On devrait passer dans la région de Cuzco autour de fin juin 2015 (en pleine haute saison) lors d'un voyage de 3 mois en Amérique du Sud en vélo et en famille (enfants).
A une semaine près, on ne sait pas trop à quelle date on ira au Machu Picchu et on ne voudrait pas se mettre trop de contraintes.
Est-on obligé de réserver en avance le train du Machu Picchu (a priori avec un départ d'Ollaytambo) ? et pour l'accès au site (a priori sans le Wayna Picchu) ? Même question pour les petits hotels d'aguas calientes ?
Si oui, est ce qu'une réservation 2 à 3 jours avant, serait suffisante ?
Pouvez vous me confirmer que les enfants paient moitié prix que les adultes (et même gratuit pour les moins de 8 ans) ? Plus globalement au Pérou, dans les petites auberges, quelle est généralement la politique de paiement/réduction pour les enfants ?
Pour notre part, nous avons visité en haute saison le Machu Picchu (en plein mois d'août) et nous n'avons eu aucun souci.
Pour le train, nous l'avons réservé le jour même et pour l'hôtel à Aguas Calientes également (il y en a tellement, que tu auras l'embarras du choix !). Par contre, pour le Machu Picchu, nous avons du réserver une semaine avant d'y aller et il n'y avait plus de places pour le Wayna Picchu.
Effectivement pour les étapes importantes (le Machu Picchu en fait partie), il est important de bien réserver à l'avance. Pour réserver le billet avec une option pour le Wayna Picchu, il est impératif de réserver au moins un mois à l'avance (environ une dizaine de jours pour la Montagne).
Il n'est encore aujourd'hui malheureusement pas possible de réserver vos billets à tarifs réduits (enfants) via le site internet officiel. Il vous faudra soit attendre d'être à Cusco et réserver vos billets dès le premier jour ou bien passer par une connaissance à Cusco. Difficile de dire si 2-3 jours avant il y aura des entrées disponibles pour le jour que vous souhaitez, pas sûr. En tout cas, vous pouvez regarder les disponibilités au jour le jour sur le site internet pour voir combien de places disponibles il reste…
Fin juin? Vous serez peut-être à Cusco pour l'Inti Raymi, la fête la plus importante de l'année; le 24 juin. Ce serait l'occasion d'y assister. Faites attention aux disponibilités des hôtels ce jour-là.
Sur les sites archéologiques et les musées, il y a souvent un tarif enfant, mais pour les hôtels c'est assez rare.
Si on ne va pas au Wayna Picchu, je comprends que cela puisse être jouable de ne réserver que qq jours avant (même si c'est mieux de s'y prendre au moins 1 semaine à l'avance).
En plus, si on veut la reduc' enfants, on essaiera de réserver (pour faire Ollaytambo-Aguas C.) dès qu'on arrive à Cuzco et il y aura de quoi visiter 2-3 jours -entre Cuzco et Ollaytambo - avant d'aller au MP.
J'avais également noté l'Inti Raymi, mais on sera peut être déjà reparti pour aller dans la cordillère Vilcanota.
Question subsidiaire : peut-on facilement louer un petit van (pour 5 pers. et possibilité de mettre des vélos sur le toit) pour faire un transfert d'une centaine de km, à partir de Cuzco ? Une idée de tarif ?
Ne pas s'embêter à acheter sur internet sauf le train Ollantaytambo MachuPicchu. Et le vol retour à Lima.
Voila comment faire à Cusco, si retour à Lima par avion aller le lendemain de l'arrivée à Cusco à l'agence Star peru, située av el Sol une quadra après el Koricancha pour confirmer les vols de retour. Passer par la rue Maruri puis rue San Augustin, d'où achats des entrées au Machu Picchu (126 soles en 2014) au ministerio de la cultura, 126 av de la Cultura . Au musée du Coricancha acheter les boletos pour visiter Cusco et la Vallee Sacrée. Le boleto s'achete sur le premier site visité inclus dans le prix. Poursuivre la visite par la maison musée de Garcilazo de la Vega , puis la cazona de la mairie proche de la plaza de Armas où à l'agence Inka rail Situé sur la place échanger les factures web du train Ollantay Tambo/ Agua Calientes achetés un mois à l'avance, contre des billets.
Aller le soir au spectacle folklorique du centre Cosqo inclus dans le boleto .
Partir le surlendemain à Ollantaytambo par bus ou taxi . Pour cela se grouper et demander aux taxis de vous trouver un van pour 8 personnes. Le van vous emmènera à Ollantaytambo en s'arrêtant sur la route aux sites Puka Pukara, Tambo Machay, etc. Il filera ensuite sur Pisac, Montera vers la citadelle , il vous attendra á l'entrée. Ensuite il descendra au village où helas la place de l'église disparait sous les stands de ventes d'artisanats . Il ira ensuite vers Urubamba . A midi arret á Yucay dans un grand restaurant, buffet à 45 soles excellent . Arrivée vers 17 h à Ollantaytambo . Payer la course au prix négocié à Cusco. Hotel "Tunupa Lodge" (29 € pour 2 personnes booking.com) il est près de la gare. Y laisser les sacs et partir visiter la citadelle d'Ollantaytambo imposante ou le village avec ses murs epoque Inca. Super restaurants sur la place centrale. Lendemain depart Tot à Aguas Calientes en train . Y acheter les billets de bus a la ventanilla dédiée et attendre en file l'arrivée des bus pour monter au site de Machu Picchu.
Pour retour à Cusco négocier avec le meme taxi qui revient vous chercher et retour par Las Salinas de Mara et surtout Chinchero .
Nous avions payé 340 soles pour 8 personnes . La journée entière de taxi qui nous attendait devant les sites. Meme prix pour la journée du retour. Hotel à hotel.
Voir mon blog pour plus de détails
http://voyageperou.com.over-blog.com/2014/05/de-lima-a-nazca-arequipa-puno-cuzco.html
Nous devons nous rendre au Machu Picchu fin Avril et je suis encore en train de me demander si je réserve les billets de train et d'entrée sur le site…
Vais au Pérou et nous avons appris qu'il est impossible d'avoir nos gros sac à dos dans le train qui nous amène en bas du Machu Picchu. J'aimerais connaître…
Voilà un mois que je me penche sur les guides, les sites, histoire d'avancer dans notre périple d'un mois (vu le temps que j'y passe je commence à comprendre…
J aurai besoin de vos avis avant de réserver un aller retour avec Peru Rail ou Inca Rail en septembre. Je passe la journée dans la vallée sacrée avec un…
Je prévois un voyage uniquement en train ou transports en commun sur toute l'Italie au mois d'octobre (en espérant qu'il fasse encore beau !).
J'aimerai voir évidemment certaines destinations touristiques, mais aussi sortir un peu des sentiers battus, et j'espère trouver de l'aide ici ? Je ne compte pas m'éterniser dans les villes.
En partant du Nord, j'aimerai faire le lac de Côme ou d'Orta ; passer par les Cinq Terres pour un peu de randonnée, quelques jours à Naples, à Rome, puis descendre en Sicile.
Hi there,
I’ll be traveling to Japan this coming August. We’ve finalized our itinerary and booked our flight tickets. Now I’m at the stage of buying train tickets for the few segments we’ll need to cover:
Tokyo - Hakone
Hakone - Kyoto
Kyoto - Osaka
Osaka - Tokyo
Here are my questions:
a) Is it possible to buy train tickets for these segments from Canada?
b) If so, which website should I use to do this?
c) And if it is possible, will we be able to print our tickets from Canada?
d) If it’s not possible, where in Tokyo should I go to buy these tickets when I arrive?
Hi everyone, I wanted to take the Paris-Berlin overnight train with a sleeper berth, the new service operated by European Sleepers.
24/05/2026 17:45 Paris-Nord (actually 16:00 from Paris Bercy Seine) -> 25/05/2026 9:59 (actually 7:30 in Berlin)
05/06/2026 18:31 Berlin (actually 20:00) -> 06/06/2026 10:00 Paris Nord (actually 12:30)
Part of the journey was operated by bus instead of the promised overnight train.
For 2 people: 340 € round trip
A total disaster. Never again. I was really looking forward to taking the overnight train, but we faced last-minute changes and truly unpleasant travel conditions. Here are the details:
1) 2 days before departure: email announcing a change of departure station for the outbound trip—Bercy Seine bus station instead of Gare du Nord.
2) Change of schedule: 4:00 PM from Bercy instead of 5:45 PM from Gare du Nord.
3) Change of transport mode!! A bus from Paris to Brussels, then an overnight train from Brussels to Berlin. No functional toilets on the bus. No children under 4 allowed on the bus.
4) On the sleeper train at 9:30 PM: no functional toilets in our carriage, so we had to go to other carriages, even in the middle of the night, to find working ones.
5) The onboard staff, though very friendly, were as lost as we were. In particular, they didn’t know how to handle the lower berths, so people using them had less space (armrests and backrests). Berth numbers weren’t respected, so some passengers had to move. The staff also didn’t know who was supposed to join the compartment during the journey.
6) Arrival at 7:30 AM in Berlin instead of 10:00 AM. No arrival announcement. Passengers had to search for staff to get breakfast and ended up with just a coffee (breakfast = 15 €, not bad for just a coffee).
7) Return trip: drastic schedule change announced by email on 26/05/2026—departure at 7:30 PM instead of 6:30 PM, with arrival between 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM in Paris instead of 10:00 AM. No change in transport mode announced.
8) Change in transport mode announced by email on the same day (05/06/2026)!! Overnight train from Brussels to Berlin, then a bus from Paris to Brussels. No functional toilets on the bus. Children under 4 banned from the bus, and families in this situation were asked to find another way—after being notified the same day.
9) The overnight train arrived at Berlin station with a 30-minute delay on top of its initial delay (scheduled for 6:31 PM, then 7:30 PM, finally arriving at 8:00 PM). The heating was blasting in the compartment with no way to turn it off. No functional toilets in the carriage. From that point on, customer service stopped responding to my messages.
10) Woken up at 5:00 AM with an announcement in all carriages about arrival in Liège.
11) Woken up again at 6:00 AM to be told we’d arrive in Brussels at 7:00 AM.
12) Arrival in Brussels at 7:00 AM and a one-hour wait for the bus to Paris. No functional toilets on the bus.
13) Arrival at Paris Nord at 12:30 PM, so 2.5 hours late compared to the originally scheduled time.
14) The overnight trains used are very old—I recognized the carriages from 20 years ago!! No functional power outlets, no Wi-Fi, no air conditioning. Five people per compartment is a bit cramped, but I consider these conditions expected (especially the air conditioning), so I’m not complaining about that. There’s already plenty to gripe about with the travel conditions.
I have little hope of getting even a partial refund. Customer service emails acknowledge the discomfort but only offer to reimburse the cost of a coffee on board if we send them the receipt... a bit weak.
I’m sharing this experience in the hope it might help others.
Hi there,
I’d like to take the Train of the Clouds from Lima to Huancayo.
I’ve heard it only runs during certain periods.
Does anyone have info on this?
Thanks!
HuancayoHuancayo
As part of my professional thesis, I’m conducting a study on the evolution of long-distance rail transport in France, particularly since it opened up to competition.
I’ve put together a very quick (about 5-minute) and completely anonymous questionnaire. Your answers will help me better understand users' expectations regarding pricing, frequency, and environmental impact.
We’re planning a 15-day trip to Uzbekistan in March—classic independent itinerary: Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva. We’d like to take the train between each city, but I don’t want to lock down the whole trip before we leave.
So, my question is: is it absolutely necessary to book train tickets before departure, whether for the high-speed trains or the regional ones? Is booking really essential for the regional trains?
Hello,
We’re traveling as a family with two boys aged 10 and 12 to Cairo in February. During our trip, we’re planning to take an overnight train (with or without a sleeper) for the Cairo-Aswan route.
Do you know how I can book this remotely?
Also, I’m looking for:
- A local contact to sail the Nile by felucca for 3 days from Aswan
- A contact to guide us in Cairo
Looking forward to your tips, and thanks in advance!
Marie
Hi everyone,
I first traveled solo to Japan in 2019, exploring the Kyushu region (28 days), and I’m planning to return with my daughter (she’s an adult and it’ll be her first time in Asia) from April 25 to May 9.
I’m reaching out on this forum to ask for route ideas—this time north of Tokyo, but without heading to the Sapporo island (I’m saving that for a future trip).
I’d love to take advantage of the cherry blossom season and its festivities.
I’m looking to create a route that’s a little off the beaten path while staying within 5-6 hours by train from Tokyo to avoid spending too much time on transfers.
Thanks in advance for sharing your suggestions and experiences!
Michael
I'm heading to MEXICO IN NOVEMBER 2025. Since private guides and drivers are really expensive—over 300 € per day—I'm thinking of exploring the Yucatán by train. CAN YOU SHARE ANY INFO ON THIS? Thanks
Hi there!
We’re planning to visit Serbia (1 week) and then Montenegro (2nd week) with our kids from April 18 to May 4. We’d prefer to travel by train (overnight if possible), but we’re not sure which platform to book on or when to do it (is it too early?). If anyone has any tips, I’m all ears!!
Je voulais savoir si il etait possible d'aller de Tashkent à Almaty en train sans passer par le Kirkistan. On m'a dit que la frontière etait souvent fermee 😕 entre ces l'ouzbekistan et le kazakhstan
merci d'avance
Olivier
Hi there!
We’re planning to head back to Istanbul next year—obviously by plane—and then take the train from Istanbul to Antalya. Has anyone here already made this trip by train with TCDD?
I’d love any tips or info that could be useful for us!
I need to take a sleeper train from Bangkok to Vientiane in January.
I found some ticket options on 12Go Asia, but booking doesn’t seem possible at the moment. I’ve tried simulations for several dates, but no luck.
I’m wondering if it’s already fully booked, if they’ve stopped selling tickets… yet 12Go still features it every day 😕
Has anyone else run into this issue?
Can I find tickets on another site? (I tried Baolau, but no sleepers left for January 8th.)
Hi there,
I’m a bit late to be worrying about this, but hopefully someone can help me before I leave.
Tomorrow afternoon, I arrive at Lyon Part-Dieu on the TGV at 5:50 PM and take the TER to Mâcon at 6:16 PM. Is a 26-minute transfer doable? Are the TGV and TER on the same departure board? And are they on the same platforms too?
I’ve been to Lyon before but never had to make a connection after arriving.
Thanks
I can’t seem to complete the payment for my trip on the IRCTC (Indian Railways) site. No matter which payment method I choose, my Visa card isn’t accepted.
Has anyone here managed to do it, and if so, could you share the method you used?
Thanks in advance!
Charlie
Starting November 15th, I’ll be arriving in Thailand, and during my stay, I plan to visit the north, around the Chiang Mai area, then head south to the Krabi region.
After Krabi, I’m planning to take an overnight train to Bangkok. I was wondering if there’s a train that leaves from Krabi or Trang, or if I absolutely have to go to Surat Thani?
Also, which official website can I use to book my ticket?
Next, since I’ll be arriving at dawn in Bangkok, I’ve planned to spend 2 days in Kanchanaburi. What’s the most convenient way to get there—bus or train? And if you know any companies or websites, that’d be great.
Hi there,
Does anyone know if there’s a bus from Luang Namtha to Boten to catch the train coming from China to Vientiane? If so, what’s the name of the company? Also, how long does the bus take to cover that distance? What’s the condition of the road like?
Thanks for your help!
Tom
I just realized there’s only one payment method accepted for booking the Mombasa-Nairobi express train ticket online: M-Pesa, a mobile money transfer service used in Africa. Would it be impossible to book as a European?
I’d love to know if any of you have recently eaten on the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
We’ve always ordered food on the train, and it was really good (and super convenient).
But in 2022, we ended up feeling like total idiots (with our 4-year-old daughter...) when we boarded the train only to find out that this service was no longer available... (It was the first time we’d traveled right after COVID.)
That’s also when we saw once again how kind Thai people are—they all offered to share their food with us, even though we were mortified. In the end, we managed to buy some instant noodles, which was better than nothing. Anyway, that’s the little story behind it.
In the following years, we’ve always brought our own meals.
I’ve read online that meal trays are back in service (could you confirm this, please?), but that the quality is really poor. I’ve also seen multiple reports that, even though you can eat well everywhere in Thailand, the train meal was the worst food travelers had during their trip...
Could you give me a recent opinion on this?
We’ll be departing from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Station—do you know if there’s anywhere to buy a meal there before boarding the train?
Thanks so much for your help,
and have a great Sunday!
We’re heading to Thailand in February 2026 and we’d like to take the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Can we book two first-class tickets? I’m only seeing second-class options.
Hi everyone,
For traveling in Rajasthan by train and bus, could you give me some info: where to buy tickets, cost, purchase locations, websites, etc.?
Any tips you have would be super helpful.
Thanks
We’re traveling to Java on October 23, just the two of us.
I’ve read that it’s best to book train tickets in advance on tiket.com.
Is that true, and how far ahead do you recommend?
Are the tickets changeable?
Hi everyone,
I’m planning to travel from Ulaanbaatar to Irkutsk by train this summer but I’m a bit worried about crossing the borders. How does it work? Could anyone share their experience? (I’ve found quite a few accounts of people going *from* Russia *to* Mongolia, but entering a country is never the same as leaving it—especially in this context!)
Can anyone tell me how to book train tickets online? We're planning to travel from HANOI to HO CHI MINH CITY by train, making several stops along the way. I'd also like to find the schedules and the stations where the trains stop.
There are four of us, and we've already planned stops in HANOI / DONG HOI / HUE.
I’m heading to Japan for the second time with my 20-year-old son. During our first trip, we spent two weeks in Tokyo and Kyoto (plus the surrounding areas).
This time, we’re planning to stay in Tokyo for at least 4-5 days and then head to the island of Naoshima.
I’m looking for suggestions and advice:
Is getting to Naoshima from Tokyo complicated? If so, do you have any recommendations for a stopover somewhere? Given that we’d prefer not to move every day, we’d rather settle in one place and then explore on day trips...
Do you think it’s possible to do something like this:
5 nights in Tokyo (Shinjuku)
3 nights in Kyoto
2 nights in Naoshima (or is one night enough??) and if one night is enough, where could I spend a second night on the way back to Tokyo?
2 nights in Tokyo (I’d love your advice on staying in a different neighborhood—last time we stayed near Ueno Park)—keeping in mind we’re flying out of Narita.
I’m considering maybe skipping Kyoto, which I love but has apparently become *very* touristy...
Not really keen on Osaka... since we’ll already have done Tokyo as our "big city." I’d prefer towns where nature is present... (a bit like Kyoto, which offers all that...)
For info, we’ll be traveling by train.
Thanks in advance for all your suggestions and help!
I have one last little question:
Is cash still widely used in Japan, or not at all anymore?
We’re planning this *very* last-minute—I know! But we’d love to spend 4 days soon (within the next 10–12 days) on a city getaway with our young adult kids. Ideally by train, and for this short trip, we’d prefer not to spend more than 4–6 hours in transit, leaving from Lausanne (Switzerland). We’ve been considering Milan, Strasbourg, or Freiburg im Breisgau, but I’ll admit I’m feeling a bit lost...
Venice was our original plan, but the connection changes in Domodossola or Milan are making the travel time longer this year.
It’s peak summer, so there’ll be tourists and it’ll likely be hot, but oh well...
Any suggestions? We love wandering around, taking photos, exploring cities on foot, trying out restaurants, and keeping things low-key.