Average Daily Budget: Peru Travel Costs (2026 Data)

A foreign tourist in Peru spent $1,232¹ on an average visit in 2025, not counting the international flight, and stayed 10 nights¹: about $123.20² a night. That average hides a wide spread. Japanese visitors spent about $242.0² a night and French visitors about $82.0², a third of vacation travelers spent less than $500³ on the whole trip, and travelers who booked through an agency spent almost twice as much as those who put the trip together themselves.

This page takes the Peru budget apart: what each home country spends, how long people stay, what they pay for, where they sleep, which regions hold their nights, how prices and the sol have moved, and how busy each month is. Every money figure is in US dollars, and the international air ticket is never included.

Peru's average daily budget: about $123 a night

Foreign tourists in Peru spent an average of $1,232¹ per visit in 2025. The figure counts what they spent in the country during the trip, including packages bought for it, but not the international air ticket. With an average stay of 10 nights¹, that is about $123.20² a night. This is a ratio of two averages, not a measured daily spend, and many visitors stay less than the average: US tourists stayed 11 nights⁴ on average, but half of them stayed 8 nights⁴ or fewer.

Earlier surveys printed a daily figure directly: $91⁵ a day in 2016, $95⁶ in 2017 and $93⁷ in 2018, the same as in 2019.⁸ The 2024 edition counted tourists interviewed at Lima airport, who spent $1,417⁹ over 12 nights⁹, about $118.08² a night; that is a different group from the 2025 figure for all tourists, so the years sit together in the table below and are not joined into a trend line.

Most visitors plan late and put the trip together themselves. In 2025, 84%¹ bought their trip services less than four months ahead, and 67%¹ booked each service separately rather than as a package. Vacation was the main purpose for 65%¹ of tourists, business for 17%¹ and visits to friends or relatives for 13%¹. Lima drew 79%¹ of them and Cusco 37%¹, and food was part of the trip for almost everyone: 98%¹ took part in gastronomy.

Spending by home country

Where a visitor comes from changes the budget as much as anything else. Japanese tourists spent $1,936¹⁰ per trip over 8 nights¹⁰ in 2025, about $242.0² a night, the highest of the 18² home countries profiled and 2.95² times the French figure. French tourists stayed longest, 22 nights¹¹, and spent $1,805¹¹, about $82.0² a night. Australians spent the most per trip, $3,406¹² over 20 nights¹².

Medians are shorter than means: half of French visitors stayed 14 nights¹¹ or fewer, and half of Australians 13 nights¹² or fewer.

US tourists spent $1,713⁴ per trip, about $155.7² a night, $73.7² more than the French. Neighbors come for shorter, cheaper trips: Chileans stayed 6 nights¹³ and spent $835¹³. The reason for the trip matters too: business travelers spent about $199.8² a night, against $129.7² for vacation travelers.

The kind of trip differs just as much. Among Chileans, 31%¹³ spent less than $500 on the visit and 34%¹³ stayed three nights or fewer; among Australians, 52%¹² spent $2,500 or more. Business travelers bought a package most often, 70%²⁷, and 89%²⁷ of those packages were bought by their company, a relative or someone else, and 88%¹⁶ of British tourists were in Peru for the first time.

How spending changed since 2019

For most home countries, 2024 spending per trip was above 2019. US tourists spent $1,503²⁸ in 2019 and $1,627²⁸ in 2024. Spanish tourists went from $1,273²⁹ to $1,840²⁹ between 2019 and 2024 and Germans from $1,408³⁰ to $2,069³⁰. Chileans moved the other way, from $662³¹ to $576³¹.

The 2019 and 2024 columns come from profiles of tourists interviewed at Lima airport, so read the 2025 column as a separate edition rather than a continuation of the same count. In the 2025 edition, US tourists spent $1,713⁴ per trip.

Peru travel cost: the average price of a vacation

Vacation travelers spent $1,297³ per trip in 2025 over 10 nights³, with a median stay of 7 nights³. How the trip is bought changes the bill: those who went through a travel agency spent $1,933³, against $1,035³ for those who arranged everything themselves, 1.87² times as much. For US tourists the gap was $721², $2,166⁴ with an agency and $1,445⁴ without. Only 29%³ of vacation travelers bought a package.

Budget trips are common. In 2025, 33%³ of vacation travelers spent less than $500 on the whole visit, and 22%² spent $2,000 or more. In 2016 the share under $500 was 44%⁵ among all tourists. Bolivians are the one group that spent less with an agency, $562²⁵ against $933²⁵ on their own.

Trip length drives the total. A quarter of vacation travelers, 26%³, stayed three nights or fewer, while 17%² stayed 15 nights or more. Business trips are short: 80%² lasted a week or less.

Where the money goes

The most recent breakdown by item comes from the 2018 survey of tourists who bought every service separately. They spent $735⁷ in Peru: 25%⁷ on lodging, about $184², the same share on restaurants and food, and 21%⁷ on attractions and activities. Vacation travelers spent $773⁷, and the largest part, 28%⁷ or about $216², went on attractions and activities. Package buyers spent 85%⁷ of their $1,463⁷ on the package itself and the rest on extras.

Where visitors sleep

Hostels are a European habit in Peru. In 2025, 35%²⁶ of German tourists stayed in a hostel at some point, 34%¹¹ of the French and 33%²³ of the Dutch, against 7%⁴ of US tourists and 3%¹³ of Chileans. Business travelers stay in the top tier: 74%²⁷ used a 4- or 5-star hotel. US tourists often stay with people they know: 23%⁴ slept at the home of family or friends, and 20%⁴ rented a house, apartment or holiday rental.

Hotels still carry most nights. Among vacation travelers, 39%³ used a 3-star hotel or hostal and 30%³ a 4- or 5-star one, while 17%³ rented a home and the same share used a 1- or 2-star hotel or hostal. Chinese tourists were the most likely to book the top tier, 58%¹⁴, and the French the least, 23%¹¹; Dutch travelers used 3-star hotels or hostals most, 49%²³.

Age and purpose

Older visitors spend more per day. In 2018, Centennials spent $61⁷ a day in Peru and the Silent generation $194⁷, 3.18² times as much.

The 2016 survey found the same slope by age: visitors aged 65 and over spent $244⁵ a day, 3.59² times the $68⁵ of those aged 15 to 24. Per trip the gap was smaller, because younger visitors stayed longer.

Purpose matters as much as age. In 2019, business travelers spent $141⁸ a day, vacation travelers $104⁸ and visitors staying with friends or relatives $42⁸. By region of residence, travelers from Asia spent $163⁸ a day and those from Latin America $73⁸.

Where foreign visitors spend their nights

Lodging establishments recorded 14,510,662⁴⁰ nights by foreign guests in 2025, 98.1%² of the 2019 count. Lima held 42.9%² of them and Cusco 31.9%². Cusco is now above its 2019 level, by 18.2%², while Lima is still 9.7%² below; Arequipa grew 21.9%².

Each stay in one place is short. Foreign guests stayed 1.79² nights per check-in on average in 2025, because most visitors move between cities: 1.92² in Lima, 1.78² in Cusco and 1.28² in Ica, where many stop for a single night. The longest stays were in the Amazon region of Ucayali, 2.24² nights.

Behind the ratios are very different volumes. Arequipa recorded 853,118⁴⁰ foreign nights in 2025 and Ica 520,471⁴⁰, Madre de Dios 229,211⁴⁰ and Huancavelica only 821⁴⁰. Several regions are still below 2019: in Tumbes, foreign check-ins fell from 94,910⁴⁰ to 49,440⁴⁰, and in Puno from 339,235⁴⁰ to 277,507⁴⁰.

The national count has barely changed in length: nights per check-in were 1.89² in 2013 and 1.79² in 2025. What collapsed and recovered was the number of guests, from 8,264,767⁴⁰ check-ins in 2019 to 1,778,619⁴⁰ in 2020 and 8,101,015⁴⁰ in 2025.

Prices, the sol and the dollar

A dollar goes a little less far than it did a few years ago. Banks paid an average of S/3.563⁴² per US dollar in 2025, the fewest soles since 2020 and 8.1%² fewer than the S/3.877⁴² of 2021: $100 changed into about S/356.3². Everyday prices remain low by US standards. On a scale where US household prices are 100, Peru stood at 54.0² in 2025, up from 49.4² in 2021.^{43 44}

The price level moves with the sol. In 2021, when a dollar bought the most soles, Peru's price level fell to 49.4²; by 2025 a stronger sol had lifted it back to 54.0², still below the 57.4² of 2019. For a visitor paying in dollars, Peru was relatively cheapest in 2021 and has become somewhat dearer since.^{43 44}

Eating out has become dearer faster than prices in general. The restaurant-meals item of Lima's consumer price index rose 30.4%² between December 2019 and December 2025, against 25.8%² for all items; since December 2004 meal prices have multiplied by 2.383². In the 12 months to August 2026, consumer prices in Lima rose 4.44%⁴⁵, and restaurant meals about 4.3%².

Visitors and tourism income

Peru welcomed 3,416,464⁴⁰ international tourists in 2025, 78.1%² of the 2019 count, yet they left more money: tourism receipts reached $5,351 million⁴⁰, 13.8%² above 2019 and 10.1%² above 2024. Receipts per arriving tourist rose from about $1,076² in 2019 to $1,566² in 2025. That ratio also counts air tickets sold by Peruvian airlines to foreigners and spending by same-day visitors, so it is a measure of the whole market, not a traveler's budget. The third quarter, which holds the July and August peak, brought $1,439 million⁴⁰ in 2025, the highest quarter since at least 2013.

The first half of 2026 brought $2,735 million⁴⁰, 8.8%² more than a year earlier.

Six South American markets (Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador) made up 53.9%² of arrivals in 2019 and 50.1%² in 2025, mainly because of Chile. Chile still sent the most tourists, 690,492⁴⁰, but 42.3%² fewer than in 2019, and the United States was close behind with 619,184⁴⁰, 18.1%² of all arrivals. Brazil was 9.5%² above 2019.

Arrivals peak in July and August. July 2025 brought 317,090⁴⁰ tourists, 1.23² times February's 258,090⁴⁰. January to July 2026 was level with a year earlier: 1,956,084⁴⁰ tourists against 1,957,443⁴⁰.

What it means for your budget

At the 2025 average of $123.20² a night, a week in Peru comes to about $862.40² before international flights, and two travelers who each spend the average $1,232¹ visit need about $2,464². The home-country averages show the realistic range: roughly $82.0² a night for the French, who stay long and often use hostels, and about $242.0² for the Japanese, with short stays.

Two things move the budget most. Booking through an agency multiplies it by about 1.87² for vacation travelers. And food is a large, rising part of the bill: restaurants and food took about a quarter of self-arranged spending in 2018, and restaurant prices in Lima have risen faster than prices overall since 2019.^{7 46}

Peru compared with the rest of the Americas

Peru sits in the middle of the region. Its $123.20² a night is 1.19² times Colombia's daily $103.2⁴⁸, while Costa Rica's nightly figure is 1.46² times Peru's and Hawaii's daily $261.06⁴⁹ is 2.12² times. The figures differ in what they count and in their year, as the table states.

Conclusions

1. Who travels matters as much as where. In the same country and year, Japanese tourists spent about $242 a night in Peru and French tourists about $82; the Japanese figure was 2.95 times the French one.^{10 11}
2. How you buy matters too. Vacation travelers with an agency spent $1,933 per trip, 1.87 times the $1,035 of those who arranged everything themselves.³
3. Fewer visitors, more money. Arrivals in 2025 were 78.1% of the 2019 level, but tourism receipts were 13.8% higher, about $1,566 per arriving tourist.⁴⁰
4. The dollar buys a little less, and meals cost more. The dollar fetched S/3.563 in 2025, the fewest soles since 2020, and restaurant meal prices in Lima rose 30.4% from December 2019 to December 2025.^{42 46}