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When traveling abroad, it's always a question of how much local money we will need. After all, there is an expense in fees to buy the money, so you don't want to get more than you need, and yet, you do want to bring enough for what you need. Therefore the question is, what do I need? Also, do I buy at home, or do I wait till I arrive and try to buy at the airport, hotel, or where ever I am able to exchange? Do I use an ATM, or bring US Dollars to exchange? We're on an 11 day trip traveling to various destinations such as a brieft tour of Lima, and visiting Paracas, Nazca, Arequipa, Colca, Puno/Lake Titicaca, Cusco, Sacred Valley, Ollantaytambo, and Machu Picchu. Generally, we don't buy anything to bring home, and try to use credit cards as much as possible, and local currency where credit cards are not needed or accepted. Hoping to receive replies where people might share how much money they brought, and/or when they needed or purchased local currency while in Peru. Where/when will I need cash, how easy is it to use credit cards? How easy is it to find and use an ATM for extra cash? Any help and information with this concern is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
We took enough for immediate expenses upon arrival - although Jorge Chavez is well-equipped with both money exchange places and ATMs. For the rest of the time we used a travel cash card - a card that we can load online with whatever we like, then use it to draw out funds at any ATM. Card can also be used to pay for services such as hotels, restaurants, goods, etc. just like a credit card. It is NOT a credit card - your expenditure is limited to the amount you have loaded on the card and you can load more as and when. Worked like a charm, with no probs and I would recommend this. There were no withdrawal fees and only a very small fee charged by the issuer, so look for this atribute if you decide to go the travel card route. The card we used was a Caxton FX Global Card. We also use their Euro Card but obviously not outside of the euro zone! Btw, your itinerary leaves me breathless! I hope you enjoy Paracas, as it was one of the highlights of our visit. Oh yes, Peru is very much a cash society but cards are used in hotels and restaurants but not all. Markets that accept credit cards should be avoided as they will cater to the tourist marker and not offer either the best goods nor the best prices.
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When we were in Peru we did our usual thing and got all of our cash from ATMs there. Not all of them seemed to accept international cards, but a lot do, so you should ask. Smaller shops, markets, etc. are still very much cash only, so you really are going to want some Soles when you are on the ground. We can confirm that there were ATMs in Puno, Cusco and Lima. The towns in the Sacred Valley itself were quite small and I don't remember seeing any there. Hotels, transport, better restaurants, yes, credit cards are accepted. One word of caution when travelling in developing countries, even in major centres. The telecommunications infrastructure is not exactly robust. While places may accept credit cards, the transactions may not always go through (even on the ATM network). We've had this happen before, as recently as late last year in Namibia. Tranactions were hit and miss in the capital city, Windhoek and were totally unreliable in less urban areas. Have at least a few days of cash on hand, just in case. As for cost, Peru is not an expensive country and your money will go a lot further than it would at home, especially for food and accomodation. The more touristy places obviously have higher prices....
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ATMs (but advise your bank of your destination(s) before you travel).
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Machu Picchu is at the end of the Sacred Valley, a "dead end" so to speak, so yes, you have to return to Cusco for... more
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