Best Place to Exchange Money in Cusco

Where to change money in Cusco

Rough Guides lists Cusco among the cities where exchange houses (casas de cambio) give decent rates, and PromPerú, the tourist board, gives their usual hours as 9:00 to 18:00 on weekdays plus Saturday mornings. We could not support any single bureau with two independent sources, so compare a few counters' boards in the historic centre.

• Casas de cambio, historic centre around Plaza de Armas - Read the posted buy and sell rates, count the money where the cashier can see you and examine each note.
• Bank cash machines (BCP, Interbank, Scotiabank, BBVA) - Rough Guides' recommended banks. Use one inside a branch, supermarket or large building during business hours, as the FCDO advises.

Changing money at the airport

Alejandro Velasco Astete airport (CUZ) is roughly 10 to 20 minutes by road from the centre. Airport Express Lima's guide mentions exchange counters and several banks' cash machines on the public arrivals level, and authorised taxi booths charging fixed fares by zone, paid at the desk. We found no official list of those fares, so land with a little cash.

Taxis here have no meter either. Use a booth, a car sent by your hotel or a phone or app taxi rather than one hailed outside, as the FCDO advises, and fix the price before setting off.

ATMs and cards in Cusco

Hotels, mid-range restaurants and travel agencies generally accept cards; market stalls, street food and taxis expect cash. Under Indecopi's rules a shop may charge extra for card payment only if it warns you first.

Rough Guides points to the BCP, Interbank, Scotiabank and BBVA networks, and Inca Rail warns that machines in Cusco and Aguas Calientes may charge fees. No bank publishes its charge for foreign cards, so check the screen and back out if it is high, and choose soles whenever pounds are offered. Because express kidnappers force victims to withdraw cash, mostly after dark (FCDO), use machines in daylight.

Paying for transport in Cusco

Machu Picchu entry is sold apart from the train, on the Ministry of Culture's site tuboleto.cultura.pe, which allows 15 minutes to pay. Adult foreigners paid S/152 in 2026, and from 1 May 2026 Sernanp added an S/11 conservation charge. If your date sells out, the Ministry's office in Machupicchu Pueblo sells up to 1,000 tickets a day for the next day, taking cards, QR codes, Yape, Plin or cash against ID. Bring your passport to the gate.

PeruRail takes cards, PayPal and SafetyPay online and bills in US dollars at your bank's rate, so a UK card adds its own foreign-payment cost. Inca Rail takes the main cards, PayPal and Apple Pay. Trains leave from Poroy, about 30 minutes from Cusco by taxi, or Ollantaytambo, about 90 minutes. The bus from Aguas Calientes up to the ruins is US$24 return for foreigners, bought online by card or in person with soles or dollars (PeruRail). In September 2026 Consettur and a second firm were both running it while a new tender was prepared.

Good to know

• Boleto turístico: COSITUC's multi-site ticket costs foreign visitors S/130 for the full version, valid 10 days, or S/70 for a partial circuit. It is sold in person only, at the counter at Avenida El Sol 103 (daily 07:30 to 18:00) or at the sites, and bears your name, so carry ID. No payment methods are listed, so have soles ready.
• Fake money: besides the intis trick, counterfeit soles and dollars circulate (FCDO), so use a machine or a counter, not a street changer.
• Aguas Calientes: its machines may charge fees (Inca Rail); bring enough soles from Cusco for meals, drinks and tips.
• Hotel tax: non-residents staying 60 days or fewer on one entry pay no IGV on the room or hotel meals once they show a passport and the virtual TAM. The hotel simply leaves it off the invoice.
• Tipping: restaurant bills often include service (Lonely Planet); if not, add 5 to 10 per cent or round up, and give guides and drivers 5 to 20 soles (Rough Guides). Inca Trail porters get about 15 to 20 soles a day each (Lonely Planet).