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Buying, Living and everything money

Peru's currency is the nuevo sol. US$ 1 is worth around 3.3 nuevos soles (August 2006). Coins are available in 5, 2 and 1 denominations, and there are also cents (centimos) available in 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1 cents. Avoid the 5 and 1 cent coins, since no one except banks will accept them. Notes are available at 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 soles denominations. Avoid the 200 soles notes as well, since most places don't accept them and are somewhat of a rarity even among the local populace.

Counterfeiting is common: get time to familiarize yourself with the money, and don't hesitate to reject a suspicious looking note or coin, especially the 5 sol coins. If you end up with a counterfeit coin or note, try to use them with small merchants, not at big stores, for they are authorized to retain it. Don't accept damaged bills, specially dollars. People will reject your notes if they see them in a bad shape, and you'll have to exchange them at a local bank. Damaged dollars, even with small cuts are rejected even by banks, so do try to bring bills that are new or in good condition. Also, be extra careful if you are exchanging money at the border, especially do northern one with Ecuador.

Travelers checks or credit cards are usual. Even though cash has a 2% better change rate, you shouldn't carry large amounts of money with you on your journey. The local banks do have a good exchange rate on traveler checks. Rates in change offices may be somewhat worse. You should always do a comparison before changing your money. Also, when you are at a change office, be alert to control their calculations. Most of them have an electronic calculator in plain view, and they do the math in front of you. If they don't want to show you, just keep your money and find someone who does. Even when changing money at a bank, do take some time to verify that the money you receive is authentic.

ATMs are available in big cities, some hotels and touristic areas. The exchange rate is the same as credit cards but fees are much lower. They usually can handle most any card, but do check the stickers attached to the ATM o verify your card is recognized. Also in smaller towns, you'll be hard pressed to find someone who accepts credit cards or traveler checks. For that reason, you should always carry some cash with you. 10 or 20 dollar bills can help you a lot, since they are far easier to change than travelers checks. Also, it's not uncommon for you to be able to pay in US$ directly. Some market chains even display both the price in soles and in dollars in their registers. In small towns, you'll find local shops that will change money for you. Those will be clearly marked by some sort of sign.

Living Costs

As a low budget traveller, you can live on around US$ 15 per day without problems. Basic hotels or hostels (hospedajes) are quite common and easily found in all Peru. A cost per night can go about US$ 3 - 6.

There are quite a lot of very cheap restaurants (US$ 0.50 - 1.50), but you really shouldn't try to save money by eating there. A regular restaurant you can get a lunch or dinner menus for around US$ 2 - 3. Of course, you can find restaurants in every city where you can spend US$ 20 and more if you want.

Buses are quite cheap. The price for a 10 hour bus ride in a normal bus can go for about US$ 6. However, you'd do well in paying the extra buck, the difference between a $6 ticket and a $12 is HUGE. Once again, do avoid bus companies that allow travelers to get into the bus outside the official stations. Always look for express service, not local, they'll stop at every single little "town" they happen to go through, and will take several hours more than the express one.

Trains (except the ones for Machu Picchu, which are really expensive) run for similar fees.

Peruvian Handicrafts

Peru is famous for the diversity, beautiful and relatively cheap handicrafts. Do keep in mind that buying handicrafts support traditional skills, and helps many families to gain their modest income. When buying look for:

* Pullovers, and (alpaca-)woolen products. Puno is probably the cheapest place to buy them, but it all depends on your itinerary. Ask your guide for the best places to shop at.

* Silver and gold jewelery.

* Carvings on stone, wood and dried pumpkins.

* Wall carpets (tejidos).

* Typical music instruments like pan flutes (zampoñas), skin drums.

* And so many more

DO NOT under any circumstance accept any handicrafts that look like (or actually are) precolumbian pottery or jewelry. It is not only illegal to trade them, but there is the possibility that, aside from being confiscated, that you may be prosecuted for illegal trading, even if the actual artifacts are copies or fakes. To deal with the police from the criminal side is quite messy and REALLY unpleasant.

Watch out for fake Alpaca wool products. Many items sold to the unsuspecting "gringo" are actually ordinary wool or synthetic! If you happen to find a soft jumper in the market for $8 or so, it's most certainly to be acrylic. Sometimes there is no easy way to tell if it is made from Alpaca, since it might have a small percentage of Alpaca mixed in with other fibers. Note that Baby Alpaca is not from baby animals but actually made from the first shearing and so the fibre is very soft and fine. Generally Alpaca fiber has a low lustre and it's slightly greasy when you hand it. Also it's slow to recover from being stretched. Take some time to shop and compare. Real Alpaca is expensive.

Bargaining

Bargaining is very commonplace. If you intend to buy something, first ask how much it costs, even if you already know the answer. Then check that everything is ok. (expiration dates for example.) If the price is what you want to pay, then go ahead. Otherwise it's your turn to say a lower price, but stay realistic. Never begin to bargain if you don't really want to buy! Also, please try not to over-bargain. Poverty can force a vendor to sell, even without making a fair profit.

General Notes

Supermarkets can only be found in cities and they are usually a bit expensive. In every town, there is at least one market place or hall, except for Lima the capital who has a highly dense concentration of malls, supermarkets, and department stores. You may find that usually there are different markets (or sections of one big market) for different articles.

Also, it's commonplace for stores with similar articles to be grouped in the same street. So, if you are looking for something special, it shouldn't be no more problem to find it quite soon, provided you find your way to the right street.

Giving tips in restaurants is not very common, but highly welcomed. A good 10% tip for service is polite. Regarding beggars, you will always find them in the cities. They can be either sitting on the streets, or doing a musical number on the buses. Many of them really need help, especially the elderly and handicapped, but do bear in mind that some of them use the money received to buy drugs and get high. Usual givings can go for 0.10 - 0.20 Soles (US$ 0.03 - 0.06). This really is not much, however take into consideration that some unskilled workers don't earn more than 10 soles ($3) for a hard working day. Whether you want to give money to child beggars or not is your decision, but do take into consideration that doing so may make it more attractive for parents to send their children begging in the street instead of sending them to school. You could instead buy them food, they do need it.