Destination: Peru

[Takhisis]

Twelve U.S. dollars, what is this I don't even

 

[warpus]

Twelve U.S. dollars, what is this I don't even

Update on this.

I've booked the flight 4 times and each time Orbitz eventually emails me with:

Dear Orbitz traveler,

We regret to inform you that, due to limited availability, the airline was not able to confirm the flights you requested. As a result, no tickets have been issued for this trip and we have reversed any credit card charges.

Situations like this are rare, but when they occur we attempt to contact our customers immediately so they won't miss out on advance booking opportunities. To book a different flight, please visit Orbitz.com.

Our secure on-line booking system accesses fares and availability from the same central reservation systems that other travel agents and airline reservation agents are booking from worldwide. With the extensive volume of agents booking flights at any given time, availability for a particular flight can be gone in an instant. So when your ticketing request reached the airline, availability for the flight(s) you selected was no longer available.

The confirmation e-mail that you may have received is only an acknowledgement that the flights you selected for travel have been sent to the airline for approval prior to ticketing and does not guarantee ticket issuance.

We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to serving you in the near future.

Thanks for booking with Orbitz.

Sincerely,
The OrbitzTLC Team

I have no idea if it's because those cheap tickets are reserved for local Peruvians only (but why are they advertised online then?) or if it's a scam or whatever..

But yeah, basically every once in a while when I search for a flight from Lima to Cuzco (1 1/2 hour flight or so) I see a couple flights for $12 each and then the rest are like $200+

And each time I book they send me everything, including a confirmation and reservation number, but 24 hours later or so they 'back out' with that BS reason quoted above.

I found the same deal on cheaptickets.com, we'll see if that goes through. I have a feeling that the airline is screening the names of people who buy these and 'cancel' tickets for those who do not have Hispanic sounding names. But that is just a guess... we'll see if this order goes through or not.

I do not mind paying a reasonable price for this flight, but $250 each way for 1 person is over the top, considering that some people get away with paying $12.. apparently.

I think we could get a good deal if we try to book the flight right from the airport. It's an option.. We land in Lima at 6am and the plan is to catch a flight to Cusco a couple hours after that so that we can start acclimatizing as soon as possible. So I guess in theory we'd have some time to walk around the airport to try to book a flight, but the thing is that flights to Cuzco stop at around 2pm or so. Or maybe even earlier... So it's either risk it by not booking ahead or book ahead and pay a high price.

Or hope that cheaptickets.com can hook me up with those cheap tickets

 

[Takhisis]

Did they pay you back the $12?

 

[warpus]

Did they pay you back the $12?

Yeah, each time they refund my money, or at least claim to. It's Orbitz.com, I trust them enough to refund me, but I suppose I should actually check.

So I have no idea what's going on here - it's not any sort of scam that would make sense.. unless they're posting low prices to attract people to their site?

 

[Oerdin]

And you say the flight costs would go up from $12 to $200? Shoot, I might just risk it and see if I could book one of the cheaper flights once I got to Peru. Worst case scenario you spend a day or two in Lima doing the tourist thing but I guess it just depends on if you have an extra day or two in your vacation schedule. Alternatively buses are cheap but basic in Latin America and you can probably find a bus which would take you there for around the $12 mark.

 

[warpus]

And you say the flight costs would go up from $12 to $200? Shoot, I might just risk it and see if I could book one of the cheaper flights once I got to Peru. Worst case scenario you spend a day or two in Lima doing the tourist thing but I guess it just depends on if you have an extra day or two in your vacation schedule. Alternatively buses are cheap but basic in Latin America and you can probably find a bus which would take you there for around the $12 mark.

Yeah.. I have looked at other airlines and the cheapest I can now find is $120 or so after taxes per person, one way. I can *probably* get a better deal at the airport, but at the same time I don't really want to spend that time running around trying to get on a flight that's leaving in a couple hours. If we have to spend an extra day in Lima it's really no big deal, but schedule wise it'd make more sense to have the last couple days of the trip in Lima to explore it all and take in the sights (and the food!) instead of having it broken up.

So I'm not really sure what I'm going to do yet. I've asked on LonelyPlanet forums if anyone's come across anything like this before. In the end I might just give in and buy $120/pp tickets, that's not *so* bad.. and it'd mean that we could relax when we get there at 6am and not have to worry about buying tickets.

I have looked into buses and they are cheap, but taking a bus to Cuzco from Lima takes a while.. 20 hours. That's not really worth it for us - it's way too long. It'd make us even more tired and it'd basically mean a wasted day.

 

[warpus]

Update: (I'm sure there's people out there who care)

I've called the airline and talked to some guy with a thick Spanish accent. Our tickets are good, we have 2 seats reserved on a confirmed flight. The one thing is - we MIGHT have to pay a "gringo tax" of $170 pp or so - according to some people on Lonely Planet forums.. Some say the gringo tax is gone, some say it isn't.. it's really hard to figure out what the hell is going on with flights from Lima to Peru. It's one of the more popular destinations in South America (#1 tourist destination apparently), so it's understandable they want to make some money off that.. but yeah, it's very hard to get information and things seem to change rather quickly.

So I really have no idea. I asked the guy on the phone and he either didn't understand my question, was offended by it, or honestly didn't know. He said the only extra fees we'll have to pay is if we change the flight. At this point I won't care too much if we're slapped with an extra $170US fee per person.. heck.. we paid $15 (after taxes) for the flight, each.

I haven't booked the flight back to Lima yet.. I found a "cheap" flight for $120 pp after tax through Star Peru that def. does not have the gringo tax (at least I'm 80% sure it doesn't). So I'll probably end up booking that, I don't want to have to go from travel agency to airline to whoever trying to find a good deal. When I'm there I want to explore, not look for bargain plane tickets.

Prices for May 15th (when we'd probably want to return to Lima) have been going up and up every day and some return flights are even going for $500 (per person!). I went to a travel agency here yesterday and they quoted me at $280 each way pp.

With that in mind - $15 one way, $120 return, is a bargain. $15+$170 one way, $120 return would also be pretty good, considering.

So as soon as my travelling buddy gets back to me I'm probably booking that flight back on the 15th for $120 each.. hopefully that deal is still there! It will give us 3 days to acclimatize and 1 extra day after we finish the Salkantay hike & exploration of Machu Picchu.. I'm trying to book a bus to Huaraz (for our second hike) out of Lima a couple hours after we land there, but Peruvian bus companies have crappy websites. Apparently it's possible but all the buses I have found so far leave at 10pm or so. I want something that leaves at 3-4pm and gets there at around midnight.. or earlier. that would be ideal.

My friend Monika still isn't sure if she can go, so I'm booking all this stuff without her in mind. I hope she can go! She's kinda hot

 

[Takhisis]

Lima is in Peru. How can they charge you on a flight from Lima to Peru?

 

[warpus]

Lima is in Peru. How can they charge you on a flight from Lima to Peru?

I got 3 hours of sleep last night so maybe I wasn't clear:

Apparently they'll charge anyone who bought a Lima-Cuzco ticket on a sale a $179 extra "gringo tax" fee, right before you board.

At least that's what travelers are reporting.. others are saying there is no such thing.. I'm not sure who to believe.

 

[Takhisis]

Take some cash just in case. i've never been to Peru before and the only person I know who's done it is an Argentine-born elative so no gringo tax for said relative's party.

 

[warpus]

I'm pretty sure they'll happily take my credit card.. I'll argue with them for a bit if they try to charge me extra just cause I'm not a local, but in the end I don't really mind paying. I just wish buying tickets for internal flights in Peru wasn't so ******ed.

 

[warpus]

Hey so.. can anyone give me tips on what sort of shots/vaccinations I should get before going?

My travelling buddy has been looking into it, and he's got us down for 7 shots.. at about $60 a pop. That seems incredibly .. unnecessary? I have no idea. I have looked through the list (hep a, hep b, chickenpox, yellow fever, measles, typhoid, tetanus) and I think I either have gotten shots for these recently or it's not an issue (i.e. a yellow fever shot is only recommended if you come from a specific country.. and end up in a tropical part of peru that we're not going to)

So how do I even find out which ones I've already had and which ones I don't need? I'm pretty sure that a travel clinic is going to ram as many of these shots as possible down our throats - for extra profit.

I have read of people not even getting any shots, and they were fine.. but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

[luiz]

Yellow fever is the only one the company I work for advises us to take before travelling to Peru. And it's good for 10 years.

Anyway, last week I found out I'll have to go to Peru in April or, by the very latest, the first week of May. My business destination will be Chimbote, but I'll certainly squeeze a weekend in Lima for touristic purposes. If you're there by any chance, we can meet up.

 

[warpus]

Yellow fever is the only one the company I work for advises us to take before travelling to Peru. And it's good for 10 years.

Anyway, last week I found out I'll have to go to Peru in April or, by the very latest, the first week of May. My business destination will be Chimbote, but I'll certainly squeeze a weekend in Lima for touristic purposes. If you're there by any chance, we can meet up.

I read somewhere that you can get a yellow fever shot right @ the Lima airport for fairly cheap (way cheaper than here in Canada at least). Any idea if something like that is.. recommended? or is it sketchy?

Unfortunately I'll only be in Lima for 3 hours on the 6th (when we fly in from Canada) and then for 1 full day max on the 15th (we're planning on taking a bus to Huaraz right after we fly in from Cusco, but I'm not sure how realistic that is yet)..

If you end up in Lima anytime between the 23rd and 26th, we'll be there then and up for a beer or two

 

[luiz]

It's probably a bit sketchy, because it's recommended that you wait 10 days after vaccination to do the traveling... after all it takes some time before immunity kicks in. So I advise you take that vaccine in Canada.

Or come to Brazil where you can take it for free. I'm rather surprised they charge you to take vaccines in Canada.

In theory I have to be back from Peru before May the 16th, because that's when I'll have the meeting to explain the results of my trip. But if by any chance that gets postponed, I'll let you know. While I have no problems being a tourist by myself (kind of a requirement in my line of business, or I would be miserable), I would certainly appreciate the company

 

[Takhisis]

So, warpus, how's the trip going?

 

[warpus]

Liftoff's in 2 and a half weeks!

I still need to buy a couple small items and the rest.. is pretty much set. It feels weird that the trip is mostly planned out.

I tried learning Spanish and failed miserably - mostly because I didn't even start. Ah well.

I'm pretty excited about the trip.

 

[Takhisis]

For a lot of a few hundred a wad of dollars you can always have your personal Takhinterpreter.

 

[warpus]

So, I might have to cancel my flight and postpone the trip indefinitely..

I've had a crazy rash on both sides of my body for 5-7 weeks now and it's not going away, not even after corticostereoid creme treatments and other stuff.. such as pills that suprress my immune system

I have insurance on my flight to Lima so I should be able to cancel that and get my money back - I have no idea about my friend.. I booked both of them together so I hope we can get everything 100% back for that. For the Lima-Cusco flights I booked, that might be a loss, but that only cost $150 each or so. Does anyone know cancelling works? How much can we expect to get back?

So yeah, this really sucks. I've been sitting at home with my shirt off since friday, as sweating makes this rash worse. So basically.. yeah.. I can't go if there's any rash left - cause I sweat like a pig when I hike.

It sucks because I can't just rebook the trip for a week later or something, cause the prices would be way more than what I paid for initially for the trip.. and June is out cause that's when the Euro is.. Maybe July? I don't know..

I'm pretty stressed and annoyed about this. I have no idea how the hell I got this rash - it's some sort of a skin irritation. It's like I'm allergic to my own sweat or something. I'm trying hard not to swear.

If I end up going I'll be the happiest warpus that has ever lived

 

[Takhisis]

Then… go? See a doctor first.