Can I Vent about PeruRail?
 

I have been trying to buy tickets to/from Machu Picchu. Had to buy each direction separately as I am starting in Ollantaytambo and ending in Cusco.

When I first tried, I got messages that the system was down, two different times over the course of two days. Then it seemed to work, and I completed the purchase of my Ollan-MP tickets very easily.

Next I tried to get the MP- Cusco leg and it looked like all was well. Typed in the search, selection, and all the personal info (name birthdate, PP number, etc) for both of us. lots of typing in sensitive boxes, but still looking good.

Typed in all the CC info, and hit submit.
"Transaction rejected. Your credit card has not been charged"

Called Visa. Nothing was submitted or rejected on their end. Left emails for PeruRail, asking if the system was down, or if it's something on my end. No replies in 48 hours. I'm hoping they will reply once it is Monday in Peru.....

If not, I'll ask Sumaq hotel if they'll get the tickets for me. Or is there another place to buy these tickets online?

At least I have the reservation form memorized, since I've jtried about a thousand, well maybe 30, times this weekend.

Rant over. Now can I rant about Star Peru and Peruvian Airlines? I am beginning to wish I'd used a TA....

Okay, Nothing I can do

It's a weekend. Get used to it. Emails will not be returned.

I'm sure you'll get back to Cusco even if you have to take a taxi back from Olly. In fact I'd recommend that instead of trying to get the one and only train back to Cusco.

Well...good news. They sent me a confirmation and a form to send them the CC by email. so trains are all set. Now to re-try the domestic airlines!

they are truly incompetent and horrible with EM Fax works

better usually do not book B4 but when I have good agents

www.culturalimmersion.org

www.pmexplorers.com

provide quality response/service for this.

there are rail alternatives you might chec on.

it is a short ride most of the "luxury" services

are overpriced faky tourist rip offs for the clueless.

Have fun,

lcuy I had an horrendous time with Peru Rail. It went on for days. The web site is beyond hopeless (it is NOT your credit card!)and it took their staff about 5 days to respond to my initial enquiry. I cant tell you the dramas I went through and had to re do my entire itinerary. I FEEL your pain! (Sure hope it is worth it :-)

Peru Rail certainly charges enough for tickets. I'm amazed they can't put some of that money toward developing a decent system for online reservations and purchases.

Once they responded to my email (on Sunday) it actually was very fast and easy. They emailed me a confirmation number for the train I had requested, along with a credit card confirmation form. I had to fill it out and scan it back along with a copy of my credit card. An hour or so later I received the tickets.

Silver lining: The tickets were $8 cheaper that way...$142 vs $150 on line. Made me wish I had ordered both pairs of tickets that way.

Did you also have problems with Peruvian Airlines site? I have tried over and over to book my flight from Lima to Cusco but keep getting a Risky BIN error. Bank says it's the website, airline says it's the bank :(

I gave up on both star Peru and Peruvian after days of trying. I was getting to the point where I needed to confirm other reservations, but couldn't without being sure I had a flight. Even LanPeru's website wouldn't let me complete a purchase, but they had a 1-800 number so I was able to call and book over the phone.

. They were quite a bit more expensive, but at least their scheduled flights fit my needs a LOT better. They also have enough flights that I'll have lots of backup options if there are any weather (or other) delays.

Why is it easier to book a $3 a night hostel out in the wilderness than it is to get a ticket from these huge airlines?

Hey Lcuy I wonder if things are going to be BETTER once we arrive :-) I have booked all the land stuff for this hol myself and am going to need a holiday to get over it! (Peru rail was by far the worst as there IS no other choice - closely followed by the beyond-hopeless Rupa Wasi Eco Lodge! )

Booked rail from Ollaytantambo to Agua Caliente online last fall for trip in January. I did have some problems with the website, but I persisted and found success. Due to a snow storm we had to change dates in a hurry. I sent an e-mail and after 4 days without a response I called Peru Rail. The tickets were changed with a total cost of $17.00. Once I got a hold of Peru Rail I found them extremely helpful and understanding. We did have to scan a credit card authorization for the $17.00 and send it before the tickets were re-issued.

Also had trouble with Star Peru and Peruvian Airlines websites, so used Peru Best Tours http://www.perubesttours.com/. They booked our in-country flights and Heliconia Lodge on the Amazon for a small fee. When we had to do all of the rebooking due to the snow storm they handled it all in 3 days over the New Years weekend for a cost of $100. We usually do all of this ourselves, but this proved to be a godsend given what happened. Guillermo and Mike at Peru Best are communicative and extremely helpful.

I had the same issues with perurail and rupawasi lodge. Eventually got everything booked.

I had the same thing happen to me after about 30 times. I finally called them "long distance" and was told that the reason that the credit card is rejected is that they will only allow you to use that credit card ONCE! Why I have no idea! I told them that they should let people know by stating it on their website. DUH! The guy there told me he would e-mail me the form to fill out and I would have to either e-mail it back or fax it back to them. He also said that I would receive it within an hour. I have been waiting 6 hours so far. I called again "long distance" and was on hold for 15 minutes before I hung up! The company is run by idiots that really don't care!

Sharpei, The web site was a pain, but once I emailed them from the website, they were extremely helpful. Just send them an email telling them which trains and the dates and they'll reserve it and email you with a payment form.. Fill out the card form and send it back the same day to get the boarding passes.

lcuy, I'm in the Jet Blue terminal having just disembarked from LAN. I have a great photo for you I will post later on Peru Rail. We took a 1:27 train out of ollantaytambo. The porter came into the station to get our luggage, which I thought unusual, but whatever. We got on the train. We had seats 1 & 2. I asked him which side they were on. He said "sit anywhere you want, the train is all yours". I thought he was being funny. But then they closed the doors and the two of us were the ONLY ones on the train. Alone. It was hysterical. I wandered about he train taking photos here and there, talking with imaginary passengers and generally having a wonderful time. The train back was a bit tougher. We had other passengers AND a landslide, so our 1.5 hour ride turned into a 4 hour ride as we were sitting in the middle of nowhere Peru on a side track. That being said, our day at Machu picchu was right out of a National Geographic spread. It had rained torrentially before we got there and for 24 hours after we left. We arrived just in time for the proverbial "break in the clouds" I was SO happy and took over 600 photos that day. Now to edit.......

<b>Boston Harbor at MP: http://snips.ly/MachuPichu</b>

Lcuy, I LOVED the Arwanwa in Cusco. Will fill you in. Off to catch my flight back to Boston.

Later.....

You really know how to travel BH...Maharaja box seats in India and now the private Patriciadome train.

I love the photo. Is that a "standard" area in Machu Picchu or did you hike to get up there?

I can't wait for all the details!

You can get there pretty easily. What I did was being a print out of a photo I had seen online and gave it to my guide with the request "I want to get to this exact spot". I would do the same thing if I were you. Find vistas you like, print them out (just on regular paper and 'fast draft' mode), and hand them to your guide. I have a private guide for about four hours just because I had a number of places in mind I wanted to take photos of. He took us to all sorts of "non tourist" places--we were scrambling over all sorts of things. Then I went off my myself (Louise and the guide went up to the Inca bridge) and got into places I don't think i was supposed to be, but I took one of my favorite photos of the trip--at the very bottom of the terraces in the quarries. It is a three windowed wall, but completely unrestored with weeds growing up in the windows. I wandered about for eight hours. It was photography heaven.

I had a similar experience. Whatever you do, don't make the mistake I made. Out of frustration, I tried booking with a Peruvian travel agency - Go Peru. They were even worse to deal with, not returning emails, not booking tickets, etc. I finally called them and was told they were just holding off booking tickets until it got closer to the travel date.

I did finally get tickets booked through Peru Rail but like you, I had one leg booked and then a few days later booked the other. All I can say is you are not alone.

Dear travelers is a pleasure to communicate with you.
We followed the line of conversation and we see that mutual cooperation have been cleared and settle many uncertainties. Besides to our mainstream media, as [email protected], from here we can provide information for your trip be as pleasant as possible. In addition to shared information, we would like to inform our customers that our website requires all credit cards accepted to be Verify by Visa or that they carry the Mastercard Security Code. Keep in mind that the maximum amount of web purchase is US$500. It is important to note that when you board the train will be necessary to show the one credit card you used to purchase tickets and identification. All that for security actions and to guarantee a unique travel experience.
Always at your service

Thank you PeruRail. As I said, my tickets were taken care of very nicely one I emailed a request to you.

Your website however was very frustrating, and I was using a Verified by Visa card for the $100=/- tickets!

Dear Icuy:
We so glad to know, you have already your tickets. In your trip to Machu Picchu, you will live an unique experience. Regarding to your other comment, we will take it in count, in order to improve our service.
We wish you a safe trip

I got the "Transaction rejected. Your credit card has not been charged" yesterday, over and over. I sent email to PeruRail and never got an answer. After much investigation on the internet, I found the reason. Your card must be secured with a codeword or PeruRail won't accepted it and the error above is the only indication you will have.
Below are the websites for the MasterCard and Visa that allow you to setup the security code. It's free, but not all cards are accepted. For example, I couldn't use my CapitalOne Venture card.

http://www.mastercard.us/securecode.html
https://usa.visa.com/personal/security/vbv/index.jsp

I have tried more than 20 times to buy tickets through Perurail.com
I have already purchased my ticket to visit Machu Picchu.
Each time, Perurail replies that my visa card is not accepted and I have to start again. My visa card is registered by Verified by Visa.
After so many attempts I received a stock letter saying a staff person will contact me. I wrote back in spanish venting about this situation and hoping that he/she can help me through this ordeal.
I have two more months to solve this problem before I leave for Peru.
What seems to be the problem?? Is it too early to buy the ticket?
Already some trains are sold out for November.

If you sent them an email, they will book your ticket, then you have a certain period of time to fill out a charge card form and send it back.

From my experience (being the only passengers on a sold out train)I believe that some of the "sold out" trains online actually have seats, but for whatever reason they don't appear online.

good luck. I'm sure you'll work it out in a day or two- unless your "vent" was really mean!

Did you call your bank and Visa to find out if the charge was blocked by them?

Are you using a debit or credit card? I was told my Peru Rail that you could only use a credit card.

If it was a credit card that didn't work I would just wait until you hear from them, or you could email them. I was able to purchase tix, after just a couple of tries, but my sister couldn't. She ended up writing them. It took a couple of rounds of emails to get the right person. They sent her a confirmation number and requested her credit card info and a scanned copy of passports. That was only the first hurdle. Since she didn't have a scanner, she had to go to a local business store; they didn't want to scan it for her saying it is illegal. By this time, she was in tears and they ended up doing it for her.

I had some of the same problems using Peru Rails website but somehow the tickets were purchased and charged to my credit card. My tickets from MP to Cuzco are good and I have e-tickets but my tickets from Ollataytambo to MP require that I validate that purchase as certain locations 72 hours before the journey. My problem is that I fly right into Cuzco and take a car to Ollantaytambo. The stations that they say I have to validate the tickets are located in Cuzco or Lima. This is not possible. In the terms and conditions it says I can email a copy of my passport and credit card to a certain e-mail address but as many on here have said... I am getting no response. It gets so frustrating. I have been trying for 3 weeks. I still have time and don't want to have to deal with long distance phone calls. I have worked in the guest service industry and find this to be very poor service.