Machu Picchu Journey: Full Day from Cusco

140 Ratings

Cusco

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Embark on an immersive day trip from Cusco to Machu Picchu. Experience the magic of Inca history, explore hidden corners, and enjoy panoramic views of the Andes.

Duration: 16 hours

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

Cusco - Early Morning Pick-Up and Scenic Transfer to Ollantaytambo
Begin your Machu Picchu adventure with a 4:30 AM hotel pick-up in Cusco. Travel in comfort in a modern, air-conditioned van on a picturesque 1.5-hour drive to Ollantaytambo, where your train to Machu Picchu awaits.
Along the journey, catch the first glimpses of the Sacred Valley as…

Cusco - Early Morning Pick-Up and Scenic Transfer to Ollantaytambo

Begin your Machu Picchu adventure with a 4:30 AM hotel pick-up in Cusco. Travel in comfort in a modern, air-conditioned van on a picturesque 1.5-hour drive to Ollantaytambo, where your train to Machu Picchu awaits.

Along the journey, catch the first glimpses of the Sacred Valley as it awakens, with your guide offering tips for the day ahead. Please be ready 20 minutes before departure to ensure a smooth and timely start to your unforgettable journey.

Ollantaytambo - Scenic Train Ride to Aguas Calientes

Board your scenic train to Aguas Calientes (also known as Machu Picchu Town) between 6:40 AM and 7:20 AM. Sit back and relax as you take in breathtaking views of the Sacred Valley, passing towering mountains, lush valleys, and rushing rivers along the way—a perfect preview of the adventure ahead.

To ensure seamless boarding, kindly arrive at the train station at least half an hour before departure.

Hot Springs (Aguas Calientes) - Arrival in Aguas Calientes & Bus to Machu Picchu

Upon arrival in Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Town), the team will greet you and assist with directions before you board the shuttle bus for a scenic 30-minute ride up to Machu Picchu’s entrance.

With your expert guide, explore the legendary Inca citadel, discovering its ancient temples, terraces, and hidden corners while learning the incredible history and mysteries behind this Wonder of the World.

After your guided tour, return to Aguas Calientes, where you’ll have about an hour of free time to enjoy lunch at a local restaurant (meal not included), explore the village, or simply relax before your train back to Ollantaytambo.

Santuario Historico de Machu Picchu - A Guided Tour of Machu Picchu and the Scenic Return to Cusco

Upon arrival at Machu Picchu, board the shuttle bus for a 30-minute ride up the winding road to the Inca citadel, where your expert guide will lead a fascinating two-hour walking tour. Explore the ancient stairways, ceremonial temples, and intricate stonework, all while enjoying breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding Andes.

After the guided visit, enjoy some free time to capture photos or simply soak in the awe-inspiring atmosphere. Finally, relax and enjoy the scenic train and vehicle journey back to Cusco, wrapping up an unforgettable day at one of the world’s greatest wonders.

What's Included

Round-trip train to Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu guided tour
Machu Picchu entry ticket & circuit (based on availability)
Bus to Machu Picchu citadel
Hotel pick-up and drop-off

What's Not Included

Gratuities
Meals

Additional Information

Machu Picchu Full-Day Tour by Train from Cusco—Small Group
Pressed for time but eager to explore Machu Picchu? This small-group tour offers a convenient way to visit this iconic Wonder of the World in just one day, with all arrangements taken care of for you.
Benefit from hotel pick-up in Cusco, enjoy a picturesque train journey to Aguas Calientes, and…

Location

Plaza Kusipata

We chose this square that is very close to the Plaza de Armas of Cusco because it is located very close to the surrounding hotels and close to each other.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.8

(140 Ratings)

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Road20680672309

Mar 31, 2026

Highly recommended! - Jorge was the perfect tour guide. He helped me to organise perfectly my trip in Machu Picchu, even though I was arrived the day before without ticket! Patient, excellent photographer, he explained me everything about this iconic monument. Highly recommended!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Matthewkp7573qa

Mar 28, 2026

Seek this place out! - I cannot praise this experience enough. Most times I will just skip the guide and do things solo, but I'm so glad that I decided to go with this tour! From the first planning stages with Johnathan to meeting with Vicente right when I got off the train in Aguascalientes, I could tell I had made the right choice. The day of the tour I met with guide Jorge right at my hotel, and let me tell you he was a superstar! Machu Picchu is very complex with multiple routes, different tickets, and all in a foreign language, is very stressful and confusing, but Jorge made it so easy. His knowledge and energy were top tier. Coming from sea level I was not prepared for how badly my body reacted to the altitude. Jorge allowed me to set my own pace to truly enjoy something that I have dreamed about doing my entire life. Every stop of the way taking pictures and giving little tidbits of knowledge about the history. His passion for his work really shines through. Without his help I'm sure I would have missed so much about the the culture, history, and beauty of one of the wonders of the world.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Moragbuch

Mar 25, 2026

An amazing guide and an amazing tour. - Jorge, our guide, was absolutely amazing. His communication was of a very high standard, contacting us the night before our tour and on the morning. He was very helpful throughout the tour from meeting us at the train station and escorting us up to Machu Picchu and back. He was very kind, taking regular breaks on the uphill and checking we were good to continue. He was extremely knowledgeable and explained the history to us in an interesting and informative manner. Lastly, when one of our party lost their phone on the bus on the way home, he went out his way to help retrieve it. We cannot recommend Jorge enough.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Deanne_b

Mar 13, 2026

Everything we wanted and more! - Jorge Elder was a great guide. He took his time with us, gave us a lot of great information, and overall history about Machu Picchu. He took us to a nice restaurant after the tour was over which we appreciated. We loved everything about the tour, the weather was perfect and the views were amazing. If you take this tour choose circuit C2, this allows you to see everything. The overall hike took about 2.5 hours.

Review provided by Viator

Pilarh515

Mar 10, 2026

Morning in Machu Picchu - Excellent morning visiting Machu Picchu with Jorge. Very professional guide giving a lot of interesting information and making the morning very enjoyable.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Bookjd

Mar 8, 2026

Great guide (Jorge) and day in Machu Picchu - Fantastic experience with Jorge. Jorge was great with communication and reached out to us the night before. We met him at Aqua Calientes train and guided us with tickets and the final bus to the gates of Machu Picchu. Jorge provided and excellent tour and gave a ton of history about Machu Picchu and the people. We learned a lot! He was also a great photographer and videographer! We got some great photos all thanks to Jorge. I would highly recommend this tour and Jorge was a great guide.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Theokk7471oz

Mar 4, 2026

Amazing tour but honest review what to expect - Very good day trip, it’s an unbelievable experience seeing Machu Picchu. It does end up being a pretty long day as from pick up at 4am you have to travel 1.5 hours to the train station, the journey is nice with good views and smooth journey but is an 1 hour and 40 minutes. Once off the train there’s a 30 minute bus up to Machu Picchu and then the tour lasts about 2-2.5 hours. After I done the tour personally i felt the wait time to the next train was too long as there was about 4 hours till the train left, its a bit difficult to kill 4 hours in a small town/village as all the stalls are basically the same, restaurants are similar and pretty expensive where a dish is at least 40 sols. At the end tho i got back to my hotel at 8pm, id suggest to the operator to do earlier trains if possible, but overall an amazing day. Be prepared you won’t have contact from the operator till the night before, so if you panic like I did have other other operators from different tours contacting you few days before hand don’t worry they haven’t forgotten you.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

J8683qpjeffb

Feb 27, 2026

Spectacul6 - A++. Guide was amazing! So glad I went!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

65vanm

Feb 4, 2026

Bad start, but they fixed it. - One of the few trips to MP that will take one solo traveler. They were supposed to pick me up at my hostel at 4AM, but that guy failed to show up. So they sent another guy who drove me to the train to make it on time (original guy was suppose to just take me to the bus station to catch a bus to the train). They messed up but made it right. Addresses in Cuzco aren't really perfect. Went in off season. was the only person on the trip that day, they still went ahead with it. Spent 2-3 hrs at MP itself, which is plenty. They picked circuit 2 for me, which is the classic tour. I spoke to Jonathan via whatsapp as his English is about as good as my Spanish.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

384luisanam

Mar 18, 2026

Avoid this agency - Despite having booked and paid in advance, this agency had not bought the tickets when we arrived- if it hadn’t been for our hotel concierge- we had not been able to get into Machu Picchu Joshua was ok as a guide Avoid agencies- buy tickets direct online well in advance

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Check Availability

From $429

up to 9 guests

1 - Adult