Peru etiquette and culture: dos, don'ts and local customs

Etiquette does not change with your passport, but the practical frame around it does: how long you can stay, when crowds and prices peak, and what a normal day costs. Use the table to set expectations, then read the detail below.

A greeting comes before the transaction. Walk into a shop, a restaurant or a hotel and say buenos días before your question; skipping it reads as rude even when your Spanish is limited. Buenas tardes covers roughly noon to dusk, buenas noches after that. Hola works between people of similar age, but the time-of-day greeting is safer with anyone older or in a service role.

Use usted with strangers, officials, hotel staff and anyone clearly older; tú is for peers and people who have invited it. Peruvians are generally indirect: a flat no can sound harsh, so you may hear phrases like tal vez (maybe) or lo veo (I'll see) where a direct refusal would be normal at home. Do not read that as a promise.

Handshakes are standard between men and in formal settings. Between women, or a woman and a man who know each other, one cheek kiss is common; follow the other person's lead rather than initiating. Personal space is closer than in the US or UK, and a brief touch on the arm during conversation is friendly, not intrusive.

Please and thank you carry weight: por favor and gracias, plus de nada for you're welcome. If you speak no Spanish, a short phrase and a smile get you further than louder English. Quechua greetings such as allin punchaw (good day) are appreciated in Andean communities but not expected from visitors.

Tipping follows the pattern on the parent Peru page: about 10% in sit-down restaurants, and tips for guides, porters and drivers. Many restaurant bills print a suggested tip or a 10% service line; check whether it is already included before adding more. Cafés and counter service do not expect a tip, though rounding up is normal.

Carry small notes and coins. Breaking a S/ 100 note for a S/ 6 coffee is a daily annoyance, and small vendors may genuinely not have change. Cards are widely accepted in Lima, Cusco and Arequipa hotels and better restaurants; markets, taxis and small towns are cash. ATMs are common in cities, less so in villages.

Bargaining is expected in craft markets and with some taxi fares arranged on the street, and it is not expected in supermarkets, pharmacies, or shops with marked prices. The polite version is friendly and unhurried: ask the price, make one reasonable counter-offer, accept the answer. Walking away over a few soles is a poor trade for the goodwill you lose.

Do not hand money directly to children begging, and be wary of anyone who approaches you on the street with a sudden story about a broken bag or a spilled drink; distraction theft is the usual pattern. Keep your bag zipped and in front of you in crowded markets and on buses.

Ask before you photograph a person. In Andean markets and near popular ruins, women in traditional dress often pose for a small fee and will tell you the price; that is a fair arrangement, not a scam. Photographing someone who has not agreed, especially a child, is the single most common way visitors cause offence.

In markets, ask before handling goods, and buy something if you have spent time photographing a stall. Sunday markets and community tourism visits in the Sacred Valley work best when you buy directly and pay the stated price rather than negotiating hard in a place that depends on the income.

Churches and religious sites ask for quiet, covered shoulders and no flash; during Semana Santa and local fiestas, processions take priority over your route. Do not step into a procession line to take a photo. In the Amazon around Iquitos, ask a guide before photographing communities, and never photograph children without a parent's agreement.

Altitude is the practical courtesy issue in Peru: Cusco sits around 3,400 m, and arriving tired, drinking heavily and rushing the first day is how trips get ruined. The parent guide's order is deliberate: Lima first, then sleep low in the Sacred Valley for two or three nights before Cusco and Machu Picchu. Drink water, eat lightly on day one, and treat coca tea as a mild helper rather than a cure.

On transport, greet the driver, keep your bag on your lap in colectivos and combis, and give up seats to older passengers. Queues exist but are loosely enforced; a calm 'permiso' (excuse me) works better than pushing. In restaurants, asking for the bill is la cuenta, por favor; staff will not rush you, so signal when you are ready.

Dress for the setting: modest cover for churches, layers for Andean evenings, and rain gear in the wet season. Punctuality is relaxed for social meetings and firm for tours, trains and flights. If you are invited to a home, a small gift such as fruit, pastries or something from your country is welcome; flowers are fine but avoid sending a large arrangement as a first gesture.

Two things trip up visitors more than any rule of manners. The first is altitude, covered above. The second is assuming that a tourist area's English means the same norms apply everywhere: outside Lima, Cusco and Arequipa, Spanish or Quechua is the working language, and patience with your own limited vocabulary is the polite move.

Do not discuss the Shining Path era or drug trafficking casually with people you have just met; the recent past is sensitive and opinions are not uniform. Politics and religion are best left to the other person to raise. Football is safe ground almost anywhere.

Solo women travellers generally report a manageable but persistent level of street attention; a firm no gracias and continued walking works better than a long exchange. LGBTQ+ travellers find Lima and Cusco the most open, with more caution in small highland towns. This is general guidance, not a substitute for current local advice.