From jpb8@duke.edu Mon Jul 19 04:46:34 1999
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1999 01:57:15 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jon Beasley-Murray <jpb8@duke.edu>
To: chester@hug.humboldt.edu
Newsgroups: rec.travel.latin-america
Subject: Re: Lima airport layout/procedure

At Lima, international arrivals are fine until you actually leave the building--at which point it can all be a little daunting.

You go through passport control first, which can take a little while if you were at the back of the plane (and so the back of the queue). Then you retrieve your luggage (which can likewise mean a bit of a wait). Then you go through customs, but in my experience these are always really easy: you just push a button and if it shows up green you walk on straight ahead (it has never shown up red for me, and it doesn't seem to do so much for anyone).

The time taken for this whole process is highly variable in my experience. It can be quite fast, but it can take ages.

At this point you find yourself at the glass exit doors, and confronting a baying pack of people a goodly portion of whom are taxi drivers or touts looking for your custom, the rest of whom are relatives and so on very eager to see their loved ones etc.

The crowd is, however, kept clear of the building itself by a barrier about 25 feet or so from the exit doors. You now have the option of exiting via gates either to the front or the right.

If the person you're meeting is already in Lima, I'd wait here (without crossing the barrier) until you see him or her and then leave and make your way to the city. If the person you're meeting is coming in on a flight around the same time, I'd wait on the sidewalk here (or ask them to wait for you) until you meet. (Though if your flights are very close together, you can of course also wait in the baggage claim hall itself, and even buy duty free or change some money while you wait (though as I recall the money-changing station may be just past the customs machine, though still inside the building). At any rate, passing the barrier outside means entering the melee and subjecting yourself to hassle; the guards won't be happy to let you back into the building.

Alternatively, you can head left and walk along the building until you reach a door letting you in to the main departures lounge. There's a bar/cafe on the upper level of this building, at which you can also wait if you have still more time to kill. The departures lounge is more or less peaceful.

As for then getting a taxi to downtown Lima, well there'll be no shortage of offers. Be sure to fix a price in advance, and to pay in soles. Other people can probably say what the current going rate is, but I probably wouldn't pay more than 20 soles to downtown.

Your best bet is to look for a taxi that's dropping someone off at departures, and swoop on them as soon as they're done dropping the other people off. The taxi driver won't be someone who's bread and milk is making huge fares off incoming and confused foreigners, and moreover he (almost always he) will be pleased to avoid paying the extra money they incur if they stay more than 15 minutes in the airport compound, and be pleased also to pick up an immediate fare back to central Lima (or Miraflores or wherever you're going).

But don't allow yourself to get flustered; you're the beneficiary of a buyers' market.

Meanwhile, internal flights also have a (lower) departure tax; someone else should be able to tell you the current, up to date prices.

Take care and have fun

Jon

In article <Pine.LNX.3.96.990718021005.4544A-100000@hug.humboldt.edu&> Chester Paul Sgroi <chester@hug.humboldt.edu> wrote:

> Greetings, I am looking for information on the layout of the Lima airport. > Will be arriving via Lanchile and meeting someone there. Have never > traveled internationally by plane before nor have I ever been to South > America. > > Does one retrieve their luggage before going through customs or after? > > How long do customs take to navigate (on average)? How "intense" are > they? > > Where is the best place in the airport to meet up with someone? At the > gate, baggage claim, on the other side of customs, or is there a "greetigs > center" of some sort? > > Where are the best places to catch taxis? Do they have an equivalent to a > Supershuttle (a shared ride service from the airport to one's hotel) or > are taxis the only option? I've already been advised to stay away from > public transit due to pickpockets and other scam artists. > > By the way, is the departure tax from Lima's airport $20 or $25 and does > this only apply to international flights or local interior itineries as > well? > > Many thanks in advance. I have never been to Peru before so this should > prove to be an interesting experience. Am going there to see Cuzco and > Machu Pichu for about 6 days. > > Still am trying to figure if it would be less expensive to go by tour > where one's hotel, food, and transportation are all included or > independently > > Peace, > > - Chester > > Chester Paul Sgroi * P.O. Box 180316 - Coronado, CA 92178-0316 > mailto:chester@sgroi.com or http://www.sgroi.com/ * 619.287.3453 > ICQnet: chester *or* UIN# 1459119 > Curiosity may have killed the cat but a cat has nine (9) lives!

Jon Beasley-Murray Literature Program Duke University

(New Address:) Hispanic Studies University of Aberdeen jbmurray@abdn.ac.uk

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~spn037/