Peru Guide
Getting around
Taxis, mototaxis and colectivos
Taxis can be found anywhere at any time in almost every town. Any car can become a taxi simply by sticking a taxi sign up in the front window; a lot of people, especially in Lima, take advantage of this to supplement their income. Whenever you get into a taxi, always fix the price in advance (in nuevo soles rather than in US dollars) since few of them have meters. Relatively short journeys in Lima generally cost around $2 to 4, but it's cheaper elsewhere in the country. Radio taxis, minicabs and airport taxis tend to cost more. Even relatively long taxi rides in Lima are likely to cost less than $10, except perhaps to and from the airport, which ranges from $8 to 18, depending on how far across the city you're going, how bad the traffic is and how much you're prepared to pay for a stylish vehicle. Taxi drivers in Peru do not expect tips.
In many rural towns, you'll find small cars – mainly Korean Ticos and motorcycle rickshaws, known variously as mototaxis or motokars – all competing for customers. The latter are always cheaper if slightly more dangerous and uncomfortable.
Colectivos (shared taxis), seating about six people and the driver, are a very useful way of getting around that's peculiar to Peru. They connect all the coastal towns, and many of the larger centres in the mountains. Like the buses, many are ageing imports from the US – huge old Dodge Coronets – though, increasingly, fast new Japanese and Korean minibuses are running between the cities. Colectivos tend to be faster than the bus, though are often as much as twice the price. They can be found in the centre of a town or at major stopping places along the main roads; if more than one is ready to leave it's worth bargaining a little, as the price is often negotiable. Colectivominibuses, also known as combis, can squeeze in twice as many people, or often more.In the cities, particularly in Lima, colectivos (especially combis) have an appalling reputation for safety. There are crashes reported in the Lima press every week, mostly caused by the highly competitive nature of the business.