My friend and I are traveling to Peru, but we don't speak Spanish. What are some obstacles we might face?

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blitzcrackunders

Really, it depends on where you go. Some hostels will have people who speak english, some will look at you funny. But! At almost all backpacking hostels, there will just be boatloads of people who speak English there. Europeans, Australians, Asians, Americans, whatever. If they're backpacking, and Spanish isn't their native language, they'll almost always speak English. Most of the backpackers from South America speak great English as well. So if you're having trouble communicating with the hostel staff, someone should be able to help you.

But, you can get by with some pretty basic phrases. Get a travel guide like the Lonely Planet. It's great for ideas of where to go and it will give you helpful phrases like, how much does it cost, I need a double-room, I need a room with 2 beds, etc. etc. I wouldn't say you need to learn Spanish, but learn your numbers!!!! Practice, practice, practice those numbers. You don't want to be ripped off just because you didn't know how much something was. Plus get a pocket dictionary for random stuff.

So, go! Have fun! Make friends! It's so easy to find people the hang out with at hostels. If you don't know where to start, I would suggest staying at the Flying Dog in Lima. I'm pretty sure that there's two of them, but I stayed in the one in the Miraflores district, and it was right next to bars, clubs, an arcade, a bunch of fast food places, pretty close to the mall and shopping centers, and even a couple churches. It was great because they have big rooms with tons of beds so you're guaranteed to meet the other people in the hostel (or rooms with 2 beds if you want more privacy.) They also have a common room with a TV and a DVD library for hanging out in, computers with internet connection, and I guess a bar? I don't know, I wasn't there during the weekend. It also includes a free breakfast (but it's a coupon that you redeem at a local restaurant, not in house.) Overall, comfy and sociable.

In Testimony Whereof

you wont have any problems bro, tourism is a huge industry in Peru, and in fact, it is THE industry in places like cuzco. If they can't communicate with you, they cant get your money. So the locals take it upon themselves to learn english for the benefit of their own business. You might run into the occassinal situation where spanish would be helpful, but most of the time, you'll be completely fine only knowing english.

Anakin

Probably in the airport and in the capital you will find ppl who speaks English. But, try to look in Borders, or any book store, this publisher: Schaum's Outlines. The have different kind of books of foreign languages, also those books told you different situation, like in an airport, in a restaurant, etc.

codesonic

I'll be straightforward with you, I own www.karikuy.org, we provide affordable tours of Peru and our profits go to our philanthropic projects.

The Bottom Line.

Lonely Planet Guide - A great book however it is outdated (Jan 2004) all the prices have changed and a quarter of the budget lodgings are no longer available or have changed names and locations. Great for information on archaeological sites and descriptions, but of coarse that is timeless.

As a tourist you will have no problem communicating as you can get along with body language and gestures alone. However if you don't know the price of things you can expect to pay up to double on taxi rides, transport and other services because you are a foreigner and are assumed to be rich.

You are planning a trip in May, cutting it very close as may is already high season for tourism in Peru, if you plan to do the Inca trail forget about making a reservation unless you are willing to put down some serious cash. Or book immediately, and I mean in the next day or two with a tour operator. Hotels are also gonna be close to booked, you should be ok with hostels although they will be very pricey. You MUST already be booking your train to Aguas Clients and Machu Picchu, as they are in demand. Also book your Flights ASAP to save up to $100 on round trip airfares.

Backpacking is always more stressful and can be more costly if you don't know the language. If you can check out my organization or others, tours in Peru are not very expensive unless you book with a Corporate Agency like Enjoy Peru or Peru Tours.

We take good care of you and make your vacation an adventure rather then a stressful time consuming wreck. Take it from me I take long road trips (which you can read about in our blog http://www.karikuy.org/blog ) annually throughout the country, I just got back from one and see how badly tourists get ripped off, especially by cab drivers and other tour operators. Hope I helped some and thanks for listening! We come highly recommended :)

Your chia pet's stalker

Trust me, people will be VERY happy to practice their english with you when they figure out that you don't speak spanish! And as long as you stick to cities and touristy areas there will be people who speak english well. There are also hostels and stuff that are run by Americans and british people who moved there.
Tours will be easy, they're all set up for non-spanish speakers in most cases, and buying tickets might just be a little difficult. None of it will be impossible.

Kevin L

ummmmmmm everything make sure you plan your trip in every detail. do you even know anything about peru. make sure if nothing else you have transportation from the airport to your hotel and make sure you plan everything here especially if you do not know anyone there. good luck i have been alot of times and i know spanish, plan on paying double for everything if not triple. if you need some advice email me.

Donna

You really should learn some basic Spanish phrases. In the tourist-heavy areas, you will find a few people that speak a bit of English, Japanese, German, Chinese and Hindi. But in general, you won't find anything but Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara spoken. But it's the same as travel to anywhere... Be polite, smile, and use a bit of hand signals/mime, such as putting your hand up to your mouth to signal eating etc, you'll be fine.

At the very least, take a phrase book. You will need it to haggle over things such as guide prices, and some shopping.

KTprincess

I'm sure you will find other that speak English. Don't let other people tell you its a mistake. Travelling is a great adventure. Just be safe and smart.

Ashley P

Learn some Spanish before you go. This one American guy I knew there didn't speak much Spanish and he had to go to the immigration center, and you believe it that no one spoke English there. Well, I know that people in the airport speak English and at the more expensive hotels, Most people don't know how to speak English, they might know something. I lived in Lima, but I don't know where you're going. Especially know your numbers! You'll need to bargain with prices. Peruvian food is excellent, so eat a lot while you're there.

memorex

Take it easy. If You don't speak spanish, it's OK, just try to learn the basics like: Cuanto Cuesta? (How much is it?), and numbers so you know exactly the amount of things when have to pay.

You will find a lot of tourists in Cuzco and generally in touristic places like downtown Lima and the Miraflores District where you're bound to stay.

If a peruvian knows a second language, 90% of them would speak english.

In other words: "Start worrying if you only speak Russian or German or French".

Even american currency is widely accepted in Peru.

anaeliau

Try to keep away from those that wants to clean your shoes in the street to get some change..They can't recognise colors and you - like me - may end up walking away with a different color than the original one. Carry your own lagguages from the airport or you may never see them again :)
Practice how to adjust warm water for shower, you will need it :)
When buying the tickets for trips in Peru make sure you ask the guide until where have you have paid the ticket or if it is a return ticket. You - like us - may have the surprise to be charged again in the middle of nowhere, and there is no other choice. When we arrived back and asked the Agency we bought tickets from said we've paid upfront for a return ticket and that we shouldn't have paid extra to the guide. Just be aware..
Have some medication with you, the food may knock you down - like us - for weeks to come.
Be generous buying the souvenirs and things, this is the only way the sellers can survive..there is no industry.
It's a different experience..it's a different world but you will be allowed to see only the nice things.

Richard T

No industry in Peru? . . . . . Man! right now Peru is doing better than other countries that I won't mention. Maids salaries are higher than usual because thay prefer to work at factories or other businesses.

Yeah! bring a lot of pills because in Peru we just have like 10,000 drugs stores in every city and you can even get Delivery! But in first place don't eat or drink juices in places that costs like US $ 2 a complete meal and then regret having a terrible stomach problem you could call it "The vengeance of Atahualpa", it's simply a set of bacteria that we have and you aren't use to, and they are abundant in places with lack of Hygiene. To avoid this simply eat at better places like for US $ 4 a meal, OK? or better still take a good look at the place and compare it to the next best thing.

Buy yourself a Lonely Planet of Peru as your personal Guide and enjoy a good trip.

Oh! One last advice: We have great bus transportation companies like CRUZ DEL SUR, OLTURSA, LINEA, but there's always tourist who want to save money by taking a cheaper company (half price). You could end up dead because those companies have terrible maintenance and exploit their drivers to the point of exhaustion and they may fall asleep in the middle of the road.

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