DO's and DON'Ts in Peru / Cusco

After living 2.5 months in Cusco, I wanted to give some recommendations that would hopefully make your trip and overall experience in Peru and especially Cusco better. Take everything I say with a grain of salt though, as this is purely based on my personal experience.

DO: Buy the Boleto Turistico

If you are staying several days in Cusco I highly recommend to buy this ticket. It gives you access to 16 different historical sites and museums within and around Cusco and costs 130 soles (around 35 USD) for 10 days. It also includes a traditional dance and music show. Many sites can only be visited by using this ticket, there are no separate entrances sold. You can buy these ticket at almost all of the sites included or otherwise at their office (right next to the "Museo de Arte Popular").

DO: Wear comfortable shoes

Cusco is filled with pebbled, narrow and steep streets and wearing anything other than flat shoes will be extremely unpractical.

DO: Take tour guides at tourist attractions

For many of the touristic sites and museums you can book a tour in beforehand but also once you reach the site or museum there are always tour guides gathering and will ask you if you are interested in taking a guide. You can recognize them by the badges they are wearing around their necks. Many of them also provide tours in English. Especially at historical sites such as Saqsayhuaman, Ollantaytambo, Moray etc. there are no signs or information available, so you might miss many things. Also at museums such as the Coricancha many information is only available in Spanish. A tour guide usually will cost you around 40 to 50 soles (15 USD) and the tours take between 30 minutes and an hour.

DO: Buy the tickets to Machu Picchu well in advance

Many people want to visit Machu Picchu, so tickets are sold out very early (around one month in advance). So it's best to already plan your visit and get your tickets well in advance to ensure you don't miss out. For the people that don't manage to get a ticket there is a daily contingent of 1000 tickets that are sold on the day before at Aguas Calientes but you might end up queuing up the whole day. It is also recommended to buy the train tickets in advance, as the train gets more expensive the closer to the date you buy it and there is no other way to reach Machu Picchu.

DO: Ask for the menu at restaurants

In many restaurants around Cusco and also other touristic locations, once you enter they will hand you their a la carte food, that typically will cost you around 40 soles (10 USD) for a main dish. But often they will have a blackboard hanging that says menu and not really mention it. Usually a menu is much more attractive, as you have a starter and a main dish ("fondo") as well as a drink ("refresco") included – sometimes even more. And the menu typically only costs around 15 to 25 soles (5 USD) with much more included then only a main dish. Normally you can choose between 4 to 5 things for your main dish and sometimes they also give you some options for the starters.

DO: Have some basic knowledge of Spanish

In Peru most people don't speak other languages than Spanish and Quechua (the native language of the Incas that is still spoken in rural areas). Even young people – despite learning English in school for many years – struggle to speak, as often times even their teachers have never been in an English speaking country before. Additionally, because Spanish is spoken in so many countries in the world, there is a lot of Spanish content available and thus also not really a motivation for them to learn English. Traveling outside of south America is often something only the richest can afford. So: if you travel to Peru and you don't speak or at least understand some Spanish you will struggle, unless you book an all-inclusive tour for your whole time there. 

DO: Buy your souvenirs at artisanal markets

In and around Cusco there are many options to buy souvenirs. Even if you go to the city center people will approach you and ask if you are interested in buying something. Also at most touristic sites there are people (mostly elderly women) with their tables full of different things. The thing is: usually they sell more or less the same things at all places. However, the souvenirs sold at the center or at the tourist sides are often much more expensive and it is difficult to negotiate with them. In my opinion, the best option to buy souvenirs in Cusco are so called artisanal markets. There you can find many different booths with all kinds of goods and really adequate prices. My favorite one is the "Mercado Artesanal de Cusco", which is a 15 minutes walk from the main square of Cusco. By the way, even though the initial prices are already fair you can still negotiate a bit, especially if you buy several things from one vendor.

DO: Support street vendors

One thing I really admire about Cusco: I never had someone approach me asking for money. But instead people approached me wanting to sell something. Also on the street you can't really find beggars but instead many people that are selling chewing gums, knitted goods, toys etc. There is a lot of poverty in Peru, so I'm happy that people are actively doing something to get out of it. Thus, I recommend to buy things if you have the chance, especially if you see elderly people.

DON'T: Take the public transport

Usually I am a big fan of taking public transport when I am at another place. But in Cusco it is pretty much impossible to figure it out when you are not living there. There is a bus system in place but instead of having numbers they are identified by their (non-intuitive names) that can range from Batman, Rainbow, Pegasus to the actual destinations that they are going like Santiago, Saylla Tipon to completely random names like C4M or Imperial. You see, there is no scheme behind this.

As if this is not enough, many stations are not properly marked and there is not an overview as to which bus passes which station. In the bus itself there is a person whose job it is to shout the next bus stop to the passengers and to let the people waiting at the bus stations know where the bus is going. If you want to get off at a station you literally have to shout "bajo" (in Spanish: I will get off). All of these factors don't make it tourist friendly at all. Plus there are many taxis and you will most of the times easily be able to hail one. Just make sure to negotiate the price before you get on, as they don't use taximeters. 

DON'T: Eat raw fruits / veggies

This one was especially hard for me, as I really love raw fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, I had to pay the price a couple of times for not being able to resist and got sick. Basically anything that cannot be peeled like salad, grapes and strawberries you need to properly disinfect if you want to eat it raw. If you are eating at a pricier / touristy restaurant usually the raw food should be properly sanitized. But if you want to be absolutely ensure to not get sick during your holiday just try to avoid it.

DON'T: Fill your first two days with tours / activities

This one is especially true for Cusco. People (including myself) often underestimate the sudden altitude change. Many tours – for example going to Lake Humantay, the Rainbow Mountains or even Machu Picchu – include hiking at high altitude and doing so without properly adapt to it can be dangerous for your body. So use your first two or ideally even three days to explore the city of Cusco and some souvenir shopping.

DON'T: Drive on your own

While it might seem tempting to rent your own car, the rules of traffic somehow don't apply in Peru and everybody just drives how they want. Chances are also that you get stopped by the (fake) police and asked to pay a high fine for an arbitrary reason since they can see that you are a tourist. Therefore, it's easier to just book a tour or hire a private driver and car for the day that can often also serve as a private tour guide.

(P.S. While this is photo proof that I did drive in Peru it was in an extremely remote area, so it doesn't count)

DON'T: Rely only on your credit card for payments

In Cusco, and also the majority of Peru, cash is still king. While some touristy restaurants and even some artisanal markets offer card payment, it usually comes with a surplus of 3-5%. And many places will not accept anything other than cash, especially when it comes to entrance fees to tourist attractions. Additionally, most of the ATMs have a withdrawal limit of 400 soles and you have to pay high fees for every withdrawal. So the easiest is to bring some USD with you and exchange them at one of the many exchange offices. Usually, these offices offer good exchange rates and can be trusted.

DON'T: Take pictures with the baby lamas / alpacas in the center

I get it – baby animals are super cute. But legally they are not allowed in Cusco center as a photo object because of animal abuse. Often the ladies – that are asking you to take pictures with those baby animals – get caught by the police and have to hand in the animals and pay a fine. But still they make so much money with taking the pictures that they will turn up the next day with a new one. Also, they'll tell you that paying is voluntary and the amount that you want but will then complain to you if you don't give them enough. So best is just to stay away from it.