Arriving in Lima: from the plane to the door of your accommodation

The terminal: what changed in 2025

The new terminal of Jorge Chávez International Airport opened on 1 June 2025. It is in Callao and is reached via Avenida Morales Duárez, using temporary access roads until the Santa Rosa bridge is completed: older advice describing the entrance to the former terminal, via Avenida Elmer Faucett, no longer applies. Arrivals are on level 1, departures on level 3.

After passport control, baggage reclaim and customs, you come out into the arrivals area. That is where, before the exit, you will find the counters of the authorised services: taxis, the Airport Express bus. Taxis booked through an app and private cars do not wait for you in the same place: they drop off and pick up passengers on the elevated road on level 3.

Four ways to get to your neighbourhood

The authorised taxi is the most direct solution: you pay at the counter or to the driver a price set before you leave, for the whole vehicle. For two or three people, it often works out barely more expensive per person than the bus. At Jorge Chávez Airport, the FDFA recommends licensed taxis and buses rather than offers made in the hall.

The Airport Express bus links the airport with four stops in Miraflores: the Marriott hotel opposite the Larcomar shopping centre, the tourist information centre on Avenida Larco, Parque Kennedy and the Boulevard hotel (Avenida José Pardo and Avenida Jorge Chávez). The published timetable provides for a departure from the airport every hour, from 7:00 to 22:00; luggage is included. It is suitable if your accommodation is a few streets from a stop. It serves neither Barranco nor San Isidro.

AeroDirecto is a network of public buses launched with the new terminal. Its routes leave from the north (Los Olivos), Ventanilla, Callao (Avenida Quilca), the centre (Plaza San Martín) and Pueblo Libre (South route, from the Brasil shopping galleries). None leaves from Miraflores or Barranco: for these neighbourhoods, you need to change. Payment is made on board, in cash, through the Yape app or by card. The published fares have changed since the launch; the page of the ATU (Urban Transport Authority) was not accessible during our last check.

How much time should you allow?

The journey time depends above all on the time of day. Lima is a very large urban area, and the road from the airport to the southern neighbourhoods crosses Callao and several districts. The Airport Express bus operator advises boarding at least four hours before a domestic flight and six hours before an international flight: a cautious margin that says a lot about the traffic at busy times. On arrival, in the middle of the night, the journey is much shorter than in the late afternoon on a weekday.

Three scenarios

You land at 23:00, as a couple, with two suitcases. Take an authorised taxi from the counter in the arrivals area. Before leaving, show the exact address of the accommodation and ask for the total price for the vehicle. Let your accommodation know your arrival time and ask how to get in if reception closes at night (code, caretaker, number to call): you will not have to look for a solution on the pavement.

You arrive in the early afternoon, alone, with a backpack, and are staying near Parque Kennedy. The Airport Express bus stops at the park. Count from the time you leave the terminal, not from the landing time: between the plane, passport control, baggage and customs, the wait varies a great deal from one flight to another. If the plane lands at 14:05, the 15:00 bus is only a possibility if the formalities go quickly; otherwise, it will be the next one. The published fare is a starting price, “from S/ 15 per person”: the exact amount depends on the ticket chosen.

You are travelling on a tight budget and staying in the historic centre. AeroDirecto’s Centro route links the airport with Plaza San Martín. During the day, with little luggage, it is the cheapest solution. Work out in advance the walk from the stop to your accommodation.

Before you leave: what should be on your phone

• the exact address of the accommodation, the entrance number, the name of the building and the access instructions, as a screenshot;
• a way of reaching the accommodation if nobody is at reception (WhatsApp, local number);
• your transfer confirmation, with the meeting point and the waiting time included;
• a little cash in soles for a first payment, in case a vehicle’s card terminal does not work.

The mobile network works as soon as you land if your plan covers Peru; otherwise, the screenshots save you depending on the terminal’s wifi. See Money and connectivity.

The last kilometre

A bus that drops you off “in Miraflores” does not necessarily drop you off at your door. Look at the remaining distance, the street lighting and your luggage. The FDFA reports frequent bag and phone snatching, particularly of phones, and advises limiting the use of your mobile in the street: check the route before getting off the bus, not while walking.

In a taxi booked through an app, check the number plate and the driver’s name before getting in. For a driver met on the spot, agree on the total price before leaving, tolls included.

Leaving: the journey to the airport

For an international flight, the airport recommends arriving at least three hours before departure. Add the road time, which is the most variable factor: at the end of the day, crossing the city can take much longer than on the way in. Private cars and app taxis drop off on level 3, in front of departures.

Two precautions avoid unpleasant surprises:

• do not plan a distant excursion on the day of a flight; a morning by the sea or in your neighbourhood is enough;
• if your flight leaves early in the morning, a last night near the airport, in Callao, can be more restful than leaving Miraflores at 3:00.

What is best avoided

• Accepting an offer of transport in the hall, away from the authorised counters.
• Scheduling a non-changeable domestic flight one hour after an international flight lands.
• Adding a visit on the day of arrival “because there is still the afternoon”: the first evening is for eating near your accommodation and sleeping.