When people plan their tour to Peru they frequently ask us about the safety conditions in Peru. They are worried about getting robbed, or getting stuck in a protest. Although these risks exist, like almost everywhere in the world, most tourists in Peru will not encounter any of these problems. However, there is another risk, which is more likely to affect your holiday in a negative way if you don’t prepare well. This risk is called altitude sickness in Peru. Altitude sickness Altitude sickness is caused by there being less oxygen in the air at higher altitudes. And usually the air is also less humid. Our body needs to make more red blood cells to compensate the lesser amount of
Recently a student who is writing a thesis about promoting tourism in Ecuador asked me: “Why Ecuador?” It is the main goal of her thesis, to find the best way to promote Ecuador as a great tourist destination for Dutch tourists. It is a very interesting question. I love Ecuador, but even after visiting Ecuador for 20 years now, I still don’t know the best way to promote tourism in Ecuador. Why Ecuador struggles to be recognised? Maybe we can answer that question by looking at the way how neighbouring countries Colombia and Peru represent themselves? A good example are the travellers I used to meet in Peru and who were on their way to Colombia. They were often discussing
Who says “Ecuador”, says “Galapagos Islands”, but this is only one of the many tourist destinations in Ecuador. If you ask a random traveller about touristic highlights in Ecuador and he/ she knows where Ecuador is, then they will likely answer: “The Galapagos Islands, the train ride along Nariz del Diablo, the Quilotoa Loop trek, the Saturday market of Otavalo and the active Cotopaxi Volcano. But Ecuador has so much more to offer! Visiting this relative small country is literarily visiting the whole world in a nutshell. From west to east and north to south, you find four different world full of touristic highlights. Below I will mention my own favourite known and lesser known tourist destinations in Ecuador. The
When travelling in Bolivia it is usually not really the safety in Bolivia that you have to worry about. A popular saying in Bolivia is: “Todo posible, nada seguro”. This means that in Bolivia everything possible is, but there are no guarantees. It means that when you travel in Bolivia you have to be flexible and be prepared that travel schedules don’t always go as planned. Safety questions about Bolivia What about safety in Bolivia? How safe is it to travel by bus in Bolivia? Are overnight buses in Bolivia safe to travel with? Is it safe to travel by myself? Is it safe for me to travel through Bolivia as a solo female traveller? It are all questions we
What about our safety in Ecuador? Is it safe to travel around through Ecuador? How safe is it to travel by bus in Ecuador? Is it safe for me to travel in Ecuador as a solo female traveller? It are all questions we receive frequently and they don’t surprise us. If you consider that Ecuador has mainly been negatively in the news the past few years. Huge (indigenous) protest, road blocks, gang violence and recently even the killings of political figures who wanted to do something against the recent gang violence. With all this negativity it is only natural that people are currently a bit anxious to travel to Ecuador. But in general the gang violence is not aimed against
What about safety in Peru? Is it safe to travel by myself? How safe is it to travel by bus in Peru? Are overnight buses in Peru safe to travel with? Is it safe for me to travel through Peru as a solo female traveller? It are all questions we receive frequently and they don’t surprise us. If you consider that a country like Peru is more likely to reach mainstream news when something negative has happened, it is only natural that people who have never travelled to South America will feel more cautious. However, the problem is how to answer these questions about safety in Peru? Yes, there is organised crime in Peru. But no, most tourists will not
What is the weather in Peru like? When is the best time to travel to Peru? It are frequently asked questions and the answers will depend on what your travel plans in Peru are. The location of Peru Peru is located on the southern hemisphere. So for those of us who live in the northern hemisphere, the meteorological summer and winter in Peru are opposed to our summer and winter. If you visit the Peruvian coast, especially Lima, during our summer you are likely to encounter grey skies and a chilly, humid climate. However, the other way around, this doesn’t mean that a vacation in Peru is a great way to escape the cold winter in the northern hemisphere. Sun,
Peru is a big country, even 37 times as big as the Netherlands. The most common ways to travel the long distances between the bigger cities in Peru is by comfortable overnight bus, or by flying. For those who can afford to fly, this is of course the most comfortable option. Because flying Peru is so common there are several airlines which operate in Peru. These airlines include: Sky, JetSMART, Star Peru and LATAM. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on flying Peru Before the Covid-19 pandemic, there was still a decent competition between various different airline companies on important flying routes within Peru, like the one between Lima and Cusco. But even then LATAM was already a dominating airline
Do I need a tourist visa Peru? Most citizen from Europe, the United Kingdom and United States of America don’t need to apply for any visa if the want to visit Peru as a tourist. You will only need to show a passport that is still valid for six months at the moment that you enter Peru. UNLESS your nationality is from one of these six European countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaiyán, Bosnia y Herzegovina, Georgia y Kosovo, then you need to apply for a tourist visa. For more information about the need for a tourist visa and how to apply, you can check the official website of the Peruvian government (only available in Spanish). More information in English, although, unfortunately,
Which travel plugs should I use in Peru? It’s a frequently asked question and there are different answers. There are no fewer than four different types of sockets used in Peru! Dutch electrical plugs Electrical appliances in the Netherlands mainly use plugs of types C and F and our sockets are therefore also adapted to this. However, the most common sockets in Peru are made for the so-called American plug model, or plug model A and B. For example, if you bought a telephone and/or photo camera in the Netherlands, the charger usually has a plug of model C. Travel plugs Peru Nowadays you see more and more electrical sockets in Peru that are suitable for plugs A, B and
