The Quick No Bullshit Travel Guide to Lima, Peru
The gringos guide to one of the biggest cities in South America
I compiled this quick guide for those that are trying to have an easy and enjoyable experience in the city. Whether you’re here for a connection to Machu Picchu or if it’s a city you want to spend more time in, this article will provide some value to you either way.
This article is a compilation of my research and my recommendations to the traveler:
Where you should stay: Anywhere in the Miraflores District
My first impression of Lima when I left the airport was that the city was a little more impoverished than other big cities. However, about a 40 minute drive south of the airport is an area called Miraflores that is actually really nice (and also pretty affordable for a hotel). You can find nice hotels for around $50 USD a night that include breakfast and even airport transfer.
Miraflores is a good place to start your trip because there are several nice restaurants in the area and is walking distance to the beach. There’s also a tourist center close by where you can exchange currency, book tours, ask questions in English, buy stuff from the gift shop, use free Wifi, purchase a SIM card, etc. The tourist center is located here and in my opinion, booking a hotel nearby would put you at a big advantage. There are also plenty of bars and nightlife around Parque John F Kennedy which is walking distance.
During my visit, I stayed at the Hotel Estelares Miraflores which had a coffee shop in the lobby and a nice restaurant on the top floor. I also heard San Isidro is a decent place to stay as well, but I didn’t spend much time here so I can’t comment.
Airport Transfer: Use QuickLlama or Uber
I’ve tried both options and both worked very well for me.
I used Quickllama the most because they only charge 20 soles ($5 USD) to take you from the airport to Miraflores OR the other way around. They accept both cash or card for transactions and can even pick you up from your hotel. All you need to do is fill out this quick form online and they will message you the details via Whatsapp and tell you exactly where to meet (details will be in Spanish btw).
They also operate as early as 4:20AM and as late as 11:10PM. The full time timetable is below. One thing I will note is that when I booked an early time at 4:20AM, the driver was roughly 10 minutes late, so just be aware of this when booking an early time. Other than that, the driver was right on schedule.
Uber is also operating in Lima and works quite well around the city. They’re a little more expensive, but not by much (I got an Uber Black for roughly 52 soles for a late night transfer from the airport to Miraflores). I always prefer Uber over taxi because the price is specified in the app and you don’t need to do any negotiating or fuss over scammers. You will be bombarded by a dozen taxi drivers when you walk outside the airport doors by the way.
Money: The “Sol” is Peru’s currency but Credit Card is accepted almost everywhere
1 Sol = $0.25
One thing that caught me by surprise is that credit cards were accepted in just about all of the restaurants and museums. I came to the country with about 400 soles and a few places actually told me they didn’t accept cash due to covid reasons. Also, if you are trying to pay using the larger 200 Soles bills, there’s a good chance they probably won’t accept those either because the bills are too large (Happened with Quickllama actually).
I used Apple Card, contactless, and debit card everywhere without issues. You may just need to contact your bank beforehand if you are planning on using a debit card in a different country.
I would say it’s good to have soles on hand in case you go shopping in the smaller Inca markets or in Machu Picchu. Otherwise, I think you can get away with using card in 95% of places in Lima.
Favorite part of town: Larcomar by the beach
Lima is a city right by the beach and is definitely a stop you should make during your stay. The city of Lima is actually on a cliff and the view from the top is quite nice. The lower level is the literally just the ocean and a freeway, so if you want to walk to the beach, you will have to walk down a long flight of stairs. On the cliff overlooking the ocean is a shopping center called Larcomar and has tons of restaurants, stores and parks to visit. This is also a great place to catch the sunset
Favorite Peruvian Dish: Ceviche
Definitely take the time to walk around and try some traditional Peruvian cuisine. Peru is famous for its Ceviche and is definitely worth trying during your visit. Some other traditional dishes to look out for are below:
- Aji De Gallina
- Pan con chicharron
- Carapulcra
- Lomo Saltado
In Lima, one can expect to pay roughly 50 soles for a full dinner with a drink.
Favorite Peruvian Restaurant: Tanta De Larcomar
Excellent food and service here. Plus you can sit next to the window and watch the sun go down. Tanta is located in the Larcomar mall in Miraflores, but they have several other locations around town. A great place for breakfast, lunch, dinner, a date, etc.
Favorite Coffee Shop: Juan Valdez Cafe
Juan Valdez Cafe is a chain all around South America and had some of my favorite drinks and pastries of all time. This was located in the lobby of my hotel Estelares Miraflores. It is right in the middle of the action and a great place to meet people, take a date, or get some remote work done.
How to see the rest of the city: Book a bus tour with Mirabus
Lima is a massive city with approximately 11 million people. There’s obviously much more to see than just Miraflores, but if you are looking to summarize the best parts, I recommend taking a city bus tour. Pay a visit to the tourist center next to Parque John F Kennedy and they will give you a bus schedule for the day. The bus company I chose for my tour was called Mirabus and costs about 50 soles.
On this tour, you get to see a few of the major spots in Lima such as Miraflores, San Isidro, Peru’s national soccer stadium, Plaza Mayor De Lima and so much more. Some of these spots you may not want to walk around anyway, so I think the bus tour is a good idea if you still wanted to see other parts of the city. The trip lasted roughly 5 hours and they even throw in some complimentary pisco sour shots at the end. The tour guide also speaks both English and Spanish. The tour I’m referring to started at around 11AM.
Favorite Museum: Huaca Pucllana in Miraflores
Another advantage to staying in Miraflores is that a really cool museum is close by. Huaca Pucllana is an old pyramid built between 200AD and 700AD. Archeologists are still in the process of uncovering this giant pyramid and if you visit, you might be able to see more than I did as they are making progress every day. Sacrifices took place here a long time ago in an effort to please their God Viracocha. Viracocha was believed to live in the Andes Mountains and if these sacrifices weren’t made, they felt he would destroy the world.
A very cool museum to visit plus, tickets were pretty cheap. They opened the upstairs section in 2022, so now you can climb to the top of the pyramid and get a glimpse of the city from up high. There are English and Spanish guides as well. Group tours take place at certain hours, but private tours are also an option for only a little higher cost.
Favorite all day tour: A day trip to Ica, Lake Huacachina and Paracas
For around $100, you can take a tour down south to the Lake Huacachina oasis in the city of Ica. They will pick you from your hotel at around 5am in the morning and drop you off later that night at around 9PM (Time may vary due to traffic). This oasis offers sand boarding and buggy rides on the dunes plus they will take you to nice places to eat throughout the day. This would be a good occasion for bringing your soles. This is arguably one of the most popular places to visit in the country.
Most Dangerous part of Lima: Barrio De San Cristobal in Rimac
If you are visiting the downtown Plaza De Mayor, you may see a mountain a little northeast with a cross on top of it. It is said to have one of the best views of the city however, there’s a neighborhood right below it that tourists should avoid at all costs. This is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city where none of the homes have a working water line. In order to get their water for the day, they would need to go down the street with a bunch of empty jugs and bring it back up to the top. Definitely not a place to be flaunting your smartphone.
What I would do on my next visit: Take a helicopter ride to the Nazca lines
There are two ways you can take this tour. You can either drive all the way down to Nazca yourself OR you can buy the tour that picks you up in Miraflores for more money. I have included links for both options, but you can expect to pay roughly around $400-$500 for the helicopter tour with pickup in Lima.
This is an incredible tour that would involve driving 4–5 hours south of Lima. It is 100% worth it if you have the time and money. In this tour you will meet at the city of Nazca where you will take a helicopter ride up above the desert. You can see lines made up into geoglyphs that are not visible at ground level. They were made by the Incas by simply removing pebbles and reddish brown soil from the top then repeating this process forward in a straight line. Some of them are over 400 yards long and due to calm weather on the plateau, some of them have never lost their shape over hundreds of years.
Is the city safe for Cringos? Mostly Yes
There are a few rules I’ve learned to follow when visiting South America as a nosy tourist. If you follow these as a rule of thumb, you should be ok in Lima:
- Never flaunt your money or smartphone in the common areas. The median monthly salary in Lima after taxes is around $495 so stealing your smartphone would cover 3 months worth of living.
- Before you hop on your flight back to the states or your home country, double and triple check your bags to see if any drugs were slipped in. Peru is the second biggest supplier of cocaine on the planet and it is not uncommon that tourists are used to mule drugs across
- Avoid getting too drunk and unconscious without a buddy around
- Only bring what you need when you leave the hotel (Smartphone, cash/credit card, and one form of ID if needed). Not saying you will get robbed, but this will reduce the headache in case it happens
- Follow your gut, if a situation makes you feel uncomfortable, walk in the opposite direction
Hopefully all of this helps!
