Our favourite general travel guidebooks to South America are Lonely Planet & Footprint (formerly the South American Handbook). LP has better maps. Footprint is updated more often. Both are very good.

Most backpackers carry one or the other. But there are many other Travel Peru guidebook options.

But be sure you get the most recent edition of whichever you choose.

Flying is a good option in Peru as land transport can be slow in the mountains. A good starting point for domestic flight options is the TraficoPeru.com website.

Getting a ticket can be time consuming in South America. A good travel agent is sometimes faster than you going directly to the airline office. Finding a good travel agent is also often difficult, unfortunately.

Much as we often curse them, the largest carrier in Peru is LanPeru.com — which has an attractive website which sometimes even works.

In 2005 one way air fare Lima <> Arequipa was going as low as US$60.

arriving in Arequipa

Flights one way Lima <> Cuzco can go even lower, US$50.

You could even fly Cuzco <> Arequipa as low as US$50.

These are the best value flights in Peru. A luxury bus is not all that much cheaper.

Other factors to consider: