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Comment by yannis | Hacker News Reader

Great you visited it. One reads all these cautionary notices about traveling to Peru. What was your experience? Did you visit on a group tour? Would love to know more.

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Yes, Peru (and South America in general) can be fairly dangerous for people used to Europe or the US, but if you let you be guided by someone who knows where to go, it is a wonderful place. My wife herself is Peruvian but lived in Europe for her whole life so it was a new experience for her as well. We travelled on a tour planned by a travel agency ad-hoc for our honeymoon, so we were alone (not in a group) but we were escorted by private guides for all the travel, who organized both the transports and the touristic activities. Schedules were tight so it was challenging, but really rewarding! On top of the usual famous places like Machu Pichu I also greatly recommend the amazonian region. We went to a lodge on the Marañon river some kilometers from the source of the Amazon River and met local tribes (including one of the five last speakers of a disappearing local ancient language). Great memories for sure!

Peru has had a lot of bad press but if you use your common sense you’ll be fine. I live in Lima, for example the tourist areas here have a high police presence and are safe.

I felt kind of safe there, depends of a district. But I know personally a guy 1,9 meters, boxer, that got drunk and took a taxi, the guy drove him to darl alley where friends were waiting and took his stuff. So it is always about using your brain and a bit of luck. But that was more than 10 years ago. Maybe with uber, these situations are safer.

Yeah, it's definitely about using your brain and it's wise not to take a street taxi anywhere. Uber is not perfect, but much safer.

> Peru has had a lot of bad press but if you use your common sense you’ll be fine.

Peru is ranked 10th in the latest crime index rankings.

https://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_by_country.jsp

The bad reputation is justified. It's not cool to go the victim blaming path to avoid acknowledging problems.

Peru being ranked higher than Colombia is laughable if you had lived in both countries

I went there with my younger kids a few years ago. It was like visiting the USA only fewer guns and authoritarian people in uniforms everywhere, and don't drink the water out of the tap. Also maybe pay in cash everywhere since no one takes cards. Lima is big and like big cities everywhere be on your guard in touristy areas because a lot of people make a living there and not always through legal means.

Hiking the Inca trail to Maccu Piccu and seeing the Nazca line in person though, worth it. Just stay in hostels and travel by bus. A bit of Spanish would help but we got by OK without it.

> Lima is big and like big cities everywhere be on your guard in touristy areas because a lot of people make a living there and not always through legal means.

Super weird to normalize urban violence.. as someone who lives in Asia.. this is a really messed up terrorized mindset. You don't need to walk around Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul or Bangkok and "be on your guard" .. ever.

Your government(s) have just failed you in providing a safe environment to live

It must be historical and also how cities are settled. South America has huge influx of uneducated, poor people into the cities. It is easy for them to get entangled in bad activities in the slums. Like Rio. Beautiful city and some government reforms pushed ex slaves into city with no prospect for life. and government forgot about them until there was a problem. And maybe there is different social net in Asia. Culture based on shame, more than power/status(?).

I think it’s the whole American continent (north and south) that’s way behind Europe/Asia regarding safety in the streets.

Honestly I felt more unsafe in certain touristy parts of Paris than anywhere I went in Lima. But not because of violence but because of pickpockets and scammers. I would chalk that up to the fact that most foreigners visiting the Plaza des Armas in Lima are probably an order of magnitude less wealthy than the busloads middle-class tourist crowding Montmartre in Paris.

What’s odd the Opp calls out guns in USA but is ok with unsafe areas in Peru?

> It was like visiting the USA only fewer guns and authoritarian people in uniforms everywhere, and don't drink the water out of the tap.

Is not about normalizing (or “my country is better than yours”) is about acknowledging reality

Also, OP wasn’t talking about violence (very rare) but scams.

In South America, violence is not very rare.

Depends on the neighborhood, the city, the country, and the current political situation.

Well, have fun never leaving East Asian megacities. You probably won’t like what literally the rest of the entire world is like.

I was there couple years ago. If you don't go to places you shouldn't, you are mostly Ok. I felt much safer in Peru than in Brazil for example. It is not europe or some parts of asia. But for central/south america it was farily safe. Not sure about some changes in the last years.

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