Peru - Money and Costs

Money & Costs

Shoestring travelers watching their centimos - sleeping in dormitory rooms, traveling by cheaper buses, eating set menus - can easily get by on well under US$20 a day, and even under US$15 if frugality is one of their strong points. Visitors who prefer private hot showers, a-la-carte meals in moderately priced restaurants, comfortable buses and occasional flights will find that US$50 a day should meet their needs. As soon as you start looking at top-range restaurants and hotels, you can spend up to several hundred dollars a day, especially if you're doing your trip by organized tour or staying in the main centers of Lima and Cuzco.

You can stretch your travel budget by looking for a traveling partner as double rooms are normally much less expensive than two singles. Many restaurants offer good-value three-course set lunches for US$2 or even less, while eating a la carte will triple your meal cost. Hone your bargaining skills - taxi cabs don't have meters, and drivers routinely overcharge gringos. Hotels often give discounts if you ask for a promotional, student or business rate. Pay with cash rather than credit cards, which frequently attract a surcharge of 6%. Above all, keep your money stashed safely in a money belt and a neck pouch - that economical trip will get expensive fast if you are pickpocketed!

Adventurers on a tight budget will be dismayed at the high costs of hiking the famed Inca Trail to Machu Picchu - unguided trips are now illegal (and this is heavily enforced) and the cheapest four-day trips start around US$200 per person. The alternative train trip isn't cheap either.

HOW MUCH?
Local phone call US$0.15
Short taxi ride (not in Lima) US$1
Pisco sour - the national cocktail US$2.50
Room with bathroom and TV US$20
Flight between most cities US$79
Liter of gas/petrol US$0.80
Liter of bottled water US$0.80
Beer - 650ml Crystal US$2
Souvenir T-shirt US$7
Street treat - 1\4 chicken and fries US$1.80