Top Cusco Rail Tours

My husband and I had such a great time visiting Machu Picchu, Mauro Salas was our tour guide, he was awesome, funny, informative and always helped, especially when I got short of breath going up flights of stairs, I recommend this company because we always were taken care of, thank you, love your company.

It was an amazing experience. Not only did our guide take wonderful photos for us, but the detailed explanations about the ruins and their history were absolutely perfect. I was truly impressed and moved by the whole experience. I would love to come back again in the near future! May peace be with him and his family!!

When we suddenly had an unexpected window to take some time off work, we desperately wanted to visit Machu Picchu. We knew it was notoriously difficult to secure tickets at the last minute, and after reading horror stories about other tour companies totally ghosting people for their 4 AM pickups, we were nervous about booking. Happy Gringo Tours stepped up and absolutely made it happen. They took all the stress off our shoulders by handling every single piece of the logistics seamlessly, and they were incredibly punctual when it mattered most—no early-morning no-shows here! A massive shoutout to our guide, Ruben. He was so friendly and deeply knowledgeable, and may I add, he is a pretty good photographer—definitely a hidden talent! He helped us capture the experience perfectly. Wishing everybody at Happy Gringo Tours the absolute best. If you want a reliable, stress-free, and unforgettable experience, look no further!

Our guide, Ruben, with Happy Gringo Tours, was incredible. He was extremely knowledgeable about Machu Picchu, taking great care into explaining the details of this sacred place. We took Route 2A and had the opportunity to see many parts of citadel. We never felt rushed and always had time for questions and photos. After a long day of travel and seeing the citadel, Ruben made a reservation for us at a wonderful restaurant in Aguas Calientes. It’s details like this that make experiences memorable. If you can request Ruben for your tour, we highly recommend him!

I had an absolutely wonderful experience booking my day trip to Machu Picchu with Happy Gringo Tours. From beginning to end, everything was incredibly well organized and completely streamlined.The day started with a smooth pickup from my hotel, followed by a comfortable bus ride to Ollantaytambo, where I boarded the train to Aguas Calientes. The train ride was absolutely beautiful, with breathtaking views of the mountains and surrounding scenery. The experience was made even more special by the music and traditional dancing on the train—it was such a fun and memorable part of the journey.When I arrived in Aguas Calientes, I was met by a friendly representative who guided me through the next steps and made the transition to the bus up to Machu Picchu completely effortless.I visited Circuit 3 – Machu Picchu Realeza, and this was truly the highlight of my trip. When I arrived, I met my guide, Mauro, and he made the experience unforgettable. Mauro was incredibly kind, knowledgeable, and passionate about the history and culture of the Incas. His stories and explanations brought Machu Picchu to life and gave me a much deeper appreciation for this incredible place.It was raining during my visit, but Mauro never let the weather dampen the experience. He was patient, helpful, and made sure I had plenty of opportunities to take some amazing pictures despite the rain.What impressed me most was how well everything was coordinated throughout the entire day. I never felt lost or had to worry about transportation or logistics. At the end of the day, Mauro even made sure I safely made my way back to my hotel.A huge thank you to Happy Gringo Tours and especially to Mauro for making my Machu Picchu experience so special. Everything was handled with such professionalism and care, from the hotel pickup to the train, Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu, and safely back to my hotel.I highly recommend Happy Gringo Tours to anyone planning a visit to Machu Picchu. The organization, service, and personal attention were exceptional, and I will always remember this incredible experience!

Great experience and a memory for life. I had a great English speaking guide for the group I was in and have no complaints. Well, be prepared for a bumpy ride in the van from Cusco to the train but who can change the road/street/aswalt-work..

The guide Mauro was very attentive; it was a personalized tour of circuit 3 of Machu Picchu. He took the time to help with photos, answer questions, and provide information about other nearby tourist areas. He also picked me up and dropped me off in front of the train station for the start and end of the tour. He recommends places to eat and places to spend time before returning to Ollantaytambo. I recommend a minimum stay of 4 days, 1 for each tour.

Couldn't have asked for a much better experience, particularly when booking somewhat last minute, ie. less than 2 weeks out. Happy Gringo Tours has been able to secure these last minute openings when other operators were unable to. There was some uncertainty around the meetup specifics after each train arrival (both there and back), but a little patience and trusting the process goes a long way. Would highly recommend, particularly if trying to book inside of the Machu Picchu online sales sold-out window.

Machu Picchu was an incredible experience that was made even better from our amazing guide Mauro. He gave amazing insight into the history of Machu Picchu but also his personal stories growing up in Peru and the surrounding areas. I would definitely book again when I come back for Wuayna Picchu

Mauro was an amazing guide at Machu Picchu! He did an excellent job explaining the history and significance of everything we saw, and he made the entire experience so interesting and enjoyable. He was extremely friendly, knowledgeable, patient, and always happy to answer our questions. You can tell he truly enjoys what he does. We learned so much and had an unforgettable experience thanks to him.

Excellent service, Happy gringo tour is a reliable company, very friendly and very proud of their work.

My wife and I had booked a 2-day trek to Machu Picchu with another operator, but on the day of the company were no shows. We only had 2 days left in the region before leaving. Every operator said they were fully booked and getting tickets so last minute were nearly impossible. Others suggested we wait at the tourism office the day before, which we were going to do.Thankfully, this operator called us directly and somehow managed to get two tickets for the next day with a private guide. We had already prepared ourselves for having come all this way and not see Machu Picchu.Our guide, Mauro, was fantastic. He answered all our questions and took great photos!

My boyfriend and I did the one day Machu Picchu tour with Happy Gringos and we loved it! We were supposed to go August 5th but there was a rockslide on the train tracks and Happy Gringo rescheduled us to the next day free of any extra charge and handled getting us the new train tickets and ensuring that our Machu Picchu Tickets were honored for the next day. Our only complaint is that we weren’t sitting next to each other on the way back on the train but other than that it was a great. Our favorite part was Mauro, our amazing tour guide of Machu Picchu!

We had a wonderful experience with Happy Gringo Tours on our trip to Machu Picchu. Everything was well organized from the start. Our travel arrangements were confirmed, and all tickets were booked well before the tour date. The team communicated clearly in advance, providing a detailed itinerary, travel times, and transportation information, which made the entire process stress-free. We were fortunate to have an exclusive guide, Mr. Mauro, who was outstanding. He shared the history of Machu Picchu in an engaging and informative way, took great photos for us, and never rushed the tour. His knowledge, patience, and friendly attitude made our visit even more enjoyable. We highly recommend Happy Gringo Tours to anyone planning a trip to Machu Picchu. Their excellent organization, communication, and personalized service made for a memorable experience.

With a couple snags along the way, it was still a wonderful experience. We were picked up from our hotel in Cusco at 4 am. The driver was actually 5 minutes early. The roads were bumpy so I was happy to have already recovered from altitude sickness the day before. After 2 hours we reached the train station in Ollantaytambo. The train schedules seem to be a bit flexible, but we eventually boarded and our car was not very full. This allowed us to change seats to face the direction of travel, at the attendant’s suggestion. After about 45 minutes the train came to a stop. The conductor said we had to wait for another train to pass. We waited a very long time until we found out the train ahead of us had broken down and was being repaired on the tracks, causing us to be very late for our arrival (2 hours). This affected our Machupicchu tour time and tour guide’s schedule. We kept in contact with him, the other person who was supposed to meet us at the train station in Aguas Calientes, and the tour company. The first two stayed in good contact with us and reassured us that this happens and they would handle the change in entry times for us. Mauro, our guide, was so kind and helpful. However, after waiting in the long line to enter Machupicchu, he was told our virtual tickets would not be accepted, only paper tickets. We had followed the directions the evening before and met with Frank at the orientation where instead of picking up tickets, he said he would send them virtually to my phone, which he did. I didn’t foresee this being a problem, but it was. Mauro, our persistent and kindhearted guide told us to wait right there at the entrance of Machupicchu for him to figure it out. After what seemed like 30-40 minutes, he came back with printed tickets! He had to pay someone with his own money to let him use her printer so we could enter. I will be forever grateful to him. Machupicchu is AMAZING and he was so informative and didn’t give up on us. He didn’t cut our tour short, either. But we had to hustle to get on a bus down, and Mauro convinced someone to let us go in front of everyone so we could make our train. I hope nobody else has to go through this, because for awhile I thought there’s no way we’re going to get in, which would have been devastating. Mauro even rode the bus back down to the train station, took us to a restaurant and instructed them to make something fast (we hadn’t eaten all day due to the circumstances which left no time), and made sure we were at the station in time for our regularly scheduled train. Mauro was our hero and a great companion, as he handled it all so well. Meanwhile, the tour company had gone silent from the time I told them there was a problem with the tickets. Luckily they have a very communicative team picking up the slack and handling it well. Mauro is the reason that this story has a happy ending. Thank you!!!

Excellent way to see Machu Picchu on a full day tour with train. I booked at short notice and found this tour arranged all transport for me round trip from my hotel in Cusco. It’s a long day but you get to see MP without having to stay in a town nearby or trek there. They arranged for a taxi to pick me up at 3:50am to go to the MP Inca rail shuttle bus place. Tea and coffee are there. Then just under 2hr drive to Ollantaytambo for the train. More tea, coffee, food options. The train is lovely. A cultural experience with the crew performing a traditional story. There F&B also available to order. Reached Aguas caliente in under 2hrs. Then my tour guide Ruben met me at the station and escorted me to the coach bus to MP. Ruben was nice and knowledgeable with many facts about MP. I had circuit 3 which I’d read was the lesser version. Couldn’t be more wrong. I saw everything I wanted to see. I got my postcard shot. Don’t believe the hype about the different circuits. Came back to my hotel the same way with taxi to the door. All aspects were covered. I recommend this if you don’t want to work out the logistics of seeing MP from Cusco.