Machu Picchu. One of the 7 wonders of the world. To be more precise, one of the 7 modern wonders of the world, not to be confused with the wonders of the ancient world, or wonders of the natural world, or however many other lists and wonders there are. These “7 wonder” lists are always evolving and getting too hard to keep track of. Regardless, Machu Picchu is a spectacular sight that everyone should get a chance to experience. I always knew that I had to have the full-on experience of hiking the Inca Trail to arrive at the sun gate to see the ancient city for the first time. The Inca trail hike had been on my bucket list for years and in 2018, I scratched it off my list.
My trek to Machu Picchu included spending around two weeks in Peru. Most of that time was spent in Cusco. We decided to make it a group trip and in our group was my husband Ron, his brother Eric, and two of our friends Brittany and Brian. Since you must hire a company to trek with for the Inca trail, Ron, Eric and I knew we had to keep our budget as low as possible for the rest of the two weeks we would be in Peru. Here is an outline of how we kept on budget while traveling Peru and my suggestions for a fun, yet cost-effective trip.
Flight
This flight was a little harder for me to finagle. As always I started researching flights well ahead of time and putting out alerts for price deals. After a month or so of researching different routes, I found that it was significantly cheaper for us to fly into Lima and then book a separate connection to Cusco, rather than flying directly into Cusco. That is if our group was okay making it more than a 24-hour travel day and having multiple layovers. Brittany and Brain opted for a more direct route, while I booked tickets for myself, Ron, and Eric to take the long route, saving us around $300 per person on our flights. Easy sacrifice in my mind. That is until we ended up spending the night on the floor of an airport.
Although I will never lose my love for just searching the internet for hours to find great flight details, I now know that there are also other options out there available that make that job a little easier. One of those options is FareDrop. I first learned about FareDrop from following some of my favorite travel influencers Kara and Nate and reading their newsletter The Daily Drop. FareDrop is a great subscription that will send you notifications when flights significantly drop in price. If you have flexible travel plans or are always looking for your next adventure like me, it would be worth checking out more information HERE!
Accommodations
When looking at accommodations in Cusco we went with what we knew, and that was hostels. There are literally hundreds of hostels to choose from in Cusco, depending on the specific location you would like to be. You can easily find a hostel for as cheap as under 10 soles, or around $3 a night! After surfing Hostelworld for a few days, I landed at Puriwasi Hostel. It was in a good location, had free breakfast, an outdoor hangout area, kitchen, bar, laundry. Pretty much everything we would need for a longer stay. I can’t remember exactly what we paid per night in this hostel since this was more than a few years ago, but I can tell you knowing my strict budget, it was probably pretty cheap. I should also mention that I’m not sure if this hostel is even in business anymore because I tried to look them up and they were no longer available, but there are a ton of other great highly rated hostels in Cusco, both with shared dorm rooms or even a private room.
If you are looking for even cheaper lodging, there are thousands of Couchsurfers available in Cusco and willing to host guests! One of the reasons we didn’t look at couch surfing while here was because we were traveling in a larger group which is harder to accommodate.
If you haven’t heard me talk about couch surfing yet, this is a great app that connects travelers from all walks of life and provides free spaces to those traveling. Over the years we have stayed with a few couch surfers and had our home available on CouchSurfing to host. If you are new to this experience, there are a few tips and tricks to remember.
First, if you do not feel comfortable staying with a stranger, make it safer and travel with a friend. Strength in numbers. Also this may be obvious, but trust your gut and never stay with someone you don’t feel comfortable with.
Second, if you are feeling generous it is sometimes nice to bring a gift of gratitude. This can be any small souvenir, food, or drink item, just to show your appreciation to your host. Completely unnecessary and not required or expected but something nice to show your gratitude.
Third, even if you don’t want to bring anything, remember to always be respectful when you are in someone else’s home. This includes doing anything from just the basic cleaning up after yourself to offering to help with dishes or cooking a meal.
Either way, we have never had a bad experience with CouchSurfing and we have made some of the greatest friends from traveling this way!
Just another good tidbit of information if you plan to travel to Cusco, is to take into consideration altitude sickness. Cusco sits at around 11,000 feet and if you have never been to a high altitude before your body may react adversely to it. Being in an airplane is different because it’s pressurized, but there are a few people who get altitude sickness when they land in Cusco. If you plan on hiking or doing any strenuous activities, it is best to arrive a few days early before planned activities just to let your body acclimatize to the environment. Thankfully, Peru also has some tips and tricks to help with acclimatization that I will get into more when I talk about the food!
Food
Peruvian food. Both scrumptious and cheap! One of the best things about traveling to a new country is getting a chance to experience the local food. Even on a budget, you can get a taste of a good selection of what a country has to offer. Some of our favorite foods we had while in Cusco was the street food. There was one street vendor about a block from our hostel that sold Chicharron sandwiches, and they were heavenly. Not to mention they were only around $2 per sandwich.
Most of our meals consisted of street food, and we bounced back and forth between papa rellenas, Chicharron sandwiches, and anticuchos. Each of these delicacies was only a few dollars for a filling meal and all within walking distance from our hostel. But if you are walking around exploring, you can’t go wrong getting in a food line where you see locals lining up.
Since we were there for almost two weeks, we did splurge a little and visited a few restaurants while still keeping the budget tight. If you sit down at any restaurant, they will most likely bring you an appetizer of Canchita, which is referred to as Peruvian popcorn. With all the wonderful spices and flavors you can’t go wrong ordering anything off a menu, but feel free to ask your waiter for recommendations. Or if you are brave enough, you can try Cuy, the local guinea pig special.
For drinks, you can’t leave Cusco before trying a local Pisco Sour. You may have drunk a pisco sour in the States before, but nothing compares to a Peruvian one! If you want to stay alcohol-free try ordering a Chicha Morada, made with local purple corn.
The last thing on my “must try” list is the coca candy or tea made from the local coca leaf. Yes, the coca leaf is the raw form of what cocaine is made from but before all the science stuff and chemicals come into play. In its raw form, the coca leaf is legal in Peru and used to make many different treats. Many locals and tourists also use the plant to help with altitude sickness. It can be a stimulant, help reduce fatigue, settle your stomach, or just give you that extra boost. Every morning I would have a cup of coca leaf tea, and I could compare it to be a little stronger than your morning cup of coffee. You can find the candies around any of the markets and they proved to be a great resource to have while ascending almost 14,000 feet over Dead Woman’s Pass.
Fun stuff
Hiking the Inca Trail: The whole point of visiting Cusco was to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and to do that, you have to hire a company to hike since you are not allowed on the trail alone. This obviously was way outside of anything inside “Cally budget” but we planned for this ahead of time and were willing to completely break our travel budget to make this dream come true. The company we used was Pachamama Explorers and we could not recommend them enough. Our guide Willy was helpful and enthusiastic, and at $760 per person, it was one of the more affordable companies out there to hike the trail. This cost included all our meals while on trail and transportation from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes and then back to Cusco at the end of our trip. Not in the budget at all but money well spent. If you would like more specifics on how our hike on the Inca Trail went, you can read the whole story of our hike HERE.
Hiking: Of course if you just want to take the train to Machu Picchu, or check out some other spectacular but cheaper hikes in the area, I would recommend looking into the Salkantay Trek or Rainbow Mountain.
Free Walking Tour: Best bang for your buck in a new city? A free walking tour. In every city that we have visited overseas, we have taken advantage of free walking tours. You can’t beat them. Most of the time there are little pamphlets or brochures at hostels with more information on walking tours. Or if you are couch surfing or living it up and staying at a hotel, you can always google “free walking tours” or talk to locals or a front desk receptionist. This is one of the best ways to get to know the city. Just keep in mind that even though the walking tours are free, it is always customary that if you enjoyed the tour to give your guide a tip at the end of the tour.
Shopping: Everyone loves a little window shopping. Or in this case, flee and street market shopping on a beautiful sunny day! Some of my favorite shopping areas were San Pedro Central Market, Wanchaq, Ttio, San Blas, and Huancaro. Depending on where you are staying, there is sure to be a market within walking distance! Take some time to peruse and check out all the sights, smells, and vibrant colors.
If you do decide to buy some goods, be prepared to negotiate the price. If you are from the US haggling for goods probably isn’t something you are used to. But in countries like Peru, it is expected, especially if there isn’t a price tag. However, don’t be rude about it. Be kind and friendly, and have a number set in your mind that you are willing to walk away from. Typically you can talk down goods by 50% or even more sometimes depending on the vendor. Also, don’t expect anyone to speak English. If you plan on shopping and doing some negotiating on price, it would be worth brushing up on some of your Spanish before you visit!
Chocolate museum: All the best things in life are free- including chocolate! That is if you visit the Choco Museo in Cusco. The museum is free and so are the chocolate samples!
Aguas Calientes: If you do visit Machu Picchu, you will be going through the small town of Aguas Calientes which is full of life and beauty. They are known for their thermal baths which would be great to relax in after the Inca Trail if your budget allows. Otherwise, just exploring the town and the shops, or sitting down in a café next to the gorgeous river will fill your wanderlust soul with happiness.
If Peru, or Cusco more specifically is on your bucket list, this is the perfect destination to not only stick to a budget, but also practice your Spanish language skills while haggling over textile goods or buying an afternoon street snack. Cusco is the perfect combination of city life and picturesque scenery that will fill your heart and soul with joy.