Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Taxes, Tipping & Refunds
At Peruvian airports, international departure tax (
Click here
)
is payable in US dollars or
nuevos soles
(cash only), though it may be included in the ticket price. Expensive hotels
will add a 19% sales tax and 10% service charge; the latter is generally not included in
quoted rates. Non-Peruvians may be eligible for a refund of the sales tax only (
Click here
). A few restaurants charge combined taxes of more than 19%, plus a service charge (
ser-
vicio
or
propina
) of 10%. At restaurants that don't do this, you may tip 10% for good ser-
vice. Taxi drivers do not generally expect tips (unless they've assisted with heavy lug-
gage), but porters and tour guides do. There is no system of sales-tax refunds for shop-
pers.
Post
The privatized postal system is run by
Serpost
(
www.serpost.com.pe
)
. Its service is fairly
efficient and reliable, but surprisingly expensive. Most international mail will take about
two weeks to arrive from Lima; longer from the provinces.
Lista de correos
(general delivery or poste restante) can be sent to any major post of-
fice. Bring your passport when picking up mail and ask the post-office clerk to check al-
phabetically under the initial letter of each of your first, last and middle names, as well as
under 'M' (for Mr, Ms et al). Ask your correspondents to make sure that your name is
clearly printed and to capitalize and underline your last name to avoid confusion. For ex-
ample:
Margarita SILVA
Lista de Correos
Correo Central
Lima
Peru
For express mail and packages, international couriers such as
Federal Express
(
www.fedex.com.pe
)
and
DHL
(
www.dhl.com.pe
)
are more reliable than post offices, but
may only have drop-off centers in Lima or other major cities. They are also more expens-
ive than Serpost.
