Hola from all around Perú! 

I have spent the last month here exploring south to north, and have complied the usual list of all my hostels, activities, favorite places/cafes, and overall opinions. I hope you enjoy, and that this may inspire you to take a trip of your own! Leave any questions below 🙂 

*I arrived from Miami in a one way flight for $188 (SKY Airlines) into the capital city of Lima. From there I purchased a sim in the airport (30GB/30Days-$45, you can find cheaper elsewhere) and a bus ticket into Miraflores on the Airport Express Shuttle ($5) and got to my first hostel, Black Llama Hostel in Miraflores in about an hour. 

LIMA

Hostel:

Black Llama Hostel (Miraflores): $12/night including breakfast in female dorm: kind reception and pretty indoor area with plants but not very social during the time I stayed (although girls in my room were super kind!)

Nearby:

-Playa Waikiki: stone beach with beautiful view of the cliffs and miraflores continuing into the mist (popular surf spot)

-Museo de sitio Pucllana: $2 student entry ($4 regular), see uncovered runes of temples and burial sites/sacrifices 

-Parque Kennedy: near other parks, many other nice sitting areas around this part of the city 

-Wong: huge grocery store around the corner from the hostel, cafe inside on upper level 

*$5 bus back to Lima airport purchased at Peru Tourism corner shop

*flew to Cusco 1.5 hours on JetSmart $85 with carry on 

CUSCO

Hostel: 

Wild Rover Hostel: $9/night mixed dorm: clean and comfortable with activities and very kind staff, other guests often came in at night though and sometimes made a lot of noise in the dorm (free salsa and mixology classes, live DJ, etc. also had a bar and restaurant in courtyard)

Things To Do:

-ATV trip to Piuray Lagoon & Inca Gods Sculptures $39 (+$5.40 entrance free for Apukuntaq Tianan): booked through my hostel, ended up being the only one on the tour and got a private tour to the empty huge lagoon on the ATV after a quick lesson with beautiful views, as well as the recently created Inca statues, my guide Jorge was very kind and explained all about the sacrificial history of the sculptures and city of Cusco 

-Plaza de Armas: downtown area with tourist and hiking shops, beautiful architecture, museums and cafes 

-ChocoMuseo: 2 locations, one with museum about the history and process and another small store store, both have classes (1 hour chocolate bar and drink making and history: $25) Miguel was a great teacher and I loved the class! 

Cafes:

-La Mula Café

-Coati Café 

-Loki (hostel) Cafe: my favorite, went here for coffee and food several times (2 minute walk from Wild Rover)

-Bagel Cafe

Salkantay Trek:

-To see Machu Pichu, I chose the 5-day trek option with Machu Picchu reservations (guide Amoroso) and booked online. It included three meals per day and accommodation each night (mix of small huts/domes/hostel), and rented hiking poles, a sleeping bag, and chose to include the zipline adventure as well for base price of $345 all together (not including any additional water/food/souvenir/tips/additional activity purchases on the way), and paid a few small entrance fees and participated in the hot spring trip (around $12). We walked a total of (estimated) 94 km/53 miles in a mix of weather with a day back and a duffel (carried by horses), and had a chef travel with the group as well 

*included in Salkantay Trek:

-Humantay Lagoon

-Quiswarniyoc campsite/area

-Salkantay Pass

-Wayracmachay

-Chawllay campsite 

-Santa Teresa Valley

-Lucmabamba: Coffee Tour and Zipline Adventure

-Santa Teresa Hot Spring

-Llactapata (unique view of Machu Picchu, Waynapicchu, and the surrounding mountains)

-Hidroeléctrica

-Aguas Calientes 

-Machu Picchu

*to adjust to the altitude I arrived in Cusco three days prior to starting the trek, and tried to take Altuvital but found that I was very bloated and felt more sick on the trek (as did several other girls who took it as well) but was completely fine after I stopped taking it. I also heard that if you book the trek directly in Cusco it can be cheaper, and make sure to look online and in person at the different tour companies to find the best price! Do keep in mind the Inca Trail and some companies/treks are complete unavailable in February due to rainy season!

*booked BusBud bus for $25, 11 hours overnight from Cusco to Arequipa, needed to uber a few minutes to the station and to the hostel on arrival (ubers $2-3 each way) 

AREQUIPA

Hostel:

-Ecounay hostel: $7.50/night in six bed mixed dorm including breakfast, had a cute rooftop

Things To Do:

-Monastario de Santa Catalina: 25 soles/$6.71 entrance tourists under 21

-Salina’s Lake full day tour: $26.25+$3 entry: viewpoint of Chiguata (3 volcanoes of Arequipa-Misti, Chachani and Pichupichu), and through the National Reserve of Salinas and Aguada Blanca to get to the Salinas Lake (natural reserve which has a reflecting mirror quality during rainy season, lots of llamas, aplacas, vicuñas)

https://www.findlocaltrips.com/en/t/peru/arequipa/salinas-lake-full-day

-Ruta del Sillar tour: $14 (including ticket entries): historic center (learn about the history of the volcanoes and rock formation, Zamacola Viewpoint, quarries (where white city originated, lots of sculptures from the white stone), and Cantera Vírgen de Culebrilla (small canyon with many petroglyphs on the pink walls)

https://www.findlocaltrips.com/en/t/peru/arequipa/ruta-del-sillar-tour

*booked BusBud to Paracas $35 (total for 14 hours to Ica and 1.5 hours Ica to Paracas)

PARACAS

Hostel:

Backpackers hostel: $7.50/night mixed dorm, not the cleanest I’ve seen but cozy overall and had a kitchen and kind front desk, right in town center where buses drop you off and one minute walk to the beach 

Things To Do:

-Huacachina (half day trip): booked through a travel desk right next to the beach for $40 including bus there and back with taxes and fees, event involved ATV through the desert and sandboarding, although we only slid down the boards on our stomachs a few times and was a bit more boring than I expected, but overall worth it anyway because the desert was huge and beautiful 

-Playa Paracas (beach): more of a family style beach, lots of boats and lot the prettiest but still nice to relax a bit 

-Islas Ballestas: 57 soles ($15) including ticket for islands and national reserve and boat tour +tourist taxes and fees: booked through a friends hostel, many tour desks by the beach offer the same 

-Reserva National de Paracas: desert peninsula with many beaches, you can take any car/bike transport through

*we chose to rent motorbikes through our hostel (which brought us to Agencia Mendieta&Paracas Travel Express across the street) but had a small problem with the bikes starting while once in the reserve and upon return they were very rude when inspecting the bikes and made us pay extra for a small mark and claiming previos scratches were our fault as well: 80 soles/$21.50 was the original cost for each bike including gas and helmet for the day, helmets were very poor quality and when mentioned to the workers they laughed and did not care. overall the reserve was beautiful but the three of us girls renting were very unhappy with the scooter service and how disrespectfully they spoke to us and treated us  

*bus to Lima from Paracas was around 4 hours and $14, booked again through BusBud

LIMA x2

Hostel:

Pariwana Backpackers: $9/night mixed dorm: clean hostel, able to book activities through tour desk, very small kitchen but a nice rooftop terrace and restaurant, located in central Miraflores near a lot of restaurants and clubs 

Barranco: (art district next to Miraflores) 

quiet, old architectural area to walk through, parks and cafes 

-Ciclos Café: located in Barranco, wonderful premium coffee cafe, went with a few other guests from my hostel, we each tried something different and the service was amazing, servers explained the process behind each drink and where the beans/ingredients were grown, super clean shop and cute presentation! overall felt more like an experience than a simple coffee 

*bus from Lima to Máncora was around 20 hours and $32 on BusBud

MÁNCORA

Hostel:

-The Point Mancora Beach: $8/night mixed dorm: honestly super disappointed, I arrived after such a long bus and the courtyard and pool were nice, but there were only a few other people in the whole hostel and I only stayed two out of my three nights I had booked because I woke up both days with so many but bites and the room was very hot and uncomfortable. Staff didn’t really care and seemed cliquey overall. 

-Wild Rover Mancora: $8/night mixed dorm: mosquito nets above beds, food was a bit more expensive at the hostel bar and it again was pretty quiet during the time i stayed but the pool was nice and reception was helpful 

Other:

-Beach: A normal beach, nothing that special to me and there were absolute no waves so it was impossible for me to surf (the whole reason I went) so overall a bummer. There were also a lot of people coming up to try to offer ATV rides and horses and food along the beach. Despite everything I read online it must have not been a popular time to visit. 

-Food: The central strip in town had a few more shops but many of them were only open a few hours per day and google maps was very inaccurate with location and hours. There were some minimarkets but not as much of a town overall as I expected based on online descriptions. 

*I booked a bus to Trujillo (10 hours overnight) in person at Emtrafesa in the center of town for $17.50. From there Lisa and I took an uber 30 minutes to Huanchaco for 20 soles/$5.

HUANCHACO

Hostel: 

ATMA hostel and yoga: $12/night: such an amazing hostel, great place to meet people and had $4 yoga twice a day, lots of rooms and bathrooms and open spaces to chill in hammocks, also a good kitchen, we ended up staying 5 nights-great vibe overall in hostel and town!

Surf:

Onechako: group lesson (2-3 people) 60 soles/$16 each including wetsuit and board and 1-2 hour lesson 

Cafes:

Sol Cafe: excellent espresso, Peruvian beans, cute and kind manager Dan! we played chess everyday and he definitely made the small place light up. a must visit!!!

Chocolate Cafe: breakfast all day, good prices and fresh food 

El Refugio: pizza cafe opens at 6 pm, homemade pizzas each night (made one at a time) ranging from personal pizzas ($3-6) and larger ($6-9) with a variety of options, homemade bread 

*bus from Trujillo $26 to Lima, 10 hours, uber 40 minutes from Huanchaco to Trujillo ($6) and another 40 minute uber from Plaza Norte to my hostel in Lima ($4)

LIMA x3

*only stayed one more night here before my flight at 1900 Backpacker hostel in a private room for $15/night and free breakfast, located in the historic center of Lima in a 20th century mansion-had to wait until 3 to check in and then had further issues with the room not being ready for almost two additional hours, also woke up to my door being unlocked so someone may have come in my room during the night?? overall not very happy with this hostel even for the one day, and the area was right next to the Lima Art Museum and some cool buildings but definitely not the best in my opinion. 

*took a taxi from the front desk 40 minutes to the main airport for 39 soles/$10.58

Additional Notes: 

*spanish: I speak a decent amount of spanish and tried to whenever I could to practice and talk more with the locals, and everyone was extremely kind and helped when they could and always were surprised but happy to speak Spanish or a mix of both languages with me (not everyone speaks english even in touristy areas-just to keep in mind!)

*weather: I went mid January to mid February, known as the rainy season, but although some areas with height altitude were a bit colder especially at night, and even hiking I only experienced the rain a few times and it never lasted the whole day 

*ATM/money: when buying from minimarkets, some bus fees/tickets, and in less touristy/city areas, cash is necessary-most central towns and cities have ATMs, many with a fee between 18-36 soles and typically you can only take out up to 400 soles($107) per transaction. Cajero Banco de la Nación has ATMs in the main cities without fees though!

Overall Peru was incredible, and I am very grateful that I was able to experience so many different landscapes and activities in a relatively short amount of time! There are so many things to do here and some of the touristy activities are definitely worth a visit. I felt very safe, and would recommend staying in the more well-known areas and not going around yourself at night in cities, but didn’t feel particularly unsafe at any specific place (although the men can be very pushy/rude when catcalling). Although I stayed around four weeks I think three-four weeks is a good amount of time not to rush through but still see many main points and enjoy yourself! (four for sure if you want to surf a bit and take your time with some extra places and not just rush through all the main sightseeing spots) As always keep exploring and until the next country! 

xoxo,

Ang around the World 🙂