Is Lima safe to travel? 10 Travel Safety Tips for Your Trip to Lima - Peru

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In 2019 we finally had the possibility to visit Peru, one of our oldest dreams but, for those who live in Portugal, this was never one of the most accessible destinations, which is why we had to postpone it. Until recently.

Of course, like many of us, the desire to visit Peru has one main goal, which goes by to visit Machu Picchu. However, we can guarantee that, although we do not know in its entirety, Peru has much more to offer than Machu Picchu. Do not get me wrong, Machu Picchu is really wonderful, but what we mean is that if you go to Peru, do not just stop by to visit Machu Picchu, because you can add to this wonder of the world many more fabulous experiences.

As it happened to us, many of us entered Peru through Lima International Airport and if many people pick up a plane to take them to Cusco on the same day, many others decide to take advantage of it to get to know the city of Lima and reserve a few days of this trip to know this gigantic metropolis.

And that was the question that we set ourselves, from the moment we marked the trip to and from Lima: should we stay a few days in Lima or, go directly to another destination in Peru? Of course, passing in Lima and not knowing this city was something that did not make much sense to us, because our desire to explore and know the world is what leads us to travel, and only with difficulty, we would not take advantage of this opportunity. However, when we read reports about Lima, we had some concern about the safety of the city, so we decided that it would be important to do good research on the issue before deciding whether or not to stay in the city.

Although we love to travel, and especially to do with our son, we are always looking for the right care and precautions, especially in relation to health and safety issues. The safety issues were the ones that raised more concerns when choosing whether to visit Lima or not.

Is Lima a safe city to visit?


Trying to answer this question as honestly as possible, we can assure you that it is not the safest cities you will ever have the opportunity to meet, but it is also not the most dangerous in the world, which is why it's not in the top 50 most violent cities in the world, as you can check here.

Our research led us to make the decision to visit Lima and we ended up staying 3 nights in the city of Lima, and everything went very positively, which is why we highly recommend this visit. In fact, we feel that passing through Lima and catching an airplane directly to Cusco or another destination leads you to miss the opportunity to explore and experience a vibrant city, full of colors and flavors, that will certainly not disappoint you (see here's our post on 10 reasons why you should visit Lima).


However, despite the recommendation from us, we can guarantee that thousands of other tourists who visit Lima annually have the same safety issues and that is definitely a pertinent factor and if you want the trip to proceed in a positive way, as was our case, there are some "rules" that are important to follow.

In this way, we would like to leave some Safety Tips for Your Trip to Lima which, we are sure, will be very useful when it comes to getting to know this gigantic city.

Travel Safety Tips for Your Trip to Lima - Peru


1- Where to stay and where to walk. One of the fundamental questions for those who visit Lima has to do with the places where they walk and where they will be staying. The point is that not all places are safe in Lima and if some are very closely guarded by police and you may feel completely safe, many others do not have that kind of security and for a tourist, often easy to identify, may increase the degree of danger when leaving these safest places.

 When we speak to the safest places, they are those most watched by local police, we refer to the neighborhood of Miraflores, Barranco, San Isiro and, the Historic Center of Lima. The reason for this security is the importance that tourism has for the country's economy and, as these are the most visited districts by foreigners, the government has done all possible to maintain high levels of security in these areas, and has everything success in achieving it. Throughout these neighborhoods, we always feel great security and we have always seen a high number of police forces to ensure the safety of all (see here our article on which is the best place to stay in the city of Lima).

2- Travel in Lima. Another reason that should be taken into account in Lima is the issue of security related to travel. The traffic in Lima can be as chaotic as you can imagine in a South American city with more than 10 million inhabitants. The city is really huge and will often have to travel using local means of transport, being impossible to cover it on foot. One of the most famous is the "combi", where the trip itself turns out to be an experience and an adventure. However, some of the small thefts that occur in the city are sometimes carried out in these means of transport, as well as in the buses, especially in the hours when they are fuller. We can not guarantee that this is a matter of danger, but we felt it would be safer to ride a taxi, which in Lima was always extremely cheap when compared to European prices (if you want to know the best way to get from Lima International Airport to the center of the city, you can see here our post that will help you make the best choice).


3- Taking taxis in Lima. Making your trips in Lima by taxi can be a very comfortable option, easy and not very expensive. Taxi prices in Lima is very cheap, at least when compared with European prices. However, there are some issues to consider when picking up your cab. What you will easily see when you walk along a road in Lima is that you will have dozens of honking horns trying to get your attention to get into the taxi. We arrived in Lima around 7am and, after leaving our bags at the hotel, we went for a walk and look for a place to eat breakfast. Our hotel was in Miraflores and, in a straight line of 1 km, surely at least 20 taxis whistled asking if we needed a taxi. At first, we found everything very strange and even a little uncomfortable but, it is something that we easily get used to and, with a quick "no, gracias", they go their way and there is no more inconvenience.

However, when you really need to choose your taxi, it is advisable to decide for one that is identified as such, because there are many taxis that offer their services on the street but isn't easy to identify them has a taxi so, for safety reasons, we advise avoiding them, since some reports of robberies are more common in these types of taxis. There are many taxi companies in Lima, several of them reliable and very professional. Some of the most famous companies in Lima are Taxi Green, Lima Cabs, Taxi Satelital or Taxidatum. We have used the Taxidatum company, which has a great service using WhatsApp, but any of those mentioned, among others, usually offer great services.

Another important issue regarding taxis in Lima is that they do not have taximeters and we do not advise you to go in without first negotiating the price. The same is true when renting a taxi by phone or message, always ask for the price and, if you are a tourist, the tendency is always to be present with a higher price, so practice your trading skills. If you get in a taxi without having the negotiated price, it will be more difficult to negotiate, and your trip will probably be more expensive. So, before entering, tell your destination, ask how much it costs and, only after you agree with the final value, it is advisable to enter.

In Lima, you also have the option to use Uber and Cabify. We used both, and unlike other countries, we did not find great differences in price that compensated. However, if you do not want to have the job of negotiating, it is always an easy, comfortable and safe way to move around the city.

4- Do not make yourself easily noted. The crimes that most easily happen in Lima are petty thefts. Of course, nobody is 100% free to go through such a situation but even for those who live in safe places, as is the case where we live, Portugal, this is a risk that exists and there is nothing like not facilitating. Here we recommend the classic measures of safety, such as not walking with bags easily "taken" to not facilitate the theft by stretching, and when sitting somewhere, do not put your belongings aside, leave them next to you. Also try to avoid displaying large amounts of money or valuables such as cameras and mobile phones and of course, follow our first advice and walk in the safest and most secure areas of Lima. Another useful advice is to leave your documents in the safe of the hotel and take a copy with you and when you use your credit card, always have at your sight, because there are cases of card cloning in Peru.

5- Be extra careful at night. We have already talked about the existence of neighborhoods that have good security levels compared to others that are less safe. However, when it comes to the night, we recommend some extra care, especially in the Historic Center of Lima, which is safe during the day but at night the safety conditions tend to decrease, which is why in our article on the best places to stay in Lima this is not one of the zones of choice, in our opinion, of course.


With regard to Miraflores, Isidro, and Barrancos, they are very busy areas and we do not feel any security problems, especially in Miraflores, where we stayed, but in other areas, the care should be higher. We recommend special care if you are a woman traveling alone, so you should always try to travel in larger groups or by using taxis from official companies.

6- Do not offer resistance. Material goods are the least precious thing we have in life. In case of assault, do not offer resistance, material goods are always possible to replace.

7- Health care. Traveling to Peru should always lead to a previous visit to the traveler  medical and, if the travel is done with children, this need becomes even greater. We recommend that you be careful with the water  you drink, do not drink from the tap, always bottled. Regarding food, in addition to the natural care you should have with the choice of places where you eat, we are forced to say that it was an extraordinary surprise because Lima is a city that offers a gigantic, wonderful gastronomic variety, one of the best in the world.

8- Fake money. It has not happened to us, luckily, but the existence of false money is something that happens in the streets of Lima. In fact, it seems that it is in Peru and especially in Lima that there are the best counterfeiters of money and they do it with enormous skill.

When we arrived in Lima, we began to notice that almost every time we shopped our money was checked by merchants almost always, and even coins, something that had never happened to us anywhere in the world. Since we are not specialists with Peruvian money, it can be difficult for us to help you how to identify fake money, but we invite you to see here this site that explains some techniques of detection. But don't forget to be very careful where you exchange money and always ask for a receipt when you do so.

9- Health Insurance. In Lima, there is good medical care. However, the best care tends to be private and, if necessary, the costs can be very high, so it is never too much to recommend that you not travel without the protection of good health insurance. Find out in advance what the insurance covers and if your destination is covered.

10- Good sense. Not only in Lima but, as in any destination, common sense is fundamental when embarking on a trip. Traveling in Lima is safe as long as you follow the usual precautions that are required of any traveler. Lima has some areas that are less recommendable to tourists and we did not visit them. If you do it, we recommend that you do so only with a local guide, but if you restrict yourself to the areas we have mentioned, you are unlikely to have any problems. As elsewhere, you should not draw attention to yourself as a tourist, has natural, you will be easily noticed, but if you often display large amounts of money or expensive electronic devices, you may increase your level of risk. However, these issues that we talk do not only apply to Lima, but they also apply to the vast majority of places we travel and there is nothing like using common sense to make a safe trip.


When using the basic rules of security and precaution, the dangers of being the victim of a crime are always reduced, and experience shows this, since Lima is visited by thousands of tourists daily and the number of reported incidents to the police are low and, believe me, that in the neighborhoods most visited by tourists, there are so many police that you will be impressed, it's impossible to compare with any other destination in the world that we visited, which does not fail to convey a sense of security to those who walk through the streets of Lima.

Lima may not be the most beautiful city you will encounter, it can even be confusing and chaotic but, if you give this city the chance to really meet it, you will discover a city full of life, culture, with a wonderful gastronomy and a way of life which will surprise you, as it happened with us, and that's why we recommend that if you have the chance you should not miss this vibrant city.

We hope that our research and experience can help when choosing where to stay in Lima. Although often, those who arrive in Peru through Lima do so with the intention of going to Lima, we invite you to reserve two or three nights at least to get to know this vibrant and lively city, for sure you will not regret your decision.

We always do our reservations with booking, they are our partners and its with them that we get the best deals. You can look for the best deals by clicking here, it won't cost you any money and, it helps us to support our blog.

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We would also like to invite you to leave your opinion and questions and, in case you have already visited Lima, let us know what you think is the best place to stay in the city of Lima. Thanks for your visit to our Non Stop Family Travel Blog, come back often and, if you liked our article, don’t forget to share it with your friends.

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