1 Day Machu Picchu Tour From Cusco

Recommended by 99% of travelers

Cusco, Peru

12 to 14 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Maximize your sightseeing time in Peru with this convenient day trip to Machu Picchu from Cusco. After a hotel pickup, travel through the Sacred Valley and rugged mountain terrain by bus and train before ascending by bus to the iconic Inca citadel. You’ll enjoy a guided tour of the site’s most important landmarks, to learn more about Peru’s ancient cultures. Ideal for travelers short on time in the country.

See and do more in a day than you could independently
Entry tickets, all transportation, and hotel transfers are included
Receive personalized attention on a customizable private tour
Choose from flexible morning departure times to suit your schedule

What's Included

Pick-up and drop off from your hotel in Cusco
Private and comfortable transportation - round trip from Cusco to Ollantaytambo
Round trip bus tickets : Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu – Aguas Calientes
Professional English and Spanish speaking tour guide
Round trip train tickets : Ollantaytambo – Aguas Calientes - Ollantaytambo.
Entrance tickets to Machu Picchu citadel

Snacks

Drinking water and snacks
Lunch

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

This tour includes roundtrip transfer from any hotel, apartment (If Airbnb please put the exact location with the street number) or your house located around the Cusco city.

Operating hours
.5:30 am

Itinerary

Choose your morning pickup time from your Cusco hotel and transfer to the train station in Ollantaytambo. You’ll travel by rail through the winding river valleys to reach Aguas Calientes, the gateway town for Machu Picchu. Make one more transfer to a bus for the zig-zagging ride up mountain switchbacks to reach the famous “lost city” of the Inca.

Once you’ve entered the park, spend the next three hours enjoying a guided tour of the site. You’ll get a closer look at Machu Picchu highlights, including the sacred solar clock, the Royal Quarters, main plaza, and the Temple of the Three Windows, plus much more. After, enjoy some free time to explore independently and take pictures.

At the end of your Machu Picchu visit, head back down to Aguas Calientes to grab some food before taking the train back to Ollantaytambo. You’ll be dropped off at your hotel in Cusco in the evening.

Cusco (Pass By)

Ollantaytambo (Pass By)

Aguas Calientes (Pass By)

Machu Picchu

4 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Aguas Calientes (Pass By)

Ollantaytambo (Pass By)

Cusco (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Infant seats available
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
Our agency is distinguished for offering excellent tourist experiences, where quality is the central axis of each service. We strive to maintain the highest standards at every stage of the tour, ensuring that, even in the group tour, our passengers enjoy a carefully designed service, with touches of quality and personalized attention that exceed expectations.
A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
Raincoat (long poncho) during the rainy season
Sunscreen, brimmed hat for sunny days
Medicine and / or personal items (liquid for contact lenses).
A backpack or lightweight suitcase (no weight limit between 5-6 kilos maximum).
Have on hand checks in small denominations and coins in soles or dollars.

MANDATORY: The Machu Picchu authority requests: full name, passport number, date of birth and nationality, in order to issue the entrance ticket. If you do not send this information we will not be able to reserve and subsequently pay for your tickets to Machu Picchu.
The entrance ticket to Machu Picchu is *NOT REFUNDABLE*, so we kindly ask you to be 100% sure to take the tour. *DATE CHANGES OR MODIFICATIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTED. If you need to change the date of your visit, you must purchase a new entrance ticket.
Due to the high demand and the limited number of entrances to the Inca citadel, our company will issue your entrance ticket in circuit 2 as a priority. If it is not available, circuit 3 or 1 will be assigned, prior coordination with the passenger before issuance.
The type of transportation you will receive from Cusco - Ollantaytambo and Ollantaytambo - Cusco, will depend on the option you have chosen when booking the tour (PRIVATE OR GROUP).
Round trip train tickets and entrance tickets to Machu Picchu are included in the tour.
Machu Picchu has two seasons throughout the year: the rainy season from December to March, and the dry season during the rest of the year.
The day before the tour, your guide will come to your hotel or Airbnb to give you a briefing about the entire tour and answer any questions you may have.
To coordinate your briefing, our company staff will contact you weeks or days before the tour, to inform you about the briefing time, who is guiding, etc.
The start of the tour in GROUP is at 4:30 AM, it may vary depending on the location of the hotel or Airbnb or some other factor, that will be well coordinated in their respective briefing. In the PRIVATE tour the departure time is a little more flexible, at 5:00 AM, 6:00 AM, 7:00 AM, that is coordinated before with the traveler in their respective briefing mentioned above.
The guided tour inside the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu lasts approximately “3 hours”, and it is always private (ONLY YOU AND YOUR COUPLE OR YOUR COMPANIONS) even if you have chosen to book the “Group Tour”.
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

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Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.9

based on 172 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

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Unforgettable Machu Picchu Experience with Excellent Guide

Angel_Z, Jun 2026

Amazing Machu Picchu experience! It was a long day, but absolutely worth it to visit one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Jose Dario was an outstanding guide—knowledgeable, engaging, and passionate about the history of the site. We also highly recommend the Vistadome train; the panoramic windows offer incredible views and make the journey part of the experience. Highly recommend.

We had a private tour...

Carole_T, May 2026

We had a private tour which was amazing. The reason that it was private was not so amazing. There were no trips available out of where we were staying and the company graciously agreed to pick us up and take us to local train station to meet with the rest of the group. The driver never showed up. (We waited, called, texted, etc) and finally got to the train but the group had been long gone and the only recourse was to allow us part of the tour with a different guide to Machu Picchu . I believe there was more to the trip in addition to the actual train ride and walk through Machu Picchu, but that is what we got.

Times noted are NOT accurate

David_W, Nov 2025

Our major disappointment was the times stated in the description were not remotely accurate. See below for details. I had great communication from the expedition company, via Whats App. They wanted to meet us at the hotel the day prior, to brief us. Since we were arriving that day before and wanted to explore Cusco - this was a little clunky to arrange being back at the hotel at a certain time. The person sent to the hotel was extremely kind - but English was a struggle. We used Google Translate to communicate. He provided us the tickets and times we needed. We were previously asked about T-shirt sizes, which we had provided - but he had not brought those and said we would get them on the tour. The next morning, we were picked up on time. Upon arrival in Aguas Calientes - we could not find our tour guide. We were a little nervous - but he did arrive about 10 minutes after the train arrived, when I was getting ready to message the tour operator. He also was very nice. When we got to the location for the buses to take us to Machu Pichu, we had to wait about an hour to preserve the earliest possible bus departure (several buses make the trip.) Our entrance time to MP was 12pm - which meant we would be on an 11:30-ish bus to the top. The big concern was we had to be back to the train station by 2:50pm. That included time to take the bus back down and walk to the train station. Our guide did the best he could to move things along to get us on an earlier bus (than our tickets allowed) and get us into MP earlier than the ticket time. We did get on an earlier bus - but not earlier into MP. We had exactly 2 hours to move around MP - when the tour description states 3 hours!!! We hustled - which is a challenge at that altitude and hiking up flights of steps. We then waited in line to return down to Aguas Calientes. The tour description then says you will have time for lunch there. This is NOT even close to accurate. We had time to grab an empanada and get back to the train station. This was disappointing, as AC is a neat little town. Also, the T-shirts were not there and the guide had to call. The tour company did have those delivered to our hotel with some pens and bottle openers, the next day - and apologized for the confusion. The tickets you will receive for this day trip are extremely specific. With the crowds (off-season when we were there) aren't flexible if you to decided to take a later bus or train. You will be limited to what has been booked. We booked several months out, also. The description on how much time the traveler has to explore should be modified to be accurate for both MP and AC..

Response from Host, Dec 2025

Dear David. Thank you very much for taking the time to share such a detailed review of your experience. We truly appreciate your feedback, as it helps us continue improving our services. First of all, we are glad to hear that our team maintained clear communication with you throughout the process and that both our staff in Cusco and your guide in Machu Picchu were kind and attentive. We are also pleased that, despite some logistical challenges, our team was able to assist and deliver the items that were missing, along with our apologies. That said, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and frustration caused by the timing expectations not fully matching the actual experience. You are absolutely right that Machu Picchu tickets, buses, and trains operate under very strict schedules, and once issued, they offer limited flexibility—especially during peak periods or when entrance times are tightly scheduled. Regarding the time inside Machu Picchu and in Aguas Calientes, we acknowledge your comments and agree that our tour description should more clearly reflect realistic time frames based on entrance schedules and return train times. We are already reviewing and updating this information to ensure future travelers have a clearer understanding of how their day will be structured. We also apologize for the language barrier during the pre-tour briefing and for the inconvenience related to the T-shirts. While these were ultimately delivered, we understand that the situation caused unnecessary confusion, and we are reinforcing our internal checks to prevent this from happening again. Please know that our intention is always to provide the best possible experience while working within the operational regulations set by Machu Picchu authorities and train companies. Your feedback is extremely valuable and has been shared with our operations team to improve accuracy, coordination, and traveler expectations. Thank you once again for traveling with us and for your honest feedback. We truly hope that, despite these challenges, your visit to Machu Picchu remains a memorable highlight of your journey to Peru. Warm regards.

Great Tour

Tara_S, Jul 2025

Breathe taking views. The guide, William, did a wonderful job providing us with information and an insight on Incan life.

Worth every penny…

Annie_R, May 2025

Incredibly well organized. Someone to take you each step of the journey - from van to train to bus - guide (Dario) was fantastic. Everyone went out of their way to make our visit a success. My husband left his phone on the last van and we had almost instant help with finding it a keeping it safe. Were able to collect it the next morning. Very grateful.

Worth it if you can only spare one day at Machu Picchu

Margo_T, Mar 2025

We were initially upset we couldn’t swing a longer trip to Machu Picchu, but this one day tour did a great job getting us to see the site in the short amount of time. I am generally an anxious traveler and the group eased my mind entirely with how well planned/organized the day was. They come to your hotel the night before to deliver your tickets for each transfer and answer any questions. While it was a long day of traveling (5am pickup, 730pm drop off) which meant about 3 hours at MP site, I still think it was totally worth it. Plus, the train ride is beautiful so ends up being a fun experience. Our tour guide, William, was great and my husband and I ended up having a private tour just by chance - so clearly the company does not overbook their excursions. Overall, worth the money and travel time!! Highly recommend if you only have one day to spare.

Response from Host, Mar 2025

Thank you kindly for your wonderful review Margo. We are thrilled to hear that you had such a fabulous experience with the agency and on your tour of Machu Picchu with Willian. We hope to see you in Cusco again soon.

Epic Day at Machu Pichu!

Bryon_S, Feb 2025

It’s a long day but worth the journey. We booked the private option (just do it) with Vistadome train. The day before, Blossom meet with us at our hotel to provide instructions and expectations for the day and provide us with all of our necessary tickets. Tour day, We were picked up from or hotel on time by our driver Ernesto. He provided the transportation between the Hotel and Olytamtambo. From there, we took the train to Aguas Calientes and met our guide for Machu Pichu. Juan Carlos was an excellent guide and has deep knowledge regarding Machu Pichu, Inca Culture, and Puruvian history. Our package included Circuit 2 which gives you some of the best viewpoints of the site. You will need to have a moderate level of physical fitness due to the altitude, steps, and uneven surfaces. Juan Carlos was great at keeping a good pace and providing rest stops. You will have around 2 1/2 hours once inside. If you really want to learn about the culture this is the tour for you.

Response from Host, Feb 2025

Thank you kindly for your wonderful review Bryon. We are thrilled to hear that you had such a fabulous experience with the agency and on your tour of Machu Picchu with Juan Carlos. We hope to see you in Cusco again soon.

Rainy/Foggy/Sunshiny Day at Machu Picchu

Katherine_A, Dec 2024

Be patient with the weather if you go during rainy season. Views come and go depending on the weather. We didn't get the classic shot everyone wants, but we're very happy with what we were able to see, learn and capture.

Response from Host, Dec 2024

Thank you very much for your wonderful review Katherine. We are sorry about the weather but are very happy to know that you had a great experience with the agency and on your tour of Machu Picchu. We hope to see you again soon in Cusco.

Unforgettable Machu Picchu Experience – Seamlessly Organized and Rich in History

Manolis_C, Oct 2024

Our Machu Picchu day trip from Cusco was nothing short of excellent. The agency organized every detail meticulously, making the entire experience smooth and hassle-free. Opting for the Vistadome train was definitely worth the extra cost, as it added a unique scenic touch to the journey. Once at Machu Picchu, we had a private tour with our guide, William, who was incredible. His polite demeanor and deep knowledge of the site’s history enriched our visit immensely. He explained the historical significance beautifully, making the experience truly unforgettable. Highly recommended!

Response from Host, Oct 2024

Thank you kindly for your wonderful review. We are thrilled to hear that you had such a fabulous experience with the agency and on your Machu Picchu tour with William. We hope to see you in Cusco again soon.

absolutely wonderful tour experience!

Jennifer_L, Oct 2024

this was everything i was looking for in a day tour. please extend my greatest appreciation to William our guide for the day. he was so kind and patient and took probably 100 fantastic photos of us. this was a day to remember and a highlight of our trip to Peru. having your company coordinate everything made it so much easier and was such a relief.

Response from Host, Oct 2024

Thank you kindly for your wonderful review Jennifer. We are thrilled to hear that you had such a fabulous experience with the agency and on your tour of Machu Picchu with William. We hope to see you in Cusco again soon.

Amazing views with a bad train ride

Nancy_S, Oct 2024

Booked a private excursion. On the way home the train ride was miserable it stopped to many times. The attendants performed a fashion show the products they were trying g to sell on the train. The visa-dome train was ok. It was not worth the extra money. Our guide was timely. We did the circuit 2 which was amazing. Our guide was very knowledgeable. He spent extra time with us. We did have to wait over an hours to get back on the bus to go down the mountain. There could be areas to sit along. FYI bring money for the bathrooms.

Response from Host, Oct 2024

Thank you kindly for your wonderful review Nancy. We are thrilled to hear that you had such a great experience with the agency and on your Machu Picchu tour. Sincerest apologise about the bus and train journeys from Machu Picchu back to Cusco. We hope that the rail service improves for our passengers in the near future. We hope to see you in Cusco again soon.

Excellent tour

Marcia_E, Sep 2024

Wow this tour is so organized from start to finish. The night before they brought the tickets and talked about how everything would go. Our guide Willian was in Aguas Calientes at the train station waiting for us. What an extraordinary day and what a view. Willian was very well prepared with photos and knowledge of local history. I definitely recommend this tour, we left at 7am and returned at 9pm and it wasn't as tiring as they say. We had two free hours in Aguas Calientes to have dinner and enjoy the view.

Response from Host, Sep 2024

Thank you kindly for your wonderful review Marcia. We are thrilled to hear that you had such a fabulous experience with the agency and on your tour of Machu Picchu with Willian. We hope to see you in Cusco again soon.

Very good experience. The...

vikas_g, Jul 2024

Very good experience. The staff involved in transport were very good as well as the guide at the site.

Response from Host, Aug 2024

Thank you kindly for your wonderful review Vikas. We are thrilled to hear that you had such a fabulous experience with the agency and on your Machu Picchu tour! We hope to see you in Cusco again soon.

Amazing!

Katherine_W, Jul 2024

William was an amazing guide who was very informative, patient and easy to talk to. He went above and beyond to make our excursion memorable. Thanks William!

Response from Host, Aug 2024

Thank you kindly for your wonderful review Katherine. We are thrilled to hear that you had such a fabulous experience with the agency and on your Machu Picchu tour with William! We hope to see you in Cusco again soon.

A well organized tour

Iris_H, Nov 2022

We booked the tour only 3 days before and they managed to arrange the transportation and entrance tickets successfully. Our guide Tatiana is professional and knowledgeable. She also helped us to take a sneak peek of Machu Picchu from the higher platform which was not included in the ticket. Overall, the tour was well arranged and the trip was memorable.

Response from Host, Nov 2022

Hello :) On the name of the entire Machu Picchu Viajes Peru team, I want to thank you for trusting us and sharing your excellent comment. I am glad to know that you liked the Machu Picchu tour that you did with us. It was a pleasure to organize all your activities. We take care of every detail to make your trip an unforgettable experience. If one day you decide to return to Peru, count on us as your tours operator, The best wishes for you and best regards. Atte. Fredy Huaman

Perfect day trip to Machu Picchu

Durga_J, Oct 2022

Visiting from the US with a short time in Peru, and no Spanish skills. Freddy and the team ensured everything ran like clockwork and even came to our hotel the evening before to brief us. We had a wonderful tour in English. Highly recommend!

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Dear. Durga On the name of the entire Machu Picchu Viajes Peru team, I want to thank you for trusting us and sharing your excellent comment. I am glad to know that you liked the Cusco and Machu Picchu tours that you did with us. It was a pleasure to organize all your activities. We take care of every detail to make your trip an unforgettable experience. If one day you decide to return to Peru, count on us as your tours operator, The best wishes for you and best regards. Atte. Fredy Huaman

Great experience overall! Well...

Philip_S, Apr 2018

Great experience overall! Well organized, well paced and plenty of time to spend in Machu Picchu. Knowledgable guide as well! Also like the fact that they pick you up at 5:30am, as oppose to 3-4am like some of the other tours do...good for sleeping in a little and being able to enjoy the day feeling more well-rested!!

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