7 Tips to Plan a Peru Trip

Peru Travel Tips

Seven Simple Things to Know when Traveling in Peru

1. Confirm: It comes when it comes – or so the saying goes. Confirm and reconfirm everything which means you hotel rooms, transportation, and more.
2. Plan B: Know the time of the next… train, plane or bus… so when they cancel yours, you know exactly what to do next. Confirm your time as well as your flight still exists. I made reservations 3 months early only to find on the day of travel the flight was now 1.5 hours EARLIER! No phone call. No email notification.
3. Taxes: Allow time to pay the airport tax and be extra clear to tell the teller if you are traveling within Peru (domestic) or outside Peru (international). Passing through security late at night we were charged international taxes when we were traveling domestic. Luckily we caught the error.
4. Protests: Latin America is known for protests. Every time I have traveled, there was either an active protest, a protest scheduled in the upcoming days, or protest just finishing. Does it matter if the protest ended yesterday? Yes, because if the local indians pushed rocks down the cliffs onto the road you are on… well, enough said. Expect delays.
5. Black outs: They can and do occur.
6. Floods: They can and do occur.
7. Busses: Overturn off mountain roads! They can and do occur. Just try a Google search for “peru bus crash” or try – tumble, fall, overturn. I even found an article about a book, The Panama Hat Trail telling tourists to check bus tires… I will never forget an early morning raining muddy bus ride in Bolivia where the locals were shouting, “¡Somos Muertos!” as the bus backed up to allow another to pass. Unfortunately there are many sad cases of bus accidents especially in July, 2008 and 2006.

Links That Helped Us Plan Our Trip

• Weather Forcast: Peru Weather forecast by typing in the city
• Machu Picchu:
  • Machu Picchu becomes one of the new 7 wonders of the world
  • Machu Picchu Mountain what to expect on your visit
  • Bridge Beginnind the Inca Trail Amazing photos from Tom Dempsey
  • Andes Running Adventure to Machu Picchu
  • Inca Trail what to expect from Chris Baltazar
  • Chris goes to Peru
  • Peru 2002
• Choquequirao: The other Machu PicchuChoquequirao to Machu Picchu Trek
• Ollantaytambo:
  • Pakaritampu Holel in Ollantaytambo Peru
  • Sacred Valley What to do in the Sacred Valley of Peru
  • Ollantaytambo Photo Tour
  • Sacred Valley Photo Tour
• Ayacucho: Ayacucho Travel Journal