A lot of people have raved to me about Peru and a lot of westerners go there for the famous Machu Pichu.
The currency is the Peruvian Sol which is roughly 3.3 per $1 or 4.5 per £1 as of Jan 2026.
I used the Saily e-sim 3GB for 30 days in Peru.
The capital, 2 days recommended.
I have never seen so many free calesthetic bar gyms in a city, and even one with heavy bags. This has got to be the cheapest city in which to stay in shape.
There is a reasonable selection of food places past security.
Wifi is free and actually pretty fast at 67/79 Mbit/s, and the capture portal is not too demanding requiring first name, last name and email address.
You can take the official Airport Express bus from opposite the Arrivals door 3 - the booth is across the road and they take card payments.
It's only 20 Peruvian Sol ($6) as of Jan 2026, but it only leaves once an hour. The journey takes about 45 minutes once moving.
There is air conditioning and wifi on board - 44/31 Mbit/s.. although I didn't see any plugs or USB charging ports.
Due to the long wait I did try to get a QuickLlama bus which goes more frequently but apparently you need to reserve them in advance and I couldn't find their stall.
On the way back I took an InDrive (taxi app) for 30 Sol cash, half the price of an Uber. The journey time is around 35 minutes in the car.
- Miraflores - tourist area, close to the ocean and parks
- Parque Kennedy - central, lively area with lots of cafes & restaurants
- Malecón de Miraflores - cliff side ocean views, quieter
- Barranco - considered trendier & more artsy, has bars & nightlife
- Parque Kennedy - triangle shaped park with cafes and restaurants along
- it. This is the central tourist area
- Malecón de Miraflores - beach cliff parade with lots of free calesthetic bar gyms along it
- Parque de la Juventud - "youth park" - free gym area - amazing - has 4 heavy bags, a small MMA cage, tonnes of calesthetic bars and even Olympic rings. I have never seen a free street gym so well equipped, and there are police / security inside and outside so it's ultra safe. There are even public toilets there
- Barranco - artsy and bar area
- La Lucha Sangucheria / La Lucha Sangucheria Criolla - very popular & reasonably cheap Peruvian not-so-fast food place with burgers/sandwiches, fries and milkshakes. The Lomo Lucha tenderloin burger is very basic but real beef slices, albeit salty. The fries look amazing and crispy, wish I’d tried them too. The milkshakes are a bit small for 13 Sol though - it comes in a regular typical coffee cup and I’m not sold on the native Peruvian Lucuma fruit flavour. Not sure there is wifi
- Mercado San Martín - contains various street food stalls
- Pinkberry - frozen yoghurt
- Oakberry Miraflores - acai
- Market Capon - 4.3 grocery store
- Metro Supermarket - 4.1 - 24 hour supermarket
TODO:
- Avelino - 4.9 Peruvian, closes early, must be a foodie place
- Quipas - 4.9 Peruvian
- Kaiyo - Sushi, Ramen & Cocktails - 4.5
- ASU - 5.0 Japanese maki, poke & ramen
- Cevichería Barra Maretazo - 4.9 Peruvian
- Tokuyo Lima - 4.8 Japanese
- Al Toke Pez - 4.5
- Maido - 4.7
5 days recommended:
- Cusco City - 2 days - historic center (near Plaza de Armas)
- Sacred Valley - 2 days - Ollantaytambo or Urubamba (great base for Machu Picchu)
- Machu Pichu - 1 day
Was the capital of the Inca Empire.
A good base point for pilgrimages to the Sacred Valley & Machu Pichu.
- Historic Center near
Plaza de Armas -
busy, central, restaurants, shops & markets
- tours departure from here for Machu Picchu & Sacred Valley
- San Blas - quieter, more bohemian / artsy, cafes, but still close enough to the centre
TODO
TODO