Published on Feb, 2018
Summary: This is a really great, well organised trip. You could arrange the elements yourself but this tour offers great value and peace of mind for first time visitors. I recommend it highly. It was a great day for me.
So, firstly, this is a trip to Machu Picchu. I don't need to write about Machu Picchu. It's not as good as people say it is. It's better, way better. If you can go to Machu Picchu, go there.
I was a bit daunted by this trip. I visited Peru on my own for 4 days and didn't have time to acclimatise to the altitude in Cusco and walk the Inca trail or spend a night in Aguas Calientes, the town near Machu Picchu, so I decided to take a day trip.
I was a bit worried because I had read mixed reviews of this and similar tours and also because the tour starts at 3:30 am and you can expect to get back to Cusco at c.11:00pm. I also didn't have an entirely clear idea of what the tour involved and did and didn't include until I arrived.
The day before the tour, a representative of the operator contacted my hotel and arranged a time to visit me. He arrived in the evening and explained the itinerary for the next day very clearly . He spent a long time with me and answered all of my questions, as well as giving me my tickets and assigned seat coupons for the rail and minibus journeys the following day. He also gave me his phone number and said it was OK to call him at any time if anything went wrong on the day of the trip.
Here's what the tour entailed:
c. 4:00 - A minibus picked me up from the hotel. We stopped at a couple of hotels and then were driven to Ollantaytambo railway station. This was a fairly quick drive early in the morning and we got to see the sun rise as we crossed the plateau into the Sacred Valley.
We then travelled by train to Aguas Calientes. This was a great journey. We had assigned seats, the train was comfortable and the views were fantastic. There is a white glove service on the train with free hot or soft drinks and snacks and a paid for bar. The experience was great.
On arrival in Aguas Calientes, I was met in the station by a local guide whose name had been given to me the day before. He took me to the Machu Picchu Ticket office and bought me a ticket for entry to the site. He pointed out a nearby guide and told me to meet her at a point in the town square in an hour to be taken to the bus up to Machu Picchu. I had time to get some breakfast. There are plenty of good local restaurants.
We were then led to a bus that took us up to Machu Picchu, where, at about 10:00am, we met a guide who took us on a guided tour lasting a couple of hours. He was knowledgable and friendly.
When you finish the tour, you exit the site and can stamp your passport with a Machu Picchu stamp. You are then free to go back to town on the minibus or to reenter the site. I had lunch the restaurant and cafe are very good and went back in. If you re-enter, it is important to do so within 4 hours of your first entry, so don't lose track of time while buying souvenirs or having lunch.
After a great afternoon walking around Machu Picchu and up to the sun gate, I took the bus back to town. I had a couple of hours to kill before the train back to Ollantaytambo, but there is loads to do in Aguas Clientes.
The journey back was as slick as it was in the morning and I was met at Ollantaytambo by a taxi driver who took me back to the hotel in Cusco.
The tour organiser called me in the morning to make sure everything had gone well.
I was very satisfied overall. As I said, you could organise the taxis, buses, trains, tickets and guide yourself but it's probably a bit much to do before your first visit. It was great not to have to worry about anything and to be able to just enjoy Machu Picchu.
Not only was the tour good value for money overall, but the people involved were all very professional, knowledgable and friendly.
Five stars.
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