I’m going to be in Ollantaytambo sometime in the first two weeks of November. Judging from what I’ve read here, I think I’ll be fine getting last-minute tickets to Machu Picchu. But what about the train? Does that have to be booked in advance? Or during this slow season, can tickets for the train be had at the last minute as well?

Went to get tickets today for Friday the 16th and was left disappointed. I was willing to extend our stay for 1 more night but I’m unable to extend it until Sunday.

I like to travel a bit slowly. Walk, hike. See diferent towns and villages. I'm especially interested in agriculture and markets and local foods. So here is my plan for one week. I would welcome feedback. I am leaving room for a couple of tries at Machu Picchu because I willl be there during rainy season so, would give me a second chance if the first one got rained out. I would use taxi or uber which i always much prefer over renting a car or going on tour buses.

Fri : Fly to Lima on daytime nonstop, landing about 11pm. Sleep near the airport.

Sat: Early flight to Cusco (80–90 min). Easy day visiting Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral. Early night. Hotel in cusco

Sun: Morning taxi to Chinchero, about 40 min. Sunday market, attend mass and see terraces. Taxi back for afternoon and evening in Cusco.

Mon: Taxi to Ollantaytambo, about 1.5 hrs Drop off backpack at my hotel Then taxi to Maras about 20–30 min

Hike to the Salineras and down to Pichingoto, about 3.5 hrs total

Arrange for a a driver picks up at Pichingoto and takes me back to Ollantaytambo.

Tues: Walk to the Ollantaytambo archaeological site for opening.

Wed: early visit to see Urubamba livestock market open. Back to ollantayyambo and walk to the station, about 15 min. Train to Aguas Calientes, about 1.5–2 hrs. Hotel in Aquas Calientes

Thur: Bus. Machu Picchu panorama (1-b), 9am entry. Around 11 descend and go to Lunch at the nice restaurant there. Hang out and do some work on my computer. Then 3pm do xircuit (2-a). Hopefully this gives me 2 chances to see everything between morning mid and afternoon heavy . Return to aqua caliente for hotel.

Fri : if I got rained out then do Machu Picchu again same schedule. If I didn't get rained out then hang and maybe go to the hot pools or similar around agua caliente, or an easy-moderate hike

Sat : Train back to cusco. See bit more of the city. Overnight in cusco

Sun: depart taking the wildly overpriced train to Puno then double back to juliaca to spend the night. I'm a train fan and would like to see the big freights going through this crowded city as well as the juliaca market.

Mon: fly to juliaca to tarapoto to get to Amazon for that part of the trip

HI!

I’m planning to do the Salkantay Trek in April and I’m having some major anxiety about the logistics vs. my sanity.

Context: I am a single woman, an avid hiker, and an experienced camper. Honestly, I would do this entirely solo/unguided if I wasn't feeling totally chicken shit about navigating a multi-day foreign trek completely alone for my first time. Because of that, I started looking into group tours.

Here is my main issue: I have a very low social battery. Hiking all day with a group is fine(ish), but at the end of the day, I desperately need to retreat to a quiet space alone to recharge. The idea of being trapped in a shared dorm or tent with strangers 24/7 sounds like mental torture.

I reached out to a popular tour company (total tour cost is $705 USD), and they quoted me a staggering extra $600 USD just for a single/private room supplement! That is almost doubling the price of the entire trek.

What makes it weirder is that I saw a past thread where someone using the exact same company said they only paid an extra $200 USD for a solo room upgrade.

For those who have done Salkantay:

1. Has anyone successfully negotiated a reasonable solo room rate? Is $600 a total rip-off or is that just the standard "single tax" now? Why would it vary so wildly from $200 to $600?
2. How bad is the "forced socializing" really? If I suck it up and do the standard group booking, is it impossible to get away from people at night, or can you easily wander off and do your own thing?
3. Should I just bite the bullet and go unguided? As an experienced camper, am I overthinking the difficulty of doing this solo just to avoid group dynamics?
4. unrelated to my social battery issues, I PEE A LOT lol where the hell does one pee while hiking with a group 😭

Would love to hear from any fellow introverted solo female hikers who have tackled this. Thanks!