Taking a trip to Peru and Machu Picchu had been on my travel list for a long time. I finally had the opportunity to go a few years ago with my husband and brother. We decided to go during the week of Thanksgiving to save on PTO days and also for the benefit of it being in the “shoulder” season in Peru. November is in-between the busy season and the wet (slow) season so traveling during this month brings a lot of value—more affordable but still decent weather.

We decided to use our Qapital apps to save for this trip and set a budget of $2000 each.  We figured this was probably more than we needed, but wanted to be somewhat financially comfortable while there. Through Qaptial, we actually set up a joint savings goal where we were able to see one another’s saving progress. This really helped the saving process feel more real and that we were all in it together.

Some may think $2,000 is a lot to spend in South America, but we knew flights would be almost half of that budget. This left us with a little over $1000 for 7-nights of accommodations, food, in-country transportation, and cultural experiences (e.g.: Machu Picchu).

It was also helpful that there were 3 of us on this trip. This helped to share some of the expenses—like accommodations and taxis—but made the trip so much more fun too!

Here is a breakdown of how I spent my $2,000 to give you an idea of how much you may want to budget for your trip to Machu Picchu!

Expenses from my trip to Peru to see Machu Picchu:

Airfare — $859

My flight to Cusco was $859. We tracked the flights through a few of our favorite travel booking apps and this seemed to be the most affordable flight at the time. We also based our flights off of overall travel time so we ended up spending an extra hundred dollars to avoid a 12-hour layover (my brother, on the other hand, saved a couple of hundred dollars but had a 12-hour layover).

Surprisingly, flights to Cusco have gone down since we went to Peru in 2017. Currently, our exact same flights (New York JFK → Cusco), are now $150 cheaper. Since the prices of international flights can vary greatly, we always set $1,000 as an initial baseline for the flight expense. You can always go up or down in your budget from there.

Accommodations — $362

The Pisac Inca Guest House — $25 per person per night

Hotels in Peru are relatively inexpensive. We went with many really affordable options our first few days in Peru that saved us a ton of money in the end. Also, the 3 of us shared a room each night so the per person expense was brought down even lower.

We ended up splurging the last 2 nights of our trip. After a week of hiking and exploring, we were exhausted and had extra money left over from the initial $2,000 we had budgeted for. We definitely could have saved the money and stayed at a budget hotel, but we wanted to treat ourselves. So we called the JW Marriott and they, fortunately, had a room available. The plush beds and central location made us forgot how sore our feet were, and we did not regret upgrading from the initial hotel we had planned to stay at.

There is so much budget flexibility when it comes to finding accommodations. You can do all low budget and save your money for the experiential aspect of your trip. But you can also mix in a few nicer hotels with more affordable options, especially if you are staying in different cities throughout your trip. It is definitely a personal preference on what types of accommodations you decide on. Sure, it would have been nice to stay at the Sanctuary Lodge at the base of Machu Picchu, but at $700 a night—that was not a realistic option for our budget.

Transportation within Peru — $217

Transportation within Peru was a little more expensive than I was expecting due to the train costs. If you aren’t doing one of the treks to Machu Picchu, you will have to take a train to get to Aguas Calientes. We took a train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes ($57) and then from Aguas Calientes to Cusco ($101). My husband was trying to persuade my brother and I to get tickets for the Hiram Bingham luxury train, which is $688 round trip. While it would have been a cool experience, we decided that spending over 30% of our budget on train tickets would not be a smart move.

Taxi service in Peru was very affordable. We took taxis to get to and from the villages in the Sacred Valley as well as to some of the ruins. There was also the option to take buses, but we wanted the flexibility of having a taxi and didn’t mind paying a little more. For example, a taxi from Cusco to Pisac, about 45 minutes away, is only $20. Splitting the taxi fares between the 3 of us also made it a bit cheaper per person also.

Cultural Excursions — $100

A visit to Moray was included in the $40 tourist pass

The visit to Machu Picchu itself was $60. We ended up getting tickets that included a hike to Montaña Machu Picchu because we wanted to do a hike within Machu Picchu. The base price for Machu Picchu only is $45 so we felt spending an extra $15 was worth it!

I also spent $40 on a tourist ticket (Boleto Turístico del Cusco), that granted entrance to 14 ruins and museums in Cusco and the Sacred Valley. There is the option to buy passes to visit only a few of these sites but we felt it was more cost-effective to buy the pass for entry to all of them.

Food & Drink — $245

I have to be honest, I didn’t keep track of exactly how much money I spent on food because it was SO AFFORDABLE. I would get a glass of fresh juice with almost every meal because it was about $2. I’m used to $10 juices in NYC so that was something I really took advantage of!

Overall, I spent about $25 per day on food. A lot of our hotels provided free breakfast but we still had plenty of money for lunch and dinner along with a few snacks to keep our energy up. There were a few occasions where we went to nicer restaurants and spent more but would balance those days out with cheaper meals. We went to Ceviche Seafood Kitchen on our last day in Peru. I was so excited about their vegetarian options and got the Mango ceviche as my main dish—which was $9 USD. Of course, the seafood options were a bit pricier, but the most expensive dish on the menu was still only $16 USD.

The options for amazing food in Peru are endless, and are especially accommodating to a small budget!

Bringing $ back home

Ultimately, I came in under my initial $2,000 budget. I did spend $50 on some souvenirs but was able to take back about $150 and put it towards my next trip!

There are so many expenses on a week-long trip. By budgeting enough for what you are comfortable with, you will have the flexibility to figure out exactly what you want to do and how you want to spend your money.

How would you spend $2,000 on a trip to Peru to visit Machu Picchu?

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