Hello fellow Fodorites! I'm in the process of planning a trip to Peru and plan to travel solo. I'm a woman who's traveled extensively in Europe by independently [and solo] without any issues. I've read some of the comments here and at Thorntree about safety precautions, etc. Having traveled solo more often than not, I know to be vigilant regarding my luggage, crowded places, etc, and i know my comfort level in certain situations, but I've always traveled in western European countries, so I'm a little unsure in setting off in this new direction. Are there any particular things that I should be cognizant of when traveling in Peru? I will be in the Cusco, Machu Pichu, Lake Titicaca areas, and if I have sufficient time, plan to visit Iquitos and a jungle lodge. Except for the lodge, I was trying to stay away from guided tours, both because I don't like them and because I'm trying to keep to a budget. Any suggestions or guidance would be greatly appreciated regarding precautions i can take to feel secure - and I realize that it's a personal perception, and that there are millions of tourists that go to peru every year and most of them make it back with amazing stories to tell. I hope to be one of them. I just got cold feet reading through the US travel advisory for Peru.
Thanks for your help!

My trip report, traveling solo independently with no prebooked tours.

http://www.fodors.com/community/sout...ip-to-peru.cfm

I would recommend booking hotels and airport transfers ahead of time. Lima in particular, has a lot of unregulated taxis.
It's nice to see your name on the placard when you exit into the swirling mass of humanity at Lima airport in particular (BTW, you want to see your name, not the name of the hotel).
There are official "Green taxis" at the airport if you haven't booked ahead. If you need a taxi, you can ask a hotel or restaurant to help you. I would recommend Lima at the end of the trip, not the beginning.

Tip: Hostal is an inn (small hotel) not a hostel.

It's a good idea to go straight from Cusco to the Sacred Valley (eg Ollantaytambo) to help with the altitude, and then onward to Machu Picchu, returning to Cusco at the end of the trip. I did this and didn't need diamox.

Get something from your doctor for traveler's tummy, chances are that no matter how careful you are, you will get a touch of it at the most inconvenient time.

We were in Peru for 2 months last year and did not encounter any problems. That said, we stayed on Ollantaytambo for several weeks with a friend ( a woman in her 70s) who had had a few problems in her 2/3 years there. They occurred mainly in Cusco, which is probably the least safe of the places you mention and consisted of bag snatching and pickpockets. She did however relate to us the story of two european female doctors that she met who were abducted from the airport by bogus taxi drivers. In addition to mlgb's great advice re arrival at the airport be VERY careful. We had pre arranged with the hotel for a car to pick us up and had warned us to look out for a placard with our name OUTSIDE of the airport. We were approached by a guy INSIDE the airport with asuch a placard. He clearly had seen our name outside and copied it down and rushed inside to collar us beofre we spotted the correct taxi.

Peru is nothing like western Europe as it tis still a developing country. This does not mean that it is any more or less dangeous, just that the risks are different. I have lived and worked in London for many years and believe me there are places that are just as dangerous if not more so. the difference being that tourists are unlikey to visit.

The altitude is an issue for some but not for others (I was badly affected but my wife was not). Age or fitness is no indicator of whether you will be affected. I was glad that we had booked in to a decent hotel for our first couple of nights in Cusco as they had oxygen which is essential if you are badly affected. the rest of the time we stayed in cheap hostels which were perfectly ok but take some padlocks and a chain for your luggage just to be on the safe side

If you are there for any length of time, or intend travelling further in South America the I highly recommend joining

http://www.saexplorers.org/club/home

It cost around $60 but they do provide loads of discounts on hostels, tours and restaurants so most of the cost can be recouped. It is also a great place to get first hand info on all the latest scams and dangers as well as meeting fellow travellers.

Thanks to both of you for the responses. mlgb, I had seen your report earlier and do plan to follow your suggestion for heading down the sacred valley first, instead of staying around cusco when I first arrive. I'll also plan to book ahead when I'm transferring cities, and maybe find a nice guided tour around the cusco area for the safety in numbers thing... away i go to buy my ticket...

Go solo a lot Peru and Europe

Overall safe if careful lots more petty theft in Peru.

Travel Insurance www.insuremytrip.com good to do...

also www.saexplorers.org great info

as a firstimer might consider

an independent solo custom tour with

www.peruforless.com

like their boutique hotels expecially like

www.secondhomeperu.com

Generally set up everything cheaper than you can DIY

Have fun either way

Have you stayed at Second Home Peru qwovadis?

When are you planning on traveling? I'm planning on going over the holidays and I will also be traveling solo.

I'm going at the end of september for about 2 weeks.

I'm also going to be in Peru at the end of September and first week of October also. I plan to prebook my hotel in Cusco but after that it's open, because I'm not sure how long I plan on staying at each places. Right now my plan is to do a few days in the followin: Cusco - Inca Trail - Macchu Picchu - Ollantaytambo - Pisac - Lake TitiCaca - Arequipa. Will it be easy to find a place to stay on the fly? Will I be able to get money once I'm in Ollantaytambo and Pisac since I plan to only carry enough money on the Inca Trail to last me through Macchu Picchu? Thanks for any advice/ tips.

As far as adjusting to altitude a better order is Ollantaytambo Pisac Cusco Inca Trail Machu Picchu Lake Titicaca Arequipa.

You will find ATMs in Ollantaytambo and Pisac, but I would about $50-100 USD worth extra just to have taxi fare and lodging expenses for a day.

Ollantaytambo is fairly small so I would try to book ahead if you actually want to spend the night there.

Thanks for the advice mlgb.

If I could move the date of my Inca Trail trek then I would do the Sacred Valley route that you suggested, but the trek starts on a Wednesday and I fly into Cusco the Sunday before that.

A couple of Peru postings here talk about using guides. Not sure if I need one yet but how would I arrange for a guide, at least for part of the time, while here in the US? Or can I try to do that once I reach my hotel?

I guess you can't really spend more than the first night lower, even that might help, perhaps rather than go all the way to Olly, you could just go to Pisac for the night(since there is the Sunday Market), or Urubamba.

To travel around to the Chinchero-Moray-Salineras you don't need a guide, really, just a driver, but if you read thru the forum trip reports you'll see the names of several guides used by Fodorites.