Student trip to Cusco/Lima
 

My daughter (a junior in college) wants to go on a trip to Cusco/Lima during spring break with a student group from the University of Florida. All are studying to be future Physician Assistants. The trip will involve some medical assisting etc. The trip is not per se sponsored by UF, just the student association. As my husband and I were looking at tickets, we pulled up information from the state department and their is a travel advisory ,,, Level 4 Do not travel to Peru due to COVID-19. Exercise increased caution in Peru due to crime and terrorism. Some areas have increased risk. Read the entire Travel Advisory. Cusco is one of the areas of increased risk ...

• The Valley of the Apurímac, Ene, and Mantaro Rivers (VRAEM), including areas within the Departments of Ayacucho, Cusco, Huancavelica, and Junin, due to crime and terrorism.

I hate putting a halt to a fantastic learning experience for my daughter.... but would you send your child there with this type of advisory... my husband and I do not know what to do.... the trip is during March of this year.... help!!!

Cusco (or Cuzco) is a large region which includes 13 different provinces including the city of Cusco as well as a part of the VRAEM

If you keep reading further in the advisory as recommended (i.e. Read the entire Travel Advisory) you might see this:

'U.S. government officials and their families are permitted to travel within many areas of the Department of Cusco, including the Machu Picchu area, the Sacred Valley, and city of Cusco."

so what are you saying ,,,, is it safe??

It's like saying that the entire state of California is dangerous?

Or the entire country of Mexico.

Or that all of France is safe.

Yes, assuming that they are not sending her to the VRAEM. And that she is vaxxed and boosted and has no underlying health conditions. I also assume that there are experienced adults and local contacts that she will be with.

I can't imagine that the danger of catching COVID is higher in Peru than in Florida.

I have traveled all over Peru and have probably spent in excess of a year in the country. As far as South America is concerned , it is one of the safer countries in which to travel. It has a pretty well developed tourism infrastructure. If your daughter is traveling with a group, that can only reduce the risk of anything bad happening.

Government travel advisories are notoriously over cautious, they have to be, but the US more so than most.

Many years ago I used to teach self defence evening classes for women and one of the basic precepts was that we take most of the danger with us. Lack of common sense, self awareness, more uninhibited behaviour away from home will all be major factors influencing safety. For want of a better expression, get her to work on her street smarts in order to avoid potentially dangerous situations.

i am not sure what age your daughter is (junior in college means nothing to me!) at a guess 20. Not that it matters because maturity and common sense have little to do with age.

i was 17 when I first started travelling and got myself into all sorts of dangerous situations but that was Avery long time ago. My son took a year out to travel before going to medical school, was way more mature than I was at that age and had no problems at all ( at least none that he told me about!). It was arguably the making or me and him but it’s not for everyone.

It is important to remember that the vast majority of people visiting a Peru do so without incident. There are far more dangerous places than Peru but only your daughter can really decide what is right for her. All parents can really do is guide and advise.