🇵🇪Cost of Travel in Peru (2026): Daily Budgets for 3 Cities
Inca stonework nobody has managed to replicate, a canyon twice the depth of the Grand Canyon, and a capital that quietly became one of the best places to eat on earth. Cheap, high, and a long way from anywhere.
Daily budgets in Peru
The cheapest city in Peru is Arequipa, at $45–90 a day mid-range per person; the priciest is Cusco, at $60–120 — about 32% more for the same style of trip.
| City | Budget / day | Mid-range / day | Comfort / day | Cheap meal | Mid-range hotel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arequipa | $25–55 | $45–90 | $80–160 | $2.50–5 | $35–75 |
| Lima | $35–65 | $55–110 | $100–200 | $3–6 | $45–95 |
| Cusco | $35–70 | $60–120 | $110–220 | $3–6 | $45–95 |
Per person in US dollars, flights not included. Mid-range is each guide's researched figure and includes a mid-range room; budget and comfort scale it by 0.6 and 1.8, so treat those as rough. How we work these out.
Plan a trip across Peru
Set the nights you'd spend in each city. Per person, before flights; each night counts one day of that city's daily budget.
Cities
🇵🇪Arequipa
PeruA city built entirely from white volcanic stone under three volcanoes, with a walled convent the size of a neighbourhood inside it. Peru's second city, lower and sunnier than Cusco, and much less visited.
🇵🇪Cusco
PeruThe Inca capital with a Spanish city built on top of it — colonial arcades sitting on stonework nobody can replicate. The gateway to Machu Picchu, at 3,400m, where the altitude is the first thing you'll notice.
🇵🇪Lima
PeruA grey-skied capital of ten million on a desert cliff above the Pacific, and — genuinely — one of the best places to eat on earth. Most people transit through it. That's a mistake.
Head to head
Two cities side by side — costs, best months and what you'd do in each.