From Lima we flew on a short ~1 hour flight to the city of Cuzco with LAN (now LATAM Airlines). I ended up using points for two of the four tickets. LATAM and Avianca charge what some call a “gringo tax” on their flights to Cuzco. These two airlines charge Peruvian residents about 1/2 the fare charged to non-Peruvian citizens. Because of this I used British Airlines Avios for two of the tickets and paid cash for the two Peruvians with us (my girlfriend and her mom). LATAM airlines is the most reliable airline from Lima to Cusco. I think I heard the reason they are on time is because they have radar within the aircraft and are able to get in and out of Lima when there is a thick fog. The other airlines typically are not on time. The LIM-CUZ LATAM flight is serviced by an A320. From the city of Cusco we took a 25 minute private van ride to the train station in Poroy (~$18 USD). From the Puno train station we took Peru Rail’s Vistadome train service to Aguas Calientes. The trip was between 3.5 and 4 hours. The other option is take a 45-60 minute van from Cusco to Ollantaytambo and catch the train there. There are more train times available out of Ollantaytambo and the trains are slightly cheaper. Also, Inca Rail has trains out of this station as well, though some claim their trains are more bumpy. We picked Puno to avoid a long van ride to and from Cusco. After we arrived in the city of Aguas Calientes we had lunch and headed to catch the bus to Machu Picchu ($19). We decided to arrive after 1pm as the tickets to get into Machu Picchu are discounted. Also, most tourists visit during the early morning and start to leave around 11am to 1pm. We noticed a very very long line for the bus back down to Aguas Calientes as we arrived to Machu Picchu. The only major downsides to this option are the higher temperature later in the day and you will be limited to about 5 hours in the park. This was my second visit to Machu Picchu, my girlfriend's third, and her mom's fifth time! It was a very memorable visit as we were taking my mom for her first visit to MP. By the time we made it back down to Aguas Calientes we were happy to catch the train and relax on our way back to Cusco. On the way back we took the Expedition train from Peru Rail and while the inside of the train is similar to the Vistadome, the meal service was just small snacks on the Expedition. How to travel from Lima to Macchu Picchu. How to travel to Macchu Picchu.

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