Cuzco in 6 Days on a Budget (With Daily Costs)
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6 days in Cuzco, the budget plan with the ticket fully used
Six days extends the 5-day plan by one more Boleto Turistico day rather than a second expensive one: acclimatise, cover the Sacred Valley, spend the one pricey day at Machu Picchu, add the Southern Valley, rest for free around San Blas, then use the same ticket a final time at Sacsayhuaman and Chinchero. If five days fits the budget better, see the 5-day itinerary ; shorter trips are the 2 , 3 and 4-day versions. For everything else worth doing here, see the Cuzco budget guide .
Book these before you go:
- A budget Sacred Valley day tour, for Day 2: check tours on GetYourGuide , a shortcut if piecing together colectivo connections on your second day at altitude sounds like more hassle than it’s worth.
- A budget Machu Picchu day tour, for Day 3: compare options on Viator , which bundles train, bus and entry into one price.
- A San Blas or historic-center hostel or guesthouse: check rates on Booking.com , worth locking in early for June-August or the 24 June Inti Raymi festival, when beds fill up fast.
- Machu Picchu’s own entrance ticket: book it before flights, since it’s the one purchase on this whole trip that genuinely sells out.
Day 1: acclimatise cheaply, before a single ticket
Cuzco sits at roughly 3,400m/11,150ft, and soroche (altitude sickness) is a real, named risk here; UK FCDO health advice calls it out for Cuzco specifically. Keep to level ground around the Plaza de Armas today, free to walk, ringed by the Cathedral and La Compania de Jesus, both raised over the original Inca plaza of Haukaypata, and save the steep San Blas climb for later in the trip once your lungs have adjusted. Duck into San Pedro Market for a cheap lunch among produce and prepared-food stalls rather than tourist stock (bag zipped, small bills handy), then spend the afternoon resting with coca tea and water instead of alcohol. Machu Picchu itself is actually lower than Cuzco at about 2,430m, so acclimatising here first, before any day trip, is the right order for Day 3, not the reverse. Hold off on the Boleto Turistico until tomorrow; there’s no reason to pay for it a day early.
Rough spend: hostel bed or budget guesthouse room (S/60-90) + market meals (S/30-50), no entrance fees yet = roughly S/90-140.
Day 2: a budget Sacred Valley day on the Boleto Turistico
Buy the Boleto Turistico today with cash, roughly S/130 full or S/70 student (the once-official cosituc.gob.pe listing now redirects to an unrelated private site, so confirm the current price at the point of sale rather than trust an old link). Take a colectivo to Pisac for the Inca terraces above town and the market below, both covered, then continue by combi to Ollantaytambo, the best-preserved Inca town in the valley, still built on its original street grid, with a terraced fortress above it, also covered. Sleep in Ollantaytambo rather than heading back to Cuzco: it’s the shorter, cheaper rail departure point for tomorrow and a genuinely easier first stop for your lungs than Cuzco itself. The linked Sacred Valley tour above covers the same ground without juggling two sets of colectivo connections, if that sounds easier on your second day at altitude.
Rough spend: guesthouse (S/60-90) + food (S/30-50) + colectivo and combi fares (S/15-25) + the Boleto Turistico (S/130 full, S/70 student) = roughly S/235-290 (or S/175-230 on the student ticket).
Day 3: Machu Picchu, the one pricey day
This is the one day the budget stretches, and there’s no honest way around it. Entry has to be an advance, timed, dated ticket bought only through the government’s own tuboleto.cultura.pe ; there’s no walk-up option, and popular dates sell out weeks ahead once daily capacity, up to 4,500 and rising to 5,600 in high season, fills. The economical honest pick is Circuit 2, the classic route through the urban sector, the Sun Temple viewpoint and the Sacred Rock; skip Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain, since each needs its own separate complementary ticket with a fixed entry turn, and a standard visit doesn’t need either. Catch an early PeruRail or IncaRail train from Ollantaytambo, the shorter and cheaper leg compared with departing from Poroy near Cuzco, then the shuttle bus up from Aguas Calientes. A guide is recommended, not required, for a standalone Machu Picchu visit, unlike the Inca Trail, so a shared group slot beats a private guide if cost matters. Ride the train back and sleep in Cuzco tonight, ready for tomorrow’s Southern Valley day.
Rough spend: train, bus and entrance commonly run roughly US$200-400+ per person all-in, call it S/750-1,500+, since operators quote this leg in dollars rather than soles; treat the figure as approximate and worth a live check on tuboleto.cultura.pe before booking. Add roughly S/40-60 for food in Aguas Calientes and S/90-140 for a Cuzco guesthouse and dinner that night, for a Day 3 total of roughly S/880-1,700+. Both the City of Cuzco and the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1983 , Machu Picchu uniquely as a rare mixed cultural-and-natural site.
Day 4: the Southern Valley, on the Boleto you already bought
Tipon and Pikillacta, the Southern Valley’s pair of ruins, sit on the same Boleto Turistico from Day 2; the ticket allows one visit per site rather than one visit per day, so there’s no new entrance fee for reaching them today. Tipon’s Inca terraces are known for a still-functioning water-channel and fountain system; Pikillacta, further along the same road toward Urcos, is a large pre-Inca Wari settlement, a genuinely different style of ruin from the Inca stonework seen so far this week. Both sit well away from the Sacred Valley crowds of Day 2, reached by colectivo out of the city toward Urcos, and see a fraction of the visitors that Sacsayhuaman or Pisac do on the same ticket.
Rough spend: guesthouse (S/60-90) + food (S/30-50) + colectivo fares (S/15-25), no new entrance fee = roughly S/105-165.
Day 5: a free San Blas and mirador day
Today costs nothing beyond a room and a meal. Climb slowly up to San Blas, the hillside artisan neighborhood, free to wander, with workshops, galleries and some of the best rooftop miradors over the historic center, an easier climb now than it would have felt on Day 1. Loop through streets you haven’t covered yet rather than retracing earlier walks, and close the day at a free viewpoint instead of paying for an organized city tour. Nothing today needs a ticket, and souvenir shopping here goes straight to the artisan rather than through a marked-up shop.
Rough spend: guesthouse (S/60-90) + food (S/30-50), no entrance fees or tours = roughly S/90-140.
Day 6: Sacsayhuaman and Chinchero, the last two Boleto sites
Six days buys one more day than the 5-day plan, enough for the two Boleto Turistico sites a shorter trip has no room for. Sacsayhuaman, the huge Inca stone complex on the hill directly above the city, is a short taxi or a slow uphill walk and still covered by the same ticket bought on Day 2. In the afternoon, take a colectivo out to Chinchero, a second Sacred Valley stop beyond Pisac and Ollantaytambo, where Inca terraces sit beside a colonial church built directly over an Inca palace foundation, in a town known for its weaving community, also covered. Moray’s circular terraces and the Maras salt pans sit close by and are a genuine highlight, but they need their own separate entrance fee outside the Boleto, which is why they’re left for a trip with room for one more paid stop. Back in Cuzco by early evening, close the trip for free at the Cristo Blanco viewpoint above Sacsayhuaman, a last look over the city’s rooftops before you leave.
Rough spend: guesthouse (S/60-90) + food (S/30-50) + colectivo fare (S/15-25), no new entrance fee = roughly S/105-165.
What 6 days in Cuzco actually costs
| Day | Focus | Rough daily cost |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Acclimatise, free Plaza de Armas and San Pedro Market, no paid sights | S/90-140 |
| Day 2 | Sacred Valley: Pisac, Ollantaytambo, buy the Boleto Turistico | S/235-290 |
| Day 3 | Machu Picchu by train and bus, advance ticket, the pricey day | S/880-1,700+ |
| Day 4 | Southern Valley: Tipon and Pikillacta on the same Boleto | S/105-165 |
| Day 5 | Free day: San Blas, mirador walks, no new tickets | S/90-140 |
| Day 6 | Sacsayhuaman and Chinchero on the same Boleto, free Cristo Blanco mirador | S/105-165 |
Add it up and six days runs roughly S/1,505-2,600+ total (about S/60 less on the student Boleto), lodging and food included. Machu Picchu’s one expensive day is still the real budget decision, the same as on the shorter plans; the extra day just buys the two Boleto sites a 5-day trip has to leave unclaimed.
How many days does the Boleto Turistico actually cover on this plan?
Three. Day 2 buys it and spends it at Pisac and Ollantaytambo, Day 4 uses it again at Tipon and Pikillacta, and Day 6 uses it a third time at Sacsayhuaman and Chinchero, all inside its 10-day validity window and all for the one S/130 (or S/70 student) paid upfront on Day 2.
Is the sixth day worth adding to the 5-day plan?
Yes, if the ticket bought on Day 2 would otherwise go partly unused. The Boleto Turistico stays valid for 10 days, and the 5-day plan only spends it at Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Tipon and Pikillacta, leaving Sacsayhuaman and Chinchero, two of its most-visited sites, unclaimed. A sixth day claims both for the cost of a colectivo fare and a room, rather than letting an already-paid ticket go to waste.
Do you need the Inca Trail or Rainbow Mountain to make six days feel complete?
No. The Inca Trail’s permits are released each October, sell out months ahead in high season, and the trail closes completely every February for maintenance regardless of how far ahead you book; Rainbow Mountain sits at 5,036m and only makes sense once you’re already well acclimatised. Six days of Boleto-covered valley sites plus Machu Picchu is a complete trip on its own without either add-on.
Prices above are in Peruvian soles (PEN, S/) except Machu Picchu’s own day, which operators quote in dollars. Cards work at hotels and larger restaurants, but carry cash for colectivos, markets and the Boleto Turistico itself, and stick to bottled water, Cuzco’s tap water isn’t safe to drink. April-October is the dry season, November-March brings regular rain though most sights stay open, and 24 June’s Inti Raymi festival at Sacsayhuaman is the single busiest date to book around. US, UK, EU, Australian and Canadian passport holders travel visa-free for tourism, commonly up to 90 days; confirm the current figure for your own passport on peru.travel before you fly. You’ll land at Cuzco’s own airport, CUZ, usually via a connecting flight through Lima, since the long-planned Chinchero airport nearby still isn’t open. Buy the Boleto Turistico once on Day 2 and it pays for itself twice more before this trip ends.