A Travel Price Comparison for Families, Couples, and Backpackers Hamburg vs. Cusco for Vacations, Tours, and Honeymoons

Should you visit Hamburg or Cusco?

Which is cheaper to visit? Which is more expensive for vacation?

Which city is more affordable and which is best for your travel style? If you're trying to figure out where to go next, comparing the travel costs between Hamburg and Cusco can help you decide which place is right for you.

Where Should I go: Hamburg or Cusco?

Hamburg

Hamburg is most noted for its port, which is the largest in Germany and the second busiest in Europe. Despite it's size, it is actually located about 100 kilometers from the North Sea on the River Elbe. The popularity of this port has given Hamburg the nickname as Germany's Gateway to the World. The city itself is the second largest in Germany and the metropolitan area has a population of over 4 million people.

Cusco

Cusco is most famous as the historic capital of the Inca Empire. It is in the southern Sierras and is one of the most popular travel destinations within Peru. The city is located at 3,400 meters above sea level so it is best to acclimate yourself slowly to avoid altitude sickness.

Cusco is the starting point for many travelers making their way to the famed Machu Picchu or other Inca sites in the surrounding area.

The city is very beautiful and has impressive architecture throughout. The history is obvious as you walk around town and there are impressive ruins nearby, with the most impressive being Sacsayhuaman. The city also has a significant indigenous population that is obvious from their traditional clothing and style.

Cusco has a subtropical highland climate with a pleasant daytime temperature year around. There are two distinct seasons with the dry season being between May and August and the wet season between December and March. During the dry season there is plenty of sun with occasional nighttime freezes. Frost is less common in the wet season.

For some great organized tour ideas, see The Best 10-Day Tours from Berlin, The Best 2-Week Tours from Berlin, The Best One-Week (7-Day) Tours from Cusco, and The Best 3-Day Tours from Cusco.


Which place is cheaper, Cusco or Hamburg?

These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations. These travel costs come from the actual spending of real travelers.

The average daily cost (per person) in Hamburg is €142, while the average daily cost in Cusco is €56. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each destination. What follows is a categorical breakdown of travel costs for Hamburg and Cusco in more detail.



Accommodation
  • Accommodation Hotel or hostel for one person
    Hamburg 54
    Cusco 21
  • Accommodation Typical double-occupancy room
    Hamburg 108
    Cusco 42
Compare Hotels in Hamburg and Cusco

Looking for a hotel in Hamburg or Cusco? Prices vary by location, date, season, and the level of luxury. See below for options and compare which is best for your budget and travel style.

Hotels in Hamburg


Hotels in Cusco


Kayak helps you find the best prices for hotels, flights, and rental cars for destinations around the world. Compare prices for multiple destinations when planning your next trip.


Our Analysis
We've analyzed the average and typical hotel prices based on guest reviews, star ratings, and hotel amenities here: Hamburg Hotel Prices and Cusco Hotel Prices.

Local Transportation
  • Local Transportation Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.
    Hamburg 29
    Cusco 9.35
Typical Local Transportation Prices in Hamburg

Here are some examples of typical transportation prices from actual travelers in Hamburg:


  • Short Distance Ubahn Ticket
    1.70

Hired Cars and Shuttles in Hamburg

Some specific examples of transportation prices in Hamburg:

  • Arrival Private Transfers from Hamburg Airport XFW to Hamburg City: $82
  • Hamburg Airport Transfers : Hamburg Airport XFW to Hamburg in Business Car: $82
  • Departure Private Transfers from Hamburg City to Hamburg Airport XFW: $82
  • Arrival Private Transfers from Hamburg Airport XFW to Hamburg City: $98
  • Arrival Transfer: Airport HAM to Hamburg by Business Car: $99
  • Departure Transfer: Hamburg to Airport HAM by Business Car: $99
  • Airport Transfer: Hamburg to Hamburg Airport HAM by Business Car: $102
  • Airport Transfer: Hamburg Airport HAM to Hamburg by Business Car: $104
  • Arrival Transfer: Hamburg Airport HAM to Hamburg by Luxury Van: $110
  • Departure Transfer: Hamburg to Hamburg Airport HAM by Luxury Van: $110
  • Airport Transfer: Hamburg to Hamburg Airport HAM by Luxury Van: $110
  • Private Transfer from Hamburg Cruise Port to Hamburg City Hotels: $119

Typical Local Transportation Prices in Cusco

Below are a few samples from actual travelers for transportation costs in Cusco:


  • Taxi Ride
    1.01

Hired Cars and Shuttles in Cusco

Some specific examples of transportation prices in Cusco:

  • Airport Transfer (Private Service): $25
  • Airport Transfer from Juliaca to Puno: $59
  • Cusco Airport Arrival or Departure Transfer: $19
  • Cusco Airport Departure Transfer: $15
  • Cusco Airport Pick-Up (Private Transfer to your Cusco Hotel).: $23
  • Cusco Airport Pickup and Private Transfer: $15
  • Cusco Airport Shared Arrival Transfer: $9.50
  • Cusco Airport Transfer: Private Taxi, Van & SUV: $24
  • Cusco Airport to hotel Transfer: Fast, Reliable Drop-Off: $12
  • Cusco Private Airport Transfer Arrival Departure or Round Trip: $15
  • Cusco to Puno Direct Bus Transfer: $37
  • Alpaca and Llama Farm Tour with Transfer & Weaving Demo: $34

Is it cheaper to fly into Hamburg or Cusco?

Prices for flights to both Cusco and Hamburg change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.





Food
  • Food Meals for one day
    Hamburg 60
    Cusco 21
Typical Food Prices in Hamburg

Below are a few samples from actual travelers for food and meal costs in Hamburg:


  • Pink Thai Soup Dinner and Spring Rolls
    15
  • Currywurst and Pommes Frites
    5.00
  • Donner Kebab and Coke
    6.00
  • Traditional Hamburg Dinner w/ Beer
    15
  • Donner Kebab Lunch
    4.00
  • Sandwich and Coffee Break
    6.00
  • Fish Sandwich from Fish Market
    3.50
  • Coffee and Donut
    4.00

Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Hamburg

Also, here are some specific examples of food and dining related activities in Hamburg.

  • St George's Culinary Food Tour: $57
  • St. Pauli kulinarisch – Die Food Tour: $57
  • Elbphilharmonie Plaza and HafenCity Food Tour: $63
  • Elbphilharmonie Plaza and HafenCity Food Tour: $63
  • Elphi Plaza und HafenCity kulinarisch – Die Food Tour: $69
  • Hamburg Walking Food Tour with 7 Authentic Local Dishes: $113
  • Hamburg Traditional Food Tour: Full Meal and Drinks: $127
  • Hamburg Food Tour with Full Meal & Drinks by Do Eat Better: $127
  • St. Pauli: Guided Food Tour with 5 Tastings: $524
  • The Wilhelmsburg Food Tour: $524

Typical Food Prices in Cusco

Some typical examples of dining costs in Cusco are as follows:


  • Sandwich
    2.02
  • Mango
    0.50

Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Cusco

Also, here are some specific examples of food and dining related activities in Cusco.

  • Short Peruvian Cooking Class by Pete: $30
  • Bilingual Cooking Class with Pisco Cocktail in Cusco: $40
  • Market-to-Table Peruvian Cooking Class and Cocktail in Cusco: $52
  • Cusco Cooking Class by ChocoMuseo in Cusco: $54
  • Cusco Cooking Class Adventure: $55
  • Cooking Class in Sacred Valley 8 Recipes and Drinks: $55
  • Traditional Peruvian Cooking Class and Market Tour in Cusco: $57
  • Short Immersion Cooking Class: $60
  • Cusco Food Tour: Andean Cuisine & City Tour: $63
  • Peruvian Cooking Class Cocktails and Market Tour in Cusco: $65
  • Cusco Cooking Classes and San Pedro Market Tour: $65
  • Cusco Street Food Tour and Pisco Tasting Experience: $69

Entertainment
  • Entertainment Entrance tickets, shows, etc.
    Hamburg 39
    Cusco 27
Typical Entertainment Prices in Hamburg

Here are a few typical costs in Hamburg for activities, ticket prices, and tours that come from previous visitors:


  • Tower at St. Michael's Church
    3.50

Tours and Activities in Hamburg

Here are a few actual costs in Hamburg for available activities, ticket prices, and tours:

  • Free tour: Centro Histórico. Tú decides el precio al final: $1.16
  • Hamburg Relax Lounge – Private Massage Experience by NAIPO: $1.18
  • Free Tour: Port, Red Light District and Beatles. You decide how much to pay at the end: $1.45
  • City tour through Hamburg St. Georg – dreams, diversity, and tolerance: $2.33
  • Guided tour of Hamburg's Neustadt - ramparts, Gängeviertel & Neustädter: $2.33
  • Guided tour of Hamburg's UNESCO World Heritage Site - Warehouses & Cathedrals of Commerce: $2.33
  • Guided tour of Hamburg's Speicherstadt - warehouse, free port & duty-free: $2.33
  • Free Tour: History of the Port, Red Light District and the Beatles: $3.49
  • The Local Tour of Hamburg Historic Centre: $3.49
  • Historic Free Tour of Hamburg Old Warehouse District: $3.49
  • Freewalking Tour Hamburg St.Georg Dreams, diversity and tolerance: $3.49
  • Hamburg Scavenger Hunt and Sights Self-Guided Tour: $6.34

Typical Entertainment Prices in Cusco

Some typical examples of activities, tours, and entrance ticket prices in Cusco are as follows:


  • Salsa Class
    2.52

Tours and Activities in Cusco

Some specific costs of activities, tours, and entrance tickets for Cusco are as follows:

  • Half Day Walking Tour of Cusco: $5.00
  • Free Walking tour in Cusco: $5.00
  • Half Day City Tour in Cusco: $9.60
  • City Tour - Cusco: $10
  • Cusco Walking tour and Koricancha Temple of the inkas tour: $10
  • City Tour - Lugares destacado en Cusco + Experiencia Fotográfica: $12
  • Half-Day Cusco City Tour – Explore History, Culture & Inca Ruins: $12
  • City Tour Cusco: $12
  • City Tour in Cusco with visit South American camelids: $12
  • Tour Valle Sur Typon, Pikillacta and Andahuaylillas: $13
  • City tour in Cusco.: $14
  • Half-Day City Tour with Sacsayhuaman and Qenqo: $15

Alcohol
  • Alcohol Drinks for one day
    Hamburg 17
    Cusco 8.88

Sample the Local Flavors in Hamburg

Here are a few nightlife and alcohol tours and activities from local tour providers in Hamburg:

  • Original Hamburg Pub Crawl Sex & Crime St. Pauli Tour: $21
  • The Original Hamburg Pub Crawl Sex & Crime St. Pauli Tour: $23
  • Pub Crawl Hamburg - Ladies Night: $29
  • Pub Crawl - Drink & Dare: $29
  • Night Pub Crawl through the Reeperbahn: $29
  • Reeperbahn Pub Crawl with Shots and Games: $35
  • Hamburg Pub Crawl with Free Welcome Drinks and Club Entry: $35
  • Private Pub Crawl in Hamburg with The Crawl Co: $35
  • Hamburg Private Pub Crawl Nightlife Experience with Local Guide: $35
  • Reeperbahn pub crawl with insider-guide & shots: $335
  • Bachelor party Pub crawl & party for your bachelor party: $419

Sample the Local Flavors in Cusco

Also in Cusco, these are the prices for nightlife and alcohol related activities from various tour providers:

  • Cusco Pub Crawl: Bar Tour, Drinks And Club with no waiting lines: $23


When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Hamburg and Cusco, we can see that Hamburg is more expensive. And not only is Cusco much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. Since Hamburg is in Europe and Cusco is in South America, this is one of the main reasons why the costs are so different, as different regions of the world tend to have overall different travel costs. So, traveling to Cusco would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Cusco and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in Hamburg would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in Hamburg than you might in Cusco.

If you're trying to decide if either of these two destinations are within your price range, also see Is Hamburg Expensive? and Is Cusco Expensive?.


Which is Bigger, Hamburg or Cusco?

Hamburg has a larger population, and is about 6 times larger than the population of Cusco. When comparing the sizes of Hamburg and Cusco, keep in mind that a larger population does not always imply the destination has more attractions or better activities. So, always research the type of place that you want to visit along with the activities and attractions that interest you.