Lima is a destination that not enough people are talking about. It is easy to travel to Lima from the United States via a number of options for direct flights. There is just the right amount of things to do that you could spend a long weekend or attach a visit to a much longer trip throughout Peru. The museums, parks, and culinary adventures will leave you in awe. Lets get right to the point and break down some high yield information for a visit to Lima!
Getting There
American Airlines offers direct flights to Lima from Dallas and Miami. If you don’t choose an American carrier, Latam Airlines has a very good reputation and safety record in Peru. The flight to Lima is not terribly long, so this could be a destination for a long weekend. For example, my arrival was 6:15am on Saturday and departure was at 12:52am Monday morning. This left me with a full two days in Lima for the highlights. I have done this flight schedule on more than one occasion. Remember to allow for some time to get through immigration upon arrival.
Transportation
Ahead of time, I was concerned about getting around. The city of Lima is very spread out. I made a list of the sights that I was interested in seeing to gauge what was close together. I read that there is no regulation on the taxi system in Lima. Practically anyone can put a sticker in their car that says taxi. However, some companies do have a better reputation than others. In addition, comments were that often drivers don’t even know where they are going. They do not run a meter, so ensure that you inquire the price ahead of time. We started by taking a taxi to our first and second stops of the day. Our hotel called the first one for us. The price of 10 SOL for the first ride and 20 SOL for the second seemed very reasonable to us. However, we decided to look at Uber prices. They were very cheap! We ended up taking Uber the remainder of the trip. Fortunately, we did not have any issues with Uber at all. Our 40 minute drive to the airport at the end of the trip cost us a mere $10 USD.
Dependent upon where you are staying, the drive from the airport to your hotel in Barranco or Miraflores can be 40 plus minutes. I have found arranging a transfer with the hotel in advance works beautifully. A driver has been waiting for us with our name on a sign. The price has been very reasonable and laid out in advance of the reservation.
Where to Stay
I feel the Miraflores, San Isidro, or Barranco neighborhoods to be the best for visitors. They leave you well positioned to explore all of the highlights in Lima. Visit my article on Where to Stay in Lima Peru for all of the details about where you should book your stay.
Plan Ahead
Lima has so many incredible restaurants many of which are on the list of top 50 best in the world. If you are interested in the culinary scene in Lima, make sure that you book reservations well in advance of your visit. Check to see when popular restaurants release their reservations. Central restaurant is typically booked months in advance. Astrid y Gaston had a lunch reservation, but we were not able to have the tasting menu if we took a dinner reservation. We made all of our reservations online. Some may require a small fee upfront to reserve the seating. Overall, as you might imagine, the value for your dollar goes much further in terms of quality and experience.
Hours of Operation
If you choose to make your trip over a long weekend, consider the hours of operation of the sights. Most of the sights and attractions were open on Sunday. However, this was not the case for many restaurants. It seemed that all of the higher end restaurants were closed on Sunday. We were interested in a couple of restaurants in the Barranco district and tried to get in for a very late lunch around 3, and they were closing for the day. Also, restaurants open fairly late for lunch and dinner. Astrid y Gaston opened at 1pm. So, the first lunch seatings were at this time. We decided to have drinks before dinner at Mayo bar and reserved 7pm for drinks. At 7pm, we arrived, and could not find the entrance. Turns out, this was because they do not open until 7pm and the gate had not been opened yet. We were literally the only people in the restaurant for a good 20 minutes.
Weather
We went to Lima during their summer time. This is a nice break from the winter in the US. I thought the weather was absolutely perfect when we were there. Despite the overcast skies, I definitely got a lot of sun. Do not forget to bring sunblock. Also, do not worry about rain in Lima. A guide on one of our tours said Lima gets less than 1 inch of rain per year! Despite this, it was relatively humid. Often, I have visited in January. The weather was wonderful.
**A word of warning for those who like to drink. It is hard to visit Peru and leave without having a Pisco Sour. If you want to spend a weekend in Lima and like alcohol, pay attention to Election time. This is something that will absolutely be on my radar on a future visit to the city. Starting on Saturday morning of one of our visits through Monday, they were not allowed to serve alcohol anywhere. This also means that you are not able to purchase it from a store and drink it in your hotel room either. Missing out on the wine pairing at dinner was not ideal for me. It was something that I really looked forward to. The only option available to us was the liquor that was in the mini bar of our room.
