Has anyone here ever been to Peru?

Hi. Looking for recommendations, warnings etc. Thanks

Never been to Peru but I did go to Bolivia once upon a time. My next door neighbour has been to Peru a couple of times and loved it each time.

Are you thinking of going independently or as part of something organised? I have been on some trips with Dragoman who are a great operator for people who want to go to South America, Africa or parts of Asia. Basically you go drive around in a big truck and camp different places as you go. It is a very safe and efficient way to see the best places if you are on a bit of a tighter budget than hotels, want to see the culture but are too busy to do all the organisation yourself. That said, another friend went all around South America on public transport and said it is plenty developed.

http://www.dragoman.com/ I would highly recommend them if you aren't touring independently. I'll get you a picture of the truck I was in now, albeit in Rwanda...

We're in the second one with the blue roof that you can take off

Wow! That looks like it was an adventure! I'm travelling on my own steam with the OH and my 13 year old daughter. Getting very excited about it all but also a bit nervous about travelling with a young teenager.

That should be fantastic, have you booked your flights and that yet and have an outline of what you would like to do? If you haven't Dragoman do family adventures which I don't know alot about but could be useful. Going with a crowd like that is a bit more expensive that going independently but it is certainly less hassle. There are some others such as Oasis and Tucan.

Either way I wouldn't be overly worried, South America is alot more developed in terms of infrastructure than alot of parts of the world so it really does suit the independent traveller. I would imagine your daughter will absolutely love it. Just be careful to drink alot of fluid if you are up high and generally as well.

Lonely Planet (or Lonely Liar as some call them!!!) are an excellent resource and tend to be very accurate. It is hilarious when you turn up at some obscure site and there are twenty people there all clutching their Lonely Planet guide!

I would love to go on a big adventure again, but looking like I might have a decent summer (funds permitting) anyway. Going to Istanbul and a couple of other places in Turkey in May and then want to travel around New England in the summer. If all goes well in regard to exams and a job offer still being on the table for next year going to go wild for a few months in early 2010 with full reports on Machine Nation .