I am planning to go in March. I have flights and hotels booked, but I too am looking for a local Peruvian guide/transfer company (we don't do group tours). I was just planning on relying on the hotel concierge to assist me with the local guides and transfers but haven't gotten to it yet. We are using this hotel in the Sacred Valley as a home base to explore both the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu and our hotel has a train station stop for the train into Machu Picchu. The Sacred Valley is about 2 hours and couple thousand feet lower then Cusco. We are headed straight (down) there from the airport as soon as we land to acclimate for 3 nights before the Machu Picchu tour day, and taking altitude medication before arrival in Peru. We will do a few nights in Cusco at the end after our bodies are used to the altitude of Sacred Valley. We have already done the Galapogos, and experienced the elevation of Quito so I know what to expect for my body in the Sacred Valley which is at a very similar elevation. Take the altitude medication even though it has some side effects, and don't think that you are going to be able to do too much hiking unless you plan to acclimate for several days prior. If anyone has a local tour company they used in Cusco or Sacred Valley please pass it along.

Went with a tour company, Gate1. Go online and register for their specials then wait till that trip comes up, you can save up to $1,500 total on a good sale. Excellent hotels, excellent guides and air and many meals are included. We loved it. Check with your Dr for high altitude pills and if your heart can handle it.

Trek operator
 

If hiking, ‘Adventure Journeys’. All companies observed on trail looked great. Guide qualification and limits on trekkers per day keep safety standard high. Don’t forget to arrive a few days early to adjust to altitude. Cusco is fascinating.

Book a trip that overnights in the hotel by the park entrance. It will give you much more time actually on site, a lot of it without the crowds of day-trippers.

This is good advice. When we went several years ago, our friend purchased a "Lonely Planet" and designed a 3-1/2-week trip to Peru. We two couples were living on our sailboats which we docked at Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela. This vacation took place during November and into December. Every cost was negotiated in person. For instance, a hotel room started with an asking price, say $30, and was bargained down to an agreeable price, say $20. Such was the room in Aguas Calientes, at the bottom of the mountain at the entrance to Machu Picchu,

Tourists arrive en masse around 11 am to early afternoon. We found it more of a benefit to come back a second day early in the morning before the crowds arrived. Here is a photo taken that morning:

Acetazolamide is what I have used for high altitudes. Check with your doctor.

WebMD... click here.

Arrived there and greeted by strikes which left no access. Ruined vacation. Turns out to be a frequent event. Good luck