Inca Jungle Trek Costs: Full Breakdown from Start to Finish

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I recently went on an awesome 10-day trip to Peru with one goal in mind… finally get to see Machu Picchu! My original plan was to do the classic Inca Trail but it was sold out so I found and booked an alternate – the Inca Jungle Trek. And it was AMAZING! But how much did it cost?

Let’s break it down…

The upfront tour cost

I booked this tour through GetYourGuide and the upfront cost was £347.45 for my dates which were in the middle of August. I booked around 2 months out. Compare to the classic Inca Trail this one is almost half the price so I was shocked that it included accommodation too.

And this is a screenshot from the listing of everything included…

Full transparency!! I did book this tour through the GetYourGuide Creator Sponsored Experience scheme meaning I did get money off the tour. I did still pay for the majority of it out of pocket and all opinions are my own. If you have over 3k followers on either TikTok or Instagram and regularly post travel content, you can join the scheme too. Check it out here.

Panic prep

I had two nights in Cusco before embarking on the trek and spent the majority of this time stressing about what I’d packed. I travelled straight from my summer camp gig to Peru so I mostly had summer clothes and Cusco was COLD!

As my nan often says, you loose the majority of your body heat through your head and feet so having a woolly hat is an necessity in the cold. So off I went on a mission to get one and found a lovely one at a market for just PEN12 which is around £2.50. Spoiler – I didn’t end up needing this as the trek through the jungle was much colder. But if I’d had more time in Cusco I would have definitely needed it.

The complete opposite to my woolly hat conundrum was the threat of mosquitos and insects in the jungle. So off I went to find bug spray. I hadn’t packed any because I was travelling carry-on only but ended up finding some for a whopping PEN40 or £8. I still got eaten alive but I think less so than if I’d not been wearing anything.

Panic Prep = £11.44

“Optional” Activities

There were LOTS of “optional” activities on the trek itinerary. I’ve put optional in quotation marks as they didn’t really feel optional but they really did elevate the trip. I mentioned this in my full review, but I kind of wished the tour was a little bit more expensive and included all of these “extras” as they really made up the adventure side of the trip.

The extras I paid for were water rafting for PEN120/£22.67 and entrance tickets to both the Cocalmayo and Aguas Calientes hot springs for a total of PEN30/£6.60.

“Optional” Activities = £29.27

Meals not included

The upfront cost usually includes all meals except the first breakfast and last lunch. I paid PEN45/£9.90 for the first breakfast. This was about double the price of what it should have been as I mistakenly ordered two breakfasts instead of breakfast number two. That’s what I get for trying to speak in Spanish and rushing my order. I think I need to go back to Spanish school!

Then as a group we decided to go out for a nice meal for our last dinner and moved the included meal to the final lunch. The last supper was genuinely the best meal of the trip and the price reflected that. My bill was PEN90/£19.80 for a pasta dish, soft drink and a tip.

Meals not included = £29.70

Drinks

Whilst most meals were included on the trip, drinks were seldom included too. Occasionally we’d get water on the table, but usually it was down to us to order and pay for our own drinks. Plus we were advised to avoid the tap water so had to buy bottled water.

Across the 4 days I spent £33.88 on drinks including a good amount of the Peruvian classic – Pisco Sour!

Drinks = £33.88

Transport

On day two of the trek, we had a day of hiking planned and were given the option to send our big bags ahead to the hotel for just PEN5/£1.10. No brainer!

The hike took a lot longer than originally planned so instead of finishing off the last part of the hike, we all opted to pay for a private driver to take us onto the hotel. This was PEN30/£6.60 each and worth every penny.

Transport = £7.70

Random

Our group ended up with different tickets to Machu Picchu and as I was in the smaller group our tour organiser got us a separate tour guide. This guide was BRILLIANT! He had 25 years experience and you’d could really tell. At the end of the tour, we did all tip him a little extra. I tipped PEN10 which was a suggested amount.

At the entrance to Machu Picchu they have a few shops, places to grab snacks/drinks and toilets. The toilets have a PEN2/44p charge and I used them twice for a whopping PEN4/88p. Always my least favourite thing to pay for when travelling but at least these were clean and had toilet roll.

On our last afternoon in Aguas Calientes we had some spare time so I popped into a few trinket shops. I spent PEN11/£2.42 on a couple small bits.

Random = £5.50

Total

I spent a total of £464.94 on a 3 night, 4 day Inca Jungle trek to the iconic Machu Picchu! This is still cheaper than the ticket price of the classic Inca Trail so I feel super chuffed with this total price.

This experience will go down in the books as one of the best things I’ve ever done. I don’t think I’ll be shutting up about this for a while! And for less than £500 – hello bargain.

Check out my full review of the Inca Jungle Trek here.

What do you think? Is this more or less than you’d expect? Is Machu Picchu on your bucket list?