Peru by bus: Lima, Arequipa, Cusco & beyond
July 12, 2022 2:25 PM Subscribe
Have you traveled through Peru by bus? I'm looking to visit Lima, Arequipa, Cusco and beyond next June and July. Please share your advice and anecdotes!
I have a voucher for $1000 of flights on Spirit Airlines, and I'm looking to finally visit Peru for two or three weeks in late June - early July 2023. I will fly into Lima and spend a few days there, and definitely will visit Arequipa, the hometown of a friend. I would also like to visit Cusco and Machu Picchu, although they are less of a priority right now. I'm also open to visiting other places along the way! I'd like to visit Bolivia one day but surely it deserves its own dedicated trip.
I'm thinking that long distance bus travel may be a more interesting way to see the country. I've been on long-haul buses in Argentina, shorter-distance buses in Chile, and had a very positive experience on both. I am fluent in Spanish and see many companies, aimed at locals and/or tourists, that go these routes.
Have you done a similar trip before? Would you do it again? Any tips or suggestions? I'd like your advice pertaining to logistics, geography, and more. I'll probably be traveling alone. I could certainly fly instead but the bus seems like a good option for someone who's flexible and chill. I have read previous questions about Peru and learned a lot; the most recent bus versus train question is over twelve years old so I'd assume many details have changed. MeFites have the best travel advice! Thank you!
I have a voucher for $1000 of flights on Spirit Airlines, and I'm looking to finally visit Peru for two or three weeks in late June - early July 2023. I will fly into Lima and spend a few days there, and definitely will visit Arequipa, the hometown of a friend. I would also like to visit Cusco and Machu Picchu, although they are less of a priority right now. I'm also open to visiting other places along the way! I'd like to visit Bolivia one day but surely it deserves its own dedicated trip.
I'm thinking that long distance bus travel may be a more interesting way to see the country. I've been on long-haul buses in Argentina, shorter-distance buses in Chile, and had a very positive experience on both. I am fluent in Spanish and see many companies, aimed at locals and/or tourists, that go these routes.
Have you done a similar trip before? Would you do it again? Any tips or suggestions? I'd like your advice pertaining to logistics, geography, and more. I'll probably be traveling alone. I could certainly fly instead but the bus seems like a good option for someone who's flexible and chill. I have read previous questions about Peru and learned a lot; the most recent bus versus train question is over twelve years old so I'd assume many details have changed. MeFites have the best travel advice! Thank you!
Best answer: I did this trip in Dec 2019 with PeruHop). One of the things that they highlight is the flexibility of changing travel at the last minute which honestly wasn’t really relevant to me as I needed to stick to a schedule, but it was also incredibly easy to use. I don’t speak Spanish, but speak French fluently so I could somewhat navigate things, but this was a trip during grad school so I wanted to make it “easy” for myself even if it meant I could have saved $50 overall by taking local buses. I’ve lived abroad and traveled a bit so I’m sure i could have managed it, but I didn’t want to deal with going to bus depots and navigating it all on my own (especially around Christmas). If you do go the local bus route, I’ve heard they are excellent and should be easy for you to navigate with your Spanish skills.
I went Lima- Paracas- Huacachina- Nazca Lines- Arequicpa- Colca Canyon (3 or 4 day hike trip) - Cusco- Machu Picchu (stayed over night in Aguas Calientes at a fancy hotel) - Lima. The Nazca lines were worth it as we were passing through that way anyway and honestly, the hour or so that we spent there was about as much time as I needed.
I would suggest that you put Machu Picchu at the end of your trip only because it was an amazing experience and it’s tough to measure up after that!
I’m more than happy to share my old google doc of my itenerary if you PM me. Obviously I can’t speak to what changed since COVID though. I would think about what your priorities are- I wanted to do lots of “activities,” but also be able to rest and then have a mid to low range budget. I was in grad school and while it wasn’t a completely “budget” trip, it wasn’t luxury either. I also had about 12 days and wasn’t worried about the time because it was my winter break- your calculations might be different if you’re taking PTO. I didn’t rush things and usually sid a “morning” activity (that sometimes ended closer to 2pm) and then usually read and napped until dinner (again, needed some rest during grad school). If I did the same exact trip now I might do more of a calculation of “well if all I did was X today, was it worth it that I took PTO?”
From Arequipa to Cusco I actually ended up flying even though that section of my bus was already paid for. The flight was around $50? And that seemed worth it to not have to do another overnight bus trip. (I was also EXHAUSTED after my 3-4 days of trekking). That section from Arequipa to Cusco is also “less safe.” I went with that determination based on the fact that Peace Corps volunteers aren’t even allowed to travel by bus in that part. I realize that might be a strange metric, but it works for me (and everything else about the trip felt incredibly safe and easy to me, a solo female traveler.)
I found a lot of great activities/excursions from PeruHop and also “Get Your Guide.”
posted by raccoon409 at 3:44 PM on July 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
I went Lima- Paracas- Huacachina- Nazca Lines- Arequicpa- Colca Canyon (3 or 4 day hike trip) - Cusco- Machu Picchu (stayed over night in Aguas Calientes at a fancy hotel) - Lima. The Nazca lines were worth it as we were passing through that way anyway and honestly, the hour or so that we spent there was about as much time as I needed.
I would suggest that you put Machu Picchu at the end of your trip only because it was an amazing experience and it’s tough to measure up after that!
I’m more than happy to share my old google doc of my itenerary if you PM me. Obviously I can’t speak to what changed since COVID though. I would think about what your priorities are- I wanted to do lots of “activities,” but also be able to rest and then have a mid to low range budget. I was in grad school and while it wasn’t a completely “budget” trip, it wasn’t luxury either. I also had about 12 days and wasn’t worried about the time because it was my winter break- your calculations might be different if you’re taking PTO. I didn’t rush things and usually sid a “morning” activity (that sometimes ended closer to 2pm) and then usually read and napped until dinner (again, needed some rest during grad school). If I did the same exact trip now I might do more of a calculation of “well if all I did was X today, was it worth it that I took PTO?”
From Arequipa to Cusco I actually ended up flying even though that section of my bus was already paid for. The flight was around $50? And that seemed worth it to not have to do another overnight bus trip. (I was also EXHAUSTED after my 3-4 days of trekking). That section from Arequipa to Cusco is also “less safe.” I went with that determination based on the fact that Peace Corps volunteers aren’t even allowed to travel by bus in that part. I realize that might be a strange metric, but it works for me (and everything else about the trip felt incredibly safe and easy to me, a solo female traveler.)
I found a lot of great activities/excursions from PeruHop and also “Get Your Guide.”
posted by raccoon409 at 3:44 PM on July 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I went to Peru in 2019 and organized everything myself. We went to all the places you mentioned and a few more. We took both 4M and Cruz del Sur buses and did some private transfers / LD taxis.
Both buses can be booked online or via email. If you take Cruz Del Sur, pay for the VIP seats. They are legit lazy boy chairs and absolutely amazing. Depending on your budget, "luxury" transportation can be really inexpensive there. For some private transfers, we just asked taxi drivers hanging around if they'd go where we wanted to. We met up with one of our Uber drivers to do a half day private 'tour' between Cusco and Ollantaytambo, and it was fabulous. Each of the private transfers/tours worked out to be around 75 Soles / hr (iirc).
Feel free to PM me!
posted by Robocat at 4:31 PM on July 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
Both buses can be booked online or via email. If you take Cruz Del Sur, pay for the VIP seats. They are legit lazy boy chairs and absolutely amazing. Depending on your budget, "luxury" transportation can be really inexpensive there. For some private transfers, we just asked taxi drivers hanging around if they'd go where we wanted to. We met up with one of our Uber drivers to do a half day private 'tour' between Cusco and Ollantaytambo, and it was fabulous. Each of the private transfers/tours worked out to be around 75 Soles / hr (iirc).
Feel free to PM me!
posted by Robocat at 4:31 PM on July 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: My advice is eight or so years old, so possibly out of date. But my travel-by-bus advice, which I learned far too late in my Peru trip, is:
There are a lot of bus companies. There is a whole world of difference in traveling a budget line vs one of the more premium ones like Cruz del Sur. The suspension alone makes the latter way more pleasant, especially if you're on an overnight bus trying to sleep. I'm not saying you need to take the fancy buses all the time-- but if you're on a long-haul route, know that it will be 10x more comfortable on the expensive bus than on whatever little rinky-dink line is the cheapest option in the terminal.
There are lots of cool little Incan ruins scattered around Cusco and Ollantaytambo. If you don't want to do a tour, the combi vans will get you to a lot of them.
posted by geegollygosh at 5:40 PM on July 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
There are a lot of bus companies. There is a whole world of difference in traveling a budget line vs one of the more premium ones like Cruz del Sur. The suspension alone makes the latter way more pleasant, especially if you're on an overnight bus trying to sleep. I'm not saying you need to take the fancy buses all the time-- but if you're on a long-haul route, know that it will be 10x more comfortable on the expensive bus than on whatever little rinky-dink line is the cheapest option in the terminal.
There are lots of cool little Incan ruins scattered around Cusco and Ollantaytambo. If you don't want to do a tour, the combi vans will get you to a lot of them.
posted by geegollygosh at 5:40 PM on July 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Best answer: My experience taking buses in Peru and Chile some years ago was that the middle-class busses are actually the best choice. The fancy expensive ones with big leather seats are hot and fussy and annoying. (Getting handed brandy by a steward is cool, but not worth the extra fifty USD.) The cheap ones are slow as hell. A cheap seat on a fast bus was the right choice.
Seconding Ollantaytambo. It's lovely. The western parts are also worth seeing. Nasca is obvious and great. Chan Chan (Trujillo) is also awesome and may be easier to overlook.
posted by eotvos at 12:19 AM on July 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Seconding Ollantaytambo. It's lovely. The western parts are also worth seeing. Nasca is obvious and great. Chan Chan (Trujillo) is also awesome and may be easier to overlook.
posted by eotvos at 12:19 AM on July 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
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We traveled overland by minibus from Arequipa to Colcha Canyon. Well worth it to see the Andean Condors. One of the small towns along the way had a hotspring that was fabulous. We then went to Lake Titicaca. In the day it was possible to book short homestays among the people who still live on the floating reed villages on the lake, but Covid (should have) put a stop to that. We didn't do that but met some travelers who had and they spoke highly of the experience.
We took an overnight bus then to Cusco. it was, IIRC semi-cama(sp?) which is theoretically more comfortable and designed for sleep. Unfortunately, I'm 6'3" and barely fit in the seat before the person in front of me reclined theirs onto my lap. Also, it was august, so winter, and the bus was not really heated adequately, so all in all not an experience i remember fondly.
If you do go to Machu Picchu, taking the train to/from Cusco-Ollantaytambo is also a leisurely way to see the valley.
posted by OHenryPacey at 2:53 PM on July 12, 2022 [1 favorite]