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Tour companies want you to think it’s complicated to visit Machu Picchu. Here’s the simplest way to day trip it.

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I just finished up a lovely 5 week trip to Lima and Cusco, Peru, working remotely in both cities and exploring in my free time.

Months before my trip, I had started researching how to go to Machu Picchu. All of the blogs and websites I’d found made it seem SO complicated! I’m not a great travel planner as I don’t have the patience to do extensive research.

And, there are indeed a million different ways you can design your Machu Picchu experience.

You can trek for anywhere from a couple of hours to five days to get there or spend the night at the base of Machu Picchu and go up the mountain from there early in the morning.

OR you can stay in a very small town an hour or so away.

OR you can just do it all in one day from the major tourist destination, Cusco, which is about a three hour journey each way.

With limited time to enjoy Cusco, I ruled out the trekking options. To make things simple, I figured I’d just go from Cusco early morning and come back at night.

Here are the basics of what you need to know…

1. Start in Cusco, Peru

Cusco, Peru is the closest city with an airport to Machu Picchu.

It’s an absolutely beautiful colonial town—hilly, but walkable. There are tons of little hotels and AirBnB’s. I recommend getting a hotel room, the AirBnB selection (at least what was available last minute) was not very impressive and they have fairly economical boutique hotels right in the center.

At 11,000 feet, the elevation may make you feel terrible during your first 24 hours here. You can either stay in town and acclimate for a few days, or go to Machu Picchu right away, because the altitude is lower there.

2. Buy Tickets

There are only two tickets you need to buy in advance: the entrance ticket to Machu Picchu and your transportation to Aguas Calientes, which lies at the base of Machu Picchu.

First, go to this website and see what the ticket availability is to go to Machu Picchu (don’t buy yet) on your desired date. They only allow a set amount of visitors per day. In my case, I went right after Easter and I was able to buy my ticket two days in advance. Sometimes you can get it the day of, but it could also be fully booked.

Next, check the train schedules and ticket availability on PeruRail.com. There are trains from Cusco that go all the way to Aguas Calientes and back, with varying degrees of luxury. The most basic train and “mid-level nice” train are both great, with little difference between the two.

Depending on the time of year, you may be sold a bus/train combo ticket, because a good part of the train tracks are too muddy for part of the year. Either way, it’s just one ticket.

If you see there is availability for both the train and the entrance to Machu Picchu, then book them!

**Make sure to give yourself a good 6 hour window between the time your train arrives in Aguas Calientes and when you take the train back to Cusco.

**Also, after you buy your Peru Rail ticket online, you need to visit one of their physical locations in Cusco to have them print it out. (Sigh, but it was right in the center, where you probably will be anyway.)

3. Getting All the Way There

Due to the time of year, I was sold a bus ticket from Cusco to the train station in Ollantaytambo which continues on to Aguas Calientes. To get to the bus, I simply walked from my hotel. It took 15 minutes, and the bus left at 6:50 am.

When you arrive to Aguas Calientes, follow the hoards of people to the shuttle ticket booth. You will have to buy a shuttle ride up and down the mountain for $12 each way.

Once you have the shuttle tickets, get in line to get on the shuttle and you will be at Machu Picchu in 20 minutes!

I entered without a guide or tour group and saw someone else get off the shuttle who was also going solo. I turned to him and said, “You ready? Let’s do this!”

And so, I made a friend while walking through the glorious ruins of Machu Picchu!

General Things to Know

If you are day tripping and not trekking, you can wear whatever you want. I wore a t-shirt, jeans, a jacket and comfortable shoes.

It will be a long day, so just be prepared! Bring snacks if you want but you can also buy them along the way. It’s also a good idea to bring sunscreen, maybe sunglasses, and of course… your camera!

**They don’t allow you to bring disposable water bottles into the site, so make sure to bring a reusable water bottle. I was dying of thirst by the time I was almost done walking through it.

You have four hours from the time you enter the site until you have to leave it. Two hours was enough for me!

The line for the shuttle back down took almost an hour! But, once we got back to Aguas Calientes, we had time for lunch and shopping before taking the train home.

Now, you may be thinking I missed out by not having a guide. I could hear bits and pieces of other tours, but honestly not a whole lot is known about the history of the site. It was only discovered about 50 years ago by an American explorer! Fortunately, I am reading a book about it now, “Turn Right at Machu Picchu” by Mark Adams, which is far more interesting than listening to a tour guide!

There you have it, the easy way to do Machu Picchu (and it just so happens to give you an extra hour of sleep in the morning and cost you $100 less than booking a day trip through a tour company)!