Budget Taxi Travel in Lima Peru

Although Peru has gone through an economic resurgence lately, it remains a country where the majority of the citizens are happy to make as little as two hundred US dollars a month. As a result, there is an extremely inexpensive network of travel options in place which make Peru a paradise for a backpacker on a budget. With the knowledge of a few simple tricks, even traveling by taxi can be extremely economical and safe in Peru.

The main culprit for inflating the price tag of any visit to Peru is the mythology that Peru, as with other countries in South America, is somehow “dangerous.” Travelers from the US and Europe often have the opinion that they need to take excessive measures to protect themselves from a non-existent threat. Certainly it's true that, as with any big city, it's vital that you maintain an awareness of your surroundings when in Lima. However, the grand majority of Peruvians are extremely kind, generous and accepting people (more so than any other country I've ever visited) and I for one feel a lot safer in Lima than I do in, for example, New York.

In fact, it's only internationally funded travel agencies that make me nervous. These are the places that capitalize on the unfounded negative reputation of South America for their own benefit. The first one you're going to encounter is right at the airport where there are a bunch of signs telling you to avoid the independent taxis.

All throughout Lima, independent citizens either work as taxi drivers as a principal job, or they make a couple extra Nuevo Soles (Peruvian currency) by giving people rides on their way home as a collective taxi or “collectivo” as they're called. The collectivos gather at several appointed places all throughout Lima, and by traveling in this fashion you can get comfortable, inexpensive rides to anywhere in the surrounding area.

The regular taxis are a little bit more expensive, but they're still amazingly cheap by most standards. Prices are not set, and the drivers don't use meters. Instead, you flag down a taxi on the curb and tell him your destination and then negotiate a price. In general, it's best to ask a couple locals what a fair price is and then propose it to the driver. As a reference, most taxis in Lima would be happy to let you rent them for an hour for approximately 25 Nuevo Soles (about 8$).

Independent taxis are available from the airport to the main tourist area of Miraflores for about 25 Nuevo Soles. I've gotten taxis for as little as 15, but generally that's not worth the trouble of the negotiation. However, most travelers to Peru never get to speak to the regular taxi drivers, because upon leaving the airport you are assaulted by a herd of “official” taxi drivers who have laid claim to the area. These guys are usually dressed in semi-formal attire, and wear a laminated identification card around their neck. The signs inside the airport and most tour books encourage you to take these drivers, but what they fail to mention is that these taxis are going to charge you between 25 and 50 US dollars to get to Miraflores. That's between 3 and 6 times the normal fare! There is also a bus available to Miraflores for 10$ a person, a ridiculous price considering you can easily get a private taxi for the same amount.

Independent taxis do pass through the airport traffic lanes, but they are generally ushered through by airport security as soon as they drop off their passengers. A taxi driver I met recently told me that the “official” taxi drivers (the ones that charge ridiculous prices) pay off the airport security to clear out the independent taxis as quickly as possible so they don't steal away the unknowing tourists. However, it is impractical for the airport to prohibit entry to all taxis into the airport (Peruvian citizens obviously are never going to pay absurd prices for “official” taxis), so the independents are always coming through.

A good rule of thumb is to just instantly avoid any driver who approaches you and asks if you need a taxi (feel free to be forceful with them, as they will be insistent). The best tactic is to exit the airport and cross the first lane of traffic (the one that is filled with parked, dark colored taxis with drivers standing beside them) and cross over to the second lane of traffic in which cars are constantly passing through. Simply wait for one of the independent drivers to drop off their passenger and then negotiate with the driver (through the passenger side window) over a price.

To be completely safe, all you have to do is exercise simple prudence. Before you get into any taxi (not just in Lima, but anywhere in the world) make a quick glance into the back of the vehicle to make sure there are no occupants beside the driver. In my seven years of living in Peru, I've never once had any problems with a taxi. Also, always remember to keep your bags on your person at all times. By far, the most common form of taxi theft in Peru (besides vastly overcharging the accepted price) is when the passenger exits the vehicle and the taxi simply drives away with the passenger's items. As long as you keep your wits about you (and one hand on your baggage), you'll have absolutely no trouble.

Remember too that just because you may decide to pay more for the taxi service, doesn't necessarily mean that you're getting a superior driver. Of the three cases I've personally heard of in which people have had their bags stolen, two were by “official” airport taxis.

Traveling by taxi in Lima can be an adventure in itself, but it's also an enormous amount of fun. You're sure to meet a lot of interesting characters as drivers and some of them are prone to “adopt” you and might even invite you over to their house for dinner! My friend Frank who came to Peru still laughs about the taxi we hired to take him to the airport. As I was pulling away in the taxi I had hired for the round trip, I waved goodbye only to watch my friend burst into laughter.

“You waved good-bye,” he told me later with a grin, “and the taxi driver enthusiastically waved good-bye too, just like we were old friends!”

Those are the silly, random moments that you remember forever and which add all the spice to your journeys.