Inca trail Expenses : Compare with reality
There are lot of tour operators in Peru now. These operators are offering different rate for 4 days or 2 days Inca trail hike. Now the competition is so intense some operators are offering very less amount of money to conduct a tour. So sometimes quality of the packages drops.
So it is very important that before selecting an operator you must check what they include in their packages. I suggest you to have a fair idea on all the items in the list that will cost you. You have to check which items are included in their packages. Some items are always provided by all the tour operators. But there are some items which are provided by some operators, but are excluded by others. For example- when you finish hiking the trail and coming back to Cusco, operators provide Train service from Augus Calientes to Cusco. But if you do not notice you may find that your itinerary include train journey from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo and then bus ride from ollantaytambo to Cusco. Now after four days walk you may not like this type of break journeys. But some operators do this to save some money as train fare from Machu Picchu to Ollantaytambo is only 12$ and bus ride from there to Cusco is 3$, whereas fare for direct train is minimum 43$. So they can really save some money. So check everything before you choose your operator.
4 days Trail
| Srl | Item | Cost($) | Comment |
| 1. | Inca Trail & Machu Picchu Entrance fee | 88 | Should always be included |
| 2. | Bus from Machu Picchu to Augus Calientes | 6 | Some operators include, some does not |
| 3. | Return to Cusco by train-
if Backpacker Train- if Vistadome Train |
46 66 |
Check which train they are offering |
| 4. | Food | Check the number of meals provided by your operator | |
| a. | Breakfast - 3 days | Most companies provide breakfast on -2nd, 3rd and 4th day | |
| b. | Lunch - 3 days/4 days | Most companies provide lunch on -1st,2nd and 3rd day, if on 4th day lunch is not provided you have to lunch on hotels at Aguas Calientes | |
| c. | Dinner- 3 days | Dinner is never provided on 4 th day, since you would reach at Cusco by then. | |
| 5. | Porter Payment | paid by operators. But check the no of porters provided | |
| 6. | Personal Porter | 30-40 | If you hire personal porter, you have to pay yourself-it varies from operator to operator, so compare between operators |
| 7. | Porter/Cook/Guide tips | Usually trekkers pay tips, which is 5$-10$ from a whole group (never included in package) | |
| 8. | Sleeping bag | 10-15 | Usually trekker may hire it for 4 days |
| 9. | Snacks/ Drinking water | - | Check what would be provided by your operator |
2 days Trail
| Srl | Item | Cost($) | Comment |
| 1. | Inca Trail & Machu Picchu Entrance fee | 25 | Should always be included |
| 2. | Bus from Machu Picchu to Augus Calientes | 6 | Some operators include, some does not |
| 3. | Return to Cusco by train-
if Backpacker Train- if Vistadome Train |
46 66 |
Check which train they are offering |
| 4. | Food | Check the number of meals provided by your operator | |
| a. | Breakfast - | Most companies provide breakfast on -2nd day, as you are staying in a hotel in Aguas Calientes, you can have actually free breakfast there | |
| b. | Lunch - | Most companies provide boxed lunch on -1st day only | |
| c. | Dinner- none | not provided, since you would stay in Aguas Calientes on first night, you have to buy your own food | |
| 9. | Snacks/ Drinking water | - | Check what would be provided by your operator |
Discounts you should get
Students will get 30.00$ discount, but they must carry the ISIC ( International Student Identity Card) ( you may check the website of ISIC at http:/ www.isic.org) with them, otherwise will not get permission to enter the trail. You must be careful to notify your tour operator number of student you have at the time of your registration with them. Remember, you must show this card and passport at the entry point of Inca trail, failure of doing so would disallow that student to enter the trek. Children under 16 will get the same discount and proof of age is their passport.
Tip to porters, guides and cook
Though it is you discretion of giving tips to the Guides, porters and cook, I am giving here a guide line of the range of tip, for you to decide amount of tip yourself. Generally porters get 5-6 $, cook get 10$ and Guides get 15-20 $. It means each member of the group may have to pay around 8-10 $. But again it is not mandatory.
Extra Porter
You can hire a personal porter from your tour operator ( most tour operators offer this service). You may have to pay 20- 30 $ for this service. But check how much weight your porter can carry, as there is some limitation on the maximum weight a porter can carry.