Photo: Christian Cordova (Avodrocc on Flickr) (CC BY 2.0)
2026 costs for Lima
Lima has the world's best restaurant and a curfew problem: the honest split-city guide
By RuinMyTrip Editorial
Lima earned its current bragging rights the hard way. In June 2025, Maido, chef Mitsuharu Tsumura's Nikkei restaurant in Miraflores, was named the World's Best Restaurant by the World's 50 Best Restaurants list, with Kjolle, Pia Leon's restaurant, landing at number 9 the same year. Maido runs a single tasting menu, the Maido Experience, ten-plus courses with no a la carte option, starting around S/1,295 per person (…
What nearly ruins it: The safety picture is not uniform, and pretending it is would be dishonest. Lima Centro, the historic downtown with the plazas and colonial churches everyone wants to photograph, …
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Written by RuinMyTrip Editorial from published research and official sources, not from a personal trip. It is not a traveler review and is never counted in the community rating. How we research.
Practical tips
Editorial- Book Central or Maido at least 2 to 3 months ahead if traveling June through September; Central's tasting menus run about PEN 1,600 to 1,630 (roughly $420 to $440) and Maido's start near S/1,295 (about $331), both before wine pairings, and neither offers a la carte.
- At Jorge Chavez airport, go to the official taxi desk inside arrivals rather than accepting offers at the curb; fixed fares to Miraflores run roughly S/60 to 95 depending on time of day, and unofficial touts have been linked to express-kidnapping scams.
- Use Uber, Cabify, or InDriver over street-hailed taxis once in the city; note InDriver has you propose a fare that drivers can accept or counter, rather than a fixed upfront price like Uber.
- Plan to leave Lima Centro (the historic downtown) before dark; it is a legitimate daytime sightseeing stop but is widely and consistently flagged as unsafe at night, unlike Miraflores and Barranco's main streets.
- Carry passports valid at least 6 months past your entry date; U.S. citizens get visa-free tourist entry up to 90 days (occasionally extendable to 183 at the immigration officer's discretion) via the TAM card issued on arrival.
- For everyday food, a menu del dia set lunch, soup, a main course, a drink, runs about 12 to 15 soles (roughly $3 to $4) in tourist-friendlier areas, and can drop to 9 or 10 soles in local neighborhoods, a useful budget baseline against the city's headline tasting menus.
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