Frequently Asked Questions:

 

Q: Do I need a motorcycle license for riding in Peru?

A:Yes you do. To be legally riding in Peru you are required to carry your local driving licence, which must cover the size of bike you will be riding  – . This will also be a stipulation of any travel insurance company too
 

Q: Do I need an International Driving Permit (IDP)?

A: Yes. An IDP is basically an official, multi-language translation of your driving licence. They are cheap, quick and easy to obtain in your home from NRMA
 

Q: What about Insurance?

A: Travel insurance for a trip like this is a complete essential. We all know that riding motorcycles carries a certain amount of risk, so riding unfamiliar motorcycles on unfamiliar roads does not decrease that! Getting proper travel insurance that covers you for riding abroad is a no-brainer. If things go awry, you need to know that you have the correct cover to get you home safely such as emergency evacuation, medical bills, repatriation etc. 
 

Q: What currency should I bring with me?

A: The currency of Peru is the nuevo sol. Nuevo sol banknotes come in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200. One nuevo sol is subdivided into 100 céntimos. Coins are available in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 céntimos, as well as larger denominations of 1, 2 and 5 nuevos soles.
 

Q: Do I need a visa for Peru?

A: Yes, or no. It depends on your nationally. Some countries will need a visa while other wont. Its best to check with your country embassy to be sure.
 

Q: Where do I fly into?

A: Arequipa, in and out. Airport code is AQP. At the moment, there are 2 flights a week Santiago to Arequipa direct with Jetsmart. Which is a cheap and fast airline rather then fly trough Lima. However flying through Lima there is 8 flights per day.
 

Q: How do I carry my main luggage?

A: We are followed on the ride by either one or two support vehicles depending on group size. This means that all your luggage goes in there rather than having it bounce around on the back your motorcycle for miles on end. You just need to take either a small rucksack with cameras and any travel essentials you feel you can’t manage without. All the spares, luggage, medical supplies, fuel, and post-ride beer goes in the truck.
 

Q: How big is the group?

A: The average group size is between ten and fifteen riders as that’s about the manageable amount for a mixed group. If you are booking a private tour with a group of friends or a riding club we can be a bit more flexible on the upper number as it’s easier to coordinate a group that already know each other and ride together back home.
 

Q: Will we have a local guide?

A: Yes – definitely.  All of our tours are accompanied by at least one local guide and all round fixer who can smooth our passage through Peru. 
 

Q: Will a mechanic be riding or driving with us?

A: Yes, our mechanics travel with us as the sweep rider at the back of the group or in the sweep truck. If you get a problem, they’ll hop off their bike, give you theirs to allow you to continue and fix the problem before re-joining the group. The truck travels with a multitude of spares from spare wheels to foot peg rubbers
 

Q: Do I need to take water with me?

A: Regular hydration is a good idea when you ride, so many of our riders will take a Camelbak or drinks reservoir with them. There’s plenty of water in the truck so we’ll ensure everyone gets a drink during our frequent stops but having some with you is always a sensible move, even if it’s just a bottle in your day bag my suggestion though would be to carry bottled water. If by chance your cambelbak bladder gets contaminated with a bug on the first day. The rest of the trip it may stay that way. I suggest carry a sealed bottle of water. Once you have drank it, throw it out and carry another bottle.
 

Q: Is there any medical support?

A: Yes. This tour is accompanied by either a local doctor in the support vehicle or a western qualified first aid medic who will ride with the group.
 

Q: What happens in case of an emergency?

A: Our medic will choose the best course of action depending on the situation. He will have a medical kit with him and he can use our satellite messenger device to contact Global Rescue / our office. We will assist from our office –we’ll have the details of your travel insurance company

 

Q: How can I avoid altitude sickness?

A: 1. Stay hydrated. Caffeine and alcohol impacts hydration, so maybe keep intake to a minimum until you are acclimatised.  Apparently a high potassium diet helps.  Make a conscious effort to breathe properly as we climb to higher altitudes – you want to saturate your blood with oxygen. Your tour leader will explain this in more detail in your welcome briefing.  Diamox is an altitude sickness tablet – please do your own research on this – if you decide you would like to take these, You’ll want to start taking these in once you land in Peru, before we start climbing. Ibuprofen if you start to feel a headache coming on, but please notify the tour medic beforehand.
 

Q: What riding kit should I wear?

A: This is a regular question from all our riders. We don’t provide any riding gear for this trip so bringing your own is essential. As the riding is predominantly road based in this region, then road / adventure style kit is the way to go rather than off-road or enduro gear. So that’s going to mean a good helmet, protective riding jacket and trousers, ideally with CE or equivalent approved armour on the pointy bits – elbows, knees and shoulders. You are also going to need good leather gloves, a neck tube to keep out the cold and maybe even base layers for the days we are travelling at altitude and the temperature drops. You should take waterproofs if your kit doesn’t keep out the wet stuff, but in reality the region is fairly dry when our tours are running. We don’t recommend open face helmets as they simply do not offer the same level of protection as a full face or flip front helmet even at low speeds. 
 

Q: Do I need any immunisations for Peru?

A: Yes, some vaccines are recommended or required for Peru: hepatitis A, hepatitis B, typhoid, yellow fever, rabies, meningitis, polio, measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis), chickenpox, shingles, pneumonia and influenza. But you need to consult your doctor on this.
 

Q: How much spending money will I need to bring with me?

A: So, this is up to you, but as this is a largely inclusive tour- However dinner each night is at your own cost, Accommodation, permits and fuel are sorted by us, so you just need cash for souvenirs, tips and alcoholic drinks, food on rest days and dinner each night. Unless you go absolutely mad in the gift shops and bars, then around $400 – $600 should be adequate. Shopping in Peru tends to be very reasonable so you can get quite a lot for not much!  On the beer front, we encourage a bit of restraint – this is a riding tour after all, so we like to keep eight hours between bottle and throttle.

 

Q: Are there ATMs on the way?

A: Yes, there are ATMs in the larger towns, but not the villages. The service can be variable as the internet coverage drops out as often as an ageing hippy, so it’s best not to rely too heavily on the ATMs Don’t forget to tell your bank you are heading to Peru, as without this information they will most likely think some rogue hacker is dipping into your account and promptly block your card.
 

Q: What is the accommodation like?

A: The accommodation on this trip is deliberately varied to give you a wide experience of the region. Sometimes we’ll be in top end hotels with all the facilities you’d expect.  But wherever we stay, bear in mind this is Peru and things are not necessarily the same as back home. And that’s exactly the point – that’s what adventure travel is about.
 

Q: How do I charge my camera?

A: All the hotels have plug sockets.
 

Q: Is Wi-Fi available throughout the tour?

A: As we said earlier, yes in theory, although in practice, Wi-Fi coverage can be slow at best, slow on average and non-existent on many occasions. When you are riding in some of the most epic landscapes in the world, then just enjoying it for yourself is beautifully liberating – you can show your photos when you get back home.
 

Q: Can I get a Peru SIM card?

A: You can buy a local sim card in most the phone shops, however, this will only give you coverage for some of the trip, but far from all! Most riders just wait to use the wifi at the hotels that have it. Again the wifi isn’t great, enough to message people but not watch youtube videos or downloading. We recommend you set the ‘out-of-office auto-reply’ for your emails!
 

Q: Is it safe to drink the tap water?

A: In a word No! Although the locals may be drinking tap water, doing the same has a strong possibility of playing havoc with your insides. We recommend that you drink only bottled water and that you check the seal before drinking. If you chose canned drinks, give the lid a good wipe beforehand just to be sure. And for tooth brushing, rinsing with bottled water is a good idea too.
 

Q: Can you cater for vegetarians / food allergies?

A:  We cant make any promises, but we will certainly do our best when it comes to accommodating that.

 

Q: Who operates this tour?

A: This tour is operated by Aussie Bike or Hike in collaboration with our local partner based in South America.
 

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