An Oltursa Bus just arrived in Arequipa. Note the hostess helping a passenger.
Bus travel is the main form of intercity transportation in Peru because flights are expensive and the train system is not very delevoped (there are a lot of mountains in the way). The trains cover just a few routes like the one for visiting Machu Picchu from Cusco, or going to Lake Titicaca. They are really more like a tourist train and not really a passenger train for Peruvians.
There are accidents on Peruvian roads and you might hear stories about the buses being dangerous. Companies do take safety seriously but in some places, especially high in the mountains the roads can be dangerous because rocks can fall onto the road and cause a blockage and other drivers can cause the accident.
A bus being recovered from a valley in the Ancash region
It is important to realise that things in the UK and Peru are different, here in the UK most people will drive their own car from city to city, but in Peru most people will take a bus. This means that there are many more buses in Peru, so of course there will seem to be more accidents. Bus companies compete on safety as well, and the best companies will have GPS tracking, two drivers who drive in shifts and extra front wheels for very good steering in winding roads. Below is an Oltursa advert showing their safety and first class seats.
Buses in Peru are generally very comfortable but everything depends on the price you pay. The best companies to travel with are Oltursa and Cruz del Sur. They are very safe, offer food on board and you can sleep in the seats that recline almost like a bed.
If you are travelling between the major cities you will be travelling a long time and will probably have to sleep on the bus. For example from Lima to my home city of Arequipa the bus journey can be 14 hours, so it is worth paying a little bit more for the first class compartment to get a good reclining seat and a comfortable sleep. The first class passengers also have their own toilet, which means less people use it!
You will get some hot food, coffee, breakfast, all served by the hostess that looks after the passengers. It is not the finest food you can eat in Peru, but it is as good as airline food and if you are vegetarian you can select this option when you book your tickets (or they will assume you want chicken as usual!). On these long journeys they keep you entertained with films (usually in Spanish but sometimes in English with subtitles) and on Cruz del Sur you can even play Bingo!
There is a lot of competition between the two leading bus companies in Peru and they do lots of advertising on Peruvian television. This advert is about the Oltursa buses from Arequipa, which is my home city. I actually know the people in the advert that are getting their tickets which was a surprise to see!
The video below is from a bus fanatic. There are people who like to spot buses like some people like plane spotting. Most of the major inter city and inter provincial bus companies in Peru are in this video. In the middle you can see a Cruz del Sur Cruzero bus with 4 front wheels like the ones I have been on.
December 10th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
[...] It’s very easy to get to by plane or by road. You can fly from Lima to Arequipa in 1 hour 35 minutes. LAN Peru offers seven to eight flights a day. There are also many bus companies that travel from Lima to Arequipa which takes about 16 hours, usually overnight. Travelling bus bus is quite comfortable and cheap too. Cruz del Sur and Orltursa have a safe and confortable service. Read: Bus Travel in Peru >> [...]
December 27th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
[...] in a hotel or hotel. A good choice for back packers who want to see the land close up. See ‘Bus Travel in Peru‘ for more details about the bus [...]