Cusco, Aguas Calientes and Ollytantambo
How do they stack up? Could you retire there? What are they like?
First of all, out of the three towns I personally liked Aguas Calientes the best.
It’s surprisingly cheaper than Cusco.
I liked the very touristy feel of it. Cusco has just as many tourists, or even more, but it was more spread out, and less walkable. We had to do a lot of taxis or walk for miles.
Ollytantambo is the most expensive of the 3, and has the least to do. It’s literally just a central square. This is the main town you'll see right before you get the train to Machu Picchu.
I went here before Covid. So, hopefully everything is alright in the little town still.
Main tips for the region.
Using Cabify is easy, and Uber, but there are tons of illegal street taxis. A street taxi was always cheaper. You don’t really even have to negotiate that much.A Cabify was 3 bucks versus 2 bucks for a street taxi.
There weren’t really gyms at any of these cities. Some scattered here and there, but not many. You won't be working out here a lot.
Don’t expect quick wifi in this region. Digital nomads, and people who need quick wifi may not be able to survive here. Sad face emoji.
This region was about 30% more expensive than Arequipa.
5.Money. Make sure you bring Peruvian, not Canadian or American because the exchange rate is brutal.
All in all, if you’re looking for the best countries to retire cheap, Peru is still right up there.
These towns are a great place for a visit, and if you're going to see Machu Picchu spend an extra few days visiting!