Peru – Packing list for Peru trip

Peru – Packing list for Peru trip

Lima

Packing list for Peru depends on two main things:

  1. Weather at the time of the trip
  2. If the itinerary includes a trip to the rain-forest

Apart from the fact that we prefer a slower pace and some time to soak up the places we visit, packing another set of clothes and supplies needed for a trip to the rain-forest caused us to nix the rain-forest part of our trip.

Here’s the packing list for our Peru trip.

Documents

  • Passports with visas (click here to check visa requirements)
  • Electronic and physical copies of passports, credit cards
  • Credit cards and Debit cards- one visa, one master card and one Amex. Called ahead of time to notify of upcoming use in Peru.
  • About 300 dollars in cash – lot of places in Lima, Cusco and MP take US dollars.
  • Travel insurance
  • Phone numbers of some people from family, work and travel agent
  • Copy of the itinerary

Electronics

All of our electric and electronic devices took 110 – 220 V.  Therefore we did not need to take a transformer.  We just took the adapter for US to South American electrical outlets.  Even that was not needed in most places as most hotels had at-least one outlet that took US plugs.

If you are taking an appliance that takes 220 V, you just need an outlet adapter.

If you are taking an appliance that takes 110 V, you will need a transformer to step down the power before consuming it. (Buy at Amazon – BESTEK Universal Travel Adapter 220V to 110V Voltage Converter)

Apps used the most

  • Uber – worked in Lima and Cusco, quick, cheap and no problems with currencies or language.
  • Google Map and email
  • What’sapp for keeping in touch with family back home

Clothes

Enough for 7 days for each of us.  Laundry is cheap and quick, about 3 soles(1 dollar) per kilo.  We spent about 100 soles in total on laundry during the 2 weeks.

  • Warm PJs
  • Pants
  • Thermals for the boys, they are skinnier and need more insulation
  • Underwear, socks
  • Long sleeve shirts, sweaters, fleece jackets and a thick jacket each
  • A day pack each to store the layers as they are taken off as needed during the day, snacks, cameras, water, books and other knick knacks. These one were lightweight and just the right size for kids. (Buy at Amazon –G4Free Ultra Lightweight Packable Backpack Hiking Daypack )
  • A pair of gloves, one scarf,  a warm hat each
  • A pair of flip flops each for wearing in the hotel room
  • Sneakers/hiking boots for each of us – hiking boots are not needed, good sneakers will do. We took lightweight Sketchers hiking shoes that were a godsend for my healing ankle. Buy at Amazon –Skechers Women’s GOwalk Outdoors Excursion Hiking Boot
  • A wide brimmed hat.  The sun around Cusco is very hot and the UV radiation is fierce. Its easy to get sun burnt in just 30 min without a hat or sunscreen.  We put sunscreen on everyone every 90 minutes and the hat had to stay on all day.  There are cute hats everywhere, we bought some Machu Picchu hats as souvenir.

We easily went from a long sleeve cotton shirt to fleece to a thick jacket in the course of a day.  Packing layers is essential for everyone’s comfort and enjoyment.  And lack of complaints from the kids about how they are too warm or too cold goes a long way towards OUR comfort.

Snacks

We packed some small sized snacks to take with us so it was easy to throw some in the daypacks everyday as we left the hotel and we never had to scramble for a restaurant in the middle of a tour because someone was starving.

  • Small bags of oreos and cheetos
  • Cashews and peanuts packed in snack sized ziplock bags
  • Granola bars
  • Ritz crackers
  • Dried fruit packs

Miscellaneous

  • Bug Repellant
  • Sun screen
  • A dozen small packs of anti-bacterial wet wipes
  • A few small packs of diaper-wipes – VERY useful in all kinds of bathrooms.  More on this later.
  • Small packs of liquid soap for washing hands on the go
  • Reading glasses
  • Ziplock bags in various sizes
  • One poncho each

Toiletries

  • Toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss
  • Shampoo, conditioner, hair product, hair straightener, shower cap
  • Shaving cream and shaving razor
  • Combs, hair clips, hair bands, etc
  • One roll of toilet paper in case of emergency – never needed it.
  • Sanitary products
  • Body lotion

Medication and first aid supplies

  • Band aid
  • Neosporin
  • Sprain bandage
  • Nail cutter/file
  • Children’s Tylenol
  • Altitude sickness – a trip saver for everyone, needs prescription
  • Motion sickness pill – a lifesaver for our daughter
  • Tweezers
  • Safety pins
  • Oral re hydration tablets in case of food poisoning – thankfully did not need it

Some things for me as I had a surgery to fix two broken bones in my ankle and the cast had come off just 3 weeks before the trip.

Though it seems like a lot of stuff, we were able to manage with 4 carry-ons and one larger duffle bag that was checked in.  We also carried very small day packs each for things we needed for the duration of the day.  We liked the flexibility of carrying smaller bags, especially when going to Machu Picchu by train on which only one carry on per person is allowed.  Travel agents handled the transfer of the larger bags left behind to the next location for us. There are other ways around this problem, one would be to come back to the same location and then take a road trip to next location with all your bags. Knowing what we know now, that is the option we would have taken.  Most hotels will hold the extra bags for free for a day or two.

Also see: Traveling to Peru with kids

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