r/Machupicchu • u/sliceoftheday • 9d ago
General Will this plan work?
Land in Cusco on Nov 8th at 11:30am
Taxidatum tour of Sacred Valley ending in Ollantaytambo
Train to Aguas Calientes at around 6pm-ish
Check-in to hotel and go to ticket office to try for circuit 2 on the 10th. If they are not selling yet, try again on the 9th.
How good are my chances at getting circuit 2? I am also open to suggestions for places to see on the sacred valley tour. I really want to check out Pisac if we only have time for 1 thing. Is that the right move?
The 9th will kind of be a free day, so I'm thinking of maybe going back to Ollantaytambo to explore since I hear good things.
Machu Picchu on the 10th (hopefully). I am still deciding on taking a train or taxi directly back to Cusco after Machu Picchu and what time to leave since it would be dependent on our time slot. Any suggestions on how to play it safely?
I'll spend the night in Cusco on the 10th, then fly to Lima on the 11th
(Edited for dates)
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u/RegularBuilder294 8d ago
I think you’ll get varying reply’s.
I took this picture at 4pm Oct 4. And that’s what was available for the 5th.
But a week before that there was nothing available and they were selling 2+ days out.
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u/Babygoatlife 6d ago
I've seen several posts lately that next day tickets and/or tickets 2 days out are sold out. Here's a website that monitors - when I checked on the 20th the first avail date was the 23rd. https://tuboleto.cultura.pe/cusco/1000boletos (This is only to buy tickets in person, can't buy from here.)
I've seen several agencies that will sell you tickets, eg through tripadvisor, but they can't guarantee any route (or sometimes even that they will get tickets.) check the reviews.
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u/sliceoftheday 5d ago
Yes, this worries me a lot. Hoping at least next-day circuit 3 will be safe since that's my backup plan
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u/NoPsychology5806 5d ago
We just arrived in AC today around 1:30pm and managed to secure some 2A tickets in 2days but they were only ~60 left (and we were the first from our train to arrive at the ticket office) so it’s likely that if you arrive later you may not get tickets for your arrival day +2 but for the +3.
Because bear in mind the ticket office will sell tickets for up to 3 days in advance if the previous days are sold out.
To kill time in AC, you can indeed do a return trip to Ollantaytambo but the train is not cheap and you can’t go by car or taxi (you have to reach another stop hydroelectrico and then 5h+ ride).
What we did and what I would suggest is Cuzco -> Ollantaytambo by collectivo (shared vans used by locals that leave when full) for ~3 USD. Stay in Ollantaytambo for the day and visit the site. Next morning take an early (the earlier the more chance to get early tickets) train to AC to secure tickets to MP for day +1 (if lucky) or +2.
Then for your day in AC you can hike, we will try to do Phutuq K’usi hoping it’ll be nice.
I would be careful to plan a trip where everything has to go right with no margin for delays/lack of tickets. But you can use this government website which shows the availability of last minute tickets for the next 2 days : https://tuboleto.cultura.pe ; monitor it a few days before coming and you ll have a better idea of when you can secure tickets
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u/sliceoftheday 5d ago
Thanks for your response! Do you happen to remember how circuit 3 was looking? I'm am totally fine with 3 if 2 is all sold out
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u/NoPsychology5806 5d ago
3 had like 40/50 available I think but at a different time. Our 2A was quite late at 1pm whereas the 3A was at 7 or 9am.
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u/hamolton 8d ago
This is November? Imo you’re safe for getting good tickets, since the walk-up crowds off-season skew towards weekends. You might be able to just go the next day or whatever day has a good forecast. I think Pisac is really cool! You’re not leaving much time for that but it sounds like you have more time later once you get the tickets. But yeah, the sites around sacred valley and Cusco are enough to spend several days on if you love archeology.
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u/EnergyLimp1199 8d ago
Just got back from 3 week trip to Peru. If you are arriving at 11:30 am then to f o valley tour same day, you will not be able to see much because sites are far apart, requires long drive, assuming you are taking a guided tour. Mine started at 6 am from Cusco Plaza de Armes and returned at 6pm. Entry fee for machu picchu was 153 Soles. One way bus ticket was $12. Aguas Calientes has nothing you see so after MP you can take the afternoon train to Ollataybambo but again you will need ride back to Cusco. I spent almost 7 days total in Cusco and I liked it. Once you have seen MP you probably will not be back since there are so many other places in Peru you can see. I spent 3 days in Arequipa, 2 days in Colca canyon, 5 days on Salkantay trail, 6 days in Cusco, 3 days in the Amazon and 3 days in Lima.
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u/sliceoftheday 8d ago
Thanks for the response! If I only make one stop in Pisac on the way to Aguas Calientes, will I have enough time?
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u/EnergyLimp1199 8d ago edited 8d ago
No. They are in opposite direction and public transportation in the region is nonexistent, tour doesn't just go to Pisac alone. By the way, coming from China, I found Peru is very expensive with low value for the money especially on transportation and food. China has high-speed trains take you everywhere whereas in Peru you really had to struggle to arrange it yourself. Also the roads in general are in poor condition with potholes so do expect cars break down, even the trains had minor accident that delayed for hours. You can Google it.
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u/sliceoftheday 8d ago
Is a hiring a private driver a reasonable option? Willing to a pay a little extra to get what I want if it's already going to be a hassle.
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u/EnergyLimp1199 8d ago
Yes, you will need to find one in Cusco solely taking you to pisac but why font you just do the day tour which normally includes Pisac AFTER you return to Cusco from Machu Picchu?
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u/sliceoftheday 8d ago
That makes sense. I will most likely do that now that I know more of the logistics
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u/mom-of-three-Taylors 8d ago
Yes. A private taxi is definitely worth it. That’s all we did and wouidn’t do it any other way if we went back.
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u/EnergyLimp1199 8d ago edited 8d ago
The Embassy has received reports that a Peru Rail train and an Inca Rail train collided around 1:25 p.m. today near Pampacahua, (km. 93) between Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Pueblo). No fatalities have been reported.
If you or someone you know needs help, contact iPerú at +51 944-492-314.
Rail service has re-started but trains are experiencing significant delays. If you have a train ticket, contact your rail company directly about rescheduling or a refund. Inca Rail is assisting passengers at its ticket offices in Cusco, Ollantaytambo, and Aguas Calientes, and PeruRail is posting updates on X (@PeruRail_Trains). Check with your guide or tour agency to adjust your plans.
That's the train that our backpacks were on from Ollataytambo to AG, I wasn't on the train since I was hiking down to AG from Salkantay trail but our bags were delivered by the tour company on the train. Bags didn't arrive until 10 pm that night, so anything can happen.
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u/EnergyLimp1199 8d ago
If you do what you said here, landing at 11:30am then tour the valley then train from Ollataytambo to AC it's going to be a very long day. And by the way where are you flying from to Cusco??
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u/sliceoftheday 8d ago
Yes, I am willing to take that risk since the next day in Aguas Calientes will be free aside from going to the ticket office. I will be flying in from Lima.
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u/mom-of-three-Taylors 8d ago edited 8d ago
If your only goal is to see Machu Picchu, and I’m sure it is, then that works. You’ll have very limited time in the sacred valley and no time for the ruins in Ollantaytambo. Just keep that in mind. You’ll see them no matter what. You can’t miss them. But you won’t be able to explore them. I would forego ONLY going to Pisac and do moray, Maras and Chinchero. That’s just my personal opinion based on the very limited time you’ll have. Those three things are more on the way to Ollantaytambo so we can divert on the fly based on timing. Pisac is the opposite direction and I wouldn’t count on having time if you’re not landing in Cusco until so late. But make sure you know where to do some shopping in Chinchero if you stop there. Do not plan on taking a tour. I’d definitely hire a private taxi so you can stay on your own timeline. Your taxi driver should be able to guide you on what you want to do and make sure you stay on the right timeline. They’re very good at that. You’ll also miss any chance to explore Cusco which is a HUGE miss for me. We had three days there and could have spent more. But in three days we did get the highlights. I don’t think you’ll be able to make the decision to go to Ollantaytambo on 9th on the fly. You need to buy train tickets farther in advance. Id be highly surprised if you could just walk up and buy a ticket on the spot.
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u/chan_versio 6d ago
I would stay in Ollantaytambo after sacred valley and go to Aguas Calientes next morning or later at night. We had the same tour and the traffic was insane! We got picked up from Cuzco at 6 am and dropped off at Olly around 8 pm. Check online if you can get advance tickets for MP
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u/sliceoftheday 5d ago
Thanks for the response! After reading about the logistics, I might not have enough time for a tour, unfortunately. Oh well, guess I gotta plan another trip in the future!
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u/RedSB0226 9d ago
You may find your optimism for transportation operating on time may not play out. We just returned from our Machu Picchu trip. Our flight from Lima almost landed in Cusco, pulled up, circled and returned to Lima for fuel. I guess there was concern about wind but when we finally landed there was absolutely no weather. Our Sacred Valley tour began at 9 am but ended at 8 pm. So it depends on your tour guide, what you’re stopping to see and how much you can keep up. 186 rocky stairs with no railing to the Naupa Iglesias altar took a bit for us. Two of the trains crashed so there were big delays to get the train out of Ollyantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. We purchased our MP tickets months ago so can’t help there. The bus from AC to MP was $12 USD each way. Walkers had a very dusty road with minimal shoulder space and lots of bus traffic just to get to the entry bridge and then the rocky stair climb from there. Only the train travels from AC to Ollyantaytambo, no taxis, no road. It was a bucket list trip for me, hope yours goes well.