Good afternoon and Hola:

We will be in Aguas Calentis on July 6th ( a Monday, if that matters). July is supposed to be the high season.

We understand that tickets for sale for the bus are good for three days (but only one use) and can be bought when we arrive.

My question is the need to but tickets to enter M. P itself. I've read there are something like 2500 tickets per day available and you can but them online but the website doesn't always work well.

Obviously it would be a bummer not to have tickets.

Any thoughts about procuring tickets and any advice in general about getting the bus, how long to spend about the whole M. P experience would be welcome.

P. S. Thank you for the many posts that I have already read. They were informative and helpful. Gracias.

Jasper Traveler

Yes buy them ahead of time. Give the website a try, if you use the Spanish version you may have better luck. The issues seem to be that Visa blocks transactions. Calling your bank may help but probably wont make a difference,

If no luck try your hotel or a travel agency in Peru, but expect to pay a fee.

thank you

I used the step by step instructions at
therewardboss.com/2013/10/08/how-to-book-machu-picchu-tickets-online-in-only-a-few-minutes/
and had no problems.
I just checked and today there are 644 tickets remaining for MP out of the 2500 (people coming in from the Inca Trail do not count in this 2500 limit) and 2271 for July 6, so you can see how the sell as the date gets close. Huaynapicchu is sold out, but Montana has openings if you want to do additional climbs.

The bus was very easy. There was a sign posted about selling tickets for the next day after some time (2pm?), but only selling same day tickets earlier in the day. Buy bus ticket at window in Aguas Caliente, walk 20 feet and get in line, the attendants will scan ticket and tell you which bus to get on. Prices are posted same as online and you can have your cash ready to keep the line moving; otherwise, folks get irritated at those who approach the window with no idea what they are buying, no money ready, no Peruvian ID to get the locals price, etc.
When we got off the train from Ollantaytambo at 6:30am, there was a LONG line for the bus between those staying overnight in AC plus a trainload of passengers. When we went to the ticket window maybe 20 minutes later, the line was about 20 people or one bus wait. They run the buses constantly during peak, so when full off it goes.

How long--I love the outdoors and historical sights. I can sit, walk back through, take more photos, etc. for a long time. My husband is more of a I want to see it, I see it, now let's get out of here before the crowds spoil it for me type. Considering crowds, elevation, and no food inside MP policy, I could have used 8 hours. My husband was done in 4 hours tops.

We were inside MP for 5-6 hours, walked the main routes, read about each stop from our book, took photos, sat and drank water 2 or 3 times, and then were hungry for lunch and my husband was irritated by the crowds waiting to go up/down stairs, see specific places, etc. so he wanted out.

We climbed up to the exit and went outside to eat our sandwiches. It was a zoo of people outside the gates. We saw a window we think for the snack bar that is supposed to have outside seating, but we did not find the seating because of the solid mass of people going in/out of MP, retrieving bags, queueing up for buses, and sitting on any semblance of walls or steps around the entrance and down by the buses and lockers to eat.

I still would have perservered to find the snack bar seating or waited for an opening along a wall, eaten, and then returned into MP, maybe just walking along some of the terraces off the main route or taking the trail toward Inca Bridge. But my husband was at his crowd irritation limit and we both felt we had a workout climbing all the stairs, so we left.

Kay2:

Thank you so much. You understood my question and answered it. Sometimes it is difficult to properly articulate a question and have the reader understand.

So (for extra credit) I am going to ask for more input on the Sacred Valley, if you visited there.

We arrive in Pisac about 2:30 for the 1st night, travel to Ollantaytambo for the second night and we'll take a train to M. P. early afternoon the 3rd day and spend the night in A/C so we can get an early start.

1.

TO FINISH the ABOVE

1. Is it easy to get train tickets to and from Ollan to A/C?

2. We plan to hire a driver to transport from Pisac to Ollna and either the same or another driver to see the salt mines and moray (in addition to Ollan ruins and sights in Pisac). Any insights? advice? your experiences.

3. If we get back to Ollan around 3:30 after M. P., is it tough to get a train to Cusco or easier to hire a car for 4 people?

Thank you again for you insights.

Jasper T.

The train to Cuzco from Ollanta doesn't actually go all the way to Cuzco - it stops in a "suburb", so you have to get from the train to town.

The trains from Ollanta to "Cuzco" in late afternoon often sell out, so while not "difficult", I'd want to make reservations in advance. However, I personally think the best way from Ollanta to Cuzco is either taxi or shared van (I think the latter is only about $10 per person).

The ruins in Ollanta are in town, so no need to have the driver there.

Thanks -that was helpful -take a van or hire a driver.

From my trip report, you can see that we had a similar plan, but when LAN cancelled our flight to CUZ, we had to miss Pisac.
We hired a driver online via taxidatum to drive us from CUZ to Pisac or Ollantaytambo. Reliable, good priced drivers that I would recommend. You make reservation online and receive confirmation with set price. Limited English.

We booked our train tickets Ollanta/AC several months in advance to get the times we wanted. It was more difficult than the MP website. We had to email (not online chat) to the address on the PeruRail website and were booked overnight. Some trains were already full. Close to the date, some seats opened up on some trains, but others stayed full. On the day we were at MP, we wanted to return earlier than reservation. The next train or two were full, but we were able to get on a train around 4pm. So, you can check online to see how full trains look. There are peak times that people use the trains to get all the way from/to Cusco, so those will stay full. Depends on how flexible you are with your times.

Every town has taxi drivers waiting/walking around asking tourists "taxi Cusco?", so you can either ask a waiting driver how much to drive to Ollantaytambo or you have ask your hotel in Pisac to arrange a drive to Ollantaytambo.

We hired a guide for our dayto salt pans, Moray, and on to Cusco. He also offered to guide us through the Ollanta ruins on same day. We did that instead of roundtrip to Ollanta for the day. If you want to combine the sights and returning to Cusco, then I would recommend Oscar, who we found on this board. [email protected]
If you just want a Spanish speaking driver for the day from Ollanta, either you can ask your hotel to help hire or you can find a driver near the plaza or at the train station.

When you get off the train in Ollantaytambo, there will be taxi drivers looking for fares, but with 4 people, you will want to book a driver with van.

Thanks - helpful information-

I am going to book the train this weekend for July 6th.