Guide to Velasco Astete Airport (CUZ)
You land at 3,400 m, with luggage and maybe a touch of altitude sickness. Here are the real options to reach your hotel, what each one costs and which one suits you.
Your four options
There is no single right answer: it depends on your budget, how much luggage you carry and what time you land.
From S/ 20
The cheapest option. Walk out of the terminal, find a taxi and agree on the price before you get in, because taxis in Cusco don't use meters. Good if you travel light and land during the day.
From S/ 45
More than twice the street taxi, and you take it without leaving the airport, though you often still have to negotiate the fare. Handy if you arrive tired or with a lot of luggage.
Set in the app
Both work in Cusco, but pickup is outside the airport and getting a car usually takes longer than finding a taxi on the street, depending on the spot. You need mobile data when you land. On inDrive you offer your own fare.
From S/ 50
You book it before your trip. The driver waits at the arrivals exit with a sign showing your name, tracks your flight in case it lands early or late and takes you straight to your hotel. Water and oxygen on board.
It costs more than the street taxi. In return, you don't go out looking for a car, you don't haggle at 3,400 m with your bags in hand, and the price stays the same if your flight lands at midnight.
From S/ 50 per vehicle, not per person.
If your flight lands between 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM, a night surcharge of S/ 40 per vehicle is added.
Book your airport transferWhen you land
It is your first effort at 3,400 m. Walk slowly and don't lift everything at once.
The official taxi counters are in the arrivals area, before the door. Once you are outside, only street taxis and apps are left, and that is where you haggle with your bags in hand.
Your driver is at the arrivals exit with a sign showing your name. If your flight is delayed, they wait up to 60 minutes at no extra cost.
Altitude
This is general advice, not medical advice. If you have a health condition, talk to your doctor before you travel.
We drive you from the airport to your hotel in Urubamba, Ollantaytambo or anywhere in the Valley, from S/ 210 per vehicle.
From S/ 20 if you take it outside the airport and agree on the fare with the driver, and from S/ 45 at the official counters inside the terminal, where you often still negotiate (approximate prices as of October 2026).
Uber and inDrive both work in Cusco, but they pick you up outside the airport, and getting a car usually takes longer than finding a taxi on the street, depending on the spot.
Between 20 and 40 minutes by car, depending on traffic and where your hotel is.
The official taxi inside the terminal, so you don't go out looking for a car, or a transfer booked before your trip, which also has the price fixed in advance.
Yes. Many travelers do it to sleep lower on their first night. We offer a private transfer from Cusco airport to your hotel in the Sacred Valley.
Book your transfer before you travel: fixed price per vehicle, a driver with your name on a sign and flight tracking.