Exploring the Sacred Valley in Peru is an experience that I will always remember. The scenery is absolutely stunning. If you are planning to take day trips to the Sacred Valley from Cusco, or would like to know how to get to and from Cusco and Ollantaytambo (the gateway to Machu Picchu), then this post will help you know how to travel to the Sacred Valley safely and easily.
How to go on day trips to the Sacred Valley from Cusco
There are a couple of options for how to explore the Sacred Valley from Cusco.
Tour Groups: There are lots of guided day trips to the Sacred Valley. The tour guide will explain the sites to you. These are a great option if you are a solo traveler, or want to have each site explained to you. The only downside is that your time at each site is limited.
Private Tours: These are great option if you are traveling with a group of people, since the more people that go the lower the cost.
Taxis: Similar to private tours, it’s more affordable if you go with other people. I would only recommend going with a registered taxi company that specifically offers day tours. Using a taxi company is how I went on day trips to the Sacred Valley from Cusco, AND how I traveled from Ollantaytambo back to Cusco after exploring Machu Picchu. They are easy, safe and reliable and one of my favourite memories of Peru. I explain how in detail below.
How to go on day trips to the Sacred Valley in a Taxi
With a lot of research (and I mean A LOT), I stumbled across a taxi company called Taxidatum. They had amazing reviews on TripAdvisor, and my experience with them was also great.
On their website, they have a menu called “Taxi Tours” where you can choose which day trip of the Sacred Valley you want to go on. When you make the booking you can indicate where you want to be picked up, dropped off, what time you want to start the tour (and any other special requests).
If you want to start a tour in Cusco and end your tour in Ollantaytambo, you can do that.
Or, if you want to hire a taxi to take you to a certain location, they will provide a quote.
Tour Group or Taxi: which one to choose?
The difference between going with Taxidatum and a Tour Group is that Taxidatum will only drive you to each site, and wait in the car while you explore them on your own. They don’t go inside the sites with you and explain them to you, and most of the time they don’t speak a lot of English. They are there to simply drive you around.
With a tour group, you are either with other people (if you go with a group), or you can pay additional money to have a private tour. They go in the sites with you and explain them to you, but they cost a lot more money depending on how many people are in your group.
If you go with a taxi, you will need to find a guide once you arrive at a site IF you want it explained to you. Don’t worry, once you arrive at a site, a guide will find you and ask you if you want a tour. You will need to pay the tour guide directly for this, since it’s not a part of Taxidatum.
If you decide you want guided tours of each area, comparing the costs of tour companies and taxis may be beneficial.
Costs
Costs for taxi tours
The cost to do a day tour around the Sacred Valley in a taxi was 200 soles ($65 USD). This is the cost for the taxi, not per person. A van is more expensive, but you need to contact Taxidatum to provide you with the price.
To pay for the tour, you will give the money to the driver after it is over. There are no negotiations involved. The price of a tour is set once you make the booking online.
Since we opted to explore each site on our own, we didn’t have to pay additional costs for a guide. At Pisac Ruins, a guide said that it would cost about 60 soles for a one hour tour.
Costs for group tours
The price for day tours with a tour group vary in price. If you opt for a guided private tour, the costs will be lower the more people in your group. These are much more affordable if you are traveling solo or with one other person.
What to expect: Our experience going on day tours of the Sacred Valley in a Taxi
We went on three separate day tours and opted to just explore each site on our own. We still had an AMAZING experience and never felt rushed. I liked how we could choose what time our tour started, so we could go during the less busy times.
Every taxi we used was in excellent condition, clean and had a safe driver. The drivers were SO nice. Despite the language barrier they still attempted to point stuff out, and offered to take our pictures at viewpoints.
We could lock our bags in the car too.
The day tours of the Sacred Valley that we did
- Pisac Ruins, Pisac Market, Ccochahuasi and Awanacancha Animal Sanctuary. I asked to be picked up at 9:00AM at our apartment in Cusco, and the tour lasted until about 4:00PM. As we were driving along, we went by the Awanacancha Animal Sanctuary which I had initially opted out of doing, but he could tell how excited we were to see it and stopped there for us on our way back home.
- Salt flats, Moray, and Chinero Market. Since we had spent the night in Ollantaytambo, we wanted to spend the morning exploring the area first. We decided to have Taxidatum pick us up in Ollantaytambo at 12:30pm. We were dropped off in Cusco at 5:30pm.
- We also used Taxidatum to take us to the water show in Lima, and for our airport transfers. However, for getting to and from the water show in Lima it would have been more convenient to use an Uber. With Taxidatum you need to book a pick up time. We could have spent a lot more time at the water show. If we had used Uber we could have just booked a ride home once we were ready.
Tips
Don’t get in a taxi until the driver confirms your name. While we were waiting for Taxidatum to pick us up, a lot of other taxis kept stopping and asking us if we wanted a ride. If you don’t know the language, this can be confusing. Taxidatum will have your name, so make sure they tell you what your name is before you get in.
Remember the license plate of the taxi you are taking. It’s easier to find your taxi after you are finished exploring a site.
Download the Google Translate App. Since the majority of drivers do not speak English, this will help a lot! Download the Spanish translations so you can use it offline. For example, we wanted to know if we could roll the windows down in the car, so I was able to type it into the app and ask him. Learn more useful Spanish phrases here.
I can only speak about my experience with Taxidatum. There are other registered taxis that you could probably go with, but I don’t know what their services or prices are like. The reason I went with Taxidatum is because their reviews were very good on TripAdvisor, and the booking process was very straightforward.
Have you been to Peru before, and did you use a taxi or tour groups on your trip? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments below!
