I’ve been asked several questions about my trip to Perú, and I thought a blog post would be the best way to answer those questions properly. Perú has been on my bucket list for years and this trip lived up to my expectations and then some. This trip allowed me to accomplish three things from my 30 before 30 bucket list which I posted in the heights of the pandemic. My 5-day trip to Perú was supposed to be 6 days, but a strike by the Jamaican air traffic controllers robbed me a day of my trip and I’m still a bit salty. Anyway, here’s what I did during my short trip and what things costed. Next South American stop: the Galapagos Islands, I hope!
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My 5 Day Itinerary in Perú
- Day 1: Flight from Lima to Cusco. Exploring some sights in the city of Cusco (Plaza de Armas, some churches, Sacsayhuaman, Qenqo)
- Day 2: Train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes (also called Machu Picchu Town). I explored the small town, went to Baños Termales (hot spring) and its waterfall
- Day 3: Machu Picchu, Huayna Picchu
- Day 4: Full day of traveling. Train from Aguas Calientes to Cusco, flight from Cusco to Lima.
- Day 5: Exploring Larcomar, Miraflores and the art district of Barranco in Lima.
This is a simplified version of my itinerary, of course. I arrived in the country at 10:38pm on a Friday, and left on Thursday of the following week at 3:00am so technically I was there for a bit over 5 days. However, those extra hours were just spent waiting around at the airport so they don’t count in my book. Also, please note that my trip was in May 2022 which falls within the start of peak season.
Here’s more information on when is the best time to visit Peru.
My Perú Budget
This poster summarizes all the costs of my trip. The only expenses I left out were the money Sky Airline STOLE from me after they changed my flight to 7+ hours earlier a few days before my trip, promised me a refund then left my application unanswered for over a month! If anyone has any suggestions on how I can get my refund from these scammers, I’d love to hear it! (AUGUST UPDATE: Finally got the refund!) All I’ve done so far was resort to tagging them in a series of vents on Instagram, and I’ve left negative reviews detailing how I got scammed on TripAdvisor and Skytrax (an airline review website). All this is really to save other travelers from making the mistake I did. We have a saying in Jamaica: anything cheap nuh good, and I’ve proven it here. Their last minute flight change left me scrambling to book a new ticket with LATAM airline, so of course that ticket turned out very expensive (US$217). I then had to fork out another US$140 on an even more last minute flight change after the Jamaican airline workers went on strike, so I spent an extra US$266 not included in this graphic because my misfortune is an exception and not the rule.
Another thing to note is that I didn’t travel alone. Therefore, while I listed the full cost of my accommodation in that graphic, I spent half that figure on my stay. Accommodation and food can be very affordable in Peru once you go to 3-star hotels and B&Bs, and don’t dine at high end restaurants. Therefore, I’m sure I could’ve spent an extra week in Peru for under US$300. You just have to know what your priorities are. I didn’t travel for the hotel; I traveled for the attractions. Therefore, all I needed was a clean comfortable room to sleep in, place to shower and breakfast. The money I saved on food and hotel costs was put towards other things like transport and entry tickets, which made the trip more economical.
Something to bear in mind: Peru has a tourism-dependent economy so the country is designed to get as much money from tourists as possible (not unlike my own country Jamaica). Therefore, entry tickets for foreigners cost twice as much than for locals. Purchasing a bus or entry ticket to touristy places like Machu Picchu requires showing your passport, so don’t even think you can get away with pretending to be local. What you can save on hotel and food costs will be quickly gobbled up by ticket prices to attractions so spend wisely.
Lastly, be sure to haggle well. The street vendors are very aggressive and will price up goods for unsuspecting tourists, so research or ask at the hotel what things should cost. Try not to pay too much extra for stuff if you’re on a budget. Most restaurants have a server or stand bearing their menu at the door, so look through their prices before getting seated. If prices aren’t favorable, walk away. There’s no shortage of restaurants from which to choose.
Wrap Up
Do you have any additional questions about traveling to Peru that I didn’t answer? Ask away in the comments. 😀 Recap my first Peru post here, and look out for the rest of the series. Like, share + pin this post and subscribe to ensure you don’t miss new adventures.
Take care! ‘Til next time.
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Adventures from Elle 
wow you certainly kept your costs right down there! I can’t remember what I was paying in Peru for a night’s accommodation but if you spent $70 in total per person then you probably… stayed in the same sort of places I stayed. Didnt you stay in a really nice place in Cusco??? At an average of $28 per night per twin/double room you have done really well. The only thing you can do to get your money back from an airline in these circumstances is to hound them over and over again until you get your money back. That means phone calls mostly, although these days airlines deliberately make it next to impossible to get through. If you do get through, dont take no for an answer, dont end the call until they confirm they have sent your money, even if its going to be a few weeks etc until it gets into your account. im sure you CAN get it back, but unless you jump through all their hoops they will make it so hard that you will give up and they get money for no service provided. this airline is not the only one. It’s not until you get both serious and angry that you get anywhere sadly.
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Thanks Andy! My place in Cusco was quite a steal I’d think. I spent $40US pn ($20 each since we split accommodation costs between us) but then we only spent one night there due to having one day less in Cusco than planned. It’s been so difficult getting through to Sky Airline and sadly international calling rates are so expensive from Jamaica. I’m afraid I may have to write off the money, but I learnt a valuable lesson from this experience. Thanks for stopping by as usual, Andy 🙂
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Thank you for sharing!
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Thank you too for reading! Hope it can be useful one day 🙂
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Budgeting for travel almost never goes as planned. There’s always something that comes up. It’s interesting to hear about how certain places mark up prices for tourists. I noticed in London and San Francisco after living in the suburbs with both is don’t even buy standard things in the middle of the city. All the prices are jacked up! Fortunately, I haven’t seen the same thing in Calgary. I haven’t experienced anything like what you said in Peru, but it’s really good to know!
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Can’t believe I didn’t reply! Price mark up for tourists is such an annoyance, but in a way.. I understand why it’s done. Sometimes the locals just assume if you can afford to travel, you’re better off than they are. And they aren’t always wrong. Thanks for reading and commenting 🙂 It always means a lot
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You’re welcome. I know I haven’t been as active lately. I’m moving back to California and there’s a lot going on.
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I remember you mentioned the move once. Best wishes, dear. I hope life gives you a break soon
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Thank you. I’ll be back to reading your posts soon. Don’t have much time for WordPress, but I really miss your posts!
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Aww that means a lot. I look forward to seeing you ❤️
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That price! 😳 Thank you for sharing this breakdown. It’s very encouraging, especially given all you were able to do!
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You’re most welcome! It’s definitely not a very expensive trip when compared to the costs involved to reach some of the other wonders of the world. Thanks for stopping by
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Definitely on my list!!
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Awesome! You’re gonna love Peru 🙂 thanks for stopping by!
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Thank you for this breakdown Rochelle. As a visual learner, seeing the figures makes a similar trip that much more realistic!
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You’re most welcome! I’m glad it was useful 🤗
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I followed your Peru adventures on IG, but I had no idea you were only in the country for 5 days; I thought you were there longer! Any case, what a whirlwind of a time you spent, but a very fulfilling one, as I’m glad you got to live out one of your bucket list destinations. I remember having to haggle for souvenirs in Aguas Calientes, but was so horrible at it that my dad (an experienced haggler) had to do it for me! Got to get better at the game, haha. Any case, I’m so glad you got to visit Peru despite the conveniences at the start, and I hope you continue to travel internationally in due course!
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Thank you so much! It truly feels like much longer because I packed as much in as I could. No wonder I was so tired when I got back, ha. That’s why I left 2 extra days of vacation at the end so I could sleep properly. Now, re the haggling– Jamaican vendors are just as forceful so it’s how I grew up shopping 😅 it can be a lot though at times. That’s why I avoid the market and just get my produce at the supermarkets. Haggling is a useful skill to have though. It comes in very handy so keep practicing. 🙂 Cheers to more international adventures for us both! Thanks for reading
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Wow that price is excellent, guess that takes a whole lot of self discipline 😮.
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It didn’t even feel like I was sacrificing haha. Prices for flights, accommodation and food in Central and South America are generally very good compared with other parts of the world from Jamaica 🙂 Mexico would’ve worked out much cheaper than this trip but we ended up going with Peru.
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