Machu Picchu Tour
 

Hi Guy's,
Anyone Want's to share your experience about the Machu Picchu Tour in Peru.

If you can afford a stay at the Sanctuary Lodge inside the park at the top of the mountain, it's something you'll never forget. You get the whole site to yourself for sunrise and sunset. Incredible.

Welcome to Flyertalk, intisuntrek
In our Destinations section there is a dedicated forum for Peru. Therefore, I am moving your thread to that forum as I believe you will be well served by those who have experience in traveling to Peru.
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

To be clear, are you referring to a specific tour company called Machu Picchu Tour? Or just inquiring about touring Machu Picchu in general?

Well, to be entirely correct the hotel is adjacent but just outside the entrance to the park, not actually inside - but it's as close as one can get.

It is quite nice inside (we stopped in for drink) and as The Doc suggests - it is quite expensive by Peruvian (and even SA standards) where the cheapest rate I have seen is US$550 for a twin room; the rooms facing MP proper go for several times that.

Note that the hotel is run by the same company that runs the Hiram Bingham train (as opposed to the national PeruRail train). One thing that really stood out to me is that they quote an off-hour, one-way, transfer from the railway to the hotel at $350.

But it is indeed a very nice property.

I was a bit lazy and had a travel agent in Cuzco book the whole thing as a long daytrip for about $205 all-in, if memory serves (the dollar has gained a bit since, but they've probably upped prices as well). I left the office with a number of vouchers.

That included the train trip (not the Bingham, but good enough), a stop or two in Ollyantambo to see that site, the bus ride to MP, the park admission, a 2-hour guided tour (the kind that end with clapping) and 2 extra hours on-site getting into the late afternoon and different light and less crowds. Then the bus to a train and back in a long day (or maybe it was a bus to a bus...memory is fuzzy on that)

It worked well enough for my purposes. There are lots of other options and Ollyantambo looked like a good place to overnight. I also got to see trekkers coming in from the Inca trail while at the site.

If you are going for a upscale tour or looking to stay at the lodge I have a friend that works in Cusco for Kuoda Travel. They may be able to get you a deal at the lodge (though probably not a huge savings) or on a tour.

Hi Frogprof
i am not referring to a specific tour company called Machu Picchu Tour. i just want to share people experience about their tour to machu picchu. the Sanctuary Lodge is little bit expensive but when you stay their you will never forget the incredible view of mountains.

Ok. Thanks for clarifying OP.

I'll be at Machu Picchu on March 17. It will be my ninth visit. (I take two student groups there every year.) My brief thoughts are:

* Being on the earliest possible bus is great because the combination of mist and sunrise is spectacular.
* On the other hand, it is much less crowded in the afternoon.
* Both the Sun Gate and the Inca Bridge are absolutely worth the hike.
* A knowledgeable guide can make it a wonderful learning experience.
* Students can't afford the Sanctuary Lodge so I like to stay close to the train station and market.
* The best restaurant in AC is Indio Feliz. It's great!

When we were arriving at 1pm (using the 50% tickets for late arrival) there was a massive line to catch the bus back down. The park was fairly empty. Though, it seems IMO to be the hottest time of the day.

Earliest possible bus has longest possible lines. Some members of my party walked up to the entrance when they saw how long the bus line was. They beat the bus they would have been on by at least half an hour. That may differ away from the solstice; I don't know.

Starting this weekend, tickets will specify am or pm. If you want both, you'll need two tickets (at twice the cost). Also, a guide will be required. Official ones are all pretty knowledgeable, though some are probably better than others as in any other profession.

The Sanctuary Lodge, even if you don't stay there, has rest rooms that are both clean and free!

My wife and I will be there early in April of 2018. we haven't made arrangements for the tour yet We'll be spending most of our time in Lima. We also wanted to go to Easter Island but flights are out of our range, oh well. Any suggestions on setting up a Machu Picchu tour company? Thanks Jim

If you can afford the Santuary, I'd go full-boat and do the Hiram Bingham train as well. But if you're spending your life's savings on this trip, there are likely better ways to spend those dollars, perhaps by having a few more days in the area... there's a lot to see beyond just Machu Picchu.

One thing first-timers might not realize is how expensive the food and water is up on top (in and adjacent to the park), not to mention that there aren't any places (that I know of anyway) to get water once you get into the park a ways. I don't recall the bathroom situation too well, except that there really weren't any once inside. As a guy, not a huge deal. Point is, bring your own food and water with you. Especially if you do the optional (and must be ticketed separately and ahead of time) Huayna Picchu hike. You will likely go through a lot of water in the two hours it might take to go up and down, and again, there is none available along the way.

Don't let this deter you. It's an amazing place! Well worth the visit.

Another important point that is often overlooked is that there are no restrooms inside the park. Combine that with the very limited reentry options, and I would strongly advise against excessive eating or drinking before heading up the mountain. One regular water bottle should be enough to bring. If you do go for the AM ticket, book one of the mountains as well. It gets hot fast up there, so the 7am hike is far less brutal than the 9am.

Considering the absurd food costs, I decided $40 for a good buffet in a nice hotel is a much better deal than $20 for a sandwich at a counter. But that was back when one could leave the park for lunch and reenter in the afternoon. Perhaps it might be better just to head down at 11 and grab some lunch in town.

As for Aguas Calientes, it is really one of the most miserable tourist-hell places that I have ever been. The hotels range from poor to mediocre, while the food is not much better. Best bet is to arrive in the late afternoon, go to bed very early, and wake up in time to be in line for the bus before 3 am. Take an early afternoon train back out of town and do not look back. However, $1500+ for a night at Sanctuary is not within the budget of anyone who has a budget.

Also, if you are self-booking, make sure that you exchange the online Machu Picchu bus voucher for an actual ticket from the ticket booth as soon as you get to town, because they do not open until well after the buses start running in the morning, and the voucher will not get you on the bus.