Free Travel Advice and Tips >>> Staying Safe

Staying Safe

Emergency numbers in Peru are 011 / 5114. In Lima ring 105. In Lima and some of the larger cities, there is a local police called "Serenazgo" which can help you a lot, or give you orientation far better than the police itself, however they have no tourist oriented services.

Be very aware of your surroundings, and always try to avoid unlit or low populated areas, especially at night. There is a lot of petty crime, which can sometimes turn violent. Do try to avoid groups of male youngsters poorly dressed which are called "pirañitas" (little piranhas). There are many small gangs trying to steal passerbys. If you happen to witness a robbery, be very careful about intervening, since robbers may be armed and may respond badly if they feel threatened.

Unfortunately, armed robberies of tourists are fairly common.

Most of the time, a dirty old backpack with valuable contents is safer than a new one with old clothes in it. Try always to not look too rich when traveling in the country.

Some travelers don't use wallets, but keep the bills and coins directly in their pocket. By putting some bills on the left side and the rest on the right side, if you get pickpocketed, you won't lose it all.

If you want to take large amounts of cash out with you, a neck wallet, or a belt wallet is always a good idea - you can hide it under your shirt or in your pants.

Watch out for false bills. Every bank has posters that explain what you should check when you receive high value bills. As a general rule, all bills should have speckled holographic spots on them. Don't be shy about checking any bills you receive in front of the person that gave it to you. Most Peruvians do so, too. You might get a false bill even at upscale places, or quite unusually at banks, so check there too. If you receive dollars, be extra careful that the bill is in pristine condition. Many times, people will reject, INCLUDING BANKS, your dollar bills if they are broken, even if it's just a tiny corner.

As with any other country, ignore any requests for you to carry luggage or packages for strangers. You never know when there could be illegal items or drugs in there, and as your reward, you'll be the one caught with them and the one to have the problems afterwards.

Bear in mind, it's also illegal to "consider to maybe accept" any offer to buy drugs. If you are offered drugs, be extra careful: it can easily be a trap from the police, and sentences are harsh for drugs. You won't get any break for being a foreigner. The best thing, if offered, is simply to just say no.

Police

Tourist police are dressed in white shirts, instead of the green ones, and can normally speak some English. They are quite helpful to tourists. However the common police officer does not speak any other language but Spanish, however they will try to help. As always, DO NOT get in an argument with police, since they'll soon forget about your needs and feel insulted instead.

Dealing with the police takes quite a lot of time. If you must get a copy of a police report, you'll need to go to a Banco de la Nacion and pay 3 soles. Without this the police won't give you a copy, and this obviously can only happen during working days. Police officers will often tell you all manner of things, much of them that are just plain false, so that you will waste a lot of time trying to get a copy, sometimes even asking you to "colaborate" (bribe) them to get a certificate.

Embassies

Always check the address of your country's embassy or consulate before you go. If you're planning a lengthy stay it's also a good idea to register with your country's embassy.