Money Exchange

I was looking on here & someone said there is a risk of getting fake currency from ATM's & even from banks. Another poster said not to get Soles anywhere else but Peru because of the exchange rate. I am leaving Australia next week for Canada & won't be in Lima until July 2nd. What should I do?! Any thoughts?! I saw the Spanish video on how to spot a fake bank note but any light on this would be appreciated.

Also, I am travelling with Tucan Tours on their Magical Incas 2 trip. I have a bad back; should I bring my own sleeping mat? I can't seem to find in their booklet if they provide one or not.

I will be flying in from Toronto to Lima & then back to Toronto. Do I only need to pay the tax once? Can you pay this via credit card or does it have to be in cash?

Thanks heaps!

Also, I need to give my tour company a local payment of $700USD when I arrive. Would it be wise to take out this money when I am in Canada or when I get to Lima? I just don't know which ATM's to trust. I guess its trial & error right? Also, do ATM's give out $100 bills because I've also been told some companys don't acccept $100 US bills.

Sorry am I being too paranoid?!!

I would suggest taking out larger sums of money with your atm, so that you use it less often, however, carrying larger sums of cash carries its own risks. Its a balancing act. Many banks will charge you a cash fee, on top of a foreign transaction fee. So the less you use your atm card, the less you get charged. But contact your bank- they may not charge a fee at all. As far as atm's in Peru, they spit out larger denomination soles, but I only saw 20 dollar bills in US currency. Yes, many atms will spit out more than just soles.

As far as the exchange rate, you will get the best exchange in Peru. Many of the sources I found outside of the country would give me 2.78 soles/ 1 us dollar(or worse), which is horrible compared to 3.14-3.20 soles/ 1 us dollar exchange you get inside the country. Don't exchange currencies with anyone other than a reputable business(hotel, etc.), or banks, or (this is your best bet) moneychangers- however, I only saw moneychangers in Miraflores and Lima. They work outside the banks, and wear light blue vests. I always get a fair exchange rate with them.

There is no entrance tax that I am aware of- and the exit tax is only paid... wait for it.... when you exit! er, when you exit Peru, that is. :)

Hope I helped a little.

also, I would probably take the $700 out before getting to Peru. Whether thats CA or AU, whichever location costs me the least money, thats where I would withdraw. Its probably cheapest for you in AU, I would think.

You can rent sleeping pads but if you have a really bad back you might want to invest in a good one at home. Many cheap hotels have beds that are basically plywood with a thin cotton mattress. Take out the $700 before leaving since you are spending it right away. Fake soles are everywhere. You have to learn from experience. Many fakes are out right bad. Be leery if someone tries to rush you during an exchange. Those US bills... they must all be super new and clean in order to pass in Peru. Paranoid? You need to be paranoid...very paranoid..if you are to make it through Canada.

Beware of ATMs in Peru. I took out 200$ from a Global ATM in a bank in Trujillo and 4 of the 20$ bills were fake. 2 even had the same serial number! Couldn´t do anything about it as the machine didn´t give me a receipt. Bank just didn´t want to know.

We had good luck with ATM's. DEpending on your bank, you may not be able to take out more than a certain amount per day - so be aware of that, especially with needing to pay the tour company up front. Check all of your money. Politely refuse any bills that are worn, torn, suspect. We only had to do this once and the taxi driver didn't have any problem exchanging the worn bill for a cleaner one. We had trouble getting more than s/400 from an atm at any given time. There were only two atms we found that let us get out more (one in Arequipa and one in Cusco). ATM's were a reliable way to get money. in smaller towns there are limited atms (Nazca) or none at all (Chivay) so just be sure to have a little stash of cash at all times, in general at least $100 worth to be on the safe side. Use a money belt or something like that to keep your money secure. Though, honestly, we don't follow that rule, we typically keep our money in our day pack tucked under an arm while we're not in crowded areas.

If you do the Colca Canyon tour and spend the night in Chivay make sure you take enough Soles with you. We thought that Chivay had atm machines due to all the tourists that who spend the night there, they don't. We were able to borrow money from our invaluable guide Cesar and we repaid him when we got back to Arequipa. Also, the restaurants in Chivay may advertise Visa as a way to pay for meals, but when we went to pay we were told that their line wasn't working.

Original Poster has already gone to Peru, and presumably returned to Australia . . ., however for anybody else in similiar situation, thought I'd respond.

The exit tax (departure from Lima) must be paid in cash. You pay at the airport, when leaving Peru and can use either US dollars OR Peruvian Sol's. To my knowledge, I don't believe there's any departure tax when leaving Canada -- the 'exit' tax seems to be a Central/South American thing.

If at all possible, it's best to obtain the local currency when in Peru. Outside the country, you'll get a terrible exchange rate for the sol. However if you do want to come in with some form of currency that works there, you may opt to get US dollars when in Toronto -- it's my impression that there's a decent exchange rate between Canada-America . . . (that is, if you're Canadian, looking to get US dollars).

I was in Peru a couple months ago . . . the only time we got stuck w/ a bad bill was when my traveling companion purchased a T-shirt at the market in Agua Calientes. Fortunately, it was only a 10 sol note.