Solo travel

Beautiful city Felt super safe Locals were helpful and friendly Pretty cold when I went Was hard to breathe bc of the altitude It is walkable Good food Get coca leaf tea when you arrive to adjust to altitude

Group travel

I went to Cusco, Peru on a service learning trip with a group of 10 from my college. Best experience! Felt completely safe walking through the city, very kind people. Last day there, my group’s flight was early but mine was later, so I solo travelled around the city and felt completely safe and enjoyed my walk around the city. Cusco is at 11,000 ft though, so make sure to bring motion or altitude sickness pills!! I thought I would be ok without them since I usually ski at high altitudes, but this is much more intense, bring the pills! Also, start with lighter meals then progress because their food is much more rich and flavorful, so beware of travelers diarrhea if you have a sensitive stomach (but definitely try Cuy aka guinea pig!)

Couple travel

A vibrant city always buzzing with activities and life. LOADS of activities which are pretty affordable, plenty of tours on get your guide, don't even need to be good at hiking because all the hikes have horses to take you most the way if you prefer. Tour guides are good, stayed pretty close to the centre most the time, but always felt super safe. AMAZING views within a couple hours drive of the city which when done with tours tends to include a couple of meals and transport etc. You need cash always, we pretty much had to withdraw daily to afford to pay our hostels, activities, food etc in cash, withdrawing 400 soles at once, shared between 2 of us. Not that we spend that much daily. But with combined costs, and souvenirs, it may as well have been. We spent a lot but we did a lot so no regrets. Definitely worth the visit.

It's an authentic touristic town. You can walk all alone by night and feel safe. Locals are helpful and mostly friendly. It is very easy to meet people from all over the world and aslo make friends with local people.

Cusco is a beautiful city, but be careful as a woman solo traveler. The men catcall and can be a bit inappropriate in clubs or social settings. My friend got her phone stolen on public transportation, so be sure to keep your valuables in a bag on the front of your body. The public transportation felt way safer than taxi/Uber for me as I don’t like riding alone with a man. If I was going to the center of the city(plaza de Armas) at night alone I was always sure to have a friend meet me there or be waiting for me so I don’t have to be alone.