Date of Travel:  February, July, August, September and October 2015

Date of Writing:November 27th 2015

(All Values in Canadian Dollars unless otherwise noted)

Peru is an incredible country that has long since grown used to… and proficient at, tourism.  From the famed ruins of Machu Picchu, to the depths of the Colca Canyon.  From the base of the largely undiscovered second tallest waterfall in the world, to the whales playfully raising their young off the coast.  From the stunning coloured lakes of the snow covered cordillera blanca, to the decaying majesty of rubber boom jungle town Iquitos.  Peru is a place of majesty and a great vacation destination.  It has Mountains, Beaches, Desert, Jungle and just about everything else.  But how much does a trip to Peru need to cost?  Well here’s a detailed look at my figures.

I was in Peru 4 separate times in the past year and spent a total of 120 days there.  Canadians are allowed up to six months of every year there for the record, and it would not be hard to spend all of them in Peru, and considering how much tourism the country receives, your money can still go quite aways.

Here’s the charts, with the breakdowns to follow below.

Totals

In my 120 days in Peru I spent 5386.53 CAD which works out to a daily average of 44.89 CAD per day or 33.57 USD.  This includes almost everything I spent in Peru but excludes all internal flights (381 CAD)  and my trip to Tapiche Reserve in the Amazon  (654.55) which I paid for with an unexpected little extra money received shortly before the trip. If you work these costs in to the daily budget I spent 6422.08 CAD which works out to a daily average of 53.52 CAD or 40.03 USD.    I lived very well in Peru and did every big thing you could do except for the Nazca Lines, I even paid for Machu Picchu twice.  In my opinion, it would be easy enough to travel Peru being a little bit more selective on the big costs and only spend about 25 USD a day.  If you need to cut costs further than that it’s time to look into couch surfing and other cost cutting measures like that.

Lodging:

Lodging will usually be a big part of any travel budget.  In Peru I stayed exclusively in hostels and budget hotels where hostels could not be found.  I stayed in dorms most of the time, but comfortable and clean dorms at nice Hostels.  throughout the 120 days I spent 1384.56 CAD which works out to a daily average of 11.54 CAD.  This also includes the entire cost of my 5 days in the Amazon in Puerto Maldonado which should be spread out over multiple categories.  If you splice in some couch surfing, or even stay in less fancy hostels It would be easy to take the lodging budget down to 8 CAD a day, or even lower.

Food and Drink:

I need to stop eating so much, and stop eating at international restaurants with such frequency, that’s what these numbers say.  Still the fact that I don’t drink helps somewhat compensate for my overspending on food. In 120 days in Peru I spent 2328.91 on all my meals and snack and drinks.  That works out to a daily average of 19.41 CAD per day.  I ate well in Peru, very well more often than not, and it would be easy enough to cut 5 to 8 dollars a day off this budget by eating local and cooking for yourself.  Unless your a big drinker Peru shouldn’t be too expensive to eat in, and even then beer and cocktails are cheap by western standards but will balloon your budget a bit.

Transportation:

This category includes all Buses, Trains, Taxis and Tuk Tuk’s taken during my 120 days in Peru.  It does not include the 381.00 CAD I spent on Internal flights with Star Peru.  In 120 Days in Peru I spent 901.23 CAD  on Transportation, working out to a daily average of 7.51 CAD on Buses, Trains, Taxi’s and Tuk Tuk’s.  I moved around a lot in Peru and criss crossed the country several times, which is no small feat.  Buses are fairly cheap in Peru’s taxi’s vary from place to place, but in a pinch I think getting buy on 5 CAD a day as your transport budget would be doable with a little more walking and a little less backtracking.

Activities/Entertainment:

This covers entrance fees and day tours as well as hiring guides for some local attractions.  Machu Picchu Twice, Kuelap Twice, and lots of day tours including two whale watching trips were the big contributors here.  I spent 585.33 CAD on all my activities and Entertainment in my 120 days in Peru.  This works out to 4.88 CAD per day and I did everything I wanted to do.

Miscellaneous:

Little costs build up when your on the road for a long time, and buying toiletries, or replacing broken clothing can add up and that all goes into this category.  In my 120 days in Peru I spent 186.49 CAD working out to a daily average of 1.55 per day.

Flights to Peru:

I’m travelling longterm in South America and did not fly into Peru, that said I want to recommend for Americans and Canadians who live near the border, that you check out Spirit Airlines, and the comfier option of Jet Blue, who were by far the cheapest flights I found when I was looking around, sometimes as low as 300 USD one way from New York state to Lima.  Just be aware both of these airlines, especially Spirit, operate like low cost carriers like Ryanair in Europe and if you don’t follow the rules and prebuy the extra there will be charges, that said it’s often the cheapest way to fly.

When looking for internal flights be careful as airlines like Avianca and Lan offer 40% off rates but only for Peruvian citizens, buy one by accident and you’ll be paying 170 USD extra each way.  I ended up always flight with Star Peru and had no problems, but Peruvian airlines is another, often low cost options.

Conclusions:

Peru isn’t the cheapest country in South America, but it’s one of the cheaper ones.  It’s a great budget travel destination with so many incredible places to visit.  Even after 12o days here I feel like there are many places I did not discovered, and even more places I want to come back to.  I spent 44.89 CAD or 33.57 USD  a day but with a few food based sacrifices and a little couch surfing I think you could easily get by on a lot less.

Peru Comfortable suggested backpacking budget: 35-40 USD per day.

Peru Shoestring suggested backpacking budget: 25 USD per day.

And don’t forget if you run out of money it’s very easy to find a hostel to volunteer in, like the vast majority of south America.

If you would like to download a blank copy of the budgeting template I use visit the link here.  All credit for this fantastic document goes to the people at www.alittleadrift.com another very useful travel website.