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PERU TRAVEL PLANNER
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Taxis
Taxis can be found anywhere at any time in almost every town.
Any car can become a taxi simply by sticking a taxi sign up in the front window;
a lot of people, especially in Lima, take advantage of this to supplement their
income. Whenever you get into a taxi, always fix the price in advance since few
of them have meters, even the really professional firms. In Lima, the minimum
fare is S/3-4 - around $1 - but it's generally a bit cheaper elsewhere. Even
relatively long taxi rides in Lima are likely to cost less than $10, except
perhaps to and from the airport, which ranges from $15 to 25, depending on how
far across the city you're going, how bad the traffic is, and how many
passengers there are. Taxi drivers in Peru do not expect tips.
In many rural towns, you'll find small cars - mainly Korean Ticos and motorcycle
rickshaws, known variously as mototaxis or motokars , vying for custom as taxis.
The latter are always cheaper if slightly more dangerous and not that
comfortable, especially if there's more than two of you or if you've got a lot
of luggage.
Colectivos (shared taxis) are a very useful way of getting around that's
peculiar to Peru. They connect all the coastal towns, and many of the larger
centres in the mountains. Like the buses, many are ageing imports from the US -
huge old Dodge Coronets with a picture of the Virgin Mary dangling from the
rear-view mirror - though increasingly, fast new Japanese and Korean minibuses
are running between the cities. Colectivos tend to be faster than the bus,
though are often as much as twice the price. Most colectivo cars manage to
squeeze in about six people plus the driver (3 in the front and 4 in the back),
and can be found in the centre of a town or at major stopping-places along the
main roads. If more than one is ready to leave it's worth bargaining a little,
as the price is often negotiable. Colectivo minibuses , also known as combis ,
can squeeze in twice as many people, or often more.
In the cities, particularly in Lima, colectivos (especially colectivo minibuses)
have an appalling reputation for safety . There are crashes reported in the Lima
press every week, mostly caused by the highly competitive nature of the
business. There are so many combis covering the same major arterial routes in
Lima that they literally race each other to be the first to the next street
corner. They frequently crash, turn over and knock down pedestrians. Equally
dangerous is the fact that the driver is in such a hurry that he does not always
wait for you to get in. If you're not careful he'll pull away while you've still
got a foot on the pavement, putting you in serious danger of breaking a leg.
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Published articles and reviews about us
2009
Testimonials
Ajay
Parikh
Date:
Thu,16 Jul 2009
Hello all the folks at Peru Gateway Travel,
We had a fantastic time in Peru. We thank you all for making
our trip a success.
The only concern is that the accommodation in Cusco was below
average and we would not recommend the Emparada Plaza (?) to
anyone. Even though the staff was good, the room/bathroom,
breakfast was very bad.
Once again, thanks a lot for making our trip to your country a
memorable one. All the guides, especially Guillarmo in Lima
and Erica in Cusco, were excellent.
Kazuaki Kubo
Date:
Thu,16 Jul 2009
I want to thank
you and all of the staff of Peru Gateway Travel for the perfect
arrangement of my trip in June.
Everything was so fantastic and I was made to think about another
trip to Peru.
Sincerely, Denise Pratico
Date:
Mon, 6 Jul 2009
I am writing to let you know that we
enjoyed Peru very much. The city tour led by Marco was fantastic. We
will be happy to recommend your agency to other Americans
Jane
Date:
Mon, 6 Jul 2009
We have
completed our trip to Peru and are now back in New York City.
I want to thank you for all the arrangements you made. The
trip was wonderful and all our accommodations excellent. Thank
you for making our trip a success.
Best regards, Marcy
Date:
Mon, 6 Jul 2009
We arrived home at 4 o'clock in the
morning, very tired (we had a long lay-over in Amsterdam) but very
very happy. I am so pleased to tell you that our Peru vacation that
you planned for us was excellent! Everything was just as the
itinerary said it would be. We were very pleased with the hotels,
and the transfer people and guides were always there and everybody
was so nice and knowledgeable. We learned a lot about your very
exciting country and its history, particularly about the Quechua
culture. We will always remember the Inti Raymi festival in Cusco. I
am so glad we were able to see that. Of course Machu Picchu was also
a great highlight. And, Michael and I also very much liked Arequipa.
We didn't know much about that city, but we had a very great time
there on our free day and visited the cathedral, spent a lot of time
going through the Santa Catalina monastario and, of course, went to
the museum to see "Juanita". Beautiful architecture there too.
Really, every day was wonderful, and we would like to thank you so
much for all your efforts. Also please extend our thanks to Maria
Carmen who was so helpful on the phone and to Julia, who came to the
hotel our first night to explain many things to us and give us all
our tickets and vouchers. And perhaps you also had something to do
with our last night in Lima at the Libertador. We got a suite -- a
very big beautiful room! Thank you so much.
We wish you and your family all the best, and for sure we will be
recommending Peru Gateway Travel to our friends.
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