5 Travel Tips for the Ultimate Machu Picchu Experience (2024)

Machu Picchu: one of the seven wonders of the world (and, admittedly, a tourist-infested madhouse!) Despite the long day of traveling required to get there and the huge masses of people, it truly is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and I would happily recommend it to anyone. Here are five tips to keep in mind when traveling to Machu Picchu to have a (mostly) stress free experience.

#1 Book early.

Making reservations for Machu Picchu can be very confusing. For that reason, I highly recommend going with a tour guide/group, such as Machu Picchu Reservations, to avoid the stress of keeping track of all of the tickets and times required to visit this treasure.

However, if you are looking to save a couple of bucks and don’t mind the trouble of working extra hard to do so, I will do my best to guide you through the process.

Machu Picchu site Tickets

First and foremost, make sure to book your ticket to Machu Picchu ahead of time. It’s recommended to purchase tickets at least one week in advance during the wet season (November-April) and at least one and a half months early during the dry season (May to October), especially in June and July. This is because Peru has limited the number of tickets available to visit Machu Picchu, only allowing a few tickets to be sold per day. Tickets are now available by the hour, meaning that you can purchase tickets to enter the site within hour increments. For example, your ticket might say your allowed entrance is between 8am and 9am, or between 11am and 12pm.

The tickets themselves can also be very confusing. There are two times listed on the ticket, one labeled “Ingreso llaqta” and the other listed “Ingreso montaña.” “Ingreso llaqta” refers to the time that you will be entering the main entrance of Machu Picchu, meaning that you need to be at the top of the mountain ready to enter the site during that hour increment. “Ingreso montaña” describes the time that you can start your hike if you purchased a ticket that includes Huayna Picchu or Huchuy Picchu (more on that later). Note that when purchasing the tickets, you must buy them from the official Machu Picchu website and you are required to submit your payment for the tickets within three hours of reserving them.

When choosing your ticket, you will notice various “circuits” listed as options. “Circuits” are Machu Picchu’s fancy word for the route you will take throughout the site. For a comprehensive guide on each circuit, you can visit this website.

During my visit, I made the mistake of purchasing my tickets late and only had the option to take circuit 4. I also chose to add the Huchuy Picchu hike. This ended up being a fantastic decision because we not only hiked to a beautiful view of the entire site, but we also avoided most of the crowds as this is a less popular circuit amongst tourists. However, it is worth noting that I went during the wet season, so I am assuming there were less people than normal there.

P.S. I highly recommend the Huchuy Picchu hike for a gorgeous view and perfect opportunity for a photoshoot, but it is steep at times and can be strenuous.

Train Ticket to augas calientes

In addition to purchasing tickets to Machu Picchu itself, you will also need train tickets to get to Aguas Calientes—the town at the bottom of the Machu Picchu mountain. Alternatively, you can Uber to Aguas Calientes from Cusco, but I calculated that it was cheaper to just take the train.

There are two train companies to choose from to get from Cusco to Aguas Calientes: PeruRail and Inca Rail. I chose PeruRail, so I can’t speak on Inca Rail, but I will say that I really enjoyed my experience with PeruRail.

PeruRail offers several options for train cars, most notably the Vistadome and Expedition cars. We took the Vistadome on the way there and the Expedition on the way back. To be honest, I didn’t think there was a significant difference between the two. Both have relatively large windows, including ones of the ceiling that allow you to look at the tall mountains. On the Vistadome train, you also get a complimentary snack box and drink and they play Latin American music throughout the trip. According to my fiancé, the Expedition car is bumpier and louder than the Vistadome, but I’m not sure that I agree. Either way, I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time once you see the incredible view from the train.

During the wet season, the train straight from Cusco to Aguas Calientes is out of service, so PeruRail offers a bimodal service instead. This means that you will take a bus from the train station in Cusco to the train station in Ollantaytambo, rather than taking the train all the way there.

PeruRail also has an extra security measure requiring you to pick up your tickets in person once you arrive to the train station. You can pick up your tickets up to 45 minutes prior to your departure, which will hopefully leave enough time to surpass any possible lines.

Also, note that the boarding time for the PeruRail bus/train is 10 minutes prior to your departure.

Bus to Machu Picchu

Once you arrive to Aguas Calientes, you will need a bus ticket to get to the main entrance of Machu Picchu. There is only one bus company that makes this trek—Consettur—and tickets can be purchased in advance or in person. The bus ride takes about 30 minutes once you make it on, and it comes about every 10 minutes.

As a non-Spanish speaker, I found the Consettur website to be rather confusing and opted for purchasing tickets in person instead. We did not leave enough time between the train ride and our entrance time to Machu Picchu and found ourselves stressed in the line to purchase bus tickets. Luckily, the woman helping us was able to get us on the next available bus after we purchased our tickets and we made it just in time to Machu Picchu (before the entrance hour was up). As a result, I highly recommend either purchasing your ticket ahead of time or arriving extra early.

#2 Be early.

Now that all of the boring ticket information is out of the way, my next tip is to be sure that you leave enough time to arrive early to everything.

The lines to get tickets for the bus, to actually get on the bus, and to get into Machu Picchu can be long. I went during the wet season, so I can only imagine how long they might get during the dry season. Arriving early (and booking your train ticket allowing plenty of time between arriving to Aguas Calientes and your entrance time to Machu Picchu) would be a good solution to this problem. You might also consider staying in Ollantaytambo or Aguas Calientes for a night or two prior to visiting Machu Picchu to make the travel time more bearable and less stressful.

#3 Go to bed early the day before.

My third tip is to be sure to get a good night of sleep the day before embarking on your Machu Picchu journey, especially if you are leaving and returning to Cusco in the same day.

When we went, our entrance tickets to Machu Picchu were from 11am to 12pm. This meant that getting on a 6:10am bus ride to the Ollantaytambo train station. We also needed to arrive about 30-45 minutes early to the train/bus station in Cusco to collect our tickets in person, meaning that we arrived at 5:50am to the station.

Next we proceeded to take about a 90 minute bus ride to the Ollantaytambo train station, where we boarded another roughly 90 minute train to Aguas Calientes. We then purchased our bus tickets up to the Machu Picchu entrance, ultimately arriving at around 11:30am. Luckily, there was no line to get in at the top and we were able to get inside during our 11am to 12pm window.

Tourists are allowed 4 hours in Machu Picchu, but guided tours typically last about 2.5 hours. We ended up spending about 2 hours there total, including the hike up to Huchuy Picchu and a short snack break.

Our train ride back to Ollantaytambo was at 2:25pm, meaning we had to be back at the station by 2:10. Leaving enough time for the bus ride down, the line to get on the bus, and the short walk from the bus station to the train station, we left Machu Picchu at around 1:30pm. After everything, we got back to the Cusco train station at about 7:30pm. The ride back was honestly miserable, and our bus driver refused to drive over 30mph. I highly suggest downloading some movies and music for the ride.

Overall, the travel time was nearly 14 hours, and with the stresses of moving from station to station and doing the hike, it was quite exhausting. So make sure to hit the sack early!

#4 Pack snacks.

Next up, snacks! It’s a long day and nobody likes feeling hangry. There are a few places to purchase snacks at the train station and there are restaurants at Machu Picchu. Additionally, you can purchase more snacks on the train or receive complimentary ones on the Vistadome car. I recommend packing your own to save money though. We stopped at Organika Bakery & Coffee to pick up croissants and empanadas the night before and brought those with us the next day.

#5 Don’t forget your passport, tickets, and extra cash!

Last but not least, make sure to pack your passport, as you will need it to get on the bus, train, and into Machu Picchu.

Bring your tickets, printed or digital, and some cash in case you want to buy snacks or souvenirs.

I also recommend bringing a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen for sun protection and to wear layers in case of changing weather. During the wet season, it’s a good idea to pack a rain jacket or a poncho as well.

And there you have it folks—my top 5 tips for a memorable and hopefully only partially annoying trip to Machu Picchu! Enjoy the views and take lots of pictures.