Machu Picchu Day Trip from Cusco

• Pre-trek briefing (Our guide will visit your hotel a day before the trek for your briefing);
• Transfers
• Entrance fee to Machu Picchu;
• Professional Tour Guide;
• A train round trip to Machu Picchu (to choose your class, please check the Prices section); 
• A shuttle bus up and down to Machu Picchu
• Tourist transportation during the trip;

• Pre & post tour accommodation,
• Meals nor beverages (excepting refreshment offered on trains),
• Travel insurance Travel insurance (It's not mandatory, but recommended in case you have an emergency during your trip in Peru or need to cancel at the last minute)
• Tips and baggage portage (please note: it is a custom to give tips in Peru; however, it is not obligatory),
• Other extras not mentioned.

Meals budget: Please allow USD 20 - 30 for meals not included.

Local flights: No local flight is included in the cost of the tours.

This Machu Picchu day trip includes the entry ticket for Machu Picchu Circuit 2, but availability depends on the spaces. For example, if you book a month in advance, our sales department will confirm the Circuit 2 Machu Picchu ticket. However, during the high tourist season, this circuit sells out in advance. In such cases, our sales department will offer alternative circuits, such as Circuit 3 Royalty or Circuit 1 Panoramic. Both tickets cover only part of the citadel, so you may not be able to explore the entire Inca citadel, but you will visit a significant portion. We recommend booking in advance to secure Circuit 2 Machu Picchu.

The Tierras Vivas tour guide will be waiting at the train station with your name. Once you meet, he/she will take you to the bus station.

All Tierras Vivas traveller group tours are accompanied by a Tierras Vivas Tour Guide, a Representative or an expedition team. The aim of our Tour Guides is to take a hassle out of our customers’ trips and to help them to have the best trip possible. The Tour Guides provide information on places visited, offer suggestions of what to see and to do, recommend a good place to eat and introduce to his/her colleagues. The Guides have a broad general knowledge of each country visited during a tour, including historical, cultural, religious and social aspects. We also use local Tour Guides where we think that more specific knowledge could add more enjoyment to visited places.

The Machu Picchu day trip is included the train round trip to Machu Picchu. Tierras Vivas work with the two company Perurail and Inca Rail, These companies train offer the best service from Cusco to Machu Picchu and back.

You can get to Machu Picchu and back by train in a very comfortable and environmentally friendly way. You can. read here which trains run, how to book and what else you should consider.

From Cusco to Machu Picchu

Wake early and you will catch the train to Machu Picchu, you decided on a worthwhile journey. The leisurely train ride takes you through the Sacred Valley. Overwhelming mountains rise up to the left and right, while you pass small villages again and again. The destination station is called Aguas Calientes

PeruRail - Expedition Train

Ollantaytambo - Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu to Cusco

IncaRail - The Voyager Train

Ollantaytambo - Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu to Cusco

Peru Rail from Cusco to Machu Picchu

Peru Rail is the only one that runs the route Cusco (Poroy) - Ollantaytambo - Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu) and back. So book your trip to Machu Picchu as early as possible. It's best to do this as soon as you know when you want to go, because the train tickets are getting more and more expensive or towards the end only the expensive categories are available. There are 3 different booking classes, which differ in price and service:

• The Expedition Train
• The Vistadome Train
• Hiram Bingham - The luxury train to Machu Picchu

Inca Rail from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu

You could choose Inca Rail for the Machu Picchu Day Trip. Inca Rail only runs the route between Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes, not to Cusco. You can booking also online here via our website. Inca Rail also offers several ticket categories:

• Voyager Machu Picchu Train with normal windows
• 360° Inca Rail train with panoramic windows
• Voyager Machu Picchu Premiun rain

 If you want more information about the panoramic train, please click on Vistadome train or 360 train Machu Picchu

If you want to start the Machu Picchu day tour from the Sacred Valley, we usually start between 6:00 am and 7:00 am, depending on the location of your hotel. Below is a brief itinerary for your Machu Picchu day trip:

Quick Itinerary:

• Transfer from Hotel to train station 
• Train to Aguas Calientes town
• Our guide will be waiting in the Aguas Calientes train station
• Bus up to the citadel
• Guided tour of Machu Picchu according your circuit
• Return to Aguas Calientes village
• Train return to Ollantaytambo and transfer your hotel in Ollantaytambo or Cusco.
• Transfer by small private car to Cusco.

Why start from the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu?

If you start from Ollantaytambo or the Sacred Valley, you don’t need to wake up early. You can take advantage of the extra sleep and also explore this beautiful place a day before your tour.

Pick you up

On this one day tour, you’ll have the chance to choose where your journey to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu begins. Below, we'll explain the pickup process from Cusco or the Sacred Valley:

• One Day Machu Picchu Tour from Cusco
  If you choose this option, your adventure will begin early in the morning. We will pick you up from your hotel and take you to a train station (either Poroy, 30 minutes from Cusco or Ollantaytambo, which is 1 hour and 40 minutes from Cusco).
  
  
• One Day Machu Picchu Tour from the Sacred Valley
  If your trip starts in the Sacred Valley, our team will contact you via WhatsApp to provide details and confirm the pickup time. Once everything is set, our transfer will collect you from the Sacred Valley and take you to the train station.
  Note: It is important to download WhatsApp so we can use it to communicate with you.

A kind of luggage you need to take with depends on a kind of tour you plan to undertake, a part of the country you like to visit, a year season and a length of your trip. In general, you should pack as lightly as possible because you carry your own luggage during most of our tours (however, there are not long walking distances – up to 30 minutes). We recommend you to keep weight of your luggage under 7 kg (20 lb.).

Most of travelers use a suitcase. However, a big backpack would be more suitable. In any case, please do not forget a small rucksack that you will need for daily travels (to carry your bottled water, camera, snacks, etc.). It is better to avoid a wheeled luggage and use luggage with shoulder straps.

What Kind of Clothing to Pack to Machu Picchu

Clothing to take with you depends on a year season in Peru and a part of country you plan to visit.

If you plan to visit Cusco and Machu Picchu (Andean mountain range or Altiplano), then we recommend you to take some trousers suitable for hiking, shorts, T-shirts and trekking shoes for the days; and sweaters, fleeces, hats, scarves and warm jackets for the nights. You also should take a sun protection cream, sun glasses and in some cases, mosquito repellent (depending on a route chosen). It is very convenient to have a light rain-gear available in a daypack (e.g. a waterproof poncho or jacket and/or waterproof trousers) as weather changes quickly and rains can suddenly occur. For more details, please check the below link of “What to Bring on the Inca Trail Expedition Tour”.

What to take on the Machu Picchu Day Tour

• Passport Original and copies
• Travel insurance(+ copies for a case of lost),
• Cash in USD or credit cards,
• Day pack (to carry your personal items during daily travels),
• Rain gear (a rain-jacket and a waterproof trousers or a rain poncho - this can be purchased in Cusco),
• Resistible footwear, waterproof trekking shoes are recommended,
• Sandals (for a higher comfort while at a hotspring in Aguas Calientes),
• Hat or a cap (to protect you against the Sun, rain as well as cold),
• Sun cream or sun block,
• After-sun cream or hydrating cream for face and body,
• Insect repellent– recommended minimum is 20% DEET (please note that no malaria has been reported during this trip!),
• Camera and its charger/batteries (please note that batteries are consumed quickly under cold conditions),
• Small towel and toiletries,
• Sufficient reserve of underwear,
• Swimsuit (to visit the thermal baths of Aguas Calientes),
• Snacks (biscuits, energy bars, chocolate, raw fruits, muesli, etc.)
  Please note: we do provide a daily morning snack and our meal service is very complete and well supplied. The recommendation of taken own snack applies only for customers who like a specific snack that might not be in our menu.
• Bottled water for the first morning and a water bottle.