What is the price of a hotel in Cusco?

Cusco has hostels and hotels in all price categories and all qualities. If you are on a tiny budget, you can definitely get something cheap and hopefully not too nasty. ($ 3 per bed per night, probably with cold water). If you have some more money to spend, there are really beautiful places where you can spend a few lovely days in Cusco for between $ 25 - $ 120 per double room average. For those who want to make the most out of their stay in Peru : there are impressive 5 star hotels that charge between $ 200 - $ 350 per single room.

Do I need to book a hotel before getting to Cusco?

We will definitely recommend you to book a hotel before arriving, if we are talking about June and July. During the rest of the year, you can take the risk of arriving and doing some “shopping” before taking your decision, if you think you can get a better deal this way (only for the lower priced hotels). However, this is not always true. Sometimes the best deals are offered on the internet or through agencies and not when you are standing in front of the person, tired, after a long trip and your suitcase on the street. If you are booking a three star hotel, we do recommend you to book in advance.

If you doubt, what you can do is book a hotel for the first one or two days, and have a look around before extending your stay at that place (or not). Please note that booking can be made only in hotels with at least two stars. The backpacker hang-outs normally do not take any bookings.