Tag: 2015

Sacsayhuaman, Cusco, Peru

The 7 other Inca wonders around Cusco

After the decision to leave everything and go travelling comes the most difficult part: what should you take with you? You start reading and buying all this fancy, new stuff but is it really worth it?

We had the same problem, we also didn’t know what to take and we had no idea if what we decided to bring would be handy or not. But now we know… let’s go through our list of handy, useless, and missed stuff

 

Top handy:

  1. Powerbank

We got it as a gift actually and didn’t know that it is such a life saver! We use it all the time. Our powerbank can charge a mobile phone four times and it has a light. It’s also not too scared of water which helps. Check out our powerbank the Sandberg IP54. Powerbank

  1. Backpacks

Without it there is no backpacking. The most important thing is that it’s not too big because when it is you will pack it full before you notice and then you will have to drag way more kilos than necessary! Another feature that is really handy for your big backpack is that it opens like a suitcase as well as from above.

Initially we took two 38 L BACH backpacks and a tiny itsy bitsy BACH. All three of them are still with us and serve us very well. Later on we bought two additional backpacks but about those you will read futher below:)

  1. Washing kit (line, universal sink plug and soap)

Another great gift we got! We didn’t even realize that we wouldn’t be able to just leave our dirty clothes by some laundry place or that in so many places it would be so expensive. It saved us from stinking so many times!Washing/Drying Kit

  1. Shoes

It’s very important to have good ones just because they should be your only ones if you want to travel light. We both trusted Scarpa and never regretted it. They are perfect for hiking, walking around cities and surviving rain. They are also not too ugly. They are our only footwear on the road except for flip-flops.

  1. Headlamp

You would think a torch or just a lamp in your phone would fix the problem but nope. Sometimes you really need your hands and that's when a headlamp is perfect.

  1. Sowing kit

When your clothes break (and they will!) you will need it. We used it soooo many times.Sowing Kit

  1. Earplugs

Without those be prepared for many sleepless nights. There is always at least one snorer or drunk in the dorm!

  1. Microfiber towels

They are horrible, they give you this weird feeling that you don’t get dry. Everywhere we could, we tried to use a normal towel but it doesn’t change the fact that the microfiber ones dry way faster than the normal ones and they occupy way less space.

  1. Layered clothing

A key to pack clothes is to bring lots of layers so that you can still use seperate things depending on the weather. We each brought an underlayer, t-shirts, a fleece and a rain jacket. With all these layers we managed to survive in Patagonia in the beginning of the winter.Glaciers, El Calafate, Argentina

  1. Headphones

There is nothing more uncomfortable when the whole hostel hears your skype conversation. Headphones give you privacy and the right to listen to some music and watch a movie when everyone is sleeping

  1. E-reader

I personally love the smell of books, I like holding them, seeing how much I read but… they are heavy. When you want to have many books and some guide books it’s better to invest in an e-reader. P.S. E-books are also cheaper and you save a few trees- that’s what I tell myself to cheer myself up when missing a real book:)

  1. Hard drive

We take pictures almost every day and not every day we have internet to upload them. Besides uploading takes ages. So to have a backup we always have a hard drive.

  1. Universal plug adapter

Unless you are in the middle of a forest and you want to just enjoy the nature without any electronics...

  1. That little something for a special occasion

Every now and then it's amazing to put something on that doesn't have stains and holes. It doesn't have to be fancy but a shirt for a guy or a dress for a girl would be great. Believe me, there are times when you don't want to feel like a hobo!

 

Things we missed and bought along the way:

  1. Good camera

Before we were traveling with two pocket size cameras- one underwater as we love diving and one normal compact camera. After some time of taking pictures every single day we missed something better. We had more and more the feeling that we couldn't capture what we were seeing so we went for the real deal and bought our precious Canon... and some lenses:)

  1. Other backpacks

For our camera we needed a separate backpack so we bought an amazing Lowpro one. It's absolutely perfect, it fits not only the camera but also the lenses and it has quite a big space for some food, water and whatever you want. It's also very safe because the openning of the compartment where the camera is, is at the back so when you have it on you can't even see it's a camera backpack.

Except for the camera backpack we also bought just a standard north face day pack. Our itsy bitsy was just really uncomfortable when taking big weight.

Bastimentos, Bocas del Toro, Panama

  1. Laptop

We though we would manage only with our smartphones and an old tablet but no way! To mantain the blog and work on our pictures we bought a very simple and light laptop.Alto Bonito, Salamina, Colombia

Things we took and were useless:

  1. Merino wool socks

So we took two pairs of socks each because we were told that those wouldn’t stink and were unbelievable for hiking. We wore them at home for one week straight and they were great but during the trip they were a total miss, they stunk like normal socks do and they were not as special as you would expect from 20 euros a pair.

  1. Sheets

We read it would be super dirty in hostels and we would need to use our own sheets. That was not true except for the Amazon and The Lost City in Colombia. Except for that they were useless. Although we will give them another chance when going to Asia.

  1. Money belts

Absolutely useless really. We wore them maybe twice and they were extremely uncomfortable, not to mention that after two times they stunk like sweat. We never regretted not wearing them. We never had any unsafe situation and no one ever robbed us. Well maybe except for a dirty pair of panties that got mysteriously stolen from me.

  1. Medication

We were prepared for everything starting from bladder infection to malaria and guess what … we didn’t use most of it and we had to drag it around. We only used diarrhea related stuff and that’s what we’re gonna bring to Asia. If something happens there are pharmacies everywhere.

 

Stuff we missed and will buy:

  1. Speaker

When we finally had a private room and wanted to watch a movie we had to wear headphones cuz we couldn’t hear a thing. Going to Asia we will definitely take a speaker to enjoy our private cinema.

 

Hopefully the list helped you a bit. Don't get too frustrated packing! Keep the goal in your head:) Something for motivation below:)

Even more flamingos

 

Not only the Incas- other 4 great civilizations of Peru

Machu Picchu and Incas in general are THE civilization in South America. Everyone talks about them and visits their site. It seems like before them there was nothing. Well there was. And we did not even visit all of it. Here are 4 other great civilizations of Peru.

  1. Kingdom of Chimor

They ruled northern coast of Peru which looks pretty much like a dessert. They created huge mud-brick city called Chan Chan. It’s one of the biggest construction of that kind in the world. Still there was really no one who wanted to see it so we visited it without any queues or crowds. I guess Peruvians think if there are no tourists yon don’t have to protect it so we also didn’t see any guards just an old man selling tickets.

Chan Chan was founded around 850 CE and conquered by the Incas in 1420 CE.

  1. Wari

They ruled extended parts of Peruvian coast. Some say they were the inspiration for the Incas. But little is known about them. Close to Cuzco we managed to see their capital- Pikillaqta which was really impressive and… abandoned. A shame really, because rebuilt, it would be probably as breathtaking as Chan Chan.

Except for their capital, closeby Cusco there is also a Wari gate that was built over and upscaled by the Incas. It’s really weird to see and recognize two civilizations glued together.

Wari ruled parts of Peru between 500 CE and 1000 CE

  1. Chachapoyas

They are also known as Warriors of the Clouds. No wonder as all their sites are situated in the cloud forest of the Amazon where most of the times it’s misty, cloudy and rainy. Chachapoyas probably developed around 750 CE and were later conquered by the Incas. They managed to create sarcophagi on a side of a cliff and caves in cliffs where they had their loved ones buried. They even came to visit their ancestors there… They also built a massive fortress called Kuelap which has more than 400 buildings inside. Not to mention its massive wall.

  1. Moche

They created mud-brick pyramids in the northern coast of Peru (Huaca de la Luna y del Sol). Even though nowadays they don’t look like pyramids really, they have unbelievable wall paintings inside, full of colors, shapes and faces of different creatures.

Moche were in Peru between 100 CE and 800 CE.

Salt Flats

A year in South America. How much does that cost? And why so much :)

In 368 days we traveled through Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and we paid short visits to Ecuador and Brazil. In total we spend of 24 938 euros for the two of us.

Can you do it cheaper? Yes, for sure. We met a guy who was only eating rice and sometimes for the variety leftovers from other people. We didn’t do that. We also didn’t drink water from fountains and we didn’t sleep in parks. We did volunteer every now and then. You can always volunteer more. It’s a reasonable budget of two people that like good food (mainly cooked ourselves during the travel), don’t mind sleeping in dorms but sometimes get a double room and definitely don’t go for drinks every other night. OK let’s break it down then:)

Which country was the most expensive?

As you can see below Peru was the most expensive country. We spent 75 euros per day with the two of us. In total 5227 euros over 70 days. That’s because we did a very expensive Salkantay trek and we went a bit crazy on very fancy dining and we bought a cheap laptop (around 200 euros). We also didn’t do any volunteering. Honestly speaking I definitely feel Argentina was the most expensive country. We spend 65 euros per day for us two but we saved a lot by volunteering there for a month out of 99 days in the country. During the month on the farm, where we volunteered, we didn’t spend anything as the food and bed and rats were all included:) Otherwise the budget per day would be much higher. While expenses in different parts of Peru are comparable, in Argentina they are really different. For amazing colorful mountains and delicious wine in the North we paid way less than for omnipresent ice and coldness in the South. In Patogonia for a bed in a dorm in low season (so in total winter) we paid around 18-20 euros while in the north for that price you can find a nice private room with private bathroom.

 

Which country was the cheapest?

Bolivia. No doubt about that. Food, local transport and hostels are ridiculously cheap! And fun. While Colombia or Uruguay can be compared to Europe, Bolivia is definitely the furthest we got from the western world. The typical Bolivian Cholitas, their outfits and their hats- incredible. And I still can’t forget the dead baby lamas for good luck… On average per day we spend 45 euros so over 48 days “only” 2346 euros.

Salt Flats

What were the budget breakers in South America?

Well definitely Patagonia in Argentina. It’s one of the most beautiful things to see there but it’s really expensive. We went there in low season and it was still quite pricey and the variety of food was just ridiculous. We went there mentally prepared to eat instant noodles and potatoes and that was already difficult to find. That I’m not going to mention that we bought the most expensive pack of pasta there for 5 euros (nothing fancy just pasta).

Another one would definitely be Machu Picchu in Peru. We spend 843 dollars with the two of us to do an organized Salkantay trek to get to Machu Picchu. You can definitely do it on your own but Machu Picchu is still really expensive. Especially if you want to get a train to get there and then a bus and then maybe sleep somewhere close…

Machu Picchu, Peru

We also didn’t deny ourselves a paradise experience on the islands of San Andres and Providencia. We couldn’t cook there so we had to eat out every day and even though it was really cheap (around 5 euros for a meal) but it’s still not as cheap as something you cook yourself. We also didn’t go there to chill on the beach and count the seals. We went diving. Even though a two tank dive is only around 45 euros it’s still quite a lot of money for two people for more than one time.

One time we also decided to pamper ourselves with renting an apartment. We wanted to spend Christmas in a flat not in a dorm and we didn’t want to share a kitchen or bathroom. As a matter of fact, we didn’t even have to share a bathroom with each other.

OK, so on what did we spend all that money?

Accommodation was the most expensive part. We spend 6334 euros. We slept in many places. Countless dorms, some private rooms, sometimes a tent and a few times even a hammock which we definitely don’t recommend. A few times we went crazy on nice private rooms like in Minca for a room with a terrace and a nice view or Christmas when we rented a whole apartment for just the two of us. If we only slept in dorms we could probably cut the budget by 2000 euros.

Medellin, Colombia

To get from one place to another we spend 6212 euros. That includes also our flight to Buenos Aires from Paris (780 euros for both of us) and our flight from Colombia to Barcelona (1059 euros for the both of us). In South America our main mean of transport were local buses which were cheap everywhere except for Argentina. There for a 24 hour bus ride we paid around 130 euros (imagine in Peru an overnight bus was around 40 euros). And you need a 24 hour bus to get anywhere in this huge country. Colombia was the only country where we decided to fly around a bit since it was sometimes even cheaper than a bus!! God bless their Viva Colombia (Colombian Ryanair).

Food is not far behind. We ate for 6180 euros. Most of the times we cooked ourselves (really around 85%). But when we ate out we didn’t go to the cheapest places. We preferred to spend a bit extra to get good quality food. We also went for a few dates and a few drinks. Nothing too crazy. Well maybe except the 2 times we went for super fancy dining in Lima🙂

On tours, museums, fees and all things that you could call tourism we spend 4381 euros. Definitely a big part of it was our Salkantay trek on which we spend 843 euros and an 8-day kayaking tour through the amazon for 562 euros.

Jandirk took also an intensive Spanish course for a month, 4 hours a day which cost us 363 euros.

448 of our precious euros went for peeing in public toilets, medicine, books and other little things that out of the sudden became big money :O

On equipment we spent 966 euros that includes our new laptop, clothes that we bought along the way and other little things.

Alto Bonito, Salamina, Colombia

Our tips to travel cheaply.

  1. Keep track of every peso, euro, dollar spend. It’s the most important thing! For all of our expenses we have a spreadsheet to keep track and understand on what we spend our money and why. It helped us to be conscious with our spendings
  2. Sleep in dorms, always choose a hostel that has a kitchen! Those two saved us a lot of money. Even in cheap Bolivia eating out is more expensive than cooking yourself
  3. Volunteer when you can! It’s an awesome way to meet the locals and their culture and save a lot of money on accommodation and maybe even food. We volunteered chasing chickens on a farm in Argentina (WWOOF) and in hostels in Colombia and Panama (via Workaway)
  4. When you go to Argentina try to take as much US dollars as you can. You save a lot of money exchanging dollars on the streets for the blue dollar rate. And it’s not as dodgy a business as you would think. No one will slice your throat when you do it. At least we didn’t have any problems... ever
  5. Do your research! Check how much things should cost, ask the locals! We always checked how much a bed should be or a taxi or anything. Otherwise people will let their imagination loose with their prices and you won’t even know
  6. Try to use local transport!
  7. Try to travel off season
  8. If you speak Spanish try to use it to be a translator for tours! It’s definitely a big save up when you can do tours for free because you can translate. I did that during the Lost City trek

On our blog you can also find detailed budgets from each country:) if you still have any questions we will happily answer them:)

Lost City hike, Colombia

Cayo Boliviar

Colombian paradise- San Andres and Providencia

To prepare ourselves for Christmas we decided to start December with a vacation. As ridiculous as it sounds, as some people think we have been on vacation for 10 months already. But this time we wanted an oasis of peace, stuff booked, no searching, just chill, relax and diving. Miraculously (as December-January are super busy, summer months when everybody has vacation) we found cheap flights to Colombian islands just off the coast of Nicaragua...San Andres y Providencia.
San Andres was well... Busy, a bit too party style and definitely it did not look as anything even close to a paradise, well maybe after few piña coladas... Diving was also not really anything special, it was more a search for a reef then admiring it. But from there we took an organised trip to Cayo Boliviar which is a tiny island only reachable by those trips or a private boat.Cayo Boliviar We still haven't won any lottery so there was only one way to get there. To say adventurous is an understatement. Boat was jumping up and down, hitting the water so hard that I was sure it was our last trip. Even more dramatically, everyone was screaming possibly because some of the beauty queens were trembling for their make-up. But after an hour we arrived in paradise.... 50 shades of blue water, sandy beach, perfect place to snorkel and even the crowds when spreaded were not that bad. While snorkeling we even saw some nurse sharks, only because they were fed by the guides but still beautiful too see. But the best was yet to come... Providencia.
Providencia is a smaller island, close by San Andres. The only way to get there is by boat or by plane from San Andres. Many think it's too big of a hassle so there are not that many tourists and the island is more virgin in every way. Own language, Creole is omnipresent. It's a weird version of English. And the cuisine is just superb, only place in the world where we ate only lobsters, crabs and fish and all delicious, fresh and ridiculously cheap. The island has also an amazing architecture, traditional wooden houses painted as cheerful as possible. The sight immediately lifts the spirit if the views or diving doesn't do it.
To get there we decided to go by boat, we both love the sea, waves and cheaper options:) but on that catamaran we couldn't see anything as the waves were hitting all the windows constantly. But the worse was the puking party. P1140839-16There were bags with content flying everywhere. Even a special vomit master appeared to take care of the content and make sure new bags were ready so that no other passenger was endangered by the flying liquids. And like that for 4h. All worth it. The island was what I had in mind thinking about paradise. Unbelievable sea, shades of blue, food, architecture and polish vodka on the shelves of the shops (!). Thank god there is even one hostel on the island otherwise we would need to sleep on the beach which could be painful as there are sooooo many crabs walking at night. Actually the island closes their roads twice a year for a crab migration. Basically first they have to close the roads because of black crabs coming from the mountains to lay their eggs and later when the little crabs come out they have to close them again to make sure they can go safely to the mountains.

But going back to our the hostel it's worth saying that it was not a real hostel. I mean it was actually just one of the huts rented from a resort and I could easily see that concept of sharing space by 6 foreigners seemed absurd to them. White people who are not rich enough to rent a whole hut and need to share it? Weird:) But thanks to that little hut we met an amazing Swiss guy Nico and a one of a kind Canadian- Gabe. We immediately became friends and to my surprise soon our group was joined by another polish living in Amsterdam- Natalia. And so the days went on diving, eating crabs, lobsters and the evening went by with rum, polish singing and long discussions. It all felt like a true vacation, vacation in paradise. And the diving made it all really special... Sharks, sting rays, coral reefs, variety of fish... all there. And underneath a few pics from paradise to make you all guys feel jealous in the European winter.

How much does it all cost?

  1. To get to San Andres you can buy pretty cheap flights from all bigger Colombian cities- we went from Medellin and we paid around 100 euro per person (return ticket) with checked in baggage (flying with Viva Colombia)
  2.  To get to actual paradise, so to Providencia there are two options: catamaran (164 000 colombian pesos for return so around 47 euros), plane (162 000 colombian pesos one way so around 47 euros)
  3. For entering the islands you need to buy a tourist card at the airport which costs 49 000 pesos (around 14 euro)
  4. There is one hostel on Providencia which costs 45 000 colombian pesos (around 13 euro) per bed per night, there are actually plenty of other, affordable accommodations that can't be found online but the locals will make sure you find them as soon as you get off the catamaran/plane
  5. Diving is actually not that expensive- 160 000-180 000 pesos (around 45-51 euros) for a two tank dive (you go to the spot with a boat)
  6. Eating out: on San Andres we actually had a kitchen in the hostel so we cooked but on Providencia we had to eat out and there is something for every budget. Main meals are between 18 000 (around 5 euros) and 60 000 (around 17 euros) colombian pesos and 60 000 being a lobster with salad etc at the best restaurant. Actually the cheaper food was also pretty yummi and good quality.
  7. It's good to rent a Kawasaki Mule, or motocycle to drive around the whole island and to go to Santa Catalina which is a tiny island joined with Providencia by a colorful bridge. To rent a motorcycle or scooter is around 50 000- 70 000 pesos (around 14- 20 euros) per day and a mule is around 110 000 pesos per day (around 31 euros)

Best diving spots:

  1. Manta's Place- quite shallow dive (up to 12 m) but absolutely beautiful and we saw a few big sting rays over there, that I'm not going to mention the coral and the variety of fish
  2. Piedra Tortuga- an amazing place, full of sharks (but sharks are literally everywhere on deep dives around Providencia), beautiful coral, actually we went between two walls of coral which was stunning
  3. Felipe's Place- great canyon dive, again lots of sharks and fish
  4. Tete's Place- similar to Manta's Place, also a shallow dive with lots of coral and fish and some sting rays

 

Finca el Mirador, Filandia, Colombia

Two tea drinkers in THE coffee region of Colombia

All my life I thought that coffee should always be Colombian and that they were the first producer in the world. And here I am reading about coffee production and finding out that Colombia is actually only the 3rd biggest producer in the world after Brasil and .... Vietnam!!! I could imagine Indonesia being on the list with their coffee beans being pooed out by a wild cat of some sort but Vietnam! I am still hoping that the Colombian coffee is the best:)

So there we were in Filandia, little town in the heart of the coffee region which we have never ever heard about before. To be quite honest we went there by total coincidence. Before going to Colombia we went through all volunteering opportunities on Workaway and we found one that captured our attention. A young couple running a hostel. They seemed like warm, nice people with a dream and bad web page:D so we thought we would help and we ended up in a charming little town, full of colorful colonial houses, welcoming locals and a few lost tourist. The town offered actually more than we expected. It was really alive, with bars and restaurants and good supermarkets. And just outside of it there was an unbelievably green nature... We were surrounded by coffee beans, bananas, waterfalls, monkeys, hummingbirds, toucans and amazing people. Perfect paradise! We wanted to learn and explore so we visited one of so many small coffee farms. Colombian hospitality- the owner came to give us a tour. Colombian guy, working in the US and coming back for the weekends for his passion- his farm. Buying it he actually wasn't a huge expert on coffee but well, it seduced him. He walked with us for a few hours showing us his trees, beans, explaining the process. and he made us realize that: Colombian coffee is picked up by hand... So how could we resist and not try the produce made with love... We tried to taste it all, organic, cheap- drunk by the locals. It all tasted good. But it is widely known that the best coffee doesn't stay in Colombia and the farmers cultivating the best don't try their own produce.

Finca el Mirador, Filandia, Colombia

In Filandia, except of strong coffee aroma, we felt the power of Christmas. 1st of December is a strict deadline for everyone to put their Christmas lights on.... As they say Christmas in Colombia lasts only one month...:) obviously we couldn't be worse than the rest so our Camilo (Colombian part of the couple) was running around buying lights. It was the highest priority. Higher on the list than fixing anything.
As the more the merrier, we had also two other volunteers coming... Entering our dorm we saw a guitar and a tiny little guitar-like instrument with stickers on it... "Great, hippies" we thought. Absolutely not excited we went to say hello and it turned out Dominic and Sarah were a positive, crazily twisted couple of music teacher and knitting master. No dreadlocks, no dirt (not visible at least) and no funky piercings. Sigh of relief. It turned out that they were actually amazing people and our future "Christmas family". So it won't be a totally lonely Christmas. We gonna visit our "hippies" in the countryside of Medellin:)

Mini guide- hikes in Filandia:

1. Double Waterfalls- short bike ride and short but adventurous (since there is no path just grass) walk down to the hidden waterfalls. Very calm place, perfect to enjoy beauty of nature and some natural spa treatment in the waterfalls' basin.
We didn't want to kill ourselves or the bikes so we left them by the house indicated on the map.
One way bike plus walk time: around 45 min
On the way back we took a jeep that was passing by the main road since the way back it's all up.

Double Waterfalls.kmz and Double Waterfalls.kml for your Google Maps or Maps.me
2. Finca el Mirador- coffee farm that we visited with a passionate guided tour by the owner himself (20 000 pesos per person). It offers not only views of the coffee but also a nice cafe with stunning views over the valleys. Only around 20 min from Filandia by bike.
Finca el Mirador.kmz and Finca el Mirador.kml  for your Google Maps or Maps.me
3. Way to Quimbaya- one of those trips where not the destination is important but the way. The town is less than special but the views on the way to it are spectacular, coffee, birds, valleys, all green and inviting.
One way time: around 1.5 hrs by bike
On the way back we took a jeep because as usual it was all up hill
Route to Quimbaya.kmz and Route to Quimbaya.kml  for your Google Maps or Maps.me
4. Salento- touristic little town which probably once was charming, now it was for us just a start point to get to Cocora Valley to see the tall wax palms and as it turned out also a bar which feeds people and hummingbirds (entry 5000 pesos per person) so it's a perfect spot to see both species: birds and people. A hike that we did cost us 3000 pesos per person for entering private property and it was around 11 km.
Cocora valley,kmz and Cocora valley.kml  for your Google Maps or Maps.me

5. To the river- another hike that we did was going to the river which was supposed to be breathtaking. It might have been on the way back but only because we got tired going up. Nothing special but if someone would be bored and had 55 minutes one way....:)
Roble river.kmz and Roble river.kml  for your Google Maps or Maps.me

Open post
Choquequirao, Peru

How much does it cost to travel in Peru? Our budget and tips

Peru is a country of contradictions so also the spendings are extreme from really cheap dorms to expensive restaurants. In Peru we really wanted to do everything possible just because for us it wasn't a country that we would LOVE to come back to. Let's say people over there were not our favorite part of Peru. And so we stayed for 70 days spending a total 5227 euro so 37 euro per day per person. That includes fancy dining and also a new laptop and some clothes:)

Where did we go?

In Peru we saw a bit of everything. We started around Lake Titicaca which we didn't like at all so we moved quite fast to Cusco. There we stayed for a long time to explore all the surrounding ruins. When all the Inca constructions and mummies started to look alike we hit the road again to get to Lima. The city itself didn't take our breath away (not even with the amount of pollution in the air) so we left it after a few days to see a bit of Peruvian coast. And so we ended up in Huanchaco, a tiny town on the coast. From there we went for the adventure- The Amazon, visiting Tarapoto, Yurimaguas, Lagunas and Samiria- Pacaya National Park. Afterwards on the way out of Peru we passed by Chachapoyas.

How did we travel?

By kayak, by local buses, on foot:) spending 458 euros on transport (including bus to Guayaquil in Ecuador)
Example of bus ride: Bus from Lima to Trujillo was 75 soles (around 21 euro) and it took around 20 hours.

Where did we stay?

In tents, on the floor in the jungle, in dorms and sometimes in private rooms.

On accommodation we spend 828 euro spending 21 days in private rooms and the rest in dormitories, tents and on the floor. Generally the prices in dormitories didn't vary that much per city but the private rooms were a different story. In cities they were way more expensive than in the Amazon or close to Lake Titicaca.

Examples: a bed in dorm in Cusco was a cost of around 6-9 euro. Going to the Amazon for 15 euros we already had a private room with private bathroom.

What did we eat?

From shitty imitation Chinese food to high quality food in fancy restaurants- in Peru we wanted to try everything, it's highest and it's lowest just because it seems to have the best food of South America (Peruvian dreamers even say world's best). We did have some amazing food but as a cuisine I wouldn't say it was anywhere near Asian, French , Italian or even Spanish.

We spend 538 euros cooking on our own. Buying ingredients without saving in the supermarkets  and local markets (no dry rice or instant noodles unless on a hike). 1039 euros was invested in various eating out experiences, some fancy and some on the edge of poisonous (our dinning experiences in Lima)

How expensive are museums, tours etc?

On tourism we spent 1722 euro  of which around 843 dollars went for a 5 day Salkantay trek to Macchu Picchu (for the two of us). The rest went for different hikes that we did (Choquequirao trek), excursion through the Amazon, entrances to museums and ruins.

What else did we spend our "soles" on?

In Peru we finally bought a laptop- tired of trying to post and write and do everything with a smartphone. We also bought some clothes. All of that falls into the category "equipment" which cost us 393 euros.

In miscellaneous (249 euros) we placed hairdresser failures, liters of mosquito repellent, washing our clothes etc.

Our tips to save money in Peru:

  1. Hike on your own, renting equipment and buying food is way cheaper than going with an agency and the exact routes can be found online
  2. To avoid spending money on withdrawing cash just send money to yourself via Azimo. You can send up to 800 euros in local currency or in dollars and you pay only up to 3 euros for the transfer
  3. Always check buses before buying, the price varies insanely depending on the company, comfort of the seat and time.
  4. On short distances try to use local buses
  5. If Machu Picchu is too expensive, think of an alternative trek. For example Choquequirao- cheaper, more adventurous and less crowded
  6. Don't go to Iquitos or Manu for a jungle experience, those are already pretty touristic so prices are already adjusted to heavy wallets. Choose mostly skipped Lagunas from where a local guide and a whole excursion will cost you veryyyyy little

P.S. Exchange rate used 1 EUR = 3.56 PEN

If you have any questions or you would like to take a look at our spreadsheet, let us know:)

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