The one thing which struck me immediately about getting around in Lima, is you can just about get anywhere all the time at any time of the day or night in a taxi....any taxi.

If you need to get somewhere and are not sure of the local bus routes (who would be?) then all you have to do, is just stand there at the sidewalk of any street and a taxi will pull up to where youīre standing. All it takes is quite literally seconds.

Itīs exactly the same as Bogota, Colombia. In Lima, there are hundreds and hundreds of taxi drivers, possibly into the thousands, who are driving around looking for a fare. I know more than half of them arenīt even licensed or regulated. Itīs impossible for the government here to properly regulate them anyway. I donīt even know if itīs required.

The bottom line is, nobody really cares about taxi license regulation when there is such high unemployment rate here. In Lima, everyone is trying to make a buck (or in this case Soles) one way or another.

Always remember, when getting into a taxi in Lima, always ask how much it is first. Tips are NOT included in any taxi fare. Tips arenīt even expected with taxi drivers.

Greetings from Lima, Peru.

Master Bates.

There is a taxi cab driver that is good. He converted his taxi cab from gasoline to natural gas. He told me he could run his car for 12 hours and spend about 25 Soles a day. He gave me his number, it is 988-162-633 if you are in Lima. Just add 011-511 if you are out of aera. He charged me 18 Soles to the Airport while the other taxi cabs were charging me 45 Soles. His name is Luther.

Just got back from Lima and Iquitos/Amazon for some Ayahuasca.
Met a great Taxista. Giovanni Sanches
993 456843 giovanni_nid@hotmail.com. Hangs out around Larco Mar, but can be called and his English is good.

A true service guy. Toured the beaches and bars all day. Took me to Cucardis that night. I love that place. As close to a Rio terma as there is and cheap. Get your price clear up front if you go touring. Very funny guy.

Unless you know a specific driver, best to catch one coming down the road for safety's sake. Always negotiate the price BEFORE getting into the cab.

I agree with CFK, for both safety and cost issues. All over the world, taxis that are not moving cost more than taxis that are.

I can't imagine a taxi costing any more than they would in front of LarcoMar anywhere in Lima.

I usually get quoted 20 Soles an hour. Last trip, I ran into a guy that quoted me 18. I used him three times, and he showed up early for all three calls. But 20 is pretty much standard.

>>All over the world, taxis that are not moving cost more than taxis that are.<<

That has not been my experience in most of the numerous places I visit assuming that by "taxis that are not moving" we are talking about taxis at taxi points, or in front of hotels. There are exceptions, and perhaps Lima is one of them.

OTOH, if we are talking about taxis that hang out immediately in front of clubs or brothels, that is a different story.

I've found it everywhere -- both hotels/malls and of course, clubs.

But maybe I haven't been to enough places!

It is generally not the case in Japan, Buenos Aires, Brazil (with a few exceptions), Jakarta, the U.S., and Thailand (with the exception of the 50-baht airport fee), carving out from this those situations where the taxi is sitting in front of a P4P place, such as Help in Rio, Soi Cowboy in Bangkok, Connection in Sao Paulo and so forth). In each of these countries/cities I use metered taxis and the taxis use the same meter irrespective of whether they are pulling away from a hotel, or are flagged down on the street.

(Message edited by LAguy on January 27, 2009)

Gotcha, the e.mail address giovanni_nid@hotmail.com fails. I would like to try to reach this man. Could you take another look at your notes?

Thanks.