Machu Picchu from Cusco or Aguas Calientes?
 

We will be flying into Lima and then planning to go on a tour to Machu Picchu. Which would you all suggest as the best option -
A) fly to Cusco and then take the long bus ride tour
B) fly and bus to Aguas Calientes, stay there and pick up the tour
C) fly to Cusco and train to Aguas Calientes, again stay there and pick up a tour

I have not found a tour option that takes the train from Cusco to AC and then the bus to MP….is there one out there?
Unfortunately we only have 3 nights to spend between departure and return to Lima. I realize this will make a few of you gasp, but that is the way it is.
Again we rely on the great input of this forum. Thanks

It’s complicated but most of your options listed are not viable.

There must be a train segment. All the trains serve Ollantaytambo>>Aguas Calientes (now called Machu Picchu town). So there is no bus only option. There are few trains that go from outside Cusco (45 minutes) to Machu Picchu town but it can be done.

A typical day trip from Cusco is 3 am departure via shuttle to Ollantaytambo and early morning return, 1 am, about 22 hours if done in one day.

Play with possibilities on incarail.com and perurail.com. You can book the bus/rail or look into taxi/rail options to MP town and buy it yourself, then book the shuttle up the mountain separately.

Note that there is no internal signage at MP to give any background information or identification of site elements.

It would take a lot of confidence to make this substitution, but a day trip to Pisac, a similar ruin with better weather and far less crowding, is easily done from Cusco, be sure to do the one way hike down (but due to tunnel midway not possible if a big person).

Tom_mn. Thank you…this is all so confusing with the different names, Please tell me if I have this correct…and logical, now. So, we fly from Lima to Cusco. Spend the night. Take train to MP town (formerly Aguas Calientas) spend the night there to catch early bus to the Citadel gates, where we would meet our previously booked tour guide. Then after the tour…do this all in reverse? I suppose we could leave for Cusco after our early morning tour, and pass spending that night in MP town, couldn’t we? Ultimately, what I am attempting to avoid, is that long day of shuttle/tour/shuttle between Cusco and the Citadel. What do you think of this new plan?

Have you planned for adjusting to altitude? It can be quite disruptive.

There’s no obviously great option to visit MP, all approaches have various drawbacks. All are expensive in their own way.

We stayed in Ollantaytambo and day tripped from there. This avoids spending an early trip night at high altitude (Cusco). Ollantaytambo is also interesting with its own pair of nice ruins and a spectacular setting. Rooms on the ground floor in the old town can have a sewage smell and are a 30 minute walk to and from the train, so maybe stay near the train station? Not essential, but read the reviews if staying in the old town.

I think if you have just a short 3 night stay I’d skip Cusco city, spend the 3 nights In Ollantaytambo, 1 day day trip to MP and the other day explore the ruins either side of town and the old Inca village still being used.

See Taxidatum.com for transport to and from Cusco airport, extremely reliable and pay (cash) only after completion, can include tourist stops along the way for additional funds.

Adding links:

Straight airport to destination fares https://taxidatum.com/taxi-fares-lim...cusco-airport/ expand display to 50

Taxi ride with stops https://taxidatum.com/chincheros-maras-moray-taxi-tour/

LATAM: This is a great airline with a lot of flights, suggest you just pay for the premium class or full economy and get refundability and a free checked bag. LIm>> Cuz should be less than $100 each way for the highest class ticket. Check in LIM airport is a zoo, be sure to have your PNR 6 character reservation number and use the LATAM kiosk for printing luggage tags, will save you 45 minutes in line. You get pretty good SkyMiles (Delta) from LATAM for the premium economy fare.

One more thing: bring plenty of cash to Ollantaytambo, the only ATM charges $10. Note that everywhere I checked the Banco de la Nacion MultiRed ATMs were always free but limited to about $105 withdrawals per day. There's a MultiRed ATM in Machu Picchu town, though.

What time would you fly into Cusco?
You can take a direct train from Cusco to Aquas Caliente. The first part to Oly is not especially scenic but the part to AC is. 30 minute bus ride from AC to MP and you need to time your tickets to MP with the bus. Several different tours of MP to choose from.

This is a little misleading, there are no trains from Cusco proper to the Sacred Valley and MP. You would have to take a bus or something over the mountain from Cusco to the train on the other side, either a shuttle bought with the rail ticket or a taxi independently. There is no one mode of transport from Cusco to MP, you must go by road somehow from Cusco to Poroy, or Urabamba, or Ollantaytambo (towns from where the train operates), and then by train from one of those stations to MP.

I concur with the folks who recommend going straight to Ollantaytambo for your first night. You can use taxidatum.com for a transfer, by booking online then there will be someone to meet and greet and carry your bags while your heart races as you step off the plane in Cusco. I personally would not do anything on arrival day, check in, rest for a few hours, see if you have a headache, have very light lunch (no heavy meals in the evening) perhaps take a mototaxi up to the old town and walk around a bit.

I would book two nights in Ollantaytambo, second day leave early train for a day trip to Machu Picchu. The hotel at the train station El Albergue is fine and convenient, or there are a few others along the road to the train such as Pakaritampu. Then spend the last night in Cusco. It is easy to just get a taxi going back to Cusco or you could book a multi-stop transfer (eg Moray Circles, Salineras, Chinchero) on the way to Cusco. The airport in Cusco is no more than 15 minutes from central hotels, a regular taxi called by hotel should be okay, apparently there is also Uber or again you could use taxidatum.

You do not need a "tour" exactly if adept at booking online the train, and the MP tickets (Circuit 2 is the one that I think you want). tom_mn will have more details as he was recently there after much research. Hotels are easy as are transfers.

We have, thank you ☺️…we live high in the mountains of Canada

It’s comparatively not very high, although it gives you a head start over lowlanders. Cusco is over 3400 m, the highest place on your journey. Some Peruvian highways reach close to 5000 m!

There is Uber in Cusco and Lima (and Arequipa). Used it in all 3.

We took a train from San Pedro station Cusco to Aquas Caliente via Oly in September. Return to Oly next day and Taxidatum back to Cusco.

"Unfortunately we only have 3 nights to spend between departure and return to Lima. I realize this will make a few of you gasp, ."

With just three nights to play with I strongly suggest you visit MP from Ollantaytambo. Ollant is a great little village with its own set of ruins second only to MP itself IMO. It is also at a lower altitude (2800m) than CUsco (3400m) so less chance of altitude acclimatisation issues.
the Timings involved would be something like this:
Day 1
Early flight Lima to Cusco -2 hours
Taxi Cusco airport to Ollantaytambo- 2 hours overnight Ollantaytambo, explore village and ruins in the afternoon

Day 2 - early train to Aguas Calientes (2hrs) , bus to MP (30mins) , 3 hours at citadel - return to Ollantaytambo for overnight ( same timings)

Day 3 - taxi tour back to Cusco stopping off at Moray, Maras and Chinchero (6 hours) , lightning fast visit of main Cusco sights, overnight Cusco and fly Lima next morning

the first two post in our blog @ https://accidentalnomads.com/category/peru/ cover Ollantaytambo and teh tour of the SV.

I suppose you could try and make it all teh way to Aguas Calientes but it would be an exceptionally long day and frankly Ollantaytambo is a far superior place to stay a few nights than AC which essentially exists only as a dormitory town to serve visitor to MP and is no great shakes!

I see that in peak season there are 2 Peru Rail trains that leave directly from Cusco, didn't know that.

OP should check on baggage restrictions on these trains. Those doing an overnight must store bags somewhere. There is a vendor at Ollantaytambo that will store bags.

Crellston - Wow!!! I love your blog..the pictures are wonderful, as are the stories. We changed our flights so as to have 2 full days in Ollantaytambo because of your blog! And we have followed your above suggested itinerary, which is perfect for us. We will do that ‘taxi tour’ back to Cusco with the stops along the way. How does that work with taxi’s? Does your driver just wait for you to browse around or do you get a different one each time you leave a sight? What taxi service do you use? What should we expect to pay? Tip? We also allowed for a full day and half in Cusco.
Wondering if you can suggest a mid range hotel near both Cusco and Lima airport. Looking on Booking.com there is a HUGE price difference between US hotel chains (+$200) to local hotel of less than $100. The ‘less than $100” scares me as to the quality. We would much rather not stay in the US chain, but are these Peru ones nice? Looking at 4* and 5*
We do very much appreciate your time and assistance.☺️

tom_mn. Thank you for the heads-up on the smells of ground floor accommodations. Do you have a favourite? And we will book with taxiddatum for the stop tours….(crellston….this answered my questions about how taxi’s respond to stops)

You book Taxidatum via the internet and they are very responsive. We moved from Yucay to Cusco as part of our trip and we were with the same taxi and driver the whole time. He just waited for us as we visited our stops. Taxis are generally small, like a Corolla. Taxis are inexpensive and obviously dependent on what you want to do. Downtown Cusco is quite close to the airport so there is no reason to stay at the airport in Cusco.
We stayed at 4* US hotels so no recommendations although I should note that we did stay at the Wyndham Lima airport as we arrived at about 2030 and we we leaving in the morning and the Wyndham is a short walk across from the Lima terminals. Its about $200 a night and clean but really a 3* more then a 4*.

Mjs…thank you. I also am hoping we are able to have the same driver…when contacting taxidatum I listed all of the times/destinations we would need transport, so hopefully.
I did look at the Wyndham. Where did you stay in Cusco?

We stayed at the Sonesta. Decent hotel a little outside of the centre of the city. Do not get a standard room. The executive rooms are rather nice but the standard rooms are of 3 star variety. If ever we return we would probably stay at the JW Marriott.

Glad you enjoyed our blog Gypsy8 .

Others have answered your questions re hotels , I would only add that I would advise staying in hotels near the airports in either city. Just stay in town and get a cab ( taxidatum are also very good for prebooked airport transfers. Perhaps take a look at the Inkaterra or Casa Andina Peruvian chains. When in Lima and not renting an apartment, we stay at 3B Barranco recommended to me years ago by mlgb above.
PS We have literally stayed for months in both Cusco and Lima in dozens of different hotels over the years and can’t say I have ever noticed sewage smells in ground floor rooms.

Links to two hotels I recommended above. El Albergue has convenient meal options including their box lunch and coffee bar at the station. Rates include breakfast so plan train timings accordingly.
NB I prefer to stay in locally owned and managed establishments rather than corporate chains, all I need is a 3-star.

YMMV
Ollantaytambo
https://en.elalbergue.com/food-beverages/

Lima If only passing through then stay at the airport. If you have at least a day to explore, then I like 3 B Barranco especially for a first-time visitor. Note that many flights arrive or depart late at night so often you can leave luggage for the day and head back to the airport about 3-ish hours before your flight (depending on traffic).

(Barranco neighborhood) 3 B Barranco (booked direct ususally). Note that there is no air conditioning which is not usually a problem (January-Feb can be warm) but Lima is typically cool at night. Any noise issues can be mitigated by closing the ventilation window in the bathroom at night (opens to an air well).
For the superb staff, service and my favorite barrio. Especially for a first-time visitor to Lima.
https://3bhostal.com/

I don't have a strong favorite in Cusco, have only stayed in one of the balcony rooms at El Balcon Cusco but I don't think it's suitable for everyone. It's up a steep street (although taxis can reach it) and having some Spanish was helpful. Cusco can be quite cold overnight so you may want to look for lodging with heating rather than heavy blankets!!

Another vote for 3 B Barranco in Lima! But I, too, prefer locally owned and managed hotels to corporate chains.

This was an issue with both our AirBnB and the restaurant we went to the first night. Most of the lodging is not in the old part of the town. So I don't have a recommendation, but if you are are day tripping to MP then there are a couple of hotels near the train station, see another recent post here.

The old town is the real deal, initially wonderful and so "authentic" but the downsides become apparent later: dogs on the loose barking all night which echos in the narrow stone-sided streets, streetlights immediately outside your bedroom window, lots of open burning, roaring motorcycles in the narrow stone-sided streets, perhaps more cultural immersion that you what.

Barking dogs (and loud music) are a phenomenon throughout South America, unfortunately. The worst barking I ever experienced was in Buenos Aires on my first trip. There are things you can do to mitigate, I now try to avoid any street-facing rooms if given a choice, or one can stay in a modern high rise on a high floor. Or a lodging within 'grounds' may limit the encroachment, but no guarantees. Bring ear plugs if noise sensitive.

Tom_mn.
Mlgb.
We are staying out towards the planetarium, more on the edge of the city. Have used earplugs in the past to deal with city noise, which we would prefer to staying in a ‘modern’ hotel. thank you for your input

The name "Aguas Calientes" is a concoction of the tourist industry. The town's real name is "Machu Picchu," sometimes written as "Machupicchu." It always has been. Someone must have decided that was too confusing, so to distinguish it from the ruins themselves, the town unofficially bears the name of the nearby thermal springs.

There is no planetarium in Ollantaytambo, that was my comment where the sewage smell is a problem, the old town there. Earplugs cannot block the noise of dogs barking in the old part of Ollantaytambo because of the stone walls of the narrow streets. It's like they are barking in the bedroom with you.

Not a problem at El Albergue but you are at the train platform so works best for morning departures.

Tom_mn and mlgb. Geez, my error I gave you location on our accommodation in Cusco!! Ollantaytambo we are staying at Nuna Sumaq, which does look to be on the north end of the town. Sorry for the error! 🤪

FYI: Nuna Sumaq Is just feet away from our AirBnB with the nocturnal dogs, very bright streetlights, and sewage smell. This is the old town part of Ollantaytambo, the part with the street grid. This is a 30 minute walk to the train, taxi not easy. There is no vehicular access to this area, must drag bags 300 m over very bumpy cobbles.

Edit: above seems a little harsh, your hotel looks better kept and the problem dogs are half a block away, and there might be someone at the desk all night to chase dogs away. Transport comments stand, access not straightforward. It is a privilege to stay in this old Inca Village, just can be somewhat hard, like when the wind blows and little black flecks fall into the bed (decomposing tar paper from the roofing falling between the sheathing timbers).

The restaurant that also had the ground floor toilet smell (leading me to perhaps see a pattern) is Inka Nato, recommended (except the toilet), cash only. Note that you should bring plenty of soles or US dollars to Ollantaytambo. There are cash machines in Machu Picchu town.