How To Visit Peru With Very Little Planning and Score Last-Minute Machu Picchu Tickets

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When the limited number of advance tickets for Machu Picchu sells out online, airlines sometimes slash fares to Peru for those dates. This is how I ended up with dirt-cheap tickets from Austin to Lima in July, with no real plan other than to escape the summer heat for a few weeks and hope to nab in-person tickets for Machu Picchu.

In the spirit of adventure, my two grown sons and I hopped on a plane with a loose itinerary and shiny optimism that everything would work out. And it did. We snagged last-minute Machu Picchu tickets and toured the 15th-century Inca citadel right alongside the more organized tourists. Here’s how we did it.

Cusco

First stop: Cusco. We flew straight through Lima to Cusco to spend a few days acclimating to the high elevation before heading to Machu Picchu.

Through dumb luck, we were in town for the Paucartambo Festival, held every year from July 15 to 19. I highly recommend visiting during this time. Whenever we stepped outside, there was a new parade filling the streets. The city was alive with costumes, music, dancing, and festivities.

While staying in Cusco, we joined several tours, all booked at the last minute:

We also dined like kings. It was a treat to order Pisco Sour cocktails, appetizers, steak Lomo Saltado, and dessert for three adults and have the bill be around $100. My eldest son said the cuy was delicious, but I skipped ordering guinea pig. It was served with the head.

Tip: A nurse at Passport Health recommended we take 600 mg of ibuprofen every eight hours to reduce the chance of getting altitude sickness. This worked well for us, but you should consult your doctor. We encountered others in Cusco who were struggling with the altitude. A woman on the horseback riding tour fainted.

Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu

After five days in Cusco, we took the PeruRail Vistadome through the Andean highlands to Aguas Calientes. I loved riding the iconic blue and gold train, and this experience came with snacks, drinks, and live music.

I didn’t book our return train to Cusco since I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to score in-person tickets to Machu Picchu on our first try. We planned to arrive on Friday and get tickets for Saturday, with Sunday as a backup. I reserved two nights at the Casa Andina hotel and hoped for the best.

How to buy last-minute tickets for Machu Picchu in person

Everyone needs a ticket to visit Machu Picchu, and tickets are tied to your name and ID. If you’re unable to get them online for the day you want, the Ministry of Culture office in Aguas Calientes sells up to 1,000 tickets for each day in person. The catch is, you can only buy these tickets one to two days in advance.

E.g., if you arrive on Friday, you can buy tickets for Saturday. Once the Saturday tickets are gone, the office starts selling 1,000 tickets for Sunday.

How to buy last-minute Machu Picchu tickets:

Decide which circuit you want to take. Your tickets will be for a specific route, and you can’t deviate from that route after entry. I chose Circuit 2, which is a moderate climb with panoramic views from above, followed by a descent into the ruins.
Pick the timeframe you’d like to visit Machu Picchu, from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit the online dashboard to track how many tickets are left for each route.
Go straight to the Ministry of Culture when you arrive in Aguas Calientes.
- If you arrive between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m., you’ll be given a number (one per passport) and a time to return after 3 p.m. to buy tickets.
- If you arrive between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m., ask which line to join. Some people might be waiting to buy tickets for a different day.
Bring everyone in your group when you come to buy tickets, along with their passports. Tickets are tied to IDs, and you can’t buy a ticket for someone who isn’t there.
Bring cash. They accept cards, but it’s smart to have a backup.

How it worked for us: I arrived before 3 p.m., showed three passports, and was given three pre-tickets to bring back at 5:45 p.m. At the appointed time, my two sons and I were ushered upstairs to five rows of chairs. One by one, pre-ticket numbers were called. When it was our turn, I was able to buy three tickets for the next day, for the circuit and time I wanted.

Tip: Consider how early you want to arrive in Aguas Calientes when arranging your transportation from Cusco. Some people line up at 5 a.m., before the Ministry of Culture opens at 6 a.m., to get pre-tickets and secure their spots in line for later in the day. Tickets are sold from 3 to 10 p.m. We talked to someone who walked up at 9 p.m. in July and was still able to buy a ticket for the next day, so it’s worth trying even if you arrive late in the evening.

How to buy shuttle bus tickets for Machu Picchu

Once you have tickets for Machu Picchu, you can determine whether you’d rather hike 45 minutes to the entrance or take the shuttle bus. We chose the comfy bus over a trek up the mountain.

How to take the Machu Picchu shuttle:

Make a reservation online for the day you want, or pay in person at the Consettur ticket office (use this address as there are some incorrect ones online). You’ll be asked to present your passport when buying tickets in person.
Locate the bus sign with your entry time. You can get in line behind the sign two hours in advance (e.g., the 10 a.m. line starts at 8 a.m.).
Board the bus up to one hour before your entry time (e.g., the 10 a.m. line moves to the buses at 9 a.m.).

Tip: Shuttle bus timing is important because if you don’t enter Machu Picchu within 45 minutes of your entry time, you forfeit your ticket.

Do you need a guide for Machu Picchu?

I can see the value of having a guide if you want help coordinating transportation and reservations. But once Machu Picchu tickets are sold out online, even local guides can’t help with advance tickets. You’ll have to show up in Aguas Calientes in person and hope for the best.

When you arrive at the entrance to Machu Picchu, plenty of people will approach you and offer their guide services. It’s up to you if you want to accept. We preferred to walk alone and explore at our own pace.

Back to Cusco by Rail (and Bus)

One thing I wish I’d done differently was to book my return travel to Cusco in advance. By not initially booking a round-trip rail ticket, I ended up with limited options for our return trip. There were no direct trains to Cusco with tickets available at the last minute, so I booked a PuruRail trip that included a transfer in Ollantaytambo to a “PeruRail bus.”

In actuality, the bus to Cusco was a small van (with no bathroom). If you find yourself in this situation, pack Dramamine. You might also consider spending a night in Ollantaytambo, rather than rushing through. It’s a lovely town.

Lima

After spending a week in the charming Cusco and Aguas Calientes, I found five days in Lima to be a bit more time than we needed. Nevertheless, we embarked on several more impromptu adventures and explored the city and beyond.

Lima highlights:

Visiting the cats in Kennedy Park — free
Bike tour through Miraflores and Barranco — our knowledgeable local guide made it fun
Day trip to sand boarding and dune buggy ride — long day, but worth it
Magic water circuit and fountain show — we took a tour, but you could do this on your own

My verdict on winging it

Peru is absolutely doable with very little planning. It does add some stress not having all the details set before you fly, but I wouldn’t let the lack of a solid itinerary keep you from going.

If a visit to Machu Picchu is your top priority, you can be hardcore and get in line at the Ministry of Culture at 5 a.m. But if you’re open to spending a few days in Aguas Calientes, that takes some pressure off. There are cheap massages everywhere if you’re looking for a way to pass the time.

Heidi Gollub, travel writer and editor

Heidi Gollub has been a travel writer and editor for 16 years. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Fodor’s, The Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY. She lives in Austin with her family.

Heidi has been writing about Austin adventures since 2010, when she founded a hyperlocal events website that later became part of Austin.com. She was an inaugural local expert with Visit Austin, Texas, and spent several years contributing the best free fun in Austin to local news stations.

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