority; discovery, the catalyst.

Days 1-2 — Lima: the complicit entrance

Day 1: morning arrival at Jorge Chávez, private transfer to Hotel B in Barranco. Suite with Pacific view (USD 580/night). Welcome flowers and pisco sour. Free afternoon to rest jet lag. Casual dinner at hotel rooftop —private reservation, edge table, bay view— with chef's menu.

Day 2: half-day private gastronomic tour with chef at Surquillo and Miraflores markets. Casual lunch at La Mar. Couples spa afternoon at Westin Lima (90 minutes, USD 280 per couple). Intimate dinner at Maido with paired Nikkei tasting menu (USD 380 per person) —reserve private side-room table in advance.

Day 3 — flight to Cusco and Sacred Valley entry

Morning Lima-Cusco flight (1h 15min). Private reception and direct transfer to Sacred Valley —not Cusco direct, for better acclimatisation. Arrival at Belmond Río Sagrado at midday. Riverside suite with private terrace jacuzzi and Vilcanota river view (USD 950/night). Lunch at hotel. Free afternoon with couples massage at lodge spa (90 minutes, USD 320). Dinner at hotel with chef's menu at private riverside table.

Days 4-5 — Sacred Valley: slowness and shared culture

Day 4: private visit to Pisac market (Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday) with cultural guide. Lunch at Hacienda Huayoccari —restored colonial hacienda, garden lunch with mountain view, USD 80 per couple. Afternoon visit to master weaver in Patabamba with 2-hour textile experience (each weaves a simple pattern). Dinner at hotel with Peruvian wine pairing.

Day 5: private shamanic ceremony with accredited master in Patabamba —despacho to Pachamama dedicated to the couple, coca leaves reading, symbolic earth payment— (3 hours, USD 800-1,200 per couple). Lunch with local family in adobe kitchen. Free afternoon at hotel: spa, reading, rest. Private dinner in suite with hotel chef preparing tasting menu (USD 280 per couple).

Day 6 — Machu Picchu: the emotional centre

Belmond Hiram Bingham train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes (USD 480 round trip per person, includes gourmet lunch with orchestra and cocktail bar). Midday arrival. Bus to Machu Picchu. 3-hour guided visit with private specialist guide. Overnight at Belmond Sanctuary Lodge in executive suite with site view (USD 2,200/night). Romantic dinner at lodge restaurant with view of illuminated site. Special detail: handwritten message from hotel in room recognising the honeymoon, with rose petals and champagne.

Day 7 — the shared sunrise

5 AM wake-up. Preferential Machu Picchu access before general public (USD 380 per person) with private guide. Living the sunrise at 6:15 AM at Sun Temple zone —site still without tourists, golden light, couple alone with guide. The most photographed moment of the whole honeymoon: worth the investment.

Breakfast at Sanctuary Lodge with site view. Afternoon visit to less-trafficked areas (Three Windows Temple, Sacred Rock). Vistadome train at sunset back to Cusco. Overnight at Inkaterra La Casona in Cusco —11 suites in restored 16th-century colonial mansion, USD 1,100/night, suite with fireplace.

Day 8 — Cusco: cultural calm

Free morning. Lunch at MIL Centro by Virgilio Martínez (Mater Iniciativa restaurant on Moray archaeological site, USD 320 per person with Andean altitude tasting menu). The restaurant itself is the experience: ingredients harvested in local farms, cuisine based on Peru's altitude floors.

Free Cusco afternoon. We recommend: walk through San Blas (bohemian neighbourhood), visit to Pre-Columbian Art Museum (MAP), coffee at MAP Café. Early dinner at Inkaterra La Casona with author Peruvian menu.

Day 9 — the shared adventure day

This is the itinerary's only "strong" day. We recommend one of three options:

Option A — short walk to Choquequirao from viewpoint: half-day at viewpoint with panoramic view to Choquequirao across Apurímac valley. Easy 2-hour walk with gourmet picnic lunch. Return helicopter (USD 1,200 per person).

Option B — private horseback ride in Patacancha valley: 4 hours on horseback in high valley with views of snowy mountains, lunch at hacienda with local family. (USD 580 per couple.)

Option C — hot-air balloon flight over Sacred Valley: morning 1.5-hour flight with champagne on landing (USD 1,800 per couple). The most photogenic of the three.

Choice depends on couple. Option B is most intimate; C, most visually memorable.

Day 10 — return to Lima and international flight

Morning Cusco-Lima flight (1h 15min). Transfer to Hotel B for day-use (rest, shower) if international flight is night-time. Final lunch at Central with Mater Iniciativa tasting menu by Virgilio Martínez (USD 380 per person) —the trip's culinary closing, with sommelier-curated South American wines. Transfer to airport.

The honeymoon is not for "seeing Peru". It is for the couple to remember, in five years, what it felt to be together in an extraordinary place without routine distractions. Ten days are sufficient; twenty are too many. What matters is each moment's quality, not quantity.

Kada Travel

Approximate cost per couple

For this itinerary with premium suites and complete experiences, budget USD 18,000-24,000 per couple, not including international flights. Includes: suite hotels, award-winning restaurants with pairing, overflight or balloon flight, private shamanic ceremony, preferential Machu Picchu access, private transfers.

Details that distinguish the honeymoon

Three details differentiating the honeymoon from the standard couples trip:

First, welcome surprises at each hotel. We coordinate with each hotel to receive the couple with their own detail: welcome pisco sour, rose petals on bed, handwritten manager message, champagne in room. These details cost USD 50-150 per hotel and multiply the effect.

Second, professional couples photography. We recommend hiring a local photographer at one or two destinations (Sacred Valley or Machu Picchu) for 2-3 hours of private session (USD 380-580). The result: 30-50 professional photographs that will be the trip's permanent visual memory.

Third, intimate dinners instead of group tables. When a hotel offers restaurant with multiple tables, we always ask for window-side table, in private zone, with candles. This "upgrade" is free and changes the atmosphere completely.