Travelling with kids very often requires additional preparation. There are countries which are good for family trips and the ones that are not. Everything is connected with attitude and familiarity of the realities in given country. Of course our preferences to way of spending vacation are key factor as well. And how does it look in case Inca country? Is it good idea to go for a vacation with kids to Peru? Few thoughts below.
Vacation with kids in Peru – who is ready for an unique family adventure?
Very often you ask us is it worth to go to Peru with kids. Without deep analysis I could easily say, YES. This country has a lot to offer for everybody, also families with children. But it is worth to take into consideration few points. Without that you might be disappointed with your trip and this is not the way we want to spend our vacation, right?
Before you will decide to go with your kids to Peru, ask yourself few questions:
- What do I know about Peru? Do I know culture there, climate conditions, realities?
- Are we comfortable (also the kids) to travel in Peru in realities, conditions that are part of this country?
- What do I want to do/to see in Peru?
- What standard of the trip is my preference (backpacker, more luxurious)?
Why all this is important?
Peru is slightly different world. You need to take into consideration many new things, many differences (not comfortable to some people) that you will be facing day by day. Sometimes there are problematic to adults, not mentioning the kids.
What do I have in mind?
Time change
After arriving in Peru you would need to face time zone change by 6 – 7 hours. If you are experienced in this area, then probably it won’t be a problem. But on the other hand, if this is your first time, then you need to keep that in mind. It is worth to spend first day relaxing.
Why is it so important? All this is connected with location and landform of the country. Your body will need to adjust not only to time change, but also to climate and elevation change, which is described below.
Climate change
In Peru there are slightly different climate conditions. Depending on the month, in which our trip takes place, at first days in Lima you will get humidity and heat or cold (uncomfortable conditions especially from June to October). Afterwards time for Andes and Cusco will come since this is main destination of the tours. Here, depending on the time of the year (dry or rainy season), you will get warm days and very cold nights or lot of rain, which makes it cold as well. If you decide to visit jungle then it will be humid and hot or humid, hot and rainy (in rainy season).
It wouldn’t be so important, but in Peru there is no heating in the rooms (except hotels with min 3 starts) and that makes a difference. Temperature inside the room won’t be higher than 15 degrees. In some months it is not big problem, but from May to August temperature changes are huge.
You need to be aware of this and prepare for it. This kind of climate change might be interesting, new, and unusual. For some it might be interesting experience, but for some disaster. It is better to be prepared – at least mentally.
Personally for me staying in different climate conditions is additional tourist attraction. It is interesting how in these realities local people can live on daily basis, how my body reacts. But not each person has the same view and not everyone like this kind of experiments. Everything is a matter of attitude. That is why I can highly recommend thinking about this factor before coming over to Peru. Not everyone will be happy with those temperature changes or humidity in some parts of the country.
Of course there is solution to that and you can choose more expensive accommodation with heating. Then discomfort connected with temperature changes will be lower. But you need to keep in mind that then prices will be much higher, so it is matter of your budget possibilities.
Elevation changes
Around 30% of Peru is covered by mountains – beautiful Andes. Apart from beautiful views and numerous attractions, you need to take into consideration some precaution connected with high altitude. You might have some symptoms connected with elevation change, but this is not the rule for everyone. It is hard to predict anything in this area, each body reacts differently. It is very important to properly plan your stay in Peru and include acclimatization in it.
I do not recommend arriving in Cusco straight from Lima for a first night. Safer solution is starting exploring Andes in Arequipa, which is located much lower than Cuzco. Another option is arriving in Cusco, but spending night in beautiful city Pisac. Thanks to those options you will have better acclimatization.
Hygienic standards
Not each country can be proud of its clean streets, buildings, restaurants. Peru is not a member of this group unfortunately (except some parts of some cities). Accommodation, transport or local restaurants, if you choose budget traveling, are far away from European standards and you need to keep that in mind. Anyone who is pedantic or loves cleanness might be disappointed during visit in Peru.
The solution here is using private transport, staying in better quality hotels and eating in more expensive restaurants. You need to be aware as well that you might face some gastric problems. It is much easier to get infection due to different bacteria and hygienic standards.
All mentioned points will have impact on your trip. It can be short, longer, but always the body will feel the change. On the other hand you can control your reaction to new conditions. For some people it is easier, for some more difficult. A lot depends on your expectations towards Peru. If they are matching reality, then it means you made a good choice to travel in this part of the world.
While observing and guiding family torus in Peru I have noticed that trip with kids can be great adventure, but also a painful experience. Everything depends on parents attitude, how they feel in this country, how they react to different conditions, were they aware of the realities. Parent, if you like traveling in more developed countries, think twice if Peru is for you and your kids. Always adjust trip standard to your needs. On the other hand if you want to get to know Peru, but you do not have experience in travelling in less developed countries, get to know realities and then decide. Remember that each situation where you try to save few cents, might end up in spending much more at the end. Peru is a beautiful country, but less developed and when traveling with kids you need to take that into consideration. Do you want to get to know Peru and Cusco region with us? Take a look on our package dedicated for families.
