After visiting Mexico, I was quickly back on the road again. I headed down to the beautiful seaside Peruvian capital of Lima to kick off an adventure to visit the highlights of Peru in 3 weeks. Peru is a traveller’s wonderland when it comes to different places to explore, and things to do. The country contains a whopping 28 of the world’s 32 unique climatic ecosystems. From the driest desert in the world, to the Amazon Rainforest, along with cultural treasures such as the Incan ruins at Machu Picchu, Peru pretty much has it all.
Visiting the highlights of Peru in 3 weeks is no small feat – there is a lot to cover in a relatively short period of time. After some research I found that there was this innovative company called Peru Hop which offers a door-to-door, hop-on-hop off bus services all across the country! I started my journey in Lima, then travelled on to Paracas, Huacachina, Nazca, Arequipa, the Colca Canyon, Puno, Lake Titicaca, and Cusco with Peru Hop before doing some independent travel to Machu Picchu and Huaraz for some incredible hiking. Peru Hop made visiting many of the highlights of Peru in three weeks breezy and enjoyable – there would have been no way I would have seen as much as I did without having chosen Peru Hop to get me across the country with the maximum efficiency and comfort.
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Contents:
- Transportation from Lima Airport and in and around Lima
- SIM Card in Peru
- Where to stay in Lima
- Things to do in Lima
- Dining in Lima
- Why Peru Hop?
Transportation from Lima Airport and in and around Lima:
The most inexpensive option to get from Lima airport into the city centre is via shared shuttle. However, as many international flights arrive in Lima very late at night or early in the morning – taxi services may be your only option.
Reasonable flat rate taxi services are available right outside the international arrivals area. Green Taxi was recommended to me. I found their service to be quite good. Prices are clearly printed, and you can pay with a credit card at the taxi booth, and one of their uniformed designated drivers will escort you from the airport to the vehicle – altogether a very pleasant experience. If you’re taking a taxi – it’s best to buy your ticket with the taxi counters before leaving the arrivals area.
If you prefer to arrange your transportation before you arrive, this private transport service is well-reviewed, and a driver will be waiting for you at arrivals with a placard with your name. Pre-arranging transport prior to your arrival may be a good idea if you’re arriving in the middle of the night as the taxi counters may be closed or have limited service if you arrive in the middle of the night. Another option if you arrive in the middle of the night is to stay at the airport hotel – the closet is the Costa del Sol Wyndham Lima Airport Hotel, which is connected to the airport arrivals area via a bridge.
There will be many unauthorized taxi drivers offering rides outside the secured arrivals area – a friend of mine took one of these taxis and the car was stopped by the police for about 20 minutes, and he paid more than double the authorized rate in the end. Uber is also available in Peru. I have never bothered to use Uber from the airport as the arrivals area outside the airport is quite chaotic, but I have used it from downtown Lima to the airport, as well as throughout Lima – and their prices are typically lower than taxis, and service reliable and very convenient. Public transportation is available, but you need to buy a reloadable card for 5 Sols (approx. $1.50USD) and add money to it. If you’re travelling as a group, it might just be easier to use Uber, rides are quite inexpensive, and getting across town typically costs around $5 – $10USD.
SIM Card in Peru:
My quest to visit all the highlights of Peru in 3 weeks would have been more challenging without regular internet access to schedule my Peru Hop pickups to the next city, or book tours. Once in Lima city centre, there are numerous telecom stores and kiosks like Claro where you can buy a prepaid SIM card. Note that you will need your passport with you to obtain a SIM card. I bought a SIM card from PeruSIM at the Tourist Information Centre (see map) just outside of Parque Kennedy in Miraflores. The government-operated centre also has free tourist information, a money exchange counter as well as free WIFI. Activation was a breeze, and they have 5GB, 15GB and 30GB plans for $15USD/$25USD and $40USD respectively. I found the 15GB plan was perfect for my 3 week trip in Peru. You can certainly find cheaper prepaid SIM cards at various kiosks around the city – but be aware, the transaction to activate everything might all be in Spanish. Some people I talked to could never get their SIM cards to work – so it might be worthwhile to pay a little more with PeruSIM
Where to stay in Lima:
I would recommend staying in the Miraflores area of Lima if you want to be near the beaches and nightlife. While one of the priciest areas, it is fantastic for its walking distance access to the beaches (especially if you’re a surfer), and some of the best dining in the world. There are many accommodations options near Parque Kennedy. The Selina Hostel and Co-work Miraflores is an excellent hostel with both dorm and private options as well as beautiful lounge areas.
Just south of Miraflores is the Barranco district of Lima. Barranco is considered Lima’s Bohemian district, with the Bridge of Sighs area being one of the most romantic in the city. The Kokopelli Barranco Hostel is one of the best-reviewed hostels in Lima, and has both private and dorm accommodations in Barranco.
The downtown/historical district is also a good choice – as you are close to many of the cultural points of interest in Lima. The 1900 Hostel downtown is a well-reviewed option in the Downtown/Historical district.
Things to do in Lima:
I had been to Lima in the past on business trips, so I only scheduled one day in Lima, before starting the rest of my Peruvian adventure with Peru Hop. Whether you have a day or longer in Lima, I would recommend starting your trip off with a free walking tour of the city. There are quite a few good free walking tour operators around Lima – they’re a fantastic way to get to know the city, and meet other travelers from around the world. I ended up hanging out with a group of travelers I met on a morning walking tour for the rest of the day and well into the evening.
If you’re a surfer, Lima has some amazing surf right off Makaha beach in Miraflores. Mobile surf-shops (ie: trucks with surfboards stacked on top of them) are parked right off the beach and will rent you surfboards and wetsuits for about $10USD a session.
The pre-Hispanic archeological site of Huaca Pucllana is located right in Miraflores in Lima. Visits are by appointment only on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday – 9:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
If you are particularly adventurous, paragliding is a popular way to get an adrenaline fix in Lima – although sessions only happen if the prevailing wind conditions are suitable.
Dining in Lima:
Lima is home to some of the best restaurants and dining in the world. Restaurants like Maido and Central in Miraflores are both Michellin starred restaurants that regularly rank as a few of the top 50 restaurants in the world. The best part about fine-dining in Lima is that you can get a full Michellin starred meal complete with wine and drinks for under $100USD – a similar meal in most major centers will run you several times that amount. If you’re going to a top-ranked restaurant in Lima – make sure you make a reservation a few weeks – or even a few months ahead – as you may not be able to go to some of these restaurants without a reservation, and the best restaurants do book out well ahead of time.
La Mar (open during the afternoons only) has some of the best cerviche and seafood you’re going to find in the city – you typically can get by without a reservation here, but it’s not a bad idea to call ahead.
Why Peru Hop?
Peru Hop is a great way for travelers to follow a variety of Peruvian itineraries and limit the amount of transition time between cities.
The gist of the service is that you can buy a bus tour package of different locations you want to visit, and schedule when you would like the bus to pick you up at each destination – with changes available up to 12 hours prior to departure via their web-booking system. The buses will pick you up directly from your hostel/hotel and drop you off at your hostel/hotel at your next destination – saving you the guesswork of working out the logistics and bus timetables for different bus services in Peru and most importantly time and money from having to get to and from the bus station at each of your destinations.
I picked the “Full South to Cusco” itinerary which features stops in Lima, Paracas, Huacachina, Nazca, Arequipa (Colca Canyon), Puno (Lake Titicaca), and Cusco (Macchu Picchu, Rainbow Mountain). This trip, with door-to-door service and the flexibility to choose when, and how long I stayed in each city cost $219USD (Spring 2022 prices). Certainly, it would have been cheaper to just book local buses on my own, but the fact that I get picked up from my accommodations in one city and dropped off at my accommodations at the next destination saves me a travel day with each destination transition.
There are many other itineraries to choose from, including the “Lima to Cusco to La Paz” itinerary – which takes you to the entire “Full South to Cusco” itinerary I did plus Copacabana and La Paz in Bolivia. You can see all their different hop-on-hop off itineraries on their website. Regardless of the itinerary you choose, you have a year to get to all the stops on the pass – so you can stretch out the trip and the different stops to your own liking.
As an added bonus, Peru Hop also offers a variety of free activities along the way as a lovely added bonus. Each Peru Hop bus transfer comes with its own fully-bilingual, English-speaking guide who will make sure you are picked up and answer your questions along the way.
For anyone considering high-altitude hikes in Peru; I would say the Full South Itinerary offered excellent gradual acclimatisation as you start off at sea-level in Lima, and gradually work your way up to 3000m+ elevation in Arequipa, where you can test your trekking abilities at the 2000-3000m level with the Colca Canyon trek, and then work your way to 3000 – 4000m in Lake Titicaca, and then eventually to Cusco, where you can attempt higher altitude treks like Salkantay (4600m), and Rainbow Mountain (5000m). If you live at sea level – you might want to consider whether it’s a good idea to fly directly in to Cusco (3399m) to climb Machu Picchu if you have never hiked at altitude before.
In the next few posts, I will be documenting the different stops I did with Peru Hop all the way to Cusco, as well as the independent travel that I did in the country after my last stop with Peru Hop. I will also be documenting the overall costs of the trip of how much it costs to visit the highlights of Peru in 3 weeks in a wrap-up post at the end of this Peru series of blog posts.
