A Trip To Peru (WITHOUT Machu Picchu?!): The Logistics
/In my previous post, I shared about a portion of my travels with my sister in Peru: the extraordinary day trip that we got to take through Peru’s Sacred Valley. But when I talk about this trip with people in-person, I get more questions about the more basic aspects of the travels. So here I’ve attempted to compile some answers to the logistics of our overall voyage; hopefully it can help inform your next trip to the area!
Itinerary
So to address the first thing–we had planned to go to Machu Picchu, but because of the sociopolitical status of the moment (re: impeachment, protests, etc.), the site was closed just weeks before our travels. We had our hopes that it would reopen before we reached Peru in late January, but that wasn’t the case, and we had to alter a major part of our itinerary.
But we were still able to hit the main cities that we set out to: first Arequipa (2days, 1night), then Cusco (3days, 4nights), and we finished off with Lima (2days, 2nights).
Plaza de Armas, Cusco
Money
On my travels, I generally like to deal in cash (exception: restaurants, because credit card points~), and when it comes to getting local currency, I personally like to opt for local banks. I had a little cash on hand that I changed from USD to Peruvian Soles at a small money exchange counter in Arequipa; but otherwise I obtained most of my cash by going to a bank and using my debit card to directly withdraw Soles. (Tip: if you go to a teller instead of the bank ATM, you may be able to get around withdrawal limits or extra ATM fees.)
Over my 8-day trip, I probably spent close to $2,000–that includes all flights (1 international round-trip + 3 domestic one-ways), accommodations, food, drinks, souvenirs, and excursions. Do note that this was without a Machu Picchu ascent; had we been able to do that, we probably would have tacked on a few hundred additional to that figure (which would have included accommodations in Aguas Calientes, transit, entry fee, etc.).
Weather
Our trip lasted from the end of January into early February–so it was still Peru’s rainy season, which generally spans from November-March. On the ground in Arequipa and Cusco, this meant overcast with sporadic periods of sunshine here and there. It did rain almost daily, but not in a torrential rainfall kind of way that kept you from wanting to venture outside. It was more just scattered drizzling here and there throughout the day–nothing that a rain jacket/poncho wasn’t sufficient for. As far as temperature goes, both cities were on the more temperate-cooler side. I get cold easily, so I was wearing my small cropped puffer jacket a lot; but for others, short sleeves paired with a light jacket or a long-sleeved sweatshirt would probably have been adequate (especially if the main mode of getting around is walking like ours was).
Lima was at the end of our trip, and considering how the climate in Arequipa and Cusco was, we were met with a bit of shock upon exiting Lima’s airport–because it was HOT. Our couple of days in Lima were mostly clear and sunny, and warm enough to stroll around in shorts or dresses, even in the nighttime.
Transportation
Within Arequipa and Cusco, we predominantly got around on foot, except for our commutes from and to the airport. Both cities have Plaza de Armas, or central squares, which we stayed adjacent to. Around these areas, cars were able to move comfortably throughout the areas; but because they are extremely walk-friendly and somewhat compact, we were able to do all of our near-distance outings via foot.
Lima, on the other hand, is a sprawling city that is easily multiple times bigger than both Arequipa and Cusco put together–so we did utilize taxis a bit more here. There is a bus network, but considering our short stay we instead mostly opted for Uber. Funny enough, while we found Uber to be a reliable means of getting places in our previous two smaller cities, this was not entirely the case in Lima! When trying to go from one district to another, we frequently had Ubers cancel on us. (Note: I don’t know if this was a normal issue, or an issue of the moment. It’s not the first city that I noticed that rideshares wouldn’t want to transverse from one part of a big city to another; but at the same time, I also now wonder if the sociopolitical state played a part, as gas shortages due to road blockages by protesters was becoming an increasing issue at that time.) For exploring Miraflores, the neighborhood where we stayed, getting around on foot was both manageable and pleasant.
Safety
When traveling, safety is always a top priority; and given that we didn’t know what to expect due to the sociopolitical moment, it was an even greater thought going into our trip. It turned out, however, that it was of little consequence. Peruvians are friendly and used to seeing tourists, and at no point did I feel particularly unsafe. This was the case even with the circumstances at the time; while protests were held daily while we were in Cusco, we never felt like it put us as foreigners in harm's way, even when we were out and about while foot protesters passed through the roadways. Of course, I exercised the standard traveler precautions like not flashing money, keeping my valuables close and accounted for at all times, and taking care of walking in unknown areas at night–but this honestly is no different than what I do in my normal day-to-day (especially living in a larger US city🙃).
Tips & Recommendations
Here are some additional insight I can provide based on my time in Peru:
PACK AND USE SUN PROTECTION!! Sunscreen, sunglasses, hats, you name it. Because of Peru’s higher elevation, you’re quite literally closer to the sun than you would be in most other places, so you’ll want to take extra care in this regard. This even applies to places we don’t often consider, like our scalps. (And for my more melanated friends: remember that it’s not just sunburn that you’re defending against! Ultraviolet (UV) rays don’t see skin color, and overexposure to these rays can leave anyone’s skin damaged and prematurely aged.)
We went to Arequipa first, where we spent one night. The city is colorful and picturesque, but on a limited itinerary, I think about 1.5 days/1 night would be enough time to see the major attractions of the area. Don’t forget to stop by Museo del Pisco, an ornate bar where you can enjoy beverages made with pisco, Peru’s national spirit!
If you can: SPEND THE NIGHT IN HUACACHINA! Besides our scrapped Machu Picchu ascent, this was probably the second nice thing that we missed out on. On our day trip from Lima, we opted for the single-day itinerary option over the 2-day option that included an overnight stay in Huacachina, the small oasis city just outside of Ica. I think that maybe we thought that there wouldn’t be much to it; and while it isn’t massive, it’s quite an incredible sight. The juxtaposition of desert dunes next to the greenery-surrounded lagoon is something I’ve never seen anywhere else, so it would have been nice to have more time in the area.
As I said above, Lima covers a lot of area, and more ground = more time needed to cover it. The few days in Lima at the tail end of our trip was not enough to see and explore more than a couple areas of the city, so I’d recommend at least 4 days there, especially if you are considering doing day trips out of the city, as we did for Huacachina.
Dune-buggying in huacachina
