We were back at our Cusco hotel about 3pm. We did not go to Red Valley only Rainbow Mountain. Your return time depends on the time you spend on the mountain, plus if you decide to go to Red Valley I would not be confident about catching a flight on the same day. Regarding an airport drop off, I would ask Flashpacker directly.

We used flashpacker connect for rainbow mountain and Sam Peru travels for machu pichu and they did pick us up from our air bnb.

Yes there are horses for rent, however they are allowed to only go so far. The last leg of the trip, the most challenging, is by foot, but well worth it. That why I did not regret the early departure, you want to beat the crowds.

Yes

i suggest co-q10 (cvs), altitude rx (amazon), sorojche pills (cusco pharmacy only), and oxygen shot (cusco pharmacy only) to prevent altitude sickness. just follow what the bottles say. as for the sorojche pills, pharmacist said to take 1 tab every 8 hours and you can take one way before you guys trek up. i would suggest that you guys give a day or 2 before going up to rainbow mountain. if arriving around midnight at cusco, just FYI, they will pick you up at 2am on the dot at your hotel. you guys might be too tired to go up with very little sleep. although, you can rent a horse going up to the mountain from the parking lot. they dont suggest taking the horse going down from the mountain to the parking lot due to accident can happen with horses going up. the horses might get startled and you guys might get thrown out. if you guys are used to the cold, then it shouldnt be a problem. i am from ca and it doesnt really get that cold here, so it was cold for me. also, just remember that machu picchu is at 8k ft above sea level, rainbow mountain is approx 17k ft above sea level. the air is very thin up there. also, if you have an iphone, it will not work so well up there due to being too cold for the operating temp of the phone. gopro worked like a charm even without a case (hero 7 black). dslr works as well. other than that, enjoy cuz the view is amazing.

The driest season in Peru is between May and September, but weather in the Andes can be unpredictable. In the confirmation email sent by the tour company, they said we would receive a full refund on the deposit if they felt the need to cancel.

I hiked, however my wife rode up and down on a horse we rented. I would recommend it.

Not very much at all. 90% of the hike is like walking up a hill, and it is only the last 10% where there is a staircase that is tiring only because there isn’t much air so you will feel more tired than normal for stair climbing. I saw all ages of people attempting it, just go at your own speed and I think most people will be OK.