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This is a long one, but stay with me, there’s a lot of great info for a trip to Peru!
Know Before You Go
Paperwork
- Passports must be valid for more than 6 months beyond your travel dates. Make sure to check the status of your passport well in advance. When we went, my passport was going to expire five months after our return from Peru, which meant I had to get a new one, which takes time. So get on it!
- Make two copies of your passport. Keep one with your luggage and one with a family member at home.
- Print and keep safe copies of your itinerary details and tickets in case you run into problems accessing them digitally.
- Also leave a copy with a family member so they know your planned locations in case of emergency.
- Print and keep safe copies of your vaccination history in case it comes up – see next section
- Contact the US Embassy in Peru and sign up for alerts on their website to ensure you have a plan in case of an emergency during your visit out of the country https://pe.usembassy.gov/
Vaccinations
If traveling to Peru from the United States, there are no required vaccinations UNLESS you are traveling to or from the Amazon jungle. In those cases, a Yellow Fever certificate may be required. For example, one of the couples that joined us on our Machu Picchu tour had stopped in Brazil to visit the Amazon rainforest prior to coming to Peru. They were required to get a Yellow Fever vaccination.
If you are coming directly from the United States and only traveling to places in Peru, you shouldn’t be required to get any vaccinations, though these following vaccinations are recommended:
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Yellow Fever (if visiting jungle areas below 8,200 feet, also see above)
- Routine vaccinations up-to-date (MMR, Tetanus, Polio)
- Rabies (optional)
- Hepatitis B (optional)
- COVID-19 booster (though this wasn’t a thing when we went in 2017)
Currency
The local currency in Peru is the PEN – Peruvian Nuevo Sol. 1 PEN is about $0.30.
You will have lots of advice online about how to get the best currency exchange rates, but let me stop you and tell you that it is NOT WORTH IT. When we traveled to Thailand in 2022, the internet had us going to the lowest level of the Bangkok Airport to a little spot that had the best exchange rate for USD to THB. I ended up getting myself an extra 10 THB by doing this. It wasn’t easy to get there, and as I walked away and did the math, I realized we put in all that extra work to get an extra $0.30.
IT’S NOT WORTH IT. Regardless of where you go, the exchange rate differences will be NEGLIGIBLE. Do yourself a favor and just exchange currency where it is convenient. I mean, obviously make sure the place is legit. Don’t do exchanges with street money changers, only use official exchange houses or banks. It’s easiest to do this at the airport upon arrival. Exchange more money than you think you’ll need, and whatever you don’t use, you can exchange back when you fly home. And just know going in that you are going to take a loss when exchanging back to USD – there’s no getting around it. So make sure you have enough cash in the local currency, but don’t overdo it either. A lot of places accepted credit card, so for us, somewhere between $300-$500 was sufficient for our whole stay in Peru, and have plenty of small bills in the local currency for tipping.
Also keep in mind that when exchanging back, they will only exchange bills, not coin. So either give away your last coins as tips or keep as a souvenir!
TLDR: Don’t bother hunting down the best exchange rates, just exchange your bills where both convenient and legit – the airport or official banks. Stay away from street money changers. Have enough small bills for tipping, and $300-$500 for a week in Peru is probably sufficient.
Water
Don’t drink the tap water in Peru, and skip out on the ice as well. Stick with bottled water for the duration of your stay. The last thing you need on vacation is to get sick.
Altitude Sickness
This is a serious concern for many visitors to Peru, though it wasn’t as big of a deal for us coming from Utah which also has a high altitude. If you run into altitude sickness, don’t worry. They hand out coca tea and coca candies like it’s…. candy! Everywhere you go, someone will offer you altitude sickness remedies. If you are super worried, ask your doctor for Diamox.
Bug Protection
The biggest problem area in the specific itinerary we followed was the ascent up Machu Picchu, and this was not a problem in Lake Titicaca. We were advised to wear permethrin-treated clothing when hiking up Machu Picchu. The risk isn’t malaria, it’s more a risk of dengue. The risk is considered low to moderate at Machu Picchu, but still worth protecting yourself. The mosquitoes are sandflies, can’t be seen, and bites can be vicious. What we ended up doing is we sprayed our hiking clothes with DEET prior to rolling it all up and packing a day or so before we left the states. We also sprayed ourselves the morning of the hike using repellant purchased in Peru.
Travel Adapter
Peru uses mostly Type A and Type C plugs, and its voltage is 220v. Pick an adapter that you can use in places other than Peru so you don’t have to buy a new adapter with each place you visit. The one we use works great for standard electronics, but is not great for things like hair dryers. I never bother drying my hair while on vacation anyway.
What to Pack
We always try to fit everything into carry ons so we don’t have to worry about checking luggage. This can be tricky with a longer international trip, but the key is to rely on hotel laundry services, which can be surprisingly affordable in places like Peru. The other key is to decide ahead of time what to leave home and just purchase in Peru. If your airline allows one carry on and one personal item, plan for using a CamelBak (or other hydration pak) as your personal item and put your fanny pack in either your carry on or CamelBak.
What to Skip (and purchase in Peru)
- Water
- Snacks
- DEET (see note above)
- Washrag/Loofah – just use what your hotel provides
- Toiletries – just use what your hotel provides (unless you’re picky)
What to Pack in Carry-On
I’ll list separately what to keep in your Camelbak (personal item) and Fanny Pack (stuffed in either carry on or Camelbak), and I’ll also specify what to plan to have on you for the hike up Machu Picchu. Pack light! Use hotel laundry services when you run out of clean clothes, but don’t have them wash your DEET-sprayed hiking clothes until after you’ve hiked up Machu Picchu.
- 2-3 moisture-wicking and SPF hiking shirts (sprayed with DEET)
- 1-2 quick dry hiking pants (sprayed with DEET)
- 2-3 casual t-shirts
- 1-2 casual pants
- 1 sweater/jacket for chilly evenings
- Your favorite ballcap
- 4-5 pairs of underwear
- 4-5 pairs of socks, including good hiking socks
- 1 pair of pajamas
- Hiking shoes
- Both me and Chris like Merrell. I wear these hiking boots, the ankle height helps with my stability, and Chris wears these – whatever hiking shoes you wear, make sure they are worn in!
- I also like Salomon hiking boots. Keep in mind that the waterproof kind seal in heat. Salomon sizing runs truer to normal sizing.
- Essential Toiletries
- Travel-sized shampoo, conditioner, body soap
- Travel-sized toothbrush, toothpaste
- Deodorant
- Brush, pick, hair ties, razor
- Glasses, contacts, travel-sized contact solution
- Make-up (keep it limited)
- Sunglasses – I love these polarized lenses and high UV protection
- Kinesiology Tape for targeted muscle support
- Fanny Pack full of items listed below (stuff in carry-on or Camelbak/personal item)
- Camelbak (or other hydration pack) full of items listed below
- Phone Charger
- Travel Adapter
- Camera (unless just using your phone camera)
- Compression Cube for holding dirty laundry on the way home if you’re concerned about space
Fanny Pack
This particular fanny pack has gotten me through many trips, it’s perfect! It is big enough with several pockets without being too bulky. Some of these items may not be necessary for a hike up Machu Picchu, but all of these items just permanently live inside my fanny pack and are not taking up extra space.
- Bandaids/Moleskin
- Chapstick
- Medicine (Ibuprofen/Tylenol/anything else you need)
- Inhaler (if needed)
- Lotion (travel-sized)
- Emergency blanket
- Tissues (travel-sized)
- Hand sanitizer (travel-sized)
- Phone
- Headphones (if you want to listen to an audiobook or music)
- Wallet/Money/Cash/ID
- Goldbond (we all hate chafing)
CamelBak For Hiking
- 3 liters of water (water bottles available for purchase everywhere)
- Snacks (purchased in Peru)
- Sunscreen (apply BEFORE spraying yourself with DEET)
- DEET (purchased in Peru)
- Wipes
- Packable rain jacket – rain can be unpredictable
- Portable Power Bank – in case your phone runs out of batteries from tracking your miles, listening to your audiobook, etc. This thing lasts forever!
- Trekking Poles (optional – we didn’t use these in Peru)
- Portable Fan with lights (optional – heat wasn’t a huge factor at Machu Picchu, the big obstacle was the stairs)
Worn on the Hike to Machu Picchu
- Good hiking pants sprayed with DEET – Chris wore something like this and I wore something like this
- Lightweight long sleeve UV protectant shirt sprayed with DEET – Chris wore something like this and I wore something like this
- Good shoes – both me and Chris like Merrell. I wear these hiking boots, the ankle height helps with my stability, and Chris wears these – whatever hiking shoes you wear, make sure they are worn in!
- I also like Salomon hiking boots. Keep in mind that the waterproof kind seal in heat. Salomon sizing runs truer to normal sizing.
- Good socks – I actually also put sweat bands around my ankles since I wear ankle height boots to protect from chafing.
- Sunglasses – I love these polarized lenses and high UV protection
- Your favorite ballcap
- Kinesiology Tape for targeted muscle support
- Goldbond
- CamelBak full of items listed above – We love this Fourteener model
- Fanny Pack full of items listed above – I love this one
Worst case scenario, you don’t have room for souvenirs to bring home. In that case, check your carry-on bag for the flight home and carry-on your souvenir bag. The bottom line is that you want your vacation to be as stress-free as possible – so make sure you have what you need but aren’t carrying too much weight!
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