In the process of booking train tickets online for trip to Machu Picchu. How much time would you recommend spending at the ruins and/or Agua Calientes? Don't want to cut ourselves to short, but yet don't want to be stuck waiting with too much time to kill in Agua Calientes? Is this town worth spending time in? Also, can you buy any food at the ruins. If you stay all day, do you just have to wait to you get back to Agua Calientes to grab some food?

one day.

For sure take lots of good food.. Ice cream? Snickers mmmmmmmmmmm

There is not much at Agua Calientes.

If you get there in the morning... you can take the last train back Ollaytatambo.

There are several restaurants to eat at Agua Calientes.

But as has been mentioned bring some snacks with you , Trail Mix,Chocolate bars,bottled water, if you intend to spend hours walking about

Husband and I got into AC at 2pm...checked into hotel...went to ruins. Then we went up at 5am on the first bus and had until 4pm. We thought it was perfect. Our main intent on visiting Peru was to see Machu Picchu, so we didn't want to feel like we cut it short. Plus we got different views at different times, which was awesome for photography. AC is really just the pitstop town that exists for Machu Picchu tourists, so there's not much to "see". There are several restaurants. There's a buffet place right on the railroad line (cannot remember name but it is very visible) that we enjoyed for late lunch before our departing train. It was pricier than other places, but was good.
Definitely take plenty of water and snacks, as other folks have said. You can leave Machu Picchu to do the expensive buffet at the Sanctuary hotel, but that's the only meal place without taking the bus (15 min) down the mountain. There was a snack shop outside the entrance that had water, sodas, and I think ice cream, but that was it.
Enjoy- you will love it- magical!

I like AC. A lot of people here don't, but it's nice not to have to rush to leave the ruins by 2:00 to get down the mountain to catch the train back to Cusco, especially when you've made the trip there that morning. If you spend the night, you can stay later at the ruins and have dinner at a restaurant in town. My favorite is the Indio Feliz. The buffet place mentioned above is called Toto's House. You can take the train to Ollantaytambo the next morning if you don't want to wait for the afternoon train back to Cusco.

Officially, you cannot take any food into the ruins. No one seems to care about a bottle of water though. Any packs you have to check at the gate.

Just outside the Machu Picchu entrance there are two choices for eating, the $33 lunch buffet at the Sanctuary hotel, and the snack bar/cafe. They have more than snacks, they have sandwiches etc. So you do not have to go back into town to eat.

A day is fine.

Just was in AC MP

IF you want to see the sunrise

and climb HP train into AC

the afternoon prior to your visit.

Early AM visits are the most magical

before crowds arrive.

El Sanctuario or Sumak Hotel

nice for an overnite right

on the river.

Booked on www.asiarooms.com

Keep in mind it can rain esp PM

come prepared...AC ok not great.

One full day was enough for me...

Took a soak at the hot springs

in AC after OK not great...

Food available not cheap.

Have fun,

Thanks everybody. Planning on just the one day in MP. Ok, so now, how many hours would you recommend? Not sure if we want to do the very earliest train or not. Is 4 hours or so enough time at the ruins and then maybe an hour or two in AC? Should we arrive before 9? I don't want to book the train tickets and then regret my time choices.

I recommend taking the earliest train available. The experience is nicer when there are fewer people. Also, if it rains it is more likely to do so in the afternoon. Go straight up to the watchman's hut, photograph the llamas, and wait for the mist to clear.

I had about 6 hours inside, but you need to allow time to get to the busses and for the ride up, plus lunch and any shopping, so I would allow minimum 8 to 9 hours total from arrival time to departure.

This of course assumes you are not hiking to HP.

What time of year will you be there?

Depending on when you are going, I was glad I had two days at Machu Picchu.

I took a morning train in the first day, headed up to the ruins, walked around the ruins for a couple hours, then hiked back up the Inca Trail to the Sun Gate to see that view. It was rainy/foggy most of the time, so I was glad I didn't have to rush back to the train so I could stay late in the afternoon when things were clearer.

Spent the night in Aguas Calientes. Which was alright, relaxing, ate in a standard restaurant right by the town sqare.

The next day I took the first bus up in the morning and was one of the only people there. I headed over to Huayna Picchu and climbed that, took maybe 2.5 hours total including stops for looking around. It is a great hike and gives you a nice overlook of the whole area. Then came down, did a short hike to see the Inca Bridge. It was cloudy but not fog this day, so having the second day was worth it, plus I got to do some hiking.

After, at about noon, I took the bus back into town, had Cuy for lunch, did some shopping and caught the train back to Cusco.

We will be there on April 25th