In typical travelchicka fashion, I was on a plane heading over to Lima, Peru when everyone back in the U.S.A. was celebrating an American holiday: 4th of July. On the one hand, I am very patriotic and enjoy celebrating American holidays, but on the other hand, I LOVE to take advantage of the lower airfares to outside the U.S. during these times.I also left 90 degree weather for 50-60 degree weather!

A few tips when traveling to Lima and trying to save some money. If you only take away one thing from this post, be sure to N-E-G-O-T-I-A-T-E.

1. Currency: I typically do not travel with the local currency, but I advise you to exchange U.S. dollars for Peruvian Soles prior to your departure since some of the smaller restaurants  and souvenir shops do not take credit card. Also, Peruvians prefer you to tip in local currency or coins at a restaurant. Bank of America does a good job of charging a small transaction fee and getting the local currency to you in 2-3 days. I noticed that AMEX was not accepted in many places, but Visa and Mastercard signs were everywhere when credit was accepted.
2. Hotel: Try to stay in the Miraflores area. It is the nicest and safest area of Lima. It is bustling with restaurants, bars, night clubs and a lot of people. If you are a Marriott Rewards Member and have some points or free certificates to spare, I highly recommend staying at the brand new Courtyard Marriott Miraflores. It is a category 4 hotel and 20,000 points per night. It is hands down in a better central city location than the JW Marriott in Lima, which is closer to the water. I was looking to explore the city so that is why I gravitated to a central city hotel, but if you are looking to relax and look out the window to the water, I’d suggest the JW. Regardless, the Courtyard Marriott Miraflores was the best Courtyard I’ve ever stayed at so far as a Platinum Marriott member. And it cost $0 dollars for 4 nights since I used 2 free night certificates and 40,000 points. So worth it!
3. Food: Please remember that all tax and tip  is included in the price listed on the menus. For the nicer restaurants, travel books suggest to leave an additional 10% tip. That is my rule of thumb in Peru. You are in for a real treat in terms of pricing though since food in Peru is very inexpensive. Even if you go to the nicest restaurants, like Rosa Nautica (highly recommended: try the ceviche!), you can walk away spending about $35-$45 per person including tip and tax and have an appetizer, entree and 1-2 cocktails. I enjoy scoping out supermarkets in all countries that I visit and highly recommend you also take a trip to Metro. You can buy as many corn nuts and plantain chips as your heart desires for a little less than $1 U.S. dollar per pack!!
4. Alcohol: Please, please, please do not ask for ice in your cocktails unless you specifically ask if the ice cubes were made from bottled water. DO NOT waste your money trying Peruvian wines just because you are visiting Peru. It is not like the other tasty Spanish wines. Instead, drink as many Pisco Sours as possible! Peru is known for this drink, which is made up of Pisco liquor (like a Brandy), lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white. YUMMMM. I drank those the entire trip. Most restaurants priced their alcohol at reasonable prices – think about $4-$6 for a Pisco Sour cocktail which is not too bad! Also, a lot of the hotels in Lima offer 2 free Pisco Sours per night’s stay. Just be sure to ask the front desk if that or any sort of additional perks are included in your room.
5. Water: DO NOT drink the water. If you are staying close to a supermarket, be sure to load up on a bunch of bottled waters for your day sightseeing. Many hotels in Lima, mine included, provided 2 free bottles of water per night’s stay. If you do purchase bottled water from a convenience store or push cart – it should only cost you 1 Soles – about $.33 cents.
6. Taxis: Uber has landed in Lima!! A suggestion that saves some money is that when you land at the Lima airport, hook up to Lima’s 10 minute free wifi and order an Uber to pick you up at the closest door you are at. It is 50 soles if you use Uber and that 50 soles goes a long way since it takes about 1 hour with traffic to get to the Miraflores area of Lima. I actually preferred my Uber drivers to the taxi drivers, since I knew they couldn’t swingle me out of more money. If you do not use Uber, please make sure you negotiate and determine the price before getting into any taxi. That is VERY important. If you are staying in the Miraflores area and are taking a taxi to some place close by, it should not cost more than 7-10 soles. Do not let the taxi drivers tell you differently (they typically try to double or triple the price for foreigners). Tipping is not expected, but if you have an enjoyable experience, some people tip a few coins to say thank you.
7. Souvenirs: Cheap, cheap, cheap. Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate! You can get some really cute Llahma keychains for 1 soles and beanie hats for around 8-10 soles. Again, they usually start high – almost double or triple – so get ready to haggle : )
8. Weather: During the month of July, Peru is in its winter. Even in wintertime, it is around 50-60 degrees in Lima. This weather is perfect for a light jacket, jeans and scarf. I packed a few pairs of shorts that were not even taken out of my suitcase – so summer clothes are not necessary. Since it is not completely below freezing in Lima, and Peru for that matter, be sure to watch out for the mosquitoes. Prior to leaving the U.S.A., we purchased bug spray with DEET. Please take precautions and purchase prior to leaving. Those few dollars you shell out at the beginning will go along way!
9. Bike Tour: Amazing. Highly recommended. You bike for about 3 1/2 hours throughout the different neighborhoods in Lima. I booked the bike tour the night before I wanted to explore the city and I received a confirmation from the bike tour company confirming my spot! At the end of the tour, we even sat down at a cafe and had some empanadas!! Gracias, Arturo! All in all, the afternoon tour that started at 2PM cost me $40 US dollars – that even included a small tip for Arturo, our fabulous bike tour guide.
10. Free Walking Tour: Many cities have free walking tours. The ones in Peru far exceed the other free walking tours. They will take you around to all the interesting places in Lima, as well as provide you with a free taste of some of the local cuisine and drinks. The tour lasted about 3 hours and the guides just expect a tip. It seemed like 20 soles per person was the standard.