First Time in Lima: 10 Things to Know Before You Leave the Airport
Safety, currency, SIM cards, transport and useful apps — everything worth knowing before you walk out of Jorge Chávez for the first time.
Lima isn't a hard city to get around, but it is a big one, with unpredictable traffic and distances that look shorter on a map than they feel in real life. Here are the 10 things worth having sorted out before you leave the airport.
1. General safety
Lima is safe in the areas where most tourists spend their time — Miraflores, Barranco, San Isidro — with visible police presence and well-lit streets. As in any major city, the main thing is avoiding flashing valuables on the street and sticking to reliable transport, especially at night.
2. Currency exchange
The currency is the Peruvian sol (PEN). Exchanging money at the airport usually comes with a worse rate than in the city — if you need cash right away, change just enough to cover the first few hours and do the rest at an exchange house in Miraflores or San Isidro.
3. Internet and SIM cards
The main carriers (Claro, Movistar, Entel) have counters inside the airport for prepaid data SIMs. If you'd rather skip the line, most hotels and your transfer vehicle itself usually have wifi available.
4. Transportation
This is the single decision that shapes the rest of your day. Jorge Chávez sits 45-60 minutes from Miraflores depending on traffic — a private transfer booked in advance means you skip negotiating a fare while exhausted and without local signal.
5. Useful apps
Before you leave, it's worth downloading an offline maps app and keeping your hotel's or driver's WhatsApp number handy — signal inside the airport can be slow until your SIM activates.
6. Getting to your hotel safely
Avoid accepting transport offers from people who approach you inside the arrivals area — a trustworthy service is already waiting for you, assigned by name, with no need for anyone to approach you at all.
7. Weather
Lima's climate is unusual: gray and humid from May to November (the local "garúa" mist), sunny and warm from December to April. It rarely rains, so an umbrella isn't a priority, but a light jacket is worth packing outside of summer.
8. Tipping
Not mandatory, but expected at restaurants (usually 10%) and appreciated by drivers and guides.
9. Meal times
Locals eat lunch late, between 1pm and 3pm, and dinner after 8pm — higher-end restaurants usually require a reservation, especially on weekends.
10. Distances that deceive
On a map, Lima looks compact, but traffic can triple a travel time during rush hour. Coordinating transfers in advance — especially the return trip to the airport — is the difference between arriving calm or arriving in a rush.
If this is your first trip to Lima, booking your airport-to-hotel transfer ahead of time solves several of these points at once: transportation, safety, and your first real impression of the city.
