I want to plan a trip to Peru next year, when is a good time to go and other recommendations?

Show all answers

Mrs. Obama rules!

First of all (this is to Munequita) January and Febrauary are rainy months but only in Cuzco!! There is HARDLY rain in Lima, in fact, January and February are the best months to visit Lima as it is sunny, summer, and the city is full of flowers. Book your trip through a travel agency, I would recommend Lima Tours (www.limatours.com.pe) a very well known and professional agency which books tours to and from Peru. As for travel books, well the usual like Fodors, Lonely Planet, etc.
The food is great, you will never taste food so wonderful in your life!
About the timing.... Jan/Feb is great for Lima but lousy for Cuzco. July/Aug is great for Cuzco but really lousy for Lima. So I would say come in either May or October and you will be able to get the best of both cities.

richfel

Hi! First of all, let me tell you have made the right decision as traveling to Peru will be definitely a great experience. Peru is a country where you will find everything, I mean, a great variety of race (people coming from lots of countries such as Spain, Italy, Germany, Japan, China, African counties); several kinds of climate (-5ÂºC - 40ÂºC); several regions (coast, highlands, jungle); many and varied plates (cebiche, papa la huancaina, causa relllena, arroz con pollo); and of course, many wonderful & amazing places to be visited such as Cusco (Machu Picchu & the city), Arequipa (Colca Canyon), Puno (Titicaca Lake), Ica (Nazca Lines & Ballestas Islands), Iquitos (Amazon), Huaraz (adventure sports), Chiclayo (Lord of Sipan), Lima (a mix of antique & modern buildings, museums, churches, Pachacamac).

The best time to go to Peru depends on where you will be staying. The first moths of the year are summer in the coast area (Lima, Ica, and the north area); highlands is in winter during this time of the year.

Finally, I am sure you will enjoy a lot your next trip to Peru, and you will also have the chance to meet friendly & kind people who are ready to help you at anytime.

Good Luck To You!
All The Best
Rick

Globetrotter

I went in their Spring, or end of Summer and early Spring. That was in September (2005). Now, I love cold weather so it suits me just fine. My companions in the group did not like the dampness of Lima. It does seem to feel damp most days we were there.
You are wise in booking a tour. It would save a lot of time and you have a guide to explain things etc. and don't need to know Spanish. Shopping? In Lima, there's a place in Miraflores called Mercado del Indios , artesian (craft) market where you can buy all sorts of things as souvenirs to take home and enjoy. Food? We love the "El Bolivariano" restaurant. Our hosts took us there so I am sorry I don't know the street. But they serve(you can order) a sweet drink called "Chicha Morrava", non-alcoholic drink made from a deep purple corn and cloves, cinammon and orange peel(zest?)
We tried the "Ceviche mixto" there: mixed seafood, raw but marinated in Lemon Juice. I was a little afraid to try but did not want to offend our hosts. But after trying it, it WAS nice!
Enroute to Miraflores, we were taken via the Pacific Ocean and we stopped at a restaurant by the ocean called "Vista Al Mar". We sat at a table on the balcony and had good food and a great ocean view! We love the dessert they call "Tres Leche Keke" (=3 milk cake). This and the Flan I ate in Cusco were my favorite desserts in Peru.
Now, exotic foods that you may/may not want to try (Peruvian) Cuy(=deep fried guinea pigs), and alpaca. I did not try them but my friends did. I enjoyed the roasted leg of lamb, though, and that's NOT exotic! In Lima, I thoroughly enjoyed the Chinese style seafood fried rice. There are many Chinese Restaurants in Lima (wherever you see "Chifa"). But we stayed at the Hotel Melodia and one night I had "Chaufa con mariscos" (=fried rice with seafood). It had shrimp, squid slices and scallops and was delicious!
Since you are taking a tour, don't miss one that will take you from Cusco to the Valle de Sagrado. Cusco itself has lots of interesting places that the local tours would take you to: Like Santo Domingo Convent with a lovely Spanish architecture and it's built over an Inca Temple called Qorikancha. Sacsayhuaman is an interesting place with rows of walls built in a zigzag manner. The stones forming these walls, like all Incas buildings, are hewn to fit each other so perfectly, like a puzzle. No mortar in between! It has stood for centuries!
Along the Valle de Sagrado, you might stop at Ollantaytambo and visit a traditional Inca home. Pisac has a good craft market. We ate at this fabulous restaurant on the Valle de Sagrado route: It's in Urubamba. It's called "Tunupa Restaurant". It had a great view of the mountains, a river Rio Wilcamaya and a large buffet! If you love to eat (like me) you will love this place! What a great variety of food and dessert.
Then of course, you want to see Machu Picchu. A trip to Peru would be incomplete without visiting Machu Picchu!
By train, you may see herds of Llamas and alpacas and lovely mountain scenery. Peru is a good place to buy silver jewelry. We visited a jewelry factory whilst in Cusco called "Arte Peru" . From the brochure I took home, the map showed it is along a street called Portal Confituria. It is a little pricey here but there are other stores everywhere that sell Peruvian jewelry.
If you go to the Lake Titicaca area, be sure to visit Isla Santa Maria Los Uros. These islands are man-made and made of layers upon layers of tortora reeds. The islands are Uros islands but we went to Santa Maria (one of them). The traditional boats and homes on the island are also made of these reeds which grow abundantly on this largest high altitude lake in the world! Half of this Lake belongs to Peru and Bolivia owns the other half. This is worth a visit if you are in that part of Peru.
A word of caution: if you go from a lower altitude town or area to a very high one ( like we flew from Lima to Puno), be sure to take along High altitude sickness prevention medicine. Ask your doctor to prescribe. You must take it as the Pharmacist might advise you, ON THE DAY YOU LEAVE TO GO TO PERU. My travelling companions did not have it and they got sick (nauseous and headache for one and a half days!). One lady took it just before the day we flew to Puno, it was too late.She felt sick too. I took it as advised by the Pharmacist and I was not affected. The locals offer Coca tea which was supposed to help,but it did not help my friends. The hotel staff gave them oxygen to breathe (from a tank). It only helped briefly.
Hope this information helps and I wish y'all a great time.

lokarla

February is a good month.....
About the food, is delicious !!!!!!!!!!!
Yummyyyyy

Marianna G

I'm a travel agent, and soth america expert, I'm from Peru and I can answer all youre questions, send me a mail to southamerica_travel_expert@yahoo.com

Oscar P

Best time to go is December, January,February or March, that's their summer and when you book this package you have to go to Cuzco where the Empire of the Incas is located. I was there back in 1994 and there where lots of Americans visiting. Pictures of this site call Macchu Picchu is always available in the Internet, stunning, you see all kinds of people and cameras taking pictures by the thousands.

weintobago

I went last October and did the G.A.P. adventures 4 day hike to Macchu Picchu. If you do the hike I recommend meeting the group in Cusco instead of Lima and spend a few days getting acclimated to the altitude by walking around beautiful and amazing Cusco at your oun pace. You'll see a statue above Cusco they call white Jesus. It's a great walk up to it (about 600 steps up from town) good exercise, great views and an interesting "off the beaten path" area to explore. The weather was cool because of the altitude, which is fine when you're exerting yourself walking around.

lunitak

Hello I am Latin also I think to travel to peru next year, I have consulted with persons who have travelled to peru, the trip is recommended in March in April because it is sunny is a good climate in January in February there is many rain.

You have to go to machupichu because it is the site(place) mas representatively of peru, also there are beaches.

The food is very rich and I believe that it is something piquant(spicy), with the travel agencies it(he,she) goes out for you mas costly you can do it without agency, there are many hotels where you can remain.

If you can speak Spanish you can look at this site(place) viajeros.com if you need mas report can order me a mail.

travellerlcy

You can try gap adventures or global connections.

http://www.gapadventures.com/
http://www.global-connections.com

If you need help I am a travel agent and certified.
Feel free to email me
travellerlcy@yahoo.com

Try to go to Machu Picchu. I have been to Lima and loved it there. If you go to Lima and want to go out head to larcomar.
Miraflores area is good. I stayed in the financial district when I was there.

I was there in October and it was just starting to warm up. There summer was just starting.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: