I would stay in Ollantaytambo firstly because it is a very pretty Inca town in a great location for the rest of the SV and secondly because it is at a lower altitude than Cusco which provides an opportunity to acclimatise which is essential, particularly for the girls.

Once you have sorted your accommodation, I would ask them to arrange transport direct form the airport. It is likely to be only slightly more expensive than getting a taxi from the airport but Cusco airport is renowned for taxi scams. AGREE THE PRICE AND GET THE DRIVER TO WRITE IT DOWN. You could get a bus which would be cheaper but a bit of a hassle getting to the bus station and negotiating a change in Urumbamba ( if that is still the case).

The train leaves from Ollantaytambo to AC but you will need to book tickets in advance. There are two trains, the backpacker and the Vistadome - the backpacker is fine!

There is lots to see in the SV and whilst it is possible to get buses around and it is a fun experience, it will be problematic getting from place to place. You could get you hostal to arrange but they will take a commission making it expensive. If you speak a little Spanish you will get a much better deal if you negotiate a deal for the day with a driver in the square.

Personally, I would just stay the one night in AC, MP is the only real reason to be there. You can get the train back to Cusco.

I can't help with Accommodation as it is a while sine I was there and things change. Others here who have stayed more recently will make suggestions I am sure.

I agree that I would do one or at the very most two nights in Aguas Calientes.

If you are interested in homestays, you may want to try one for a while in Ollantaytambo. There is a nonprofit who arranges them. Not sure if they have housing for a family of 4, though if you write far enough ahead they may. Pricing includes meals. http://awamakitourism.wordpress.com/homestay-programs/

Ollantaytambo is a small town but as it becomes well known on the tourist trail, prices for rooms are rising. Make sure you have good directions since many of the less expensive hostels are out of the way or even kilometers out of town.

I don't have a recommendation for a family of four, in a hostel.

We just came back from our 5 weeks trip in South America, 8 days of the 5 weeks were spent in Cusco, Inca Trail and Scared Valley area. We are a family of 5 with 13, 13 (twin boys) and a 12 yo. Because of having kids and in a foreign country speaking near to none spanish, I planned everything before we left, I used this tour company called Southern Adventure Peru Tours, which is a small locally operated company based in Cusco. I asked to book all the tours I want to do (Floating island in Puno, Scared Valley and city tour, as well as the 4 day Inca Trail). All went extremely well with no unexpected events, and our guides were very knowledgable as well. Ruben the owner of the business picked us up from Bus/Train stations as agreed, and also recommend restaurants while we there. Bring 3 kids/teens to a trip like this was pretty brave for us, although they are all very good kids, I didn't want to risk ourselves arriving anywhere not knowing where to go, hence I organised everything with a tour company and the one I used had turned out to be very good. Hope that helps.

Tour companies that plan your entire itinerary can jack up your costs by 30% or more. And they don't typically want to deal with those on a backpacker budget. Hope THAT helps, too.

BTW the booking sites such as hostels.com, hotels.com, and booking.com often have listings for Peru.

Hi,

Yes, I agree that Ollantaytambo would be a good option to use as a base in the Sacred Valley. Try the Apu Lodge as they have a family room at a good price which might suit http://www.apulodge.com/ There are also lots of activities, hikes etc that you can do from Ollantaytambo and Apu can give you quite a bit of info on this and can also organise taxi pick-up from the airport in Cusco.

Only negative to staying in Ollantaytambo is that you are about 2 hours from the other end of the Sacred Valley i.e Pisac by bus, however if you are ok doing a long day trip you can still manage to visit Pisac ruins, market, town etc. and return to ollantaytambo at the end of the day.

In terms of getting to Aguas Calientes, you can book train tickets from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes and again from Aguas Calientes with Peru Rail www.perurail.com (The more in advance you book the cheaper the tickets as the cheaper tckets tend to sell out first.) http://www.perurail.com/

In Cusco, you could look at staying in budget options like Piccola Locanada (http://www.piccolalocanda.com/)who have quad rooms available or somewhere like Mama Simona (www.mamasimona.com/es) both clean, friendly budget, family-oriented options.

For help with planning your itinerary a good free resource is: http://www.bestofcusco.com/download-free-sample-itineraries/

Hope this info helps. Happy travels!

Thanks so much, everyone, for all the info -- especially the accommodations. We ended up booking 8 nights in Ollantaytambo at Casa de Wow www.caseadewow.com and 6 nights in Cusco at Mama Simona . Both have reserved a quad dorm for us, so we'll have a great combo of the cheap rates for a dorm and the privacy of a room! With breakfast included, and access to lounge and kitchen.

Now, for the next question - local transportation.
Thoughts on taxi+train, or taxi+combi or bus between Cusco airport and Ollantaytambo? (I know that if we go by bus, we'd need to transfer at Urubamba.) My main issue is picturing where our luggage would go on the bus (roped on top? safe? - would we get to see it put on and taken off?).

Same question for the reverse trip, except we'll be going from Ollantaytambo to Cusco proper.

We'll need four fares in each direction. We don't mind the extra time required for the bus or combi, but want to try to do the cost/benefit analysis.

We'll figure out Cusco hostel to Cusco airport once we're there...but I'm happy to have info on that too.

Don't miss the Chinchero market, I liked it much better than the one at Pisac, though the ruins there were fascinating

We used buses extensively during our time in the SV and elsewhere in the SV and never had a problem, but we did watch our bags like hawks all the time. I always waited until I saw it strapped on top of the bus ( or where it was put into the hold on longer journeys) before getting on the bus. Some bus companies will sell you another ticket so you can put your bags on the seat next to you but I am not sure if this is the case from Cusco or Ollantaytambo. Clearly you would keep all valuables with you. Also be aware that pick pocketing is, or at least was, rife on buses, particularly Cusco town buses.

In terms of cost, I imagine that it will be relatively cost effective to get a taxi as there are 4 of you travelling. It may be worth asking Casa de Wow if they can arrange a pick up for you. Otherwise bargain hard for the best fair on arrival and get the driver do write it down. Also, do not allow him to stop along the way to pick anyone else up. This is fairly common in Peru but can lead to serious problems.

If y

Hi, I am going in May with two teenagers. I've organised and booked everything myself as we are going on very tight budget. Unfortunately I can't book MP tickets online because they don't take visa payments and secondly I need two tickets for children under 18. Do you think if I get get them two days before we go to MP in Lima?

bookmarking. thanks.