Journey4Happy

Thanks for the extensive reply, travelswithmyself. I appreciate it.

Ha! The thought crossed my mind as I was typing, but I let it go because it really all hinged on the question of whether I can do HP with TdI as a base.... hence the TdI forum. but then thought - "do I REALLY HAVE to do HP?"... hence the MP questions.

Ok. So no special tickets needed for iconic view. Sold!

You might mean Putucusi.

Thanks again!

alamedaguy

I don't know how long it takes to get to Huayna Picchu rather than Montana Machu Picchu, but if you have your MP tickets in hand and can cut out some of the running around I had to do between the train and bus, you should be fine. That's assuming your ticket is good until 11 as mentioned by travelswithmyself.

AABOSSFO

This sounds about right to me. Assuming no delays, it should work out. That said, you don't have much room for error, so just be prepared for the possibility that you might not make it if you are delayed in any fashion. I've heard that they can be sticklers about not letting folks in after the time window.

HP is a somewhat steep hike, but not too bad, unless you are out of shape or have a bad fear of heights. Lots of large stone steps. And although there are points where you can see down to the valley floor, there are cables available, and I never really felt too exposed at any point. Do take account of the altitude, though, as I found that to be the biggest adjustment.

The view itself is fine, although it's not the iconic view from the hut. It's really more of a birds-eye view of the entire complex, from far above.

pc_travels

We spent 12 days or so in the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. This is n incredible hotel in Urubamba, about halfway between Cusco and MP.

Depending on the type of trip you are having (adventure, roughing it, luxe) this is a great stop. We personally like to mix it up. Great base to see Machu Picchu - you can take the train directly from here (expensive) or venture in through Ollantambo. Would also recommend a lot of other places in the Sacred Valley (I mean, when are you going to be here again?). Starwoods C+P is a great deal on this particular property. Breathtaking. Our full review with pictures is available at http://prettyconnected.com/2015/06/t...rumbamba-peru/

We also stayed at the new Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba - totally different vibe and worth checking out if you can. It is a little outside of town, but rewards you with cultural authenticity, seclusion and views. Review available at http://prettyconnected.com/2015/06/i...urubamba-peru/

Full MP planning guide: http://prettyconnected.com/2015/06/p...-machu-picchu/

fledglingraptormoon

Does anyone know what's the rate for breakfast? The last mention was $22, in 2011 I think.

margarita girl

I was there in Oct 2014 and it was still $22. Posted in the breakfast wiki.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...nefit-114.html

Enjoy! Great property/area/country.

iAmJacksFlyerTalk

I would love some advice.

I've booked three nights at the Tambo Del Inka (Oct 20-23) and am baffled by how complicated and expensive it appears to be to get to Machu Picchu.

I want to take just one day, get to the main portion of the site that you always see the photographs of, do some light exploring, and return. Is that possible?

The train cost from Tambo Del Inka looks to be $170.
The bus trip (one way, I can hike down) is $10.
The entrance fee is $67.

Are there any other costs or complications I should know about? Is this a realistic feat? It's hard to connect all the dots from everyone's different trip reviews.

Thank you

margarita girl

Entrance fee was 131 soles ($40) when I was there in Oct. We chose to take the train from Olly, so our driver charged 40 soles ($12) each way to take us to the train station.

What we did:

- ride from TdI to Olly
- Vistadome 203 at 10:32 to Aguas Calientes
- bus to Machu Picchu (think we got there around 1 pm when many of the crowds have dissipated)
- bus to Aguas Calientes
- Vistadome 606 at 19:45 to Olly (could have taken an earlier train)
- ride from Olly to TdI

travelswithmyself

Hi there!

You must be reading the wrong sites/posts; getting to and from MP is very straightforward.

Firstly though, two things:
1. MP is not next to the hotel, it is about 30km away acc to Google, and ~ 1H 45Min by train. So there is a distance to travel and you have to expect to pay for it
2. There are only two "tourist" ways to get there - by train, or hiking. And they charge a premium for the train simply because they can. Locals pay much much much less (vaguely remember my guide telling me it was about 25 sol.)

Your estimates are ~ correct. I did a quick check for 22 Oct, for an adult:
a. Train to MP and return: ~ USD150 depending on the times you want
b. Bus ride up the hill: USD12
c. vanilla MP entrance ticket: ~ USD20. Where did you get $67?

There are no extra charges, but these are fees leaving from Ollanta. You have to make your way from the hotel to Ollanta which is not expensive.

You can do what you proposed easily. It sounds rather rushed though IMO.

You should book your train tickets early; I noticed for 22 Oct, the late afternoon trains returning from MP are already full.

Here are the websites:

PERURAIL

CONSETTUR BUS COMPANY

PERU MINISTRY OF CULTURE - MP TICKETS

iAmJacksFlyerTalk

This "vanilla" ticket: does that get you to the spot where you see the iconic tourist photo taken at the MP site? Or does that require access to a separate hike/area?

http://ticketmachupicchu.com wants to charge me over $67 per person for the Machu Picchu only access.

travelswithmyself

There is no reason to use any other ticketing website except the official Peruvian website, unless you are fond of paying service fees. The official website has an english translation and Google translate does the rest. There have been reports of payment issues with credit cards on the website but I had none. The tickets are printed by yourself, and customer service by email is excellente - I required a name and date change and it was all settled muy rapido.

As the website you listed shows - there are a few types of tickets - but the 'vanilla' ticket gets you everywhere you want to go. If you want to climb either mountain flanking MP you will need to buy the appropriate ticket. But neither hike is necessary to get you the iconic view of MP which you will see from the Guard/Watch House.

GH83

Stayed here back in April after doing the four-day hike on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. The resort seemed pretty empty, and it was the perfect place to relax after a very challenging few days. Breakfast was great, and reasonable, as was the food in the bar and restaurant.

A family member got very sick after the hike, and the hotel staff was extremely helpful in getting a doctor to come see her in the late evening. Fortunately, all turned out well.

Afterwards, I spent a couple days at the Palacio Del Inka in Cusco, but I found the Tambo to be much better.

iAmJacksFlyerTalk

Thanks for your help, Travelswithmyself.

I used the link to buy the MP tickets. It was still 266 Soles for two people, for just the vanilla ticket. Perhaps I did something wrong?

I also booked train passage on Peru Rail. $200 each. Urubamba > MP on a Vista Dome with the buffet lunch. And then MP > Ollanta on Vista Dome. I hope this is right. I selected Ollantaytambo as the return destination and assume that's just the abbreviation.

And then I just get a cab from Ollantaytambo to Tambo Del Inka?

Any restaurant recommendations in Ollantaytambo?

And is the Urubamba train station near Tambo Del Inka? The resort advertises it's "own" private train station, but I suspect this just the Urubamba station.

travelswithmyself

My bad. I looked at the price for non-foreigner rate. The foreigner rate is 128 S/. So you paid for the right one.


Yes Olly/Ollanta/Ollantaytambo are the same place.

I didn't explore the town much. The restaurant I ate at was very plain and simple, one on side of the main square. There are better options nearer the TdI, and one on the way back from Ollanta is Tres Keros.


Hmmm you didn't read the 100s of previous posts? :P

The Urubamba station really is on the TdI grounds. Amazingly I didn't walk over to it any of the 4 nights I was there, but you can see pictures from pc_travel's post a few posts back.

iAmJacksFlyerTalk

Thanks for posting that link. Sorry, I swear it can be confusing. For instance, here is a screencap of the Vistadome site.