Need tips for my Peru trip
Posted by Regularredditstuff@reddit | Shoestring | View on Reddit | 10 comments
Will mainly be in Cusco. Want to know how to budget in terms of food, transport. and lodging. Thank you
16Sparkler@reddit
Don't take free Coca leaves.
trikristmas@reddit
Why not? From anyone or specifically some people?
16Sparkler@reddit
There was a bunch of news stories a few years ago about tourists in Peru all getting e-coli despite not coming in to contact with each other or going anywhere in common.
They worked out that the reason it was only tourists and not any locals was because the transmission vector was curtesy bowls of free Coca leaves in the airport or a train stations or something.
Nato7009@reddit
this is honestly just silly pointless advice. You saw one news story from years ago and now thats your tip because you dont really know what your talking about.
If anything survivor ship bias tells us its probably saver to do that now.
16Sparkler@reddit
It was a joke.
travelingperson10@reddit
We just did cusco and machu picchu with intrepid a few months ago. Had a few days extra and booked a group tour with machu picchu reservations, $27 for a group whole day tour and lunch. It met our needs for quick visits, but since you have time, I think you can plan to linger, wish we had more time at certain places. Get the 10 day tourist ticket that covers all the sights.
rubberbandlegs@reddit
If you plan to go the Machu Picchu you need a train ticket also and the bus ticket from Aguas Calientes. You can’t just show up and get a train ticket. We saw many people dismayed that the only other way to get there was to walk.
My_Jaded_Take@reddit
Our family went to Peru about 12 years ago. It was super cheap to fly to Cusco from Lima. We also flew to Puerto Maldonado. At that time, long distance bus trips were not secure. Bandits were known to force buses to stop at night in very remote areas where there was no cell coverage. Force everyone off the bus. Going through everyone's belongings. Rob everything of value. I don't know if that's still going on. Check into it. The sacred valley in the Cusco region was awesome. Try and get a ticket to hike Huayna Piccu while you are inside Machu Pichu. It was a very awesome experience. There wasn't a lot of English spoken in Peru. Brush up on your Spanish. We had a very good cultural experience in Peru. Never to be forgotten.
Jordangander@reddit
Learn the bus schedules for the surrounding areas.
If you are planning Machu Picchu plan well in advance for tickets. While you can get day before tickets these are iffy.
Be willing to move towns, stay based in Cusco is great, but by doing a slow town by town move you can get much closer to different attractions and not eat a lot of time going back and forth if you are using public transport.
People in Cusco are honestly great people. We once left our hotel and took a cab to a park to meet with a tour. I realized I had forgot something back at the hotel, flagged a car down thinking it was an Uber, got a ride to the hotel, driver waited, gave me the ride back to the park, and was just a normal guy on the way to work that morning.
There are two famous Rainbow Mountains, go to the less famous one, cheaper entrance and actually better views in person IMHO, most of the pictures you see of either are filtered.
captain_almonds@reddit
Hostels are pretty cheap, can be done <$15usd/night. If you eat at the local ‘menu’ restaurants, can usually eat for $5 or less. Flights and buses are pretty cheap around Peru. Cusco is the most touristy place in Peru but still, a pretty easy place to hold to a budget.
Tours and treks could throw off your budget if you want to do that hype of thing