Traveling to Peru and need some trip advice?

Question

1. How much spending money should I take?

2. Are travelers cheques easily accepted?

3. Will be going during their winter (July-August), type of clothing to take?

4. Safest way to travel within the cities? Ex: taxis, buses, etc.

Any other advice and help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Answer 1

1.- this depends on what kind of traveller you are ( back-packer, business, high class tourist) also depends on the city you are visiting.  a regular 3 stars hotel could cost between 80 and 120 dollars, five stars hotels can cost as much as 500 dollars a night.  the food is very good and regularly expensive, also depends on the kind of place you will go out to eat, a 3 course meal at a very good restaurant can cost 40 dollars per person, but also you can eat for 5 dollars at a low budget place or buying food at the market.

2. Travellers checks are accepted in the mayor cities like Lima, Cuzco, Arequipa.

3. this winter in Lima is very cold ( but not lower than 12 Celsius) is very humid ans misty, i recommend jeans, woollen clothes, jackets and coats.  Cuzco is much colder (-6 Celsius ) but really sunny un this time of the year, so you will have to wear t-shirts and shorts if you are hiking or walking during the day, but change clothes at night.

4. public transportation in Lima is chaotic, buses are not safe and there is no fixed schedules,  taxis are really dangerous unless you take the ones from the hotel.  always call a taxi company, never take one from the street.

5. Peru is great and has lots of things to do and see, depends on the lenght of your trip.  

6. the north of Peru has amazing beaches and its summer all year round.

Answer 2

1. yeah, that depends.  peru has a lot of cool little knick-knacks to buy, but it shouldn't be that much.

2. NO IDEA SORRY!

3.  it is kinda cold during july-august.  it is overcast and rainy, about 60 degrees F.  bring pants jacket etc.

4.  probably taxis, but im not sure.  i took a private charter bus.

Answer 3

I think 1 and 2 are already answered pretty well, and I agree - no travelers checks. :)

3)  The person that said shorts is daft.  It's cold, even though the thermometer doesn't seem like it.  The humidity, plus the fact that VERY few places are heated means the cool creeps into you and there's no place to go to warm up.  I wear jeans, thermal socks and a jacket inside my house, not to mention gloves and a scarf when I go outside.  

4) If you're traveling alone, I wouldn't recommend buses or taxis on the street unless you feel very sure of yourself and your destination.   Best bet, as some have mentioned - have your hotel call for a taxi.  Taxis from the airport are generally safe, but don't go outside the airport looking for a bus or taxi.

Have a great trip. :)

Answer 4

It depends where you are going, but don't listen to people who say it won't be cold! I was in Colca Canyon, Arequipa and Cuzco in March and it got really cold at times, ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT! If you are going anywhere at altitude it will probably be quite cold. I had long thermal pants and top, and I wore a scarf a lot of the time. I imagine July-August will be even colder. Plus I hear Lima gets quite misty and miserable in winter. I would take jeans, boots, jerseys, and a jacket. I found it quite hard to find decent clothes. But hats, gloves, socks etc made from Alpaca were easy to find, but not necessarily suitable for all occasions!

Around smaller cities we walked a lot of the time (but we were in a group of 4, with 2 big guys), and also got taxis. We didn't have any problems with taxis. But ask at your hotel and they can let you know if they have had any problems, coz i hear they are quite common. Taxis normally charged by person, but they were quite cheap, only a couple of dollars or less.

Food at a nice resturant was normally less than the equivalent of $5-10US for a meal, some places even cheaper.

As for using ATMs instead of travelers cheques, I think this would be a good idea. However, we had some problems, with our banks at home trying to cancel our cards etc. So it is probably a good idea to let them know where you are planning to travel to!

Have a great trip!

Answer 5

1. Peru is generally cheap. The price of a meal at an average rated restaurant for one person is $20, a six pack of the best national beer, cuzqueña, is $6. Nice proper gifts for all your family won't cost more than $150. Parks and museums aren't expensive ($1 to $5) and theatre shows are $15 - 25. A night in a club plus alcohol and a safe cab to the hotel is $18 (many clubs cost $12 to enter and have an open bar), a cab for a 15 minute ride is $4 and the average ride is $4 too.

If you're going for 2 weeks and want to include food, shopping and entertainment take $300 and you'll have to spare.

2. At some places but many restaurants and shopping you will do will be from creative craftsmen who do not have resources to accept them. Don't recommend you buy travelers cheques. Just carry very few cash with you and withdraw from you bank if they don't charge. (In the UK Nationwide's Flex Account is the best).

3. It doesn't rain in Lima so don't worry about umbrellas. Temperatures there are the coldest of the year and Lima is 98% humid. So wrap up warm. Temperatures 13 - 16 celsius (57 - 60 F). Other parts of the country can be colder and wetter. Type of clothing depends on what weather conditions you're used to.

4. Within cities... up to 2-6hrs id recommed a coach, but don't try and save money there, use the best ones. For more info visit http://bruceperu.org/bus/ If it's longer hours, fly. Example, between lima and cuzco... fly! Use AeroCondor (coz my dad's a pilot for them!) http://www.aerocondor.com.pe/new/z_defau... all this is unless you're travelling in a group with lots of expertise and are doing a road trip which I totally recommend as the views are amazing. Peru has 3 regions, the coast, the highlands and jungle so there's LOADS to see and it's all very different.

As in any other country, be AWARE. I've never been pickpocketed but that's only because I look out. And don't be afraid to ask. Many peruvians speak english and they are very very friendly and happy to answer questions.

If you have a big budget I recommend you visit some travel agencies and get a package sorted to visit the jungle and the inca trail. They take care of everything for you and usually can place you in family run hotels with extremely helpful and friendly hosts.

If you have any specific questions or want more help feel free to email me from my profile! I can always ask my mum who's got so many contacts coz all my family around the world visits Peru all the time. :) Good luck!

PS It DOES snow in some parts of Peru, just not in Lima. Definitely NOT SHORTS IN AUGUST!!! its's cold!

Answer 6

600

no

a sweater for Lima will be OK and a jacket will be OK FOR Cuzco.

In the city its bette to take taxis, but if you can call an agency instead of just taking one on the street i t will be better

Answer 7

You don't need that much money in Peru.  You can easily live of $20 a day, but it all depends on your preferences and travel style and how much shopping/partying/activities you want to do.  Travelers cheques are accepted in touristy places, but realistically atms are available everywhere so there is really no need to bother about travelers cheques.  You will need clothes for both cool and hot climates, I wouldn't wear shorts around Lima if I were you because locals just don't wear them and if you're a girl believe me it really does attract extra attention from the men.  In Cusco or anywhere in the mountains it will get really cold!  But chances are you'll end up buying a whole bunch of woolly hats and jumpers so don't bring too much stuff.  Buses within in cities are really cheap and a bit of an adventure, you pretty much just flag down a bus/cramped van that has a sign on the front of where you want to go.  I say go for it because it is an experience in itself, just watch your bag.  Taxis are fine too, just make sure you get one that is registered, and bargain hard with the fare because they will try and rip you off.  There are stories floating round Peru about dodgy taxi robberies etc, but I nor anyone I ever met had experiences of this firsthand, but it still doesn't hurt to be careful, try and stay in a group when you are catching taxis at night.

Answer 8

Your first question completely depends. If all hotel reservations are  payed for and taken care of, and tickets purchased, i'd bring about 1000 soles (400 dollars) for a week. Chances are you won't spend that much, but good to be safe. I don't know about travelers cheques, but there are ATMs everywhere! If you need to withdraw money, you'll have no trouble. If you're going to lima, i'd wear shorts, and keep in mind it never snows in peru. If you're going to Machu Picchu or Cuzco, i'd bring long pants and shorts. I would recommend traveling in buses, as they have AC and aren't too much money. hope this helped :)