AABOSSFO

Agreed. If you are on a budget, definitely do not book through the in-house agency (Tikariy), as they charge a very hefty premium. I believe there are usually taxis at the gas station just down the road, but the concierge will know.

UKTraveller4Fun

I just wondered if people had tended to do the tour offered by the hotel or book the train and tickets to MP themselves online? the hotel tour costs $352 per person.

The main advantage to the tour is you get a guide but I was not sure how much you needed one once you get to MP. Is the bus from the train station to MP paid for seperatly or all part of the train ticket?

We are also thinking of doing the 11am walk to HP as well, have people found it easy enough to do this and then tour MP afterwards?

Thanks in advance for your help.

sweetz_21_83

I don't know about the package, but if you go on your own there are plenty of guides at the entrance for hire. You agree to the price before you start and our guides English was very good, but I don't remember how much we paid.

How is your level of fitness. We were early 30/late 20's in reasonable shape and did not have an easy time. Surprisingly coming down is harder than going up for various reasons. It took almost two hours and by the time we got down, we did not have much time or energy to see everything we wanted.

awardticket

I am staying in a junior suite at my stay at the Tambo. What is the best room, on the ground floor with a terrace or with a balcony? Also is there a better view to request?

captain_starwood

I did a stay here on the ground floor. Being able to open the back doors and walk out on the grass was wonderful, particularly if you want to take a run or have kids.

Thunderroad

I haven't yet stayed there, but from what I understand there are no balconies. That is, the ground floor rooms indeed have a terraces you can go out to, but the upper floor rooms don't have balconies.

awardticket

My stay at the Tambo will be in the middle of our 3 week trip. I wanted to do laundry there so that I can pack half the amount, however the hotel seems to charge per item, like 5.50 USD for a pair of socks!!! Any ideas on how to go about this? I am staying here for 3 days.

captain_starwood

You can easily walk into town and find a place that will do your entire load of laundry for a few dollars.

awardticket

Thank you that is reaasuring.

awardticket

My butler from the Tambo offered to order a car to take me from the airport to Pisac so that I can see the Sunday market for 2 hours(it is a Sunday) and then he will drive me and my wife to the Tambo.

Price is 160 soles payable to the driver so does not seem to be with the hotels crazy transfer service. Is this a good price? Note that I will have luggage which I am sure would be secure this way.

doctor15

It is a bit on the high side compared to a taxi, but doesn't seem unreasonable for having a trusted driver arranged in advance. I doubt any pre-arranged car service will beat that price.

awardticket

What would you say it would cost in a cab approx? Also considering our luggage and the small convenience of having it pre arranged would you say it is worth it?

captain_starwood

I think 160 is too high, even with the convenience.

It is easy to get taxis in Urubamba. If you speak even slight spanish, you can walk outside the day of and find a taxi that will give you a better rate. I think you can probably get to 100 soles. Maybe less.

slocouple

We prearranged with a local taxi to pick us up and then take us to Pisac on the way to Cusco (we were interested in the archaeological site at Pisac rather than the market), and got his business card in advance. He was a bit late, and the hotel gave him a call to make sure he was en route. When they saw the card, they said, "Yes, he's a good guy." In any case, they didn't seem at all miffed at any time if we sought the advice of the concierge and then booked elsewhere.

dodger 1k

We stayed 3 nights last month and our stay was just wonderful in every way. Upgrade to Junior Suite without asking (not Jr at all, very big), full breakfast in lieu of 500 point amenity (they posted the 500 anyway), and excellent food, although a bit pricey for dinner. But service is phenomenal, excellent language skills as well.

There are some good dining options in town, we liked Tres Keros. The town is easily walkable and my wife enjoyed the market. Not a busy town at all, quite pleasant.

Now we did the Machu Picchu tour through the hotel. Very pricy at $800 total, but it did include everything, totally door to door service. And our guide Jackie was excellent, knew the history of the ruins and the Incas, all of the various spots within the park, and spent the entire day there with us. Including lunch, we were at the park for over 6 hours, which also included a moderate hike. And we had one guide just for the 2 of us. So very expensive, yet very personal. In my opinion, it was money well spent for a once in a lifetime trip to Machu Picchu, plus we saved money by booking cash/points.

Finally, the drive to/from Cusco is 1.5 hours. Cusco itself is a busy city, lots of traffic, and takes about 20 or 30 minutes just to get through town.