2-Day Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu Tour by Train from Cusco

Managed to get a ticket to Machu Picchu even though I was booked late. Darcy was an incredible tour guide who gave a full history and stopped at all the must see photo spots

Experience, incredible! Thanks again to Dennis and Jonathan for the organization and follow-up. I highly recommend

For context, this booking was made through an agency that coordinates travel and tours with a variety of independent service providers. While these providers don’t necessarily have direct connections with one another, the agency did an outstanding job of making the entire experience feel seamless. Drivers were consistently on time, easy to identify, and safe. Our two primary guides—Santi in the Sacred Valley and Alfredo at Machu Picchu—were excellent. Both were fluent in English, highly knowledgeable about their regions, and more than happy to take plenty of photos for us. Alfredo had a real knack for capturing great pictures and videos. As a tourist on a curated tour, I didn’t mind that a couple of stops in the Sacred Valley leaned a bit touristy. There is some gentle pressure to purchase items like alpaca textiles, salts, and chocolates, but I went in hoping to buy some of these. It was easy enough to decline anything I wasn’t interested in with a polite “no, thank you.” Everything listed as included in the itinerary was indeed covered, and the estimates for any additional expenses were accurate. My booking was relatively last-minute in April, yet the agency was still able to secure Machu Picchu tickets through late-release availability the night before. While not guaranteed in advance, we were fortunate to be able to upgrade to our preferred circuit. Our overnight stay in Aguas Calientes was at Gringo Bill’s Hotel. It’s a well-located 3-star property with plenty of character. The layout is a bit quirky—I occasionally found myself wandering in search of my room—but the staff was friendly and helpful. There’s also a charming hairless resident dog who seemed to enjoy following me around. Tip: The tour includes tourist-class train tickets to and from Aguas Calientes, which are perfectly comfortable. For the return journey, we opted to upgrade to the Vistadome train for its panoramic windows, luggage storage, onboard entertainment, and small outdoor viewing area. Because we made this decision within 24 hours of departure, we had to purchase new tickets ourselves at full price. Had we notified the agency earlier, they likely could have arranged the upgrade and applied the value of the original tickets toward the new fare. This was very likely a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, and I greatly appreciated the professionalism and expertise with which everything was arranged.

Planning this trip alone takes a lot of coordination, but booking this tour made it an ease. My highlight was climbing Machu Picchu and having Cesar as a guide. Cesar was great very patient and knowledgeable and made the entire experience more enjoyable.

Worst customer service I have ever experienced! We booked a tour through this company for an upcoming trip to Peru. I attempted to follow up with them multiple times after booking, both via the booking platform and via Whatsapp after having no luck with the former. Their website indicates that they respond to Whatsapp messages within a few minutes, which is not true. Ultimately, I elected to cancel my tour and book with another company after 1 month of trying to chase these people down & not getting anywhere.

Amazing tour and fantastic service! We originally booked a different tour which got cancelled last minute. The team at Cosmo Expeditions did an amazing job to organise a superb itinerary for us last minute. Every went super smoothly and the team was extremely capable and responsive! Would totally recommend!

My measure of an excellent tour service is one that can make adjustments as needed. I started out booking the one day Machu Picchu (MP) trip from Cusco, but about a week before arrival, my schedule opened up an extra day and I contacted Cosmo to ask about changing to the two-day tour - keeping my MP pass, but adding the Sacred Valley the day before with a night in Aguas Calientes (MP Town). Dennis and his team were pure professionals, and within a day had made the arrangements and secured my guide - even though I would be the only one on the Sacred Valley day. He even arranged an airport pickup at Cusco to get me to my hotel. Julian was a fantastic guide and driver. He picked me up at my hotel on time, and used the drive to acquaint me with Incan history and culture and preview the sites we would see. He also appears to be quite a competent photographer and I now have dozens of great photos of me at the stops we made. All stops have cultural significance and were a very good lead-up to the day at MP. My bus and train tickets were sent to me by phone and I had no difficulties en route. Someone met me at the train station at MP Town to get me to the hotel. I was at Gringo Bill's where the accommodations were clean and comfortable and there was a modest breakfast in the morning. That evening in MP Town was very pleasant. I grabbed a beer and a pizza at the Ayahuasca Grill, sitting on a patio overlooking the river. The next morning Cesar met me at my hotel and got me to the proper line for the buses to MP. Three others joined me this time - a wonderful family from Canada. Cesar made sure we were in the right place and entry to MP was quick. Cesar is a seasoned guide for MP and had a wealth of knowledge he enjoyed sharing. He also was fun and helped take many photos I will enjoy for years. It really is an exceptional place. Some thoughts for those making the trip: 1. Do the two-day tour if you can. I don't think I would have been as energized for MP if I needed to leave Cusco at 4 am as required for the one-day trip - and MP Town is really very cool! 2. There are a lot of stairs - very uneven and varying heights. Take your time and wear comfortable shoes. They say you cannot bring in walking sticks, but I saw a number of elderly with them - so may be an age option. 3. Take sunscreen and bug spray/wipes. Depending on the season, I'm told mosquitos are awful. I was also told you could not bring water in, but no one was checking backpacks in the morning. I recommend bringing water. It's a small loss if they pull it at the gate. 4. Get the earliest entry to MP that you can - especially if the weather will be warm that day. The sun is intense and even in July, we were taking off layers by 10 AM. By afternoon, many more people are on site, as more are entering and many are lingering longer from earlier entry times. We entered at 8 am and were back in MP Town by 11. I was able to have a quick lunch at Full House - again overlooking the river - then on to the train. I chose the Vistadome train for the return trip and it was very entertaining. The views along the river back to Ollantaytambo were beautiful. Getting to Machu Picchu can be challenging if you are not a seasoned traveler. Almost 6,000 people a day tour the site and the town is constantly crowded with travelers of every type from all over the world. It's also not that easy to get there. There is really no substitute for a talented tour agency to make things easier and take the worry out of foreign travel. In my opinion, it's worth the added expense - which is really not that much given what we spend to get to Peru and stay a few days.

Dennis and his team at Cosmo is the company you want to hire if you want all your dreams come true ! From the beginning I worked closely with many phone calls and messaging with Dennis and we had many details to decide on and Dennis made great suggestions and he got everything booked I wanted from the Hiram Bingham train to all the tours and meals and Transportation and made sure I was prepared for every step of the Machu Picchu adventure and Sacred Valley tour and Rainbow mountain !! Thank you Dennis for your friendship and honestly !

Dennis and his team at Cosmo is the company you want to hire if you want all your dreams come true ! From the beginning I worked closely with many phone calls and messaging with Dennis and we had many details to decide on and Dennis made great suggestions and he got everything booked I wanted from the Hiram Bingham train to all the tours and meals and Transportation and made sure I was prepared for every step of the Machu Picchu adventure and Sacred Valley tour and Rainbow mountain !! Thank you Dennis for your friendship and honestly !

As I was researching the 2 day group tours to Machu Picchu from Cusco, I noticed that we were over the maximum ages accepted. Viator told me that there was one private tour company that would guide us through Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, Cosmo Expeditions. Then to complicate matters, my husband fell while skiing. He would be on crutches for our visit to MP! Cosmo assured me that they would bring an extra guide to assist him, so he wouldn't miss out. They had tickets for 2 circuits, so he could choose between the easy circuit 3 or the popular circuit 2 which involves more climbing steps. On arriving in Cusco, we contacted our guide Ruben via WhatsApp, and were picked up at our hotel the next morning. The driver Luis and Ruben arrived at the agreed upon time in a comfortable SUV, with plenty of room for 4 adults and minimal luggage. The morning was spent exploring Chinchera (lovely alpaca weaving), and Moray Inca ruin. We didn't make it to the Maras salt mines, as we spent too much time shopping at Chinchera, and had a train schedule to meet. We had a lovely buffet lunch at Tunupa Restaurant with its lovely gardens. Then on to Ollantaytambo to see the Inca ruins and meet our train (Voyager class on Inca Rail). Rubin accompanied us to our hotel making sure we had no issues checking in. Early the next morning, he and the extra guide met us at our hotel, and escorted us to the bus. Then began our wonderful visit to MP, climbing Circuit 2. It took about an hour to reach the top, with rest stops as needed. Jim did great on his crutches, accompanied by one of the guides at all times. It was a misty, sprinkling day. Ruben did try to get that perfect picture by waiting for the mists to clear; but the mists persisted. He did get some great pictures of the 4 of us in the ruins lower down. Afterwards, we picked up sandwiches for the train ride back to Ollantaytambo. Cosmo treated us to an upgrade on the Vistadome carriage. We were met by Luis, and driven back to Cusco by a shorter route, arriving at our Cusco hotel in time for dinner. We had a wonderful time with our guides and driver. I recommend this tour company to anyone looking for a private tour. They are especially accommodating if you are seniors, or mobility challenged.