Travel to Lima

f of Paseo de la Republica (28 de Julio, Jiame Bauzate y Meza, Ave Mexico, Javier Prado Este, etc. etc.), which are better. There you find some of the more reputable companies like Cruz del Sur, Linea, Movil Tours, CIAL, OLTURSA, Ormeño, TEPSA, and ITTSA. Avoid bus companies that allow travellers to get into the bus outside the official stations. They are normally badly managed and can be dangerous, due both to unsafe practices and/or to highway robberies, which are unfortunately not uncommon. This should be heeded especially by female travellers going on their own. There are many shoddy bus services in Peru.

There are scams going on in the buses between Ica and Lima (July 2013) where people put water on the floor so your bags get wet and then they tell you to put it on the shelf above you. Later on, they distract you while getting off and then steal your backpack. If someone puts water on the floor be very careful!

Regular buses run up and down the Panamerican Highway and inland:

South: Pisco, Ica, Nazca, Arequipa & Tacna

North: Huaraz, Chimbote, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura, & Tumbes

East: Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Huancayo, Huaraz, Madre de Dios, Pucallpa, Puno.