This is a difficult question to answer as it depends on tastes and the comforts the visitor requires.
Peruvians tend to haggle prices, and accept that others haggle also, except in major stores and restaurants. In the bigger cities, prices can be higher, especially in Lima; in addition, prices can rise in the high season, such as the Independence Day holidays (late July), Easter Week (April) or Christmas, due to heavy demand, especially in bus and plane tickets.
Below you can see a list of prices of products and services that yo can take as a reference to prepare you budget.
At 07/2011 $1 = S/.2.75 (exchange money)
| Product or service | Referential prices in US$ equivalent |
| 1.5 liter bottle of mineral water | 0,90 |
| Medium-sized soft drink | 0,35 |
| Hamburger | 1,20 |
| Apple | 0,20 |
| Bottle of shampoo | 1,50 |
| Toothpaste | 1,00 |
| Lunch | 3,00 (simple) 12,00 (standard) |
| Roll of film | 3,00 |
| VHS video cassette | 5,50 |
| Pair of sneakers | 30,00 |
| Newspaper | 0,2 – 0,50 – 1 |
| An hour surfing the Internet in Internet cafés | 0,35 |
| Cuzco-Machu Picchu train (return trip) | 30,00 (backpackers) 70,00 (Autovagon) |
| Bus (one-way) | 5,00 |
| Plane flight to Cuzco (return trip) | 140,00 |
| Lodging per night | 5 – 10 (very simple) 20 – 40 (2 stars) 50 – 90 (3 stars) over 90 (4 and 5 stars) |
Your better buy in the supermarket, is cheap.