We did it and it was one of the highlights of our trip.

There are travel agencies in Puno that will take care of all the details, don’t sweat it. They pretty much get a group of tourists together and herd them through the process. I completely forget what the time schedule was, but pretty much plan to make it 2 full days. I think I’d plan to stay in Puno for a night when you return.

One thing I did not know until shortly before departure is that you are supposed to bring a gift to the family you’re staying with, preferable food such as fresh fruit unavailable on the island. I also gave some pencils, pens and paper to the young daughter in the family and she seemed quite pleased.

Thanks, Sailor. What kind of boats take you to Isla Taquile? I read that it’s a 4-hour journey and it seems that pretty much kills two whole days if you do a homestay. I’m not sure that I have that much spare time, especially if I want to get to the Bolivian side of the lake also….

BTW, how are you, Sailor? With you, Sickboy, and Meredith more-or-less AWOL lately, this forum has seem better days. You never call, you never write….Where has the love gone?

The boats were humongous cruise ships-NOT! I forget how big they were. Not big boats by any stretch of the imagination, that’s for sure, but sufficient for the journey in good weather.

We did a one night trip. The first day stopped at Los Uros floating islands, so it pretty much broke up the day.

I think it was worth the time, but it isn’t for everyone. The big bonfire on the island was a blast! I thought it would be totally crappy tourist stuff, and it was, to a point, but we actually had a fabulous time, drinking and dancing with the locals.

(I’ve been AWOL because the Ultimate Guy bought a handyman special house and have been spending too much time over there working, and no internet access there as of yet.)

Not sure what company you are using for Inca Trail, but SAS can arrange your Lake Titikaka itinerary very quickly out of Cusco (their office is right on Plaza de Armas). Just show up there, and they’ll hook you up with hotel in Puno for the nights before and after Lake Titikaka as well as the Lake Titikaka trip itself.

The usual itinerary is you leave Puno in the morning. Then stop by Uros islands. Then proceed to Amantani island where you spend the night with a local family (at night there is a "discoteque" with locals — quite an experience). You also do a bit of hiking on the island while the light is still out. Then next morning you go to Taquille, where you spend a few hours and have lunch. Then return to Puno around 5pm. Interesting trip, and very cheap I remember I think the whole itinerary for 2 days on Lake Titikaka including everything was $25-30 two years ago (hotel in Puno is extra of course).

By the way, if you want to see what kind of boats are used you can check out the photos from my trip and you’ll get a good idea.

http://public.fotki….

The finalized itinerary, barring any protest-related complications from the Bolivian leg of the trip is this:

Fly from Cuzco to La Paz. Explore La Paz centro for a couple hours before bussing it to Copacabana (for the night).

All-day trip to Isla del Sol.

The following day, chill out in Copa and watch the blessing of the cars, etc., before bussing it across the border, arriving Puno in the late afternoon/early evening.

Morning cruise to the floating islands. Return to Puno in early afternoon to catch late afternoon flight from Juliaca to Lima (and the end of the trip).

I won’t get to do the homestay, unfortunately, but I still get three whole days in the area.