Hi there,
my husband and I are travelling to Peru next year and want to spend 2 days in Aguas Calientes and see Machu Picchu. Is the entry the Machu Pichu alone $129 and if so is it just as cheap to do a day tour from Aguas Calientes to Machu Pichu with a guide?
Also what is the cost of a taxi from Cuzco to Pisac?
Ta

The price of the ticket is in local Peruvian currency (Nuevo Soles) not US dollars.

Taxi prices in Peru are negotiable. I recently paid 60 soles from the Cuzco airport without trying very hard so it should be easy to get it for much less.

As to whether it is worthwhile to hire a guide. Personally my opinion is no, IF you are willi g to read a guidebook before you go and if you are good at followi g a map. If no then maybe hire a guide at the entran e for orientation tour of a few hours

Thanks for that, after posting it, I reread the prices again and realised that it wasn't in AU$. Thanks for the taxi info. I was going to stay in Cuzco the first night but may make SV our destination for the night now and stay in cuzco on the way back. Any recommendations on places to stay?

I would not hire a guide at the entrance. If you can't hire a guide in advance, then take the guide book and go alone.
The really great guides are always booked in advance. Guides with "emerging" skills and language will be the ones standing at the entry to these places. Sometimes you can get a good "pick-up" guide, but it is roulette.
This is the one time where having a really good guide can enhance your visit. These guides will come from Cusco most likely.
From Aguas Calientes, it is 30 min bus ride & $20 RT to go back and forth to the entry to the ruins. You can come in/out of the ruins all day without additional cost, but it will cost $20 RT each time you go up/down on the bus.
Take your own food unless you want to eat in the outdoor cafe or take the bus back down to AC. I actually like the cafe food. Sandwiches are fresh & hand made and although the prices are little more than what you would pay elsewhere in Peru, they are not outrageous. (I've seen national parks elsewhere in the world, with overpriced, crappy food)
This is one place where the thing to splurge on is the guide!

The bus was $18 when I went a few weeks ago. It probably is a good idea to bring exact amounts as well as a few dollars more if you can. Also can be paid in Nuevo Soles.

You will barely be able to move around the main part of MP without bumping into large guided groups. How this enhances the experience I have never understood, except perhaps to the guide's pocket.
Since jwhitt has an affiliation with a travel agency I understand her position. I ran into a lot of this, i.e., you'll never find a "safe...good...available...(taxi/guide/restaurant/market) unless you book with me." Pure hogwash.

At least jwhitt discloses her travel agency affiliation on her profile, I give credit for that.

I was just a Machu Picchu last week. Some suggestions:

- If you want a guide, book one in advance per recommendations from this board. The ones at the entrance are hit or miss. (We did not book a guide as our Inca Trail guide gave us a tour when we arrived.)

- Have a restaurant or your hotel in Aguas Calientes make you a boxed lunch and take it in in your bag. You can get a much more decently priced option. Shop around - we ended up getting ripped off because we were in a hurry. Saw one store offering boxed lunch for 15 soles.

- Stay in MP after lunch and as late as you can. The last bus is around 5:30PM, but they start herding people toward the exit around 5:00PM. It is drastically empty after lunch. Much more fun to explore then with thousands of people.

As far as where to stay in the Sacred Valley... we used Cusco as our base and took day trips to the other towns/sites. I would recommend this as Cusco is a big city with great hotels and restaurants. The furthest drive was a little over an hour. The other towns are very small (Pisac, Urubamba, Ollantaytambo...). We did stay one night in Ollanta after coming back from Machu Picchu, but mostly just so we could get some sleep and then start our day tour the next morning in the Ollanta site.

In Ollantaytambo some hotel choices include Pakaritampu, El Albergue, KB Tambo, and Apu Lodge. KBs upgraded rooms are quite a good value. Definitely book as far ahead as you can in Olly. I can't say the restaurants in Cusco make up for the constant hassle around the Plaza to buy buy buy. But you will find more bars and nightlife there. Just depends on what you like. There are also some luxury resorts scattered around the SV if that appeals.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I have Moon cusco & Machu Picchu guide book which is also really helpful. I wish I was able to stay so much longer at each place as everything looks so wonderful. Alas the boss wouldn't be so happy.
One last thing - which is the better train to go on...not able to afford the Orient - but the others all look good.

I just picked the times that suited me best. The Vistadome is somewhat better than the Expedition if you are traveling as a couple, but I actually prefer the setup with two facing sets of passengers and a table in between. I enjoyed comparing notes with the two friendly Ecuadorians across.

I was on the Expedition... our trail operator booked the tickets for us and had us facing each other, but due to other couples and groups being separated and some friendly seat-swapping we ended up side-by-side and sat across the table from one of our trailmates and a really cool guy traveling solo. If you're taking a train after about 6:30, it's going to be dark, so don't pay for a great view in that case. (We had a 6:45PM time and it was pitch black by then.)