Peru??

Lisa,

My first suggestion would be to read the travel advisories from the U.S. State Department on Peru - https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/peru.html (especially the Safety & Security and Entry/Exit sections).

I would also highly recommend getting out-of-country medical insurance.

We visited Lima on a cruise and loved the city. We want to go back and see more of Lima as well as Machu Picchu.

There are many things to see in Lima. You could spend 3-4 days there easily, visiting things like ancient ruins to the gold museum and more.

I would hit a book and start reading. Obviously you're not going to hike the Inca Trail this time around, but there are plenty of other places to see and you can do other hikes/day trips. If you're a photographer, it seems like a dream destination. It sound like your husband is there for a very short time though - is it worth the flight time? That's really the question of whether it's worthwhile. I don't think I would go for less than a week given the long distance.

Lima is a nice city to explore the old town center, beautiful buildings and churches. The coastal area is is all very good, restaurants and bars, fancy buildings as you'd find in any other expensive city. the walk along the coast is very nice with ocean view mixed with plants and flowers, it's very nice. Some parts of the city is not so good, but you'd not normally go there anyways. the taxi drivers or local folks will tell you where to go and not to go, watch out for pickpocket you'll have a great time. In general Peru is fantastic - probably the most diverse scenes in South America and great food, people, you'll like it.

I traveled to Peru in 2015 as part of a G Adventures tour, which took me to Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Aguas Caliente, Machu Picchu, and the Amazon. I added on 3 days in Lima at the end of the tour, which was maybe a day too long, imo. I do not speak much Spanish and found the tour to be helpful in that regard. I was traveling alone and had no concerns for my safety while in Lima, beyond the normal personal security needs. I stayed in the Miraflores neighborhood in Lima, which is lovely and a good place to base yourself if you have a choice from your husband's job.

If you can do it last minute, make the trip to Machu Picchu. You don't have to hike it to enjoy seeing it, and in fact, not hiking it gives you the opportunity to get there when it first opens and get some photos before it becomes overrun with people. You should also try and see the Sacred Valley - beautiful and very interesting sites. One of the women in my tour group added a couple days to go to the Nazca lines, which she really enjoyed, so that's an option too. I think it's about 3 hours from Lima.

Logistically, you should double check your vaccine status ASAP - I needed the yellow fever vaccine for my Amazon visit, and my doctor updated my TDAP and Hep B (I think? Or A? I get those confused).

Good luck and I hope you can make the trip!

Go! Go! Go! Lima is a beautiful city. Visit downtown, go to the beach, you will not regret it. I am from Peru but have lived in the US since 1996. My country is beautiful and the people are very warm and welcoming. I would not take just any taxi off the streets, try to stick with Taxi services recommended by the hotel to ensure safety. There are so many places to visit only in Lima (Barranco, Pachacamac, the Monastery of San Francisco, Huaca Pucllana, and the whole downtown area. If you can make it to Cuzco, well, even better. Good luck and make sure to eat! We have the best cuisine in the world!