Peru hostels are ideal for backpackers and general travelers who are either on a tight budget, or simply wish to save their travel money for attractions like Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines. Peru is a fascinating travel destination, and because of its beauty and charm, it is among the most visited countries in all of Latin America. Tourism seems to always be on the rise here, and wherever you choose to go in Peru, there seems to be an ample selection of Peru hostels close by. You can find cheap Peru hostels and more expensive ones, but all in all, to be a hostel, you can’t exactly go charging a bunch of money. You can expect to generally pay anywhere from $7-$60 a night if your Peru accommodation of choice is a hostel, and the fact that so many of them can be found near all the major tourist destinations, a Peru vacation can end up being a pretty affordable thing.
Peru’s capital and largest city of Lima
is where most travelers either enter or exit the country,
but that shouldn’t be the only reason you end up
there. Lima has some of the best museums
in Peru, and its restaurants and shops provide the
widest array of any city or town. From December-March,
the Lima beaches are popular
both with tourists and locals, and the neighborhood of
Miraflores is considered
by some to be the place to stay and hang out. Some of
the best hotels in Lima
are found in Miraflores, but it is also a great place
to look for a hostel in Peru. In central Lima, near the
Plaza de Armas, you can find some cheap Peru hostels,
and being close to the Old Town is a joy because of its
colonial architecture and its restaurants. If you head
north of Lima, cities of interest include Trujillo
and Chiclayo, and both have
great Peru hostels to choose from. The historic ruins
of Sipan and Tucume can be visited near Chiclayo, and
the money you save at the cheap Peru hostels can be used
to explore them. In Trujillo, the ruins of the ancient
city of Chan Chan are among
the top pursuits, and the Trujillo hostels allow you to
free up money for trips there or to the nearby beaches.
Just outside of Trujillo, the beachside town of Huanchaco
has a few Peru hostels, and the beaches here are among
the best in the country.
South of Lima along the coast, the Nazca Lines bring many visitors to the city of Ica. Since you have to fly over the Nazca Lines to fully appreciate them, staying at a Ica hostel in Peru means that paying for that flight is a whole lot easier than if you stayed somewhere more expensive. The town of Nazca also has some budget hostel choices, though there is generally not much interest found in and about town, so Ica might be more enjoyable. It all depends on your preferences. Of course, if you are coming to Peru, you are likely thinking about visiting Machu Picchu. Cusco is the closest major city to Machu Picchu, and this ancient center of the Inca Empire might just have the best selection of Peru hostels, if not the best selection of Peru hotels. You can find Cusco hostels to fit your budget needs, and with so many possible tours and points of interest nearby, you will want to save as much as possible. The nearby town of Pisac has one of the best handcraft markets in all the country, and the shopping in Cusco ain’t bad either.
If you continue in a southerly direction from Cusco, a town of interest where you might want to find a hostel in Peru is Puno. Resting on the shores of Lake Titicaca, Puno continues to grow in popularity as a major Peru tourist attraction, mostly because of the lake and its island tours. You can visit the floating Uros islands, then explore the beautiful island of Taquile. In places like Puno, you likely won’t be spending tons of time in your hotel room, so you might as well not spend a bunch on it. Plus, even some of the cheap Peru hostels are pretty nice, and if you don’t go in with a bunch of expectations, you should be satisfied.
Since hotels in Peru are relatively cheap regardless of class and amenities, you might choose to stay primarily in cheap Peru hostels the bulk of your nights, and treat yourself every once and a while to a more upscale experience. For example, in the Amazon Jungle city of Iquitos, you might stay at a hostel in town and then treat yourself to a few nights in a nice jungle lodge. Many a hostel in Peru will help you with travel and tour arrangements, and some even have their own tours and excursions to offer. Youth hostels in Peru are fairly common, though the bulk simply accept all ages, and if you are a member of Hostelling International, you can sometimes find additional discounts for a hostel in Peru. Thanks to the abundance of cheap Peru hostels, you might be surprised at just how affordable that Peru vacation can be.
