Peru has long been on my travel "bucket list." I made the leap this year and booked two weeks in Peru with G Adventures.

It was an amazing trip. I visited places I'd dreamed of and met some really wonderful people. G Adventures provided a great tour.

Some of the highlights of the trip, for me, were the beautiful and welcoming people all over Peru, seeing the ruins at Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu, waking up to Red Howler Monkeys in the jungle, seeing massive amounts of stars at night, and getting to fly over the Nazca Lines. I even tried Alpaca - it's delicious!

There were some things, though, that I wish I'd known in advance.

The US Dollar is the "second currency" in Peru. There are plenty of places that will change dollars for Peruvian Soles but you need to have pristine bills. They won't be accepted if the bills are too worn, have been written on, or are torn.
The tap water is not drinkable. Buy bottled water in grocery stores or bodegas (corner stores). Be sure the restaurants you go to use purified water when they cook. The G Adventures guide is really good about pointing out "safe" restaurants. In the Amazon Jungle, don't even use the tap water to brush your teeth.
The plumbing in Peru, and much of South America, will clog if you flush the toilet paper. There are small waste cans by the toilet in hotels and restaurants for disposal of toilet paper. This is really hard to get used to!
Be sure the chargers for your electronics are rated 110V - 240V. This way you won't need a converter or adaptor.
If you go to Nazca and take the flight over the Lines, take motion sickness medication. The pilot banks hard so everyone can get photos of the different pictures and lines.

I hope you consider Peru and G Adventures for your next trip.