The Cost Of One Month In Peru
We spent November in Peru and here we take a look at the cost of one month in Peru. Cost of living is lower in Peru than in Ecuador but we did incur some significant expenses this month, mostly related to Manchu Picchu. Below is a summary of our travel expenses for the month of November.
Notable Travel Expenses
Manchu Picchu
Interestingly, we spent more on transport and entertainment (the gold section above) this month than on accommodation, which is typically the biggest monthly expense. The large transport expense was mostly trains and buses in and out of Manchu Picchu, as you can see below. The significant entertainment expense was due mostly to Manchu Picchu park entrance and guide fees. Accommodation around Manchu Picchu was also on the higher side at $40 USD/night for hostels.
Here is a look at what we spent in two days touring Manchu Picchu.
We spent $764.05 over two days, which accounted for 23.4% of our expenses for the entire month.
A small price to pay to experience one of the seven wonders of the world!
Lima
Food expenses in Lima were higher than normal given we had three remarkable meals costing $53.31, $56.48 and $133.91. Lima is one of the biggest food cities on the planet so we had to see what all the hype was about. Well, it absolutely lived up to the hype! Molly celebrated her birthday in Lima as well, which we had to celebrate in style.
Peru Hop
Peru Hop is a private bus company that provides transportation to most of the major cities in Peru (Lima, Arequipa, Cusco, Puno). They offers tours of some noteworthy stops along the way (Huacachina desert, Paracas, Nazca lines) along with a Peruvian guide that is knowledgable on the visited areas. This option is a bit more expensive ($40/person/trip for six different bus trips) than local buses ($10-25/person/trip for six different bus trips) but given its convenience we elected to take it. We are still on the fence about whether the added expense is actually worth it.
Putting It All Together
To reiterate, we are budgeting $2000/person/month or $4000 cumulative/month. The one additional expense not accounted for above is health insurance, which is $97.77/person/month or $195.55/two people/month. Accounting for insurance, in total we spent $3,467.32 for two people in the month of November.
$3271.77 (Peru expenses) + $195.55 (health insurance for two people) = $3,467.32 (total monthly expenses)
$4,000 (allotted monthly budget for two people) – $3,467.32 (total monthly expenses including health insurance) = $532.68 below budget
In Summary
A budget breakdown of three months in South America (one month in Colombia, one month in Ecuador and one month in Peru) looks like this:
Colombia: UNDER budget by $1,493.80
Ecuador: OVER budget by $133.36
Peru: UNDER budget by $532.68
Trip Total: UNDER budget by $1,893.12
(Here you can take a closer look of Colombia and Ecuador monthly expenses)
Minimizing expenses on down days is key to being able to spend on big ticket, must see items we may never again have the opportunity to experience. Maintaining this balance is something we continue to work to perfect.
