Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [466]
Driver’s License
A driver’s license from your own home country is sufficient for renting a car. An International Driving Permit (IDP) is only required if you’ll be driving in Peru for more than 30 days.
Rental
Major rental companies have offices in Lima (Click here) and a few other large cities. Renting a motorcycle is an option mainly in jungle towns, where you can go for short runs around town on dirt bikes, but not much further.
Economy car rental starts at US$50 a day. But that doesn’t include sales tax of 19%, ‘super’ collision-damage waiver, personal accident insurance and so on, which together can climb to more than US$100 per day, not including excess mileage. Vehicles with 4WD are more expensive.
Make sure you completely understand the rental agreement before you sign. A credit card is required, and renters normally need to be over 25 years of age.
Road Rules & Hazards
Bear in mind that the condition of rental cars is often poor, roads are potholed (even the paved Pan-American Hwy), gas is expensive, and drivers are aggressive, regarding speed limits, road signs and traffic signals as mere guides, not the law. Moreover, road signs are often small and unclear.
Driving is on the right-hand side of the road. Driving at night is not recommended because of poor conditions, speeding buses and slow-moving, poorly lit trucks. At night, and even during the day, bandits can also be a problem on some roadways (Click here).
Theft is all too common, so you should not leave your vehicle parked on the street. When stopping overnight, park the car in a guarded lot (the better hotels have them).
Gasoline or petrol stations (called grifos) are few and far between. At the time of research, the average cost of gasolina in Peru was about S16 to S17 (more than US$5 to US$6) per US gallon.
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HITCHHIKING
Hitchhiking is never entirely safe in any country in the world and is not recommended. Travelers who decide to hitchhike should understand that they are taking a serious risk. Hitchhikers will be safer if they travel in pairs and let someone know where they are planning to go. In Peru hitchhiking is not very practical, as there are few private cars, buses are so cheap and trucks are often used as paid public transportation in remote areas.
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LOCAL TRANSPORTATION
In most towns and cities, it’s easy to walk everywhere or take a taxi. Using local buses, micros and combis can be tricky, but is very inexpensive.
Bus
Local buses are slow and crowded, but startlingly cheap. Ask locally for help, as there aren’t any obvious bus lines in most towns.
A faster, more hair-raising alternative is to take micros or combis, sometimes called colectivos (though that term usually refers to taxis). Typically, micros and combis are, respectively, minibuses or minivans stuffed full of passengers. They can be identified by stickers along the outside panels and destination placards in the front windows. You can flag one down or get off anywhere on the route. A conductor usually leans out of the vehicle, shouting out destinations. Once inside, you must quickly squeeze into any available seat, or be prepared to stand up or crouch down. The conductor will come around and collect the fare, or you can pay when getting off. Be aware that safety is not a high priority for combi drivers. The only place for a passenger to safely buckle up is the front seat, but in the event of a head-on collision (not an unusual occurrence), that’s the last place you’d want to be.
Taxi
Taxis seem to be everywhere. Private cars that have a small taxi sticker in the windshield aren’t necessarily regulated. Safer, regulated taxis usually have a lit company number on the roof and are called for by telephone. These are more expensive than taxis flagged down on the street, but are