FLIGHT/ARRIVAL PERU (DFW-LIM)

My flight from Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) to Lima Jorge Chavez International (LIM) was approximately 6.5 hours. Departure was scheduled for 5:00pm with an arrival time of 12:53am in Lima. We departed less than 15 minutes late and arrived less than 15 minutes early. On my previous trip I departed from Miami, I did not record the length of that flight but all went smoothly. Immigration and customs forms (2 forms) should be handed out on the flight. Make sure you receive these and have them filled out before the flight prepares for landing to expedite your entry at the airport.

American Airlines flights, at least the two that I were on, do not arrive directly at a gate. Instead you will descend a staircase from the plane to the runway to board an airport shuttle to be taken to the terminal. If you are seated closer to the back of the plane, you may want to ask in advance if they will open the rear exit of the plane, then keep an eye open on the line in both directions to see which one will get you off the plane faster. When boarding the shuttle, move as close to the opposite side as possible since the opposite door should be the one opening to get off the tram.

I do not recall a long delay at immigration on my first visit to Peru. Immigration for this trip was a mess. With a 1:00am arrival I was expecting to breeze through like I have on most trips, instead we were greeted with lines snaking back to almost the end dividers. Within 15 minutes the line was overflowing past the end of the maze. I could not see the front of the line well, but it almost certainly seemed that there were problems at the front of the line since at some point things seemed to run more smoothly. Total time in line for immigration was approximately 50 minutes on this trip. Make sure your immigration form is completed to avoid an unpleasant kick back into the line.

Upon passing immigration you will be in the baggage claim area where you will find a counter for currency exchange. The rate I received at the airport at this counter was equivalent or better than any I found in the city. Changing money should be optional since US dollars seem to be universally accepted in Lima, but I would recommend doing so just in case, at the very least enough for your taxi fare and first night of lodging. With your baggage, money, and completed customs form you can now exit this area. If you didn't receive or lost your customs form, you'll find blank forms to the left of the exit.

If you arranged your transportation in advance, look for your name on a sign after customs. If you have not arranged transportation, you'll have plenty of taxi drivers offering their services. Shuttles and buses are also available, but I have no personal experience with them. Taxi drivers inside the airport will likely be quoting at least $15 USD (48 PEN), but probably closer to $20 USD (64 PEN). I arranged transporation with my hotel (Hotel Las Palmas) for $15 USD. I've read commentary that over 30 PEN is a tourist rate and that more reasonable fares can be found by catching a moving cab outside of the airport, but I for one will not go through that hassle to save a few dollars after arriving on a long flight and waiting in a long line at 1am in the morning.

My fare actually turned out to be much less expensive because I ran into two Americans who had not arranged transporation and were also staying at Las Palmas while waiting in line for immigration. We split the fare three ways and included a $3 USD tip for taking all three of us at a cost of $6 USD each. I was also incredibly fortunate after making an incredible rookie maneuver of leaving my backpack with laptop in the cab. Had I taken a regular airport cab, the hotel would not have been able to call the cab driver back to return over $1000 of equipment I forgot to bring into the hotel.

Hola. RT here.

When you arrive at Immigration, the line splits in two. You can choose either entrance. On my last trip, I realized that there were four Immigration agents working the left side, and only three on the right. Hence, go left. When my friend arrived two days later, he commented the same thing to me. So my advice: Go Left.

As to taxi prices, it seems that you are quoting prices that are higher than I remember. Have they gone up in the last year, due to the gas increases, or did I just get lucky last year?

Thanks.

Good word of advice, I noticed more workers on the left on my second visit as well.

Unfortunately in my case, the left line I was in was more packed. My line definitely moved faster, but I tracked my progress with a lady that arrived at the same time as I that chose the other line and we reached the front at approximately the same time.

The prices I quoted are in part speculation from what I overheard and read elsewhere as my transporatation was already arranged. Upon review the top range seems unusually high even for an airport taxi, but I do not recall how exactly I came up with that number. I believe it was the highest quote I found so I included it as the top of the range.

If anyone can post their quoted rates, that would be appreciated.