Peru this August. How to pay?
 

Hi! My wife an I are planning a trip to Peru this August for 15 days. I have booked the flight and am working on the land part through travel agencies. I found an agency in Peru that will charge $1350 each for the same tour and hotels as an agent in the US would charge $1850 for. I would like to save $1000, but am concerned about the way they want to be paid. They want me to send a non refundable deposit of $540 by wire and pay the balance by cash or travel checks when I get there. They don't want to accept a credit card because they do not get the same protection when they accept a card as they do when they get cash. My problem is sending $540 to someone that I don't know will be there when I get there.
I am concerned about this and am looking for a better alternative.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Ric
PS We are going to Lima, Cusco, Lake Titicaca, Puno, Arequipa, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and Posada Amazonas in Puerto Maldonado,if you would like to share information, please let me know. Ric

Ric,

Maybe post the name of the agency and can attest to the legitimacy. Someone on here may have used them already. I had the same question you did, except I ended up just booking everything myself and paid cash when I got there. But that was only cause I had a specific idea in mind, and the travel agents seemed to only work with their own suppliers. Which is understandable. Good Luck...you will love it !!

Thanks
Iana
The agency in Peru I am thinking of using is Amazon Andes Peru Travel http://www.amazonandesperu.com/index.html They said I could pay cash when I get there, but need a deposit now
Did your agency require a deposit?
How did you pay it.
What agency did you use?
Thanks
Ric

Hi Ric:

I am Peruvian and would be very wary of just sending cash to someone I don't know. I'd rather pay a little and avoid nasty surprises that could be more costly. The big question is how much is peace of mind worth?

Regards,

Enrique

The question is why you want to use an agency to manage your land transportation at all.

I just returned from 6 weeks traveling in SA, Peru, Bolivia, and a few days in Chile. Transportation had never been a problem in any places in those three countries. In fact, I couldn't remember anyplace that I had trouble to be on my way a few hours after I decide to do so.

August is near the end of the high season and transportation shouldn't be a problem either in Peru. You can simply show up in one place and purchase your tickets for the next. The huge benefit is that you will gain a lot of flexibility with your itinerary and enjoy much more of your visit.

Also, my above message applys to hotels as well, with perhaps the exception of Cusco. But if you are flexible with hotel selections, you should be fine in Cusco too.