💰 Trip to Peru Cost: My Budget Breakdown (2024)

💰 Trip Cost	Very Affordable
💵 Typical Budget	$40-$130/day
🍀 My Budget	$144/day
✈️ Trip Total	$2,051
🗓️ Trip Length	10 days

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Is Peru Affordable To Travel To?

Peru is a very affordable destination worldwide and is consistently one of the cheapest countries in South America to visit.

• The cost of living is low, so prices are competitive for visitors.
• The country’s well-developed tourism infrastructure offers a wide range of accommodation and transportation for every budget.
• It has incredibly cheap modes of transportation (e.g., chicken buses are a popular budget way to get around).
• Local food is also very affordable, with $5 meals being possible.

For comparison, here’s my daily budget for destinations in Central and South America:

Country	My Budget
🇨🇷 Costa Rica	$235
🇧🇿 Belize	$186
🇵🇪 Peru	$144
🇳🇮 Nicaragua	$59

See all my daily budgets.

About My Trip

To give context to the expenses below, here’s what you need to know about my trip:

• I spent 10 days in Peru, visiting Lima, Cusco, and Huacachina, and hiking the Inca Trail.
• My trip was in April, during the end of the low season, when things are cheaper.
• I traveled with a group of friends, which allowed us to split costs like housing.
• I’m a mid-range budget traveler. I don’t aim to travel on a budget, but I’m intentional about my spending.
• I finance my trips and don’t receive sponsorship.
• All expenses are per person and in US dollars, converted from the Nicaraguan córdoba.

The exchange rate was $1 USD = S/ 3.70 at the time of writing.

Planning a trip? Here’s what to know about Peru.

Total Cost

• $2,051
• $1,438
• $144

A mid-range budget traveler can expect to spend about $130 per day in Peru. This budget generally means:

• Staying at accommodations that cost less than $50 per night
• Eating at a mix of local food markets and some high-end restaurants
• Booking group tours for top attractions and activities

Budget Breakdown

Here’s a breakdown of my expenses by travel category:

Category	Cost	% of Total	Daily Budget
✈️ Flights	$613	30%	–
🏠 Accommodation	$149	7%	$15
🍛 Food	$170	8%	$17
🚗 Transportation	$115	6%	$11
⭐ Entertainment	$1,005	49%	$101
Total	$2,051	100%	$144

Flight Cost

• $613 (from the east coast of the US to Peru’s Lima international airport)

A round-trip flight between the US and Peru costing under $400 is considered cheap, as international flights typically cost over $600.

Accommodation Cost

• $149 (excludes overnight stays on the Inca Trail)
• $15

The accommodations I stayed at:

Accommodation	Total Cost	Cost/Night
Lima hotel	$46	$46
Lima Airbnb	$54	$14
Cusco Airbnb	$49	$24

My accommodation budgeting tips:

• The cheapest options start at $8 a night – You can find shared-room hostels for this price in popular places like Lima and Cusco. You can pay more for a private room for $15 a night.
• Split housing with others if possible – In popular places like Lima and Cusco, mid-range accommodations will be closer to $5 a night if you can split it with others.

Food Cost

• $170 (excludes meals on the Inca Trail)
• $17

My most affordable meals:

Meal	Location	Cost
Omelettes & empanadas	Lima cafe	$8
Rice with protein	Tupana Wasi (Aguas Calientes)	$15
Guinea pig & side dishes	Pachapapa (Cusco)	$15

My most expensive meals:

Meal	Location	Cost
Nikkei cuisine	Osaka (Lima)	$56
Seafood & other entrees	Chicha por Gaston Acurio (Cusco)	$25
Seafood lunch	Local restaurant (Lima)	$25

My food budgeting tips:

• Eat at cevicherías, chifas, and local food stands – Eating at local restaurants for less than $12 a day can save you more than $10 per meal compared to eating at a more touristy restaurant.
• Consider a street food tour – While local food is very cheap, it’s not uncommon for tourists to get stomach issues in Peru, so consider taking a street food tour if you have a sensitive stomach.

Transportation Cost

• $115
• $11

The transportation I used:

Transportation	Total Cost	Cost/Ride
Domestic flight	$53	–
Taxis & Uber	$55	$11
Tuk-tuks	$7	–

My transportation budgeting tips:

• Take Peru’s buses – They’re the most common form of public transport for short and long distances. Bus tickets that travel between locations about four hours apart (e.g., Lima to Paracas) can be as low as $12 per ride.
• Use Uber for short distances – It’s available and relatively affordable in tourist places like Lima, Cusco, and Arequipa.

Entertainment Cost 

• $1,005
• $101

The activities/attractions I did:

#	Experience	Location	Cost
1	⛰️ Inca Trail to Machu Picchu	Cusco	$870
2	🏜️ Huacachina Day Trip	Ica	$135

My entertainment budgeting tips:

• Prioritize top attractions – A trip to Peru quickly adds up with tourist attractions. You will save a few hundred dollars by skipping some of them or figuring out transportation on your own.
  • Sacred Valley and Rainbow Mountain – If you’re already in Cusco for Machu Picchu, adding a trip to Sacred Valley costs ~$35. A trip to the colorful Rainbow Mountain costs the same.
  • Colca Canyon – A trip to one of the deepest canyons in the world ranges from $40 for a full-day tour to $115 for a multi-day trekking tour.
  • Lake Titicaca – An overnight stay in the largest freshwater lake in South America can cost up to $270.
  • Nazca Lines – The best way to see the mysterious Nazca Lines is by air, and a typical plane tour costs at least $120.
  • Amazon Rainforest – The famous rainforest covers almost two-thirds of Peru, and staying there for a few days will cost at least $450.
• The Inca Trail is expensive, but don’t go too cheap – You generally don’t want to pay less than $650 for the trek. Anything less likely means the tour operator isn’t paying its porters, who are usually local indigenous people, well.

See my ratings for Peru’s experiences.

Do You Need Cash?

• Peru’s economy heavily relies on cash transactions, so make sure to bring cash.

My tips on using cash:

• USD and Peruvian soles are widely used, so you can withdraw cash in either currency. If you use USD, expect to receive change in soles where you may not get a favorable exchange rate.
• Carry about $60 worth of cash per day to cover food, transportation, and attractions.
• Tipping is customary in Peru. A 10% to 15% tip is not atypical, and it’s best done through cash and small bills.

Peru Trip Planner 2024

To make your travel preparation easier, download the trip planner below. It has destination-specific travel information, itinerary, map, and packing list.

My trip planners are built on Notion, which I use for all my travel planning. I genuinely love this tool and creating an account is free.