Peru travel budget: how much to plan?

The flight alone accounts for half or more of the total budget. At €542 minimum return, it weighs more than two full weeks of living on the ground. Peru's whole budget strategy follows from that.

On the ground, almost nothing is expensive. A well-rated hostel runs €6 to €8 a night, a three-star €47, a four-star €82. Even trading up, you stay below a standard room in Western Europe.

Hence the country's rule: stretch the stay. One week comes to roughly €830 all in, two weeks about €1,100, three about €1,400. The cost per day falls from €118 to €66. A flight this expensive only fully justifies itself beyond ten days.

The line to watch is not daily life but the major sites. Machu Picchu, with its entry ticket, its train and often a night in Aguas Calientes, forms a several-hundred-euro block of its own. It is the one expense that escapes the cheap logic of the rest of the country.

The dry season, May to September, is the right window for the Andes and Machu Picchu: workable trails, clear skies, visibility on the sites. It is also high season, so the period requiring the earliest booking.

The rainy season, December to March, complicates high-altitude hiking and some treks close in February. Rates fall, though, and crowds thin.

Lima follows its own logic, and it surprises many: the city is built on a coastal desert. Rain barely falls, between 1 and 26mm a month, and temperatures stay between 17 and 22°C year-round. There is no bad season for Lima, only a persistent coastal fog from June to October.

The flight stays expensive all year, with a recorded low around €542 in November on only two monthly readings. From London the fare barely moves, €542 to €574 on the two months we recorded, so watching your dates buys little here: the lever is the length of the stay.

Eating. Lima is a recognized food capital, and the value is remarkable. The midday menú del día, starter, main and drink, runs €3 to €6 at a neighborhood restaurant. A ceviche at a good cevichería costs €8 to €15. Only the most celebrated tables, those in international rankings, reach European price levels.

Getting around. Distances are considerable. Long-distance buses are comfortable, cheap and very developed, with reclining seats on overnight legs. On major routes like Lima to Cusco, a domestic flight saves a full day for a few dozen euros and often wins the trade-off. In town, taxis and ride-hailing cost a few euros a trip.

Sightseeing. This is the only genuinely expensive line. Reaching Machu Picchu combines a timed entry ticket, a high-priced train and often a night on site: the whole runs into hundreds of euros and books months ahead in the dry season. The rest of the heritage is far more accessible, and Lima's museums stay modestly priced.

Currency. The sol, not the euro. Cards work in cities and tourist establishments, but keep cash for markets, buses and rural areas, where it remains the norm.

Language. Spanish, and Quechua in the Andes. English is little spoken outside tourist circuits: a few basics of Spanish substantially change the quality of the trip.

Altitude. This is the health point not to neglect. Cusco sits above 3,400 metres, and altitude sickness affects a significant share of visitors arriving straight from Lima at sea level. Allow two rest days on arrival before any hiking, and ascend gradually where possible.

Booking. Machu Picchu runs on timed slots with strict daily quotas, and sells out months ahead in the dry season. It is the country's only genuinely binding reservation, but it often shapes the entire itinerary.