How to Get to Ollantaytambo From Cusco: Bus, Taxi, & Train

The distance from Cusco to Ollantaytambo is about 72 kilometers (44.7 miles), which takes roughly two to 2.5 hours driving. This makes Ollantaytambo an easy day trip to do from Cusco. You can also stay overnight in Ollantaytambo, as it’s a cute, small town with a couple of ruins that you can explore.

You can take a bus/colectivo or private car to travel from Cusco to Ollantaytambo and vice versa. While there’s also a train that runs between Cusco and Ollantaytambo, it’s expensive and you’ll actually take a bus instead of a train. A bus or colectivo is going to be the most convenient and cost-effective option for most people, but you may also want to consider taking a private car or taxi if you’re traveling with others.

Here’s all the options for traveling between Cusco and Ollantaytambo and what you should consider to decide which mode of transportation is best for you.

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Table Of Contents

Bus/colectivo
Private car or taxi
Train
More resources for traveling Peru

Bus/colectivo

Travel time: 2 – 3 hours

Cost: 10 – 20 soles (about $2.70 – $5.45 USD)

How to book: Go to Calle Pavit o s in Cusco. Cannot be booked in advance.

Taking a bus, also known as a colectivo, is the cheapest way to travel from Cusco to Ollantaytambo and vice versa. Colectivos actually take all shapes and sizes in Peru. They range from a regular car or minivan to a large van that seats over 10 people. Note that you’ll need to have cash to pay the driver, and small bills are better since drivers may not have enough change for larger bills.

There are colectivos that run regularly from morning to the evening between Cusco and Ollantaytambo. In Cusco, you can hop on a colectivo at Calle Pavitos. Once you get to that street, you’ll see drivers yelling their destination and trying to gather enough people to fill their colectivo. Drivers may even come up to you. Don’t be alarmed – confirm that they’re going to Ollantaytambo and ask how much they charge.

The larger the colectivo, the less you’ll pay. For reference, I paid 15 soles (about $4 USD) for a minivan colectivo that departed with five passengers. It’ll be slightly more if you take a regular car that seats three to four people, and it’ll be slightly less if you take a large van. Payment is made to the driver once you arrive at your destination.

Colectivos only depart once they’re full. When deciding what type of colectivo to take, you should keep this in mind. Larger colectivos take longer to fill. It generally takes around 15 minutes, since the drivers do a great job of hustling. However, you should also expect to wait longer. Colectivos may also make stops along the way to pick up or drop off passengers.

In Ollantaytambo, colectivos drop off and pick up at Plaza de Armas. To get to Cusco from Ollantaytambo, simply show up once you’re ready to head back and wait for the next colectivo to turn up. Confirm with the driver that they’re going to Cusco, as well as the price.

View from inside a car looking out onto a busy cobblestone street in Cusco, where locals walk among parked cars and street vendors.

Private car or taxi

Travel time: 2 – 2.5 hours

Cost: 75+ soles (about $20+ USD)

How to book: Ask your accommodation, or request a driver through the Uber or Cabify (iOS and Android) apps.

Hiring a private driver, whether it’s through a taxi or Uber, is cheaper in Peru than in many other countries. Even if you’re traveling solo, it’s affordable to get your own car to Ollantaytambo. If you’re traveling with others, the cost becomes even cheaper. This is also a great option if you don’t want to wait around for a colectivo to fill up or want to have the convenience of being picked up and dropped off at your accommodation.

Train

Travel time: 2 – 3 hours

Cost: $60+ USD

How to book: PeruRail or Inca Rail.

Although it’s possible to take the train, I don’t recommend it. That’s because the only way to get from Cusco to Ollantaytambo by train is to book a train ticket to Machu Picchu. Most of these tickets aren’t direct to Machu Picchu. Instead, they require you to first take a bus to the train station in Ollantaytambo and then transfer on to the train.

Since you can’t just take a train between Cusco and Ollantaytambo, you’ll have to pay for a train ticket to Machu Picchu. One-way tickets start at around $60 USD. This is extremely expensive compared to taking a colectivo. It’s even more than double the price of hiring your own driver. Given that you’re vastly overpaying and you won’t even actually be riding the train, it doesn’t make sense to take the train to Ollantaytambo.