When you say Peru, you say Machu Picchu, one of the new seven World Wonders. It is one of the many highlights the country has to offer.

Some tips and tricks

• Most places in Peru are located at a high altitude. For most people it takes one or two days to get used to it. Try to drink a lot of coca leaves tea and don’t drink (too much) alcohol the first one or two days. That will help you to acclimatize. 

• If you need cash, and you will, BCP is the only bank that gives you more than 400 Sol (100 euro) and is free of additional fees! At BCP you can withdraw up to 700 Sol (170 euro) at once. You save a lot of money by withdrawing here! 

• Always beware of pickpocketing in the cities! Leave your passport in a locker in your hostel/hotel. Make a copy and put it in your wallet.
  

How to get around

Peru is a big country and has a very good infrastructure. Traveling by bus is the most common way to travel through the country. 

A lot of people use Peru Hop. This is Peru’s number one traveling company covering all the highlights south from Lima. You pay only once and can use their luxury buses to travel from A to B. 

I like to travel more without making any plans, so I didn’t use Peru Hop. I always booked a bus one day in advance on busbud.com using the bus company Cruz Del Sur. They have 3 different kinds of busses, normal to super luxury, called Superciva and are cheap, probably cheaper than using Peru Hop. Cruz Del Sur also has his own terminals, making it very pleasant to travel with. 

Travelling times from Lima to … by bus

• North: Huaraz 8 hours

• East: Cusco 23 hours

• South: Paracas 4 hours, Huacachina 5 hours and Arequipa 18 hours

Traveling times from Lima to … by plane

• East: Cusco 1 hour 25 minutes

• South: Arequipa 1 hour 30 minutes 

I travelled Peru for one month and this was my schedule, going from South to North:

• Arequipa and Colca Canyon: 5 days
  → Bus to Cusco - 11 hours

• Cusco with Machu Picchu, Rainbow Mountain,… : 10 days
  → Bus to Huacachina - 17 hours

• Huacachina 2 days
  → Bus to Paracas - 5 hours

• Paracas: 2 days
  → Bus to Lima - 4 hours

• Lima: 2 days
  → Bus to Huaraz - 8 hours

• Huaraz: 7 days
  → Bus to Lima - 8 Hours

Al busses are between 15 and 40 euro.