How To Plan a Trip to Machu Picchu
When three friends and I decided to go to Peru, we knew Machu Picchu would be the focal point of the trip. After some google searching, we found some guides to getting there and getting tickets, but nothing comprehensive. Some websites said to get everything three to four months before you go due to the limited number of daily tickets. Coworkers and friends of mine told me they did all the planning and ticket purchasing in the spur of the moment. Being on the cautious side, we decided to plan everything out for Machu Picchu. We didn’t want to arrive in Peru, only to find that we weren’t allowed to go see this wonder of the world.
Hopefully this will help bring some clarity to your planning and provide a list of what you need to buy before you leave, in Cusco, and in Aguas Calientes. The itinerary to get to Machu Picchu will look something like this:
Sample Itinerary
1.Fly (or bus) to Cusco & spend the night (I’d recommend one to two nights) to adjust to the altitude.
2. Get to Aguas Calientes from Cusco (Aguas Calientes is the town at the base of Machu Picchu). It’s about a three & a half hour journey, either by train or a combination of bus/car & train.
*We took a taxi to Ollantayambo (two hours) and hopped on the train from there (two hours), train tickets were much cheaper from Ollantaytambo
3. Stay the night in Aguas Calientes
4. Get up early and stand in line for the bus to the top of Machu Picchu.
*Buses start leaving at 5:30AM, there will be a line no matter what time you get there. We got in line at about 5:45AM and got on the bus at around 6:30AM. This is where buying the bus tickets in advance helps (more on that below).
5. Get to Machu Picchu & present your ticket (this is where buying your ticket in advance helps).
*If you’re doing Montana Machu Picchu or Huayna Picchu, go there first. We were the first group up the mountain for Huayna Picchu (7AM-8AM time slot). On our way down, people were coming up – we realized we were glad we had the mountain to ourselves in the morning. It was also much cooler in the morning and made the hike more pleasant.
6. Spend as much time at Machu Picchu as you want, catch the bus back down to Aguas Calientes, eat some lunch, and then catch the train back to Cusco.
Here’s a complete list of things you need to buy to get to Machu Picchu:
Buy Ahead of Time:
Train Tickets from Cusco to Aguas Calientes & Back – Roughly 2 months ahead of time (or earlier). We used Peru Rail, you can also look into Inca Rail.
Starting at $65/person each way – Total $130
Aguas Calientes Hotel/Hostel/Airbnb – Roughly 2 months ahead of time (or earlier). We stayed at a hostel that we found on Airbnb, Quilla House, it was perfect.
About $80 for 4 people – Total $20
Tickets to Machu Picchu (& Huayna Picchu or Montana) – Roughly 2 months ahead of time (or earlier). Use this guide to buy tickets – that’s what we used, it was easy to follow and saved us some money!
About $65 for Machu Picchu + Huayna Picchu
Cusco Hotel/Hostel/Airbnb – Roughly 1 month ahead of time (or earlier). We used some Marriott points and stayed at a nice hotel.
About $50/person each night, we stayed two nights – Total $100
Flights from Lima to Cusco (depends on where you’re coming from) – Roughly 1 month ahead of time (there were plenty of options). We flew Avianca & were really impressed.
About $100 RT from Lima
Buy When you Arrive in Peru:
Bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu – You can buy these up to seven days in advance in Cusco or Aguas Calientes, we opted for the day before when we were in Cusco. Check out this website to find the two locations in Cusco that you can buy tickets.
You can hike up to Machu Picchu for free instead of taking this bus, it takes about 1-1.5 hours to get to the top. Keep in mind the altitude, and also I’d recommend not doing this if you’re doing an extra hike like Montana Machu Picchu or Huayna Picchu.
About $25 RT
Expenses: $130 (train) + $20 (Aguas Calientes hotel) + $65 (Machu Picchu tickes) + $100 (Cusco hotel) + $100 (Cusco flights) + $25 (Machu Picchu Bus)
Total Cost: $440
In total, it ended up being more expensive than I imagined it would be, but the rest of Peru is quite cheap in general, so you can make up some of your budget on meals, cabs, drinks, etc. Be advised that food in Aguas Calientes is rather expensive, so maybe head to the grocery store before going there.
Overall, it was completely worth the expenses and the planning, I would highly recommend visiting not only Machu Picchu, but also other parts of Peru. I was surprised by how much I really enjoyed this kind, beautiful, and diverse country!
Summary of Machu Picchu Costs
| Summary of Machu Picchu Costs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Cost | When to Buy | Buy How Far in Advance | Notes | ||
| Train Tickets from Cusco to Machu Picchu RT | $130 | Ahead of Time | 2 Months | Starting at $65/person each way | ||
| Aguas Calientes Hostel/Hotel | $20 | Ahead of Time | 2 Months | Roughly $80 for 4 people | ||
| Tickets to Machu Picchu & Hyuana Picchu (if wanted) | $65 | Ahead of Time | 2 Months | $65 for MP & HP, less for just MP | ||
| Cusco Hostel/Hotel | $100 | Ahead of Time | 1 Month | $50/night/person, before & after MP (can be cheaper) | ||
| Flights from Lima to Cusco | $100 | Ahead of Time | 1 Month | $100 RT LIM-CUS | ||
| Bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu | $25 | When you Arrive | Up to 7 Days in Advance | $25 RT | ||
| Total | $440 | |||||
Want to head to some other places in Peru? Check out my ten day itinerary in Peru! Otherwise, go visit Peru’s neighbor, Colombia!