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PERU TRAVEL PLANNER
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Traveller's Cheques
For safety's sake the bulk of your money should be carried as
traveller's cheques - preferably of two different types, as rumoured forgeries
make individual brands difficult to exchange, from time to time. American
Express is probably the best bet since it has its own offices in Lima and Cusco,
is widely recognized by casas de cambio, hotels, travel agents and is
exchangeable in Peru's most efficient bank, the Banco de Credito. American
Express also offers an efficient poste restante service. Master Card traveller's
cheques (such as those issued by Thomas Cook and HSBC) are exchangeable for
nuevo soles in the Banco Wiese and Banco Latino.
US dollars (preferably cash) are by far the best currency to carry in Peru -
anything else will almost certainly prove hard to get rid of outside Lima, and
the dollar exchange rate is the one most keenly followed. Pounds sterling cash,
or even as traveller's cheques, really aren't worth carrying; you often get a
very poor exchange rate. Damaged dollar notes will not generally be accepted
anywhere, but the same isn't true of nuevo soles.
Credit cards are accepted in the more expensive restaurants and hotels of large
cities throughout Peru, such as Lima, Arequipa, Trujillo and Cusco, and
increasingly even in smaller places (especially Visa) such as Puerto Maldonado,
Huaraz and Iquitos, as well as for car rental. The better known ones (including
Mastercard, Visa, Diners Club and Citicorp) can also be used with larger travel
companies, but not to pay for bus or train journeys, or at cheaper hotels or
restaurants. American Express cards are not that widely accepted. Local currency
can be withdrawn from ATMs at a number of banks, including Interbanc (Visa),
Banco Latino (Mastercard and Cirrus), Banco de Wiese (Amex, Citicorp, Diners
Club International and Mastercard) and Banco de Credito (Visa), and Unicard
(Plus). Be careful using the ATMs, though, they have become a target for
muggings. These banks will also advance cash on these cards for a small fee -
the amount varies considerably, so check beforehand.
Getting change from your nuevo soles is almost always a problem. Large
denominations should be avoided; you'll find them more difficult to change
anywhere in South America. It's particularly hard to change the larger notes in
jungle towns, and even in Cusco and Lima shopkeepers and waiters are often
reluctant to accept them; if they do, they'll end up running around trying to
find small change, which is a time consuming drag for both parties. It's best to
break up large notes at every opportunity - in major shops, bars and post
offices. If you hang on to the smaller nuevo soles notes you'll have few
difficulties in even the remotest villages.
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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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