Tourists come in droves to Cusco as it is the major travel hub for Machu Picchu – the destination where the hordes either fly into or bus across to.  Some stay for a night, head to Machu Picchu, stay for another night on their return and leave.  Others take their time to enjoy the city at a more leisurely place – we were the latter, having now been based in Cusco for 18 months.

For those heading to Cusco with kids, know that there is plenty to see and do so the kids don’t get bored.  Here are some of our favourites.

Plaza de Armas:  Sitting in the plaza and watching the world go by is a great way to spend an hour or two, especially as there are plenty of eateries and coffee shops nearby to please the kids.  The smaller plaza in San Blas is also fun to while away the afternoon, particularly as one of our favourite eateries, The Meeting Place is nearby.

Open top bus ride:  Leaving from the central plaza, the bus ride is a fun way to see the city without tiring out the kids too much.  It takes you all around the city and up to Cristo Blanco (the white Christ) where you can get an amazing bird’s eye view of the city below.  Definitely a must if you are only in the city for a short period of time.

Local Markets:  There are many fun and interesting markets to explore in Cusco from the food markets such as San Pedro, the clothing markets at El Molino, the second hand market known as the Baratillo or the Centro Artesenal market where you can pick up your souvenirs for the folks back at home.  Or there is always the local mall if you are in the need of a shopping spree closer to home.

Museo Inka:  There are a number of museums and art galleries around town however Museo Inka was by far our favourite.  You are greeted at the door by a fun musical photo opportunity followed by artifacts and displays which will help keep the kids amused.  The grand finale is the small collection of mummies at the end, your kids will either love them or hate them (I had one of each).

Lanlacuyoq (Zona X):  While the ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Qenko, Puka Pukara and Tambomachay will provide plenty of historical education, the caves at Lanlacuyoq (also known as Zona X) allow the kids to get up close and personal in amongst the stones and explore.  And there are plenty of horse riding opportunities in and around the ruins as well if the kids are feeling up to it.

Choco Museo:  The Choco Museo is an educational and delicious experience for the whole family and if you desire, you can sign up for the chocolate making classes as well.  Sit back and enjoy a hot chocolate, chocolate fondue, chocolate crepe or just chocolate!

Faces of Cusco:  The Faces of Cusco Family-Fun workshop is the perfect way to acclimate or take a break from the outdoors. The all-age workshops are available every day, and in the end you will go home with delicious chocolates and typical local souvenirs!

Planetarium Cusco:  There aren’t many kids that don’t have a fascination with the night sky or the planets and it is a wonderful experience for them to realise it from the Inca civilisation’s point of view.  Planetarium Cusco is recommended for kids 7 and up, and you definitely want to take a jacket for this one as the nights in Cusco can get pretty cool.​

Parque Urpicha:  There are plenty of parks scattered around the city for the kids to play in, although by far the biggest one is Parque Urpicha.  It is filled with a colourful mix of slides, swings and old fairground rides and even a small ferris wheel and trampoline which open on the weekends.  The stores inside the park selling drinks and snacks definitely make it a stress free outing.  Another fun park for the young ones is the Dinosaur Park which features statues of dinosaurs small and large.  It is situated in Oropesa, 30 minutes outside of the city.

Awana Kancha:  While not in Cusco itself, Awana Kancha is situated about 30 minutes outside of Cusco.  It is a great way to see the llamas, alpacas and vicunas up close and personal and the kids will definitely enjoy being able to feed them.  Cochahuasi, the nearby animal sanctuary is worth visiting in the same trip.  Watch out for those Andean Condors however, we had an extremely personal encounter and are still recovering.  And for something a little closer to Cusco, the Universidad de San Antonio Abad del Cusco off Avenida de la Cultura also features a small zoo at the back featuring monkeys and spectacled bears (Paddington anyone?).

Of course there are many other fun things to do in and around Cusco, depending on the age and interest of your child or children.  Those without children will undoubtedly benefit from visiting many of these places listed above as well.  So whether you are in Cusco for one day or three, make sure you take some time out to do at least one or two of the things on the list to make sure your visit to Cusco is a fun and enjoyable one.

After having lived in Cusco for over a year and a half, we can definitely conclude that Cusco is a great place to visit.

There is so much to see and do for all ages.  Whether you have young kids or those more of the teen age, Cusco has much to offer.

Whether you family is up for hiking in the hills, exploring caves, visiting a llama farm or just heading to the park for a chill-out day, it is all possible.

And one of the best things, is that once you get to Cusco, the cost of staying here is relatively cheap. There are accommodation options to suit all budgets and food is relatively inexpensive.

So all in all, if you are looking for an interesting destination to bring your family - I highly recommend Cusco.  And even better it is just a hop, skip and a jump from the amazing Machu Picchu (a must see tourist destination while you are here) and other wonderful small towns in the Sacred Valley area including Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero - all of which we recommend.

The shopping is great, the food is delicious, the people are friendly and there is such a variety of things to do, that in reality you may be struggling to find some downtime.  So whether you come for a week, a month or stay for an extensive period like we did, I don't think you will regret it.

One of the questions which is asked often in many long term travel forums and world schooling groups is, “How on Earth are you able to afford long term travel?”

And there is no one answer. Every family or individual has a different approach to their budget and logistics and of course each set of circumstances is different.

Saying that, I thought I would share some of the common responses to ease the minds of those who are sitting there wishing they too could afford to get out there and see the world with their family. What works for some won’t necessarily work for others, but this list is definitely a great place to start.

1.  Savings

Having a nest egg to fall back on is always helpful and many families literally tighten the purse strings and save, save, save. They then sit down and work out a budget, calculating how far $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000 will get them, and take it from there. Some take years to save, but with hard work and dedication it is possible.

2.  Sell your assets or business

As scary as it sounds, many families literally sell their homes, business or cars and set off to see the world. Of course for many this may not work as there is no security to come back when (if) you eventually do return; however for others returning to their previous lifestyle is not all it is cracked up to be.

3.  Teaching English abroad

I have personally done this one and can vouch for it as a method to stay abroad for a lengthy period of time. If you Google TEFL or TESOL courses in your local area, there will be no shortage of suppliers. Sit the course and then apply for suitable posts in the country of your choice. The wage of course may not be on par with what you may earn back in the USA or Australia (or wherever you may happen to hail from), but it should enable you to live well enough in whatever country you end up in. Or at the very least supplement some of your stay or travels.

4.  Volunteer abroad

While many volunteer programs these days charge for you to volunteer, sites like www.helpx.net and www.wwoof.net are making it easier to find suitable farm and hostel stays in exchange for your services. It is certainly worth having a browse and seeing what is available. Many will not accept children so check first before you apply.

5.  Housesitting

Websites like www.trustedhousesitters.com, www.aussiehousesitters.com.au, www.mindmyhouse.com and www.housecarers.com, as well as others, are paving the way forward for free house-sit and pet-sit opportunities. Search your destination, check your availability and apply. Accommodation can be one of the more expensive aspects of travel, so if you can score free housing, even just for part of the trip, you can save a small fortune. 

6.  Couch surfing

Couch surfing of course is another option whereby the accommodation is free – again search your destination and see who is hosting in that area. Websites like www.couchsurfing.com and www.bewelcome.com are helpful in this area. Again this can enable you to save quite a bit of money especially in those destinations where accommodation does not come cheap and the locals may be able to help you cut corners on those travel bills as well.

7.  Renting out the family home

For those who don’t wish to sell their home or property, renting it out is also another great option. Provided the money is not all going on paying off a mortgage, you may find that the money can help sustain quite a large portion of your travel.

8.  House swap

Doing a house swap is of course another consideration – you can look to swap with another family for a designated period of time and set out to explore a new national or international destination.

9.  Blogging

Many travellers are bloggers and earn some form of income from their blogs or travelogues. Don’t expect however just to start a blog and earn a substantial income immediately. There are many income streams which can be sourced from a blog or website such as through the sale of e-books, advertising, travel articles, affiliate links through companies such as Amazon, etc.

10.  Photography, writing, graphic design, website design or computing

Photography, writing (in any form), graphic design, website design or jobs in the computing industry are great mobile careers which can be done from anywhere. There are many options in these five careers alone. You can take photographs and sell them either through your own personal website or through stock websites. You can write for yourself (see blogging) or for clients. I personally am a ghostwriter and e-book publisher and usually can cover a few bills as we go. Graphic design, website design and computing work can usually be done remotely from the office and you can choose whether you wish to operate on a freelance basis or for one centrally located organisation. These careers in particular are very popular for those who wish to work on the road and earn an income.

11.  Sales roles or other online business opportunities

Sales positions can generally be done from anywhere provided you have a telephone and/or the internet. As long as the work is done, it doesn’t really matter where in the world you are permanently located.

12.  Travel on the pension

Many people choose to use their pension for international travel particularly as a little can go a long way in many countries these days depending on whether you wish to cut corners or budget as you go.

13.  Fundraising or crowdfunding

Depending on what you are doing, you might find a crowdfunding or fundraising campaign helpful, particularly if you are looking to invest in a certain project or are heading off to volunteer, and you think people will be particularly supportive of your plans. At the very least, you don’t know until you try.

14.  Create a business

Would you consider starting a business in your destination of choice to help supplement an income? We did this with a B&B in Cusco, Peru for a period of 12 months and have known others to do the same.  Of course don't limit yourself to accommodation, there are many other choices including travel, retail, teaching, computing, etc.

15.  Mission work

Members of churches and missions can get support from their parish or group to help fundraise their trip to go abroad and help local communities in a variety of ways.

16.  All or any of the above

A combination of the items listed above – many people use multiple streams of income to support their travel, choosing to not rely on purely one income opportunity.

Note there is no right or wrong way, just whatever works for you.

If you have any more to add to the list, let me know, and I will look to make this as helpful a resource as possible.

Our sponsors and supporters need to understand us, know a little about us and get why we are doing what we are doing in order to want to support our cause.  And no one knows this better than Lainie and Miro from the global education website RaisingMiro.com.  Not only are they personal friends of ours, but both Lainie and Miro know and have experienced firsthand, the fact that education is not limited to the inside of a classroom.

"On their sixth year of travel, 14 countries and many personal changes later, Lainie & Miro continue to slow travel, living an inspired possession-free-lifestyle, volunteering and learning naturally from the world. They are following their interests on the road, as the planet has been transformed into their classroom. Often you will hear Lainie say “we are blessed to be accidental unschoolers” and has become and an advocate for “life learning” at any age. Lainie & Miro describe their greatest accomplishment as the ability to participate in the world without fear." - RaisingMiro.com

Currently in Ecuador, working on Project World School, they are paving the way for home schoolers, world schoolers and unschoolers by creating immersive world learning experiences designed for homeschoolers, unschoolers and democratic learners across the globe.

Thanks for your support!

Emilia has been participating in a dance group for quite a while now and the final performance was last night.  It was one thing to see her practice in a small room with the others but another to see her perform on a dim stage in front of a couple of hundred people.

Where did my little girl go?  In front of me was a confident 9 year old performing with all the passion and energy that she could muster.  She was up on stage all by herself dancing in front of a room full of strangers with no nerves in sight.

Children always amaze me with their ability to just get on with it - we adults definitely need to take a leaf or two out of their books.  And at the end she was jumping around with excitement - a mix of happiness because she had just done something totally awesome and sadness because it was the end of the show.

My little Emilia is definitely a performer at heart.  In the last few months I have seen her twice up on stage - in a recent beauty pageant and now this and both times she has never failed to amaze me.

Way to go Emilia!

Worldschooling is a relatively new term for me, one which my friend Lainie from RaisingMiro.com first made me aware of; and it was a term which I quickly embraced regarding our children’s education.  So what exactly does it mean?

For us it basically means anything we like.  Our education systems comprises of a mixture of the following:

Structured school - my 4 year old son goes to a European style daycare in Cusco, Peru from 9am until 1pm where he learns to read and write – currently in Spanish, my daughter enjoys summer school programs where she can sing and create as well as online art classes;

Homeschool - my 9 year old daughter opts for homeschool learning (usually 1-2 hours a day, 3-4 days a week) and we use websites like Time4Learning and Spelling City as a base for the core curriculum balancing it with YouTube videos and videos from BrainPop, etc;

Unschooling - we learn from situations around us and events which are naturally presented to us – my daughter does creative dance lessons twice a week, we attend a writer’s group giving her the chance to write and share her poetry, they play semi-educational games online that interest them both and we go for hikes with a local group which encourages children to play outdoors; and

Worldschooling – where the world becomes our classroom and we are presented with educational opportunities that our world travels provide us (we visit places like Cusco and Machu Picchu to give them a first-hand glance at how other cultures lived).

We like the mix – we think that our children will be better off because of the variety of opportunities which are presented to them.  All kids learn differently and the mixture of “schooling” methods ensure that they are constantly being challenged one way or another.  My daughter has always shied away from traditional learning methods yet my son seems to thrive on it – so we try to balance it so their own personal needs are met.

I want my children to be global citizens – to do away with the notion that we are from one place or another or that school is something which happens between the hours of 9.15am – 3.15pm Monday to Friday.  And so far we are succeeding.  Ask my kids where they are from and they will hesitate – I am not even sure that they know themselves.  That’s kind of neat!