DO NOT BOOK THIS EXCURSION576savannaha
⚠️ DO NOT BOOK THIS EXCURSION — Major itinerary changes, misleading information, poor communication, and additional expenses
We booked the “Machu Picchu by Train from Cusco” excursion through Tripadvisor expecting a 12–16 hour experience, as explicitly stated in the Tripadvisor listing. We chose this excursion specifically because we wanted a convenient, organized experience where transportation, train tickets, Machu Picchu entrance, and a guide would all be handled for us.
Unfortunately, the experience was extremely disorganized, stressful, and very different from what was advertised.
From the beginning, communication was poor. We were told we would be picked up at 4:00 a.m., and then the pickup time was changed to 3:30 a.m. We were also told our Machu Picchu entrance would be at approximately 6:00 a.m. However, our itinerary and Machu Picchu schedule were changed at 10:43 a.m. the day BEFORE our excursion. This left us with less than 24 hours’ notice about a significant change to our plans.
The company repeatedly referenced their policy stating that customers must provide 24 hours’ notice to make changes to tickets. The problem is that WE were not requesting this change — THEY changed our itinerary with less than 24 hours’ notice. It was extremely frustrating to have their 24-hour policy used against us when the company itself did not provide 24 hours’ notice for the changes they made.
We also were not provided with our updated Machu Picchu tickets in a timely manner. We still had the original tickets showing the 6:00 a.m. entry time and were left confused about whether those tickets were even valid after the company changed our itinerary. We had to repeatedly contact the company just to try to understand what our actual schedule was supposed to be.
The Tripadvisor listing also stated that the entire excursion would be approximately 12–16 hours. Based on that information, we planned the rest of our Peru trip accordingly. We had another excursion scheduled for the following morning, with a 3:00 a.m. pickup, so the advertised duration was extremely important to us.
Instead, our return train was scheduled for 9:50 p.m., despite us being picked up around 3:00–3:30 a.m. This meant we were going to be in Aguas Calientes for approximately 6–7+ hours after finishing our Machu Picchu experience.
Aguas Calientes is a very small town. There is absolutely nothing wrong with visiting or spending time there, but spending an additional 6–7+ hours there was NOT what we had planned or agreed to when booking a 12–16 hour excursion. We had other activities planned for our trip and had specifically scheduled them around the advertised duration of this tour.
Our Machu Picchu portion of the excursion also did not align with the original expectations. Our schedule was changed to have the Machu Picchu portion begin at 6:00 a.m. and end around 11:00 a.m., although the actual tour ended around 2:00 p.m. We were then left with an enormous gap before our 9:50 p.m. train.
We initially assumed that perhaps the later train was necessary because earlier trains were fully booked. However, when we looked into purchasing an earlier train ourselves, we discovered that the earlier train had plenty of availability. We ultimately had to consider purchasing additional train tickets ourselves simply to get back to Cusco at a reasonable time and avoid being stranded in Aguas Calientes for hours.
We also had to pay out of pocket for additional transportation, including an Uber, because the transportation arrangements provided by the company did not allow us to return according to the schedule that was advertised.
Another major issue was the lack of a tour guide and communication throughout the experience. The description promised a guide for the duration of the trip, yet we were repeatedly left on our own with very little information. Less than 24 hours before the trip, the primary information we were given was essentially that “David will meet you.” We were expected to navigate multiple parts of the excursion with very little guidance.
When we contacted the company to ask for clarification and try to resolve these issues, the response was incredibly disappointing.
Instead of listening to our concerns, the representative was condescending and dismissive. During one of our calls, when we were trying to explain the situation, he actually said, “Are you going to let me speak?” We were not calling to argue — we were trying to understand the itinerary that THEY had changed and figure out how we were supposed to get back to Cusco.
The representative also insisted that we had not given 24 hours’ notice for a ticket change, even though the changes we were discussing were changes made by the company, not changes requested by us.
When we pointed out that the Tripadvisor listing clearly stated the trip would be 12–16 hours, the representative sent us a screenshot from a completely different website claiming the excursion was 22 hours long.
This was particularly concerning because the 22-hour duration was NOT what was advertised on the Tripadvisor listing when we booked. If the excursion had actually been advertised as 22 hours, we would not have booked it because we had another excursion scheduled for 3:00 a.m. the following morning.
The entire reason we booked an organized excursion was to have a seamless experience without having to worry about coordinating transportation, trains, tickets, and timing ourselves. Instead, we spent a significant portion of our trip trying to figure out what was happening, contacting the company repeatedly, and ultimately considering paying additional money just to get ourselves back to Cusco.
By the time we were expected to return to our hotel, it would have been approximately 1:00 a.m., despite having another excursion pickup at 3:00 a.m. the same morning. We were exhausted, stressed, and completely confused about why our itinerary had been changed so dramatically.
This was not simply a minor inconvenience or a delayed train. The advertised duration, transportation schedule, Machu Picchu entry time, return train, guide/communication, and overall itinerary were all inconsistent with what we expected when we booked.
We have screenshots documenting the original Tripadvisor listing, the original itinerary, the revised itinerary, the messages showing when the changes were communicated to us, our original Machu Picchu tickets, the communication with the company, and receipts for the additional transportation and train expenses we incurred.
We have contacted the company to request a full refund, as well as reimbursement for the additional expenses we were forced to consider/pay in order to get back to Cusco. We hope Tripadvisor will also review this experience and the discrepancy between what is advertised on its platform and what this company actually provides.
If you are considering booking this excursion, I already saved you the trouble. Don’t waste your life trying to see a dream by people who only want to ravish you from it. If I could give negative ratings, I would. Based on our experience, I wouldn’t recommend this excursion.
