One long day out and back from Cusco, or two days with the Sacred Valley and a night below the citadel.
The short answer
Take the day trip if you have only one day and are used to the altitude: 12 to 18 hours from Cusco, with entry from about 9 a.m. Take the overnight tour if you can spare two days: the Sacred Valley on the way, a night in Aguas Calientes, an earlier entry and a later return without a 4 a.m. start.
On both, the guided visit lasts about two to two and a half hours, and most tours are non-refundable.
The visit inside Machu Picchu is about the same length either way. What changes is the hour you get up, the hour you enter, what you see on the way and where you sleep.
Pick the day you want to go, or the first and last day you are in Cusco. We read the booking calendar of each tour and show the ones that still take bookings. For Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail, book early: entry tickets, trains and trail permits are limited.
In the next 7 days, 1 of 3 tours on this page still have places.
Days: Day trip
Days: 2 days
Days: 2 days
| Day trip from Cusco | Two days with a night | |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup | Between about 3:45 and 8 a.m., depending on the train | About 7:45 or 8 a.m. on day one |
| Entry time | From about 9 a.m. to midday | Morning of day two; FLY CUSCO books 6 to 10 a.m. |
| Guided visit | About 2 to 2.5 hours | About 2 to 2.5 hours |
| Back in Cusco | About 6 to 11 p.m. the same day | About 6 p.m. on day two |
| Sacred Valley | Seen from the van and the train only | Guided stops on day one |
| Night | In Cusco, at about 3,400 metres | In Aguas Calientes, below the citadel at about 2,430 metres |
| Luggage | A day pack | A small bag for the night; suitcases stay in Cusco |
| Cancellation | Listed as non-refundable | Mostly listed as non-refundable |
Sources: the tour listings on this site for times, meals and luggage; Inca Rail for the altitudes of Cusco and Machu Picchu.
It costs one day, and you sleep in the same Cusco hotel before and after. Several tours offer all train classes, and with VIPAC you choose the circuit when you book. If your time in Peru is short and you are already used to the altitude, the long day is manageable: you sit in a van or a train for most of it. See the day trips compared.
What you give up: an early entry slot, rest, and any time in the Sacred Valley. Two operators ask you to be in Cusco at least a day before, and the 4 a.m. starts land badly on the second or third day after arrival. More on altitude and acclimatization.
The two-day tours turn the van ride into a guided day in the Sacred Valley, with Pisac, Ollantaytambo or the terraces of Moray and the salt pans of Maras depending on the operator. You sleep lower than in Cusco and walk into Machu Picchu in the morning. exploor goes further and recommends the night even on its private Machu Picchu day, because it saves about three and a half hours by van and train in the early morning, and, as it puts it, only from Aguas Calientes can you make the 6 a.m. entry.
A night also leaves room for Huayna Picchu (route 3-A) or Machu Picchu Mountain (route 1-A), which the listings sell as extras and which need to be booked well ahead; see circuits and routes. The cost is a second day, a hotel night and the luggage limit on the train. See the overnight tours compared.
If the train itself is the point, there is the Hiram Bingham train, a day trip with lunch, tea and dinner. If you want to arrive on foot, the treks end at Machu Picchu after one to five days; see the treks compared and what to do when the Inca Trail is sold out. For rain and the months when trains run as bus and train combinations from Cusco, see the best time to visit.
For the guided visit, yes: it lasts about two to two and a half hours on either kind of tour. On a day trip, van, train and bus fill most of the remaining 10 hours or more.
Not on the day trips compared here: they enter from about 9 a.m. at the earliest, after the train from Ollantaytambo. An early slot needs a night in Aguas Calientes.
Yes. Cusco lies at about 3,400 metres and Machu Picchu at about 2,430, according to Inca Rail; Aguas Calientes is in the valley below the citadel.
Yes, on the two-day tours: the Sacred Valley is day one, Machu Picchu day two. On a day trip you only pass through the valley.
Train class, circuit and pickup on each day tour.
Two-day tours via the Sacred Valley and longer packages.
The three circuits and the mountain routes.
How high Cusco and the treks are, and what to do first.
Dry season, rainy season and the February closure of the Inca Trail.
Arriving on foot instead of by train.
Two questions, and the finder suggests a tour from Cusco with two alternatives.
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