The train journey to Machu Picchu (from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes) was one of the greatest train rides of our lives. The scenery was just phenomenal with endless mountains, rivers, gorges and even a cloud forest.

We always thought we’d arrive at Machu Picchu on foot via the Inca Trail, but when illness struck and we knew we couldn’t hike, we decided to treat ourselves to the Peru Rail Vistadome carriage. We mistakenly thought that Vistadome meant an observation carriage; it didn’t… more on that later in the guide.

On the return journey we rode the cheapest train, the Expedition carriage and in this guide we’re going to be comparing both experiences, as well as all our top tips for the journey.

And when it comes to whether we thought the Vistadome was worth it, we aren’t sitting on the fence!

A little about the journey

Before we get into the differences between the train carriages, I thought I’d give a quick overview on what to expect from the train ride. In short, a whole lot of spectacular scenery.

The journey takes around 1.5 hours - give or take - and this is one journey where you don’t want to opt for the shortest possible time because you probably won’t want it to end!

We hopped on at Ollantaytambo train station, where the train started in the wider valley before entering the narrow gorge, following the Urubamba River. The landscape changes as you descend from the “Tierra Helada” (which means ‘frozen land’ or sub-alpine) area to the ‘Tierra Fria’ zone, which is the cloud forest close to Aguas Calientes.

We love train travel and have been lucky enough to do some incredible journeys across Australia, in Norway, Sri Lanka and so many more. Some of these journeys are referred to as the most beautiful train rides in the world. And the train to Machu Picchu lives up to every last one of them (albeit a much shorter journey!).

This isn’t one of those trips where it takes a while to get into the good scenery, it’s spectacular from the off.

The mountains, rivers, gorges, cloud forest and the occasional Incan ruin were all breathtaking and the only disappointment was there was so much glare from the windows that we couldn’t get any photos which do the scenery justice.

I always prefer trains where you can open the windows, but this wasn’t an option on either train we took with Peru Rail.

There is a bit of recorded commentary as you make your way to Machu Picchu, but not a whole lot. It’s more about taking in the scenery.

Things to know about the Machu Picchu train journey

It matters which side of the train you sit on

Whilst both sides of the train offer beautiful views, sitting on the left side of the train when leaving Ollantaytambo undoubtedly has the best views. That’s mainly because there are quite a few cliff walls on the right side, so you don’t always have a view.

Whilst all train carriages - including the cheapest ones - have some ceiling windows which also offer views, I would try and get the left side if you can.

You can’t specify this when booking online, but you can ask when you go to collect your ticket at the counter before you board the train (if an agent or someone is making a booking for you, you may be able to ask them ahead of time).

There are two rail companies and several different carriage types

The two companies to operate trains on this route are Inca Rail and Peru Rail. From what I heard, there isn’t much to choose between the two, so we chose Peru Rail based on train times (it had more departures to choose from).

Inca Rail were fractionally cheaper, but this may change over time, so do check both. Initially we were going to use one company one way, and use the other for the return journey, but both companies offered a discount to book a return, so we went for that instead.

At time of writing Peru Rail have four carriage types: the Expedition is the cheapest, then you have the Vistadome, Vistadome Observatory and the eye-wateringly expensive Hiram Bingham class. Inca Rail also have four carriage options.

Incidentally you can also begin your journey from further afield, including from Cusco, if you don’t want to spend the night in Ollantaytambo, which takes somewhere between 3 and 3.5 hours.

You can’t take your luggage with you!

When I first read that you couldn’t take your luggage on the train I thought it must be a mistake. We were planning on spending a minimum of three nights at Machu Picchu and we have one whole bag which is only for our camera gear and laptops! That meant we could have one small bag for all the rest of our stuff.

If you’re going for the day or an over nighter this isn’t a problem, but given we needed all our cold weather gear including down jackets, it was tight.

In the end we did see people board the train with bigger bags, but we didn’t risk it given there were signs up at the station, as well as notices on their website saying you couldn’t. Even if we got our bags to Aguas Calientes we were worried we wouldn’t get them back on the train again.

There is a luggage storage option at the train station, or you could leave it with your hotel. We left ours in our rental car which was in a garage by the train station and that worked out fine, though it’s probably not the best option!

The train doesn’t pick you up where it drops you off (in Aguas Calientes)

We were a bit surprised on leaving Aguas Calientes to find that the train didn’t depart from the same place it dropped us off.

We ended up running for the train after going to the wrong place and realising we actually needed to go to the official departure lounge area (which we hadn’t seen before)!

You’ll need to go to this spot to catch your train back to Ollantaytambo.

There are no taxis in Aguas Calientes

When spending the night in Aguas Calientes you ideally want to pick a hotel close to the train station - but not too close because those trains are noisy! There are no transport options in town, so you’ll walk everywhere and much of the town is located on a steep hill!

We opted for the Tierra Viva Hotel which was only an eight minute walk from the train station, but lovely and quiet. Book one of the riverside rooms so you can go to sleep to the sound of the rushing water.

If you tell them in advance someone will meet you at the train station and they kindly offer to carry your luggage.

I am sure most hotels would do this so remember to tell them which train you are on so that they can meet you (it’s not strictly necessary, but it was a nice touch).

The Peru Rail Vistadome carriage vs the Expedition carriage

In all honesty, there’s not a whole lot of difference between the two carriages much to our disappoint after booking one leg in the more expensive carriage!

You would think the windows would be much bigger in the Vistadome, but in actual fact the difference is barely noticeable. The main windows are a little bigger, and there is a small additional window between the main windows on the Vistadome, but you don’t get the feeling that you’ve gone up a class.

The ceiling windows were actually smaller on the Vistadome which was a bit mind boggling!

There is no observation carriage, so I am not quite sure why it’s called a Vistadome as there is no real difference when it comes to the viewing experience when compared to the cheapest carriage, the Expedition.

You need to go up another ticket category and book the Vistadome Observatory if you want to see any real difference, which we hadn’t realised ahead of time. This is a proper observation carriage, although it does cost an extra $40 USD per person (depending on the time as prices fluctuate throughout the day, check carefully as it is possible to snag a bargain).

The seating was also the same for the two carriages, with mainly four seater tables seats and then a few sets of two seats as well.

The main difference, apart from marginally larger seat windows for the Vistadome vs the Expedition carriage, was that you got a nice little Peruvian cloth over your table and a small snack box with one hot drink.

The snack was a quinoa bar and quinoa cookies, as well as two cocoa sweets (for altitude). You could also get a tea which was served in a paper cup so didn’t feel fancy in anyway!

I would say the Vistadome is ever so slightly better than the Expedition carriage, but given we paid $30 per person extra, I wouldn’t say a miniscule bit of extra window space, plus an (albeit lovely) cloth and the snacks were worth it.

I would either upgrade one carriage further and get a proper observation dome, or save your money for some lovely Peruvian keepsakes when you get to Machu Picchu.

So in short, is the Peru Rail Visadome carriage worth it? No : )

Buying your train tickets

The booking website is temperamental and may change your dates

Just like when you book tickets for Machu Picchu, the Peru Rail website has a tendency to crash or do things you didn’t expect, so make sure you check every step of the way.

The most common issue I found was that the website had a tendency to change the dates you put in. No matter what dates you searched for, it would take you to the train services for tomorrow.

If this happens, click on “modify dates” and put in the actual dates you want.

We hope this helps you decide which carriage to pick and don’t forget to check out our Machu Picchu guides including a run down on the circuits (and yes we walked them all), Huayna Picchu vs Machu Picchu Mountain, the Inca Bridge Trail and Sunrise vs Sunset.

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, we will earn a small commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase. This helps towards the costs of running our website. Thanks for your support.