lunes, 4 de septiembre de 2017

Cheap trips to Cusco and Machu Picchu

TOURS IN CUSCO AND MACHU PICCHU, ECONOMICS.

Do you want to travel to Cusco or Machu Picchu without spending much? Have you ever wondered, what is the best way to travel to these two beautiful tourist destinations of Peru? and what is the best option to do so?

The city of Cusco is one of the most beautiful and visited of all Peru. Its Inca and colonial architecture makes of it unique in all America and its people is considered as very friendly and helpful, but how cheap is it to travel to these two tourist destinations and what is the best way to do it.
Transportation:
Cusco has an airport that has direct flights from Colombia, Lima (the capital of Peru), Arequipa, Juliaca, Trujillo, Puerto Maldonado (all these Peruvian cities) and La Paz (Bolivia). The prices of the tickets vary according to the nationality of the passenger and according to the airline that they choose. For example, if you are a Peruvian resident or you are Peruvian and you want to travel from Lima to Cusco, all airlines will charge you a special rate. However if you are not RESIDENT or if you are a FOREIGNER, then LAN and AVIANCA (TACA) will charge you an additional approximate of USD $ 179 that you must pay at the airport. On the other hand, companies like Peruvian Airlines and Star Peru do not charge this additional and you can make the purchase online and pay them with your Visa or MasterCard credit card.

Organized trips or buy them directly in the city of Cusco:

Many travelers prefer to get to the city of Cusco and buy tours in the same city, hoping to lower costs, but this is totally relative and sometimes it can be annoying and even more expensive than buying a package tour with everything organized. Many passengers arrive to the city of Cusco in order to know the main attractions of the city, however these are so many that one feels lost without knowing what to do and what place they should visit first. Therefore, they choose to buy the tours in the small travel agencies of the square or to take risks and to make the routes by oneself. Now we will analyze what are the consequences of doing these two activities and what are their disadvantages in front of an organized trip and with the advice of experts in tourism.

Buy the tours in the same city of Cusco.

It’s known that buying tours in the same city is SOMETIMES cheaper than doing so in an organized package of trips; however, you have to know that you run many risks in doing so. For example, be scammed or receive a service of poor quality with what your trip to this beautiful city becomes a nightmare instead of a pleasant and satisfying visit. There is also the possibility that instead of saving, you had to pay more for receiving a good service. For example, the rates in the city for a city tour (Traditional City Tour) range from $ 15.00 to $ 18.00 and this is only services, that is, transportation and tour guide (eye, this does not guarantee the state of the transport or the level of the guide). If you want to enter each of the tourist attractions, you would additionally have to pay for the income to each of the tourist attractions increasing the cost. To avoid this there are two types of tickets that group most of the tourist attractions that are visited during the City Tour which are: PARTIAL TOURIST TICKET and the GENERAL TOURIST TICKET. These two instruments will serve you a lot when deciding what places to visit or how much time you have to visit the city and its surroundings, for example. If you just want to visit the city and its main tourist attractions we recommend you to buy the PARTIAL TOURIST TICKET, it allows you to save on income and visit the main attractions of the city such as Sacsayhuaman, Qenqo, Puka Pukara, Tambomachay, museums and other attractions as the entrance to the great monument to the Inca Pachacuteq. But if you also have planned to visit the Sacred Valley of the Incas or the South Valley of Cusco, that have excellent tourist places worthy of being visited, then this ticket would only make your trip more expensive since you would have  to buy two tickets or PARTIAL  TOURIST TICKETS, one for the city and another for the Sacred Valley. To avoid this kind of inconvenience and extra expenses there is the second tool that is the GENERAL TOURIST TICKET, which allows you to visit both, the tourist attractions of the City Tour, the tourist attractions of the Sacred Valley of the Incas and the Valley of the South, thus reducing the costs. Taking this into consideration, an agency in the same city of Cusco will charge you for the purchase of the ticket, for advice, transportation, guide, etc., making the route more expensive.
Another clear example is the visit to Machu Picchu. Without a doubt, visitors from all over the world arriving in the city of Cusco have as objective to know one of the wonders of the world (Machu Picchu) and for this, they have to make a trip of approximately 4 hours from the city of Cusco towards Machu Picchu Town that is the district in which this archeological wonder is located. For this, if you want to make the purchase of the tickets separately you would have to take into consideration the time and the number of visitors allowed per day since these are limited and subject to availability. One of the big problems of buying the tour to Machu Picchu in the same city of Cusco, is the excessive charge that is made for the service of guidance and transportation. The agencies that work in the Plaza de Armas will have to look for availability of trains, which sometimes do not exist, so to get these prized tickets they will have to turn to other companies who will charge the ticket more or wait for it some space on the train opens. This of course will be reflected in your pocket since you will have to pay more for a service that you could have paid less in an organized package of trips. Without considering the state of the transport that will be used to transfer you to the station of train that is to an hour and a half of Cusco and the extra amount that you will be charged.
Well with these two clear examples of how to handle the travel packages in Cusco, we will make a small comparison of costs so that you leave your doubts and make the best decision regarding your next trip to the city of Cusco and the archaeological center of Machu Picchu.

Example: Buy your tours in the city of Cusco in the different travel agencies of the same city.

ONLY SERVICES
PRICE
ADDITIONAL
TOTAL
CITY TOUR
$ 15.00
$ 55.00 (General Ticket+Catedral+Qoricancha)
$ 70.00
SACRED VALLEY
$ 18.00
$ 12.00 (Lunch in the Sacred Valley)
$ 30.00
MARAS MORAY
$ 18.00
$ 3.5 (ticket to Maras)
$ 21.50
MACHU PICCHU
$ 225.53
Includes: Train, Revenues, Bus Tickets and Guide
$ 260.00
TRANSPORTATION
$ 29.00
Towards the train station plus taxis
$ 29.00
TOTAL


$ 410.50

TRAVEL PACKAGE, reserved with the proper anticipation and without the risks of not finding the income to Machu Picchu or the Train Tickets to Machu Picchu Pueblo.

ITINERARY:
  • • Day 1: Transfer to the selected hotel in the city of Cusco / in the afternoon City Tour.
  • • Day 2: Sacred Valley of the Incas.
  • • Day 3: Maras - Moray.
  • • Day 4: Machu Picchu.
  • • Day 5: Transfer from your hotel in Cusco to the airport.
PRICE ONLY SERVICES: $ 400.00
PRICES WITH ACCOMMODATION SERVICE:

Category
Name of the Hotel
Price USD $
hostal
Inka's Paradise, Hostal Andenes de Saphi.
500.00
2 * *
El Triunfo, Hotel BozArt, Cusco Oblitas Casa hotel.
565.00
3 * * *
Casa Andina Classic Cusco, San Agustin Internacional, Best Western Los Andes.
635.00
4 * * * *
Sonesta Cusco, Eco Inn Cusco, Costa del sol Ramada Cusco, Andean Wings.
870.00
5 * * * * * *
Belmond Monasterio, JW Marriott El Convento Cusco, Aranwa Cusco Boutique.
1375.00

WHAT INCLUDES?

  • Transportation Airport - hotel - Airport.
  • Transportation to the train station of Ollantaytambo.
  • Transportation from Ollantaytambo train station to Cusco.
  • Lunch in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
  • Bus to and from the archaeological center of Machu Picchu.
  • Entrance tickets (City tour, Sacred Valley, Maras - Moray, Machu Picchu).
  • Train Tickets. (Tourist class of Peru Rail or Inca Rail).
  • Professional tourism guide (English / Spanish).
  • Transportation and Professional Guide for the City Tour, Sacred Valley of the Incas and Maras Moray.
As you will see, often buying a scheduled tour in advance can be more economical and can be less problematic than doing it in the same city of Cusco, avoiding the aforementioned risks on revenue or train tickets to Machu Picchu Pueblo, without considering the risk of poor attention, poor transportation service or frauds.
Choose carefully and plan your trip to the city of Cusco and Machu Picchu, or allow others to organize it to make your stay much more satisfactory and less problematic.


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