Einreb92 Loc: Philadelphia

Just a note, the mountain one sees in most photographs is actually Huayna Picchu (850' higher than the peak called Machu Picchu) which is usually behind the point of view of most pictures and is not nearly as spectacular. The city region is also called Machu Picchu. The extra climb takes 1 1/2- 2 hours going up, with uneven stairs, palm sweating turns, flimsy rope holds and impossible tread rises. But one is awarded with even more amazing views. My comments about the views were obtained second hand and from pictures my son and my wife took: I stayed at 8,000 ' read a book and had tea. A wise old dog knows his limits :) You can't go wrong on this trip. Enjoy!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Don't try to go from Galapagos to Machu Picchu in one day - 8,000 ft elevation change will make you feel pretty awful. Spend a day or to acclimating at 4000 ft or so. Going from 8000 ft to sea level is not an issue.

Bring an appetite for ceviche con cancha (red snapper marinated briefly in lime juice), lomo salteado (stir fried beef), beef or alpaca corazon (heart) a la parrilla, Cuy (roasted guinea pig), and of course, Peruvian spit roasted Chicken.

Become friendly with the Dehaze filter in Photoshop and/or Lightroom. It works wonders.

You will be tempted by the awesomess of it all to take pictures that try to "get it all in one shot." Take a few of those, then look for unique points of view and focus on the details. There will be many "pictures within pictures" that you may not see until you get back, then you'd kick yourself for not reaching for the longer lens or getting closer. You don't have to tell an entire story in one picture - leave that to the photojournalists.

Enjoy the trip. Bring back amazing photos!

RodM Loc: SE Virginia

I got the iconic (and other) shots I wanted at Machu Picchu last September with Canon 24-105 and 5DSr, no tripod. I had other lenses and did not need them.

AFPhoto Loc: Jamestown, RI, USA

I had a think tank city pro backpack and a max 200 mm zoom lens with no problem. The park doesn't allow tripods as they generally interfere with the flow of pedestrians in narrow passages. Mono pods can always be used as walking sticks and were permitted. All of this was correct as of two years ago.

MikWar Loc: Chicago, Western Suburbs

I did a tour that included both places two years ago. I had my Canon T3 and used my Canon EFS 18-55 for a majority of the shots (I like bird shots so used my EFS 55-250 sometimes). In most cases you will get close enough to animals (frigate birds, Galapagos Tortoise, sea lions) you won't need a zoom. In Galapagos it was very bright - almost cloudless most of the time and being on the equator it seemed the sun was always overhead. I should have stepped down the exposure for some of the shots. I agree with the person who suggested a GoPro - I borrowed a friend's underwater camera. We snorkeled every day and got some incredible shots of sea lions and flightless cormorants underwater as well as a variety of fish and coral. I was concerned about taking the T3 on the zodiacs to and from the islands so I put it in a waterproof bag.

Have your camera ready on the train to Machu Pichu - a violent river at the base of beautiful mountains along the way.

The shots in Machu Pichu were almost all taken with my 18-55. The weather was quite variable. When we first arrived it was overcast, got steadily nicer and was partly sunny by the end of the day. Make sure you adjust your settings accordingly. There are a variety of paths - make sure you go up as high as you can for some great views looking down on the city. We did the "dawn patrol" up mountain the next morning - heavily overcast and a light rain. Still got some wonderful shots through the haze.

Hope you have a great trip.

dylee8 Loc: South Florida

I was in Machu Picchu last year in August. I took the train from Cusco to Aquas Calientes. Stayed in Aquas Calientes for two days and each morning took a 30 minute bus to Machu Picchu, return in evening. 95% of tourists do this. There is only one hotel in Machu Picchu, but hard to book and very expensive. If you stay more than 2 days you might consider this, but book early. Here's a few suggestions

1. This is peak travel season. You will run into many many tourists. To take good pictures with no people you either stay in that hotel, or take the first bus up there so that you are ahead of most people.
2. First bus is around 5:30am. You need to line up 45 minutes ahead to get to the first buses. Lots of people all over.
3. You need both wide angle while you are at the site, and zoom while you hike up and look back down. But you also want to travel light. High altitude, uneven steps, and steep incline all make for tough hiking. Avoid frequent lens changes. I took my Nikon D750 with 28-300mm and found that perfect for me.
4. In my two days there were fog in early morning, but lifted very soon. I might be lucky but I don't believe tripod is needed.

TonyP Loc: New Zealand

Your itinerary is identical to mine in June last year.

mirandagarcia

It is almost impossible to take a bad picture in the Galapagos Islands. The amazing part of the islands are the animals and sea life. I would definitely take an underwater camera because you will not believe the thousands of fish. I went snorkeling every day for a week and had seals come right up to my goggles, giant sea turtles swim around me, saw some sharks, penguins, marine iguanas, flamingos and tons more. The land animals let you get super close to them, even the birds because they aren't used to humans. Unfortunately my DSL camera was stolen in Quito, Ecuador, the day before I left for the islands but I still ended up with great pictures from my point and shoot (because you can get so close). Most of the land is barren and volcanic rock unless you go to the larger islands. There were a few cloud forests and white sandy beaches, but mostly rock. Have a great trip.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

try a search at shutterdial for ideas.

http://www.shutterdial.com/#/search?s=Macchu%20Pichu&f=any&a=0

Photocraig

Note that Tony and Chelsea Northrop have a You Tube on their trip that I believe is still up. It should be instructive and help you set your expectations.

Heed the altitude postings. Altitude sickness can ruin a lifetime experience--and can lead to death. Unless you're experienced at altitude, heed the advice to see your physician before you go. Get some uphill hiking training and shoes before you go.

Nick K Loc: Long Beach CA

We did that trip in November last year,both places are amazing. I carry with me a d7100 (nikon dx format) a 28-300, 12-28 f4, and a 35mm 1.8 lens. this seem to work for me for now. in the galapagos i brought my older go pro camera, charged up and tested at home. batteries failed 10 minutes into snorkeling. test your equipment before you go, there are no camera shops. on the rafts you will need a fast lens or push the iso up. on land you can walk right up to the animals so zoom is not needed. A zoom is needed for bird in flight though. there are some amazing photo opportunities, but i did find some we regulated by the time you visited so you had to make the best of the light you had at the time. if you go to Darwin's bay take a walk down the beach and up the canal in waist deep water with camera in hand well worth it. Manchu Pichu was great every comment about altitude is correct. We took a tour that afternoon and my wife had altitude sickness. We would take the afternoon off next time and explore if we felt good enough. look into the prescription or visit a local pharmacy if you speak Spanish. we found guides to be helpful but long winded. We left the group about an 1 1/2 hours in and went down had lunch. then went back up to the city the place was empty in the afternoon. I was able to get some pictures with very few people in them. The next morning i hiked to the sun gate. this is a great view well worth the trip. 2-3 hours round trip. great shots from above.

MJD98004

Looks awesome on FB! Hope we're as lucky with the weather in a few weeks. Thanks for the reference!

MJD98004

Sage words! Already prepping in line with your tips below. Thanks!

MJD98004

Several comments promoting the Sun Gate has pushed that up the priorities list. Now if I can convince my kids to come too....