Where To Stay In Cusco Peru

Cusco is one of the most popular places in the world for adventure travelers. So, obviously I immediately took a great liking to this place. Cusco is one of my favorite cities I’ve visited in my travels. It’s unique, has a large local and old timey vibe to it, food is amazing and everyone is friendly.

But, what I realize is that its difficult to figure out where to stay in Cusco. I visited Cusco and Lima and finding accommodations in Lima was 10 times easier than Cusco.

That’s why in this guide on the best places to stay in Cusco Peru, I’ll share my favorite areas, best places to be near to, some hotels I personally recommend and overall try to help you decide where to stay in Cusco.

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My experience on where to stay in Cusco

I’ve walked all over Cusco and even visited different hostels and accommodations and I have my personal favorites. This is basically my personal opinion on where the best places to stay in Cusco are based on my experience and research. This isn’t a huge comprehensive list of hundreds of hotels. Just the ones I saw, researched in depth and stayed in.

Because we were doing excursions and tours almost every day, we decided to stay near the City Center so the tour buses could pick us up easily right outside our hotel. I stayed sort of close to Plaza de Armas and San Francisco Square, because I’ve heard that it can get noisy at night. Also, the closer to the square the more expensive I’ve realized. So, we were about 10 minutes away on foot.

Honestly, I wish I could have stayed in Cusco even longer because there are just so many things to do and I was enjoying every bit of it. Exploring the city on foot, finding cool restaurants and food, going on a little siteseeing adventures around Cusco and even visiting the smaller towns around the city.

Best areas to stay in Cusco Peru

Historic Center

The Historic Center in and around Plaza de Armas is the best area to stay in Cusco if you’re doing a lot of tours. This includes the streets that are nearby as well. When I went to book my tours for Rainbow Mountain, Humantay Lake and the rest, it said they can only pick you up if you’re around this area. If not, you’ll have to walk here.

I thought that the Historic Center was definitely one of the best looking parts of Cusco. The architecture of the buildings were very unique. The stones in the streets and thick stone walls gave it some character.

Most of the popular restaurants and hotels in Cusco are around this area. When I stayed near here I could easily walk to restaurants and bars, pharmacies and shops in 2 minutes in any direction.

San Blas and San Cristobal area

I visited San Cristobal and San Blas on my first day in Cusco, after walking to one of the scenic lookouts. The first thing I noticed was that the streets here are all on a hill and have so many steps. It was exhausting walking up these steps at such a high altitude.

But, since it’s on a hill, it gives you the most amazing view of most of Cusco. You can see Cusco city, the Andes mountains and even snow capped mountains further behind them.

When you come to Cusco, the first thing you might notice is a weird ill feeling. Headaches, nausea and feeling really burnt out. Not everybody feels this way, but it seems to me that more than half the people I spoke to experienced some kind of altitude sickness in Cusco. I didn’t experience altitude sickness here and walking up the hilly areas still was a challenge. I felt tingly all over my body while walking, probably due to the lack of oxygen.

This area was much quieter than the Historic Center. I was also surprised by how nice the narrow streets seemed to be slightly decorated by the locals living here. Everything here looks bohemian and artsy compared to the busier part of Cusco. A little cozier if you will.

Wanchaq

The first area in Cusco I saw immediately leaving the airport was Wanchaq. I realized quickly that this area wasn’t for me. It was a little ways away from the city center and further away from the fun activities and historic sites.

Wanchaq is also much cheaper and more local compared to the other parts of Cusco. I honestly think that Wanchaq is the best place to stay in Cusco if you’re on a small budget and if you’re spending a very long time here.

The only downside to it being very cheap is that you can’t just walk outside and you’re in the city center. You’ll have to take a short taxi ride.

My Favorite places to stay in Cusco Historic Center

Anata Hotel Cusco

Anata Hotel Cusco is one of my favorite places to stay in Cusco. I recently recommended this tiny accommodation to one of my co-workers and they were really glad they asked me before choosing a place to stay.

I stayed here my entire time in Cusco and I had no complaints about this hotel. I arrived in Cusco at 11 pm at night and there was someone at the front desk ready to handle everything without any problems. I was surprised that the staff here could speak English so well. When one of us would make a mistake when trying to communicate we’d laugh because I thought it was funny.

Anata Hotel is a really small and cozy place in a tiny street off of Cuesta Santa Ana Street in the Historic Center of Cusco. So, it’s not on the main road here, it’s just off it, which I love. It only takes 5 to 7 minutes walking to reach Plaza de Armas. It has a cozy grass and garden area in the center of it where you can eat your free breakfast or just chill outside. The rooms are cozy and everything about it feels peaceful despite being really close to the city center. I did my laundry here for a really negligible fee.

Most importantly, it’s affordable, making it one of my top picks in Cusco Historic Center.

Book Here: Hotel Anata

Loki Hostel Cusco

Loki Hostel is probably one of the most fun, friendly and convenient places I’ve experienced in all of Cusco. When our plane arrived at 11 pm in Cusco and we were starving, Loki was there. When we needed to convert USD to Soles, Loki said they could do that for us easily. When we wanted to relax, eat something nice and have a drink, Loki is also a restaurant and a bar. Loki has amazing food. I can’t recommend their burgers enough.

Loki is a hostel, bar and restaurant in one. The stay is really affordable because that’s how hostels are compared to hotels and Airbnbs. It looks really nice and clean for a hostel.

If you want convenience in Cusco for a great centralized location, I recommend you stay in Loki. There’s also my favorite convenience of it being a restaurant with fun games and people too.

Book here: Loki Cusco

Best hotels in Cusco: San Blas & San Cristobal area

Casa San Blas Boutique Hotel

This hotel is so rustic looking. Everything is made of wood and stone like those really old colonial buildings. It’s located inside the neighborhood and has 18 rooms. The upper terrace has a really wide view of the city and because This area is uphill from the Historic Center, you can see that entire part of the city from above.

I really think that this hotel is one of the coolest in look and vibe. If you want character, cafes and cobblestone ambience of San Blas while still being sort of close to the City Center, then this hotel is perfect for you.

Book here: Casa San Blas Boutique Hotel

Palacio Menco Capac by Ananay

I really think that this hotel has the best view while eating in Cusco. I really love how scenic this stay is. There are tall trees and lot’s of forested area behind it. This combined with a similar rustic look of cobblestone and hard wood throughout the hotel just makes me feel extra cozy. This is definitely one of the fancier looking hotels on my list.

The higher you go if you are feeling ill from the altitude, the worse you’ll feel. You’ll also have to walk up and down these hills if you’re out exploring on foot. So, if you want seclusion, rustic vibe with the best view in town and don’t mind being up hill, then sure. Why not stay here?

Book here: Palacio Manco Capac by Ananay

The best places to stay in Wanchaq Cusco

Royal Inn Cusco Hotel

The Royal Inn Cusco Hotel is one of the most modern hotels I’ve seen in Cusco. It also looks really popular based on the amount of people that said they came from this hotel that were on our tours. This hotel is only about 2.3 km from the Historic Center and very close to the bus terminal and airport. It’s in a really nice and local part of Cusco. So anyone looking for that kind of vibe should love this place.

The rooms and lobby area are spacious, service is excellent and there is a nice breakfast buffet that gets served for you. Because this hotel is located outside the City Center, it makes parking and traffic not a problem at all. They have really high ratings on booking.com.

Book here: Royal Inn Cusco Hotel

San Francisco Hotel

I know that the name says San Francisco Hotel, but it’s not located in San Francisco Plaza. It’s in Wanchaq. It’s a really modern looking high rise building in Cusco. It has a great location for convenient access to the airport. The staff at check-in and check-out are friendly and helpful by assisting with early morning transportation if you want. You have really great views of Cusco from higher up top. For how this hotel looks and its ratings, I was shocked by how affordable it is.

Book here: San Francisco Hotel

Is Cusco Worth Visiting?

Cusco is absolutely worth visiting. It’s one of the most popular and best tourist locations for adventure travel. It’s affordable, has a lot of other tourists doing the same stuff you’re doing, so it’s great for meeting people if you’d like. Cusco also has an amazing tourist infrastructure, so everything is super easy and convenient for us here.

Final Thoughts on Staying in Cusco Peru

I genuinely love Cusco and I was really close to extending my time here, even if it cost a little extra. It doesn’t get much better than this for adventure travel, hiking and doing some extreme stuff, while still being in a really safe and developed city. I’ll definitely go back to Cusco and I’ll probably stay in one of the accommodations I talked about on this list again.