How to Find Bargains in Lima, Peru

In the city of Lima, there are plenty of opportunities for purchasing everything from trinkets and meat to condos and houses. It is a vibrant city that has a lot to offer to visitors. Markets with meats and local produce, Inca made gifts and food, ceviche and may other goods. All of these come with a price. With proper haggling, you can save money and find bargains in Lima.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Local currency
• Notebook
• List of things you need to buy
• Backpack to carry purchases

1. Find a map that you can create a route that will get you to all the vendors you need to buy your items. Make sure that you stop and get he local currency, or soles.
2. Start with non-perishables. These will include clothing, trinkets books and other items that will not go bad during the day. The best place for these is the Blue Market, right outside Miraflores. It had everything from CDs and DVDs to clothing and electronics. As you find the items you want in the market, begin to bargain. The price you see is almost always not the price you will be paying. Ask for the best price and haggle. Let the vendor know you will be paying in cash as that seems to be the biggest motivator for getting a good price. If they refuse to come down, walk away. Many times they will come after you to haggle more and eventually, you will get the price you want.
3. Move on to the food markets. The Mercado, a large outdoor market, contains meats, fish, cured meats, bass ceviches from the local waters, locally cured olives, Peruvian spices and other foodstuffs. Find the items and the quality you want. Ask for samples of produce and cooked items. Start with a lower price and tell the vendor that another stall has the same item for less. Dismiss the claims that they are of better quality and tell them what you are willing to pay. Again, walk away if need be. There will be other opportunities if they will not negotiate.
4. Continue on your shopping trip with your notebook keeping track of prices and locations for future reference. Return with your backpack to offload your purchases at your lodging and carry on with more shopping. Make sure your final stop is the Indian Market in Miraflores, right next to Kennedy Square. There, locals will be selling alpaca blankets, shawls, dolls, hats, flutes and handcrafts. They are always looking to bargain and enjoy the haggling.

Tips & Warnings

• Bring empty bags so you can ship home some of your purchases.
• Exchange your currency in the streets. You can even bargain the rates and often they will be better than the banks.
• Do not flash large sums of money. There is plenty of theft in Lima and tourists are a prime target.