Arequipa Information for Travelers and Visitors

I've attempted to offer my perspective on restaurants, tour agencies, and accomodations. Although I haven't tried alternatives to the last of these, I've a great deal of experience with the lodging I chose to employ while living in Arequipa. These reviews and opinions are provided entirely and completely without solicitation or remuneration.

Restaurant Recommendations:

La Boveda: Good food, clean, nice decor, with a balcony view of the Plaza de Armas. Average Plaza prices for menu items, but usually a very reasonably-priced daily fixed menu (soup, segundos, postre, and refresco - about 10 soles). Recommended!
Sol de Mayo: Good food, huge selection, great ambience. A long-time Peruvian up-scale favorite. Prices in the 30 sole range. Located in Yanahuara. See their website at: Sol de Mayo. Strongly recommended!
Capriccios: Best place for coffee and deserts, but also great lunches with an adequate choice of sandwiches and larger meals. Clean, nice decor, friendly service and free internet upstairs in the Mercaderes location. I'm told there are 4 Capriccios located throughout Arequipa. Strongly recommended!
Mamut's: Inexpensive sandwiches with fast service. On Mercaderes. Recommended.
Ras El Hanout: Excellent Moroccan fare in the mid-20's sole range. Nice ambience, good, soft music, and gracious service. Located on Calle San Francisco. Strongly recommended!
Patio Del Ekeko: Good selection of sandwiches and steaks, well prepared, in a clean, up-scale shopping mall environment. Also, delicious desserts with excellent coffee. Service is quite good. Prices are a little on the high side, but the food is consistently well prepared. On Mercaderes. Strongly recommended!
La Italiana: Food is unexciting, but at least there is an Italian alternative in a clean, well-decorated environment. Located on Calle San Francisco.
El Venudi: Another upscale restaurant with a wide menu selection in pleasant surroundings. Prices on the higher side, even for Calle San Francisco.
El Montenero: An upscale Argentinian grill with a wide selection of dinner choices. Had my best Ariquipa steak here. Excellent service. Located on the Yanahuara side of the river. Strongly recommended!
Fusion: Clean, modern and stylish decor with good, low-key background music and an eclectic, interesting international menu. Delicious food served with a presentation fit for NYC. The coffee, like so many places in Peru, is a disappointment. Particularly so, given the delicious dessert. Stick with Capriccios for coffee - the best in town. Fusion, located on the northwest corner of the Plaza in Yanahuara. Recommended.
Soncollay: The most expensive prices on this side of the Plaza for food of the poorest quality. The alpaca stew is alpaca and potatoes with virtually no seasoning or cooking expertise used in preparation. It comes with the smallest piece of break I've seen in 11 years of visiting Peru. And it was microwaved until the consistency ranged from leather to alabaster. NOT recommended!
Zig Zag:The best food I had in 2-plus months of living in Arequipa. I suggest the tri-selection of meats: Ostrich, Alpaca, and Beef. Perfectly prepared, beautiful presentation, and excellent service. Prices on the high side, but well worth it. Located on Calle Sele, across from the Iglesia de San Francisco. Zig Zag Restaurant

Tour Agencies:

Colonial Tours: Provided the best information, price, and services for my customized Colca Canyon tour - one of two I took. Most importantly, they provided the BEST TOUR! They can also arrange city tours, countryside tours, excursions to Machu Picchu and other South American destinations. Located just off the Plaza de Armas at 106 Santa Catalina. Email at colonialtours02@hotmail.com.

Wayra Tours: This is the other tour agency I used for a Colca Tour. This is the kind of agency that says anything they need to say to sell a ticket. I was quite unhappy with the tour and the mis-information they provided.

Lodging Recommendation:

Max and Lula's B&B: There is only one recommendation here because this is where I lived for 2-1/2 months while in Arequipa. I couldn't have made a better choice of accomodations - two bright, clean, and cozy bedrooms with international cable-connected TV, WiFi internet connection, and a private bath, all surrounded by a rooftop terrace looking out to Chachani and El Misti. I also had access to a small refrigerator in Max and Lula's kitchen.

Max and Lula's condo/apartment downstairs is part of a very secure, gated community that has a doorman 24/7. Their apartment is beautiful with the same mountain views available from the terrace, except from a large picture window that stretches across both their living room and dining room, where I had breakfast each morning. Each day I had a wide selection of items to choose from for breakfast, including any of the following: coffee, tea, juice, fruit, bread, eggs (scrambled or fried), omelettes (with choices of ingredients), muesli with milk or yogurt, and a selection of meats - roast chicken, pork, or beef. The fruit choice usually consisted of 5 or 6 different fruits, which changed from day to day. All of the above - lodging, breakfast, and good, intelligent company for $11/day.

Max and Lula were excellent hosts, providing me with all the information I needed when I needed it. They are also just very good, decent people that were friendly and interesting to talk to and be with. Information is available at their website: Max and Lula's B&B.

Arequipa

Around Arequipa

Arequipa Streets

Arequipa Plaza

Countrysides

Robert Stephens
TheWorldinLight Photographic Gallery

Flowers

Landscapes

People

Temples

Abstracts

Flight

Wildlife

Special Interests

About my gallery

FAQ

Site Map

All photographs are the property of Robert Stephens and TheWorldinLight Photographic Gallery. Unauthorized reproduction or use is prohibited by US copyright law.

Arequipa Information for Travelers and Visitors

Robert Stephens TheWorldinLight Photographic Gallery

Robert Stephens
TheWorldinLight Photographic Gallery