Option 1: Taking the international bus, normal, time consuming at the border crossings and boring.
Option 2: Going by private vehicle (collectivo) which is faster in almost all cases, a lot more interesting and fun. The current cost should be about 4,000 peso per person or a bit over 8 US dollars.
Both options begin at the same place which is the bus terminal with the exception of where you go for the bus or private vehicle.
Both options begin at the same place which is the bus terminal with the exception of where you go for the bus or private vehicle.
I will detail the private (collectivo) vehicle which in my mind is a more interesting, easier and fun way of making this border crossing. It may seem a bit more difficult but it is really very simple. This method will take you to the main bus terminal in the Peruvian city of Tacna where you can book a bus from Tacna to Lima or toward Arequipa and beyond.
First let me make this note, there is a 2 hour time difference between Arica, Chile and Tacna, Peru. Therefore, if if is 8AM in Arica, it is actually 6AM in Peru. With that being said I am going to give a little advice. Assuming your destination is Arequipa, you will want to arrive at the bus terminal in Arica prior to 8AM, find your ride as quickly as possible and if you do not waste time or run into issues then you can arrive in Tacna in time to book a bus out of Tacna to Arequipa for the 8:45AM departure and be in Arequipa within 5-6 hours later.
On the outside of the bus terminal in Arica there is a parking area where the private vehicles are parked and since you will be taking a taxi to the bus station, just tell the driver, "collectivo" and he should drop you off at the entrance. Click this link for the map of where the bus terminal is located inArica .
When you get there you will notice many different vehicles, all of which do the same thing. They will load 5 passengers plus their baggage and take you to both border check points, the Chilean side and the Peruvian side then to Tacna, Peru. It will seem chaotic but it is very easy. You will find many drivers standing around waiting to fill up their vehicle, depending on the size of your group, either you are traveling alone or with others, then this will determine which vehicle you can use as well as how long it takes the driver to get 5 passengers which is usually not very long as there are many going to Tacna at that time of day.
These vehicles will range from some newer and small vehicles to older large American 4 door sedans with a very large trunk (boot) for you Brits.
When I make this trip I always look for the largest vehicle I can find. I will ask the driver and make sure there is room for me as a passenger. These vehicles will not depart until they are full but they usually fill up fast so in most cases there is not much of a wait till the driver is ready to depart. If you are in a hurry then you can pay extra for the lack of other passengers and the driver will depart. A word of warning, if you have too much luggage which prevents the driver from taking 5 passengers then due to this he will charge you the difference for the loss of those passengers because you had too much baggage for others in the vehicle. This is one reason why I find the largest vehicle.
If you select the collectivo option you will also first need to buy a ticket ticket for the driver to use when he/she leaves the parking area, 250 Pesos at the ticket booth which is at the entrance gate of the area where the collectivo vehicles are parked. This is a sort of user fee but it is required for the driver to depart the parking area so all passengers, even locals must purchase this ticket.
First let me make this note, there is a 2 hour time difference between Arica, Chile and Tacna, Peru. Therefore, if if is 8AM in Arica, it is actually 6AM in Peru. With that being said I am going to give a little advice. Assuming your destination is Arequipa, you will want to arrive at the bus terminal in Arica prior to 8AM, find your ride as quickly as possible and if you do not waste time or run into issues then you can arrive in Tacna in time to book a bus out of Tacna to Arequipa for the 8:45AM departure and be in Arequipa within 5-6 hours later.
On the outside of the bus terminal in Arica there is a parking area where the private vehicles are parked and since you will be taking a taxi to the bus station, just tell the driver, "collectivo" and he should drop you off at the entrance. Click this link for the map of where the bus terminal is located in
When you get there you will notice many different vehicles, all of which do the same thing. They will load 5 passengers plus their baggage and take you to both border check points, the Chilean side and the Peruvian side then to Tacna, Peru. It will seem chaotic but it is very easy. You will find many drivers standing around waiting to fill up their vehicle, depending on the size of your group, either you are traveling alone or with others, then this will determine which vehicle you can use as well as how long it takes the driver to get 5 passengers which is usually not very long as there are many going to Tacna at that time of day.
These vehicles will range from some newer and small vehicles to older large American 4 door sedans with a very large trunk (boot) for you Brits.
When I make this trip I always look for the largest vehicle I can find. I will ask the driver and make sure there is room for me as a passenger. These vehicles will not depart until they are full but they usually fill up fast so in most cases there is not much of a wait till the driver is ready to depart. If you are in a hurry then you can pay extra for the lack of other passengers and the driver will depart. A word of warning, if you have too much luggage which prevents the driver from taking 5 passengers then due to this he will charge you the difference for the loss of those passengers because you had too much baggage for others in the vehicle. This is one reason why I find the largest vehicle.
If you select the collectivo option you will also first need to buy a ticket ticket for the driver to use when he/she leaves the parking area, 250 Pesos at the ticket booth which is at the entrance gate of the area where the collectivo vehicles are parked. This is a sort of user fee but it is required for the driver to depart the parking area so all passengers, even locals must purchase this ticket.
Your next step is to go to the ticket booth, purchase your ticket. The driver will in most cases show you where the ticket booth is but it is not hard to locate as they are in the small offices surrounding the parking area or the driver will load your baggage into the vehicle then take your passport to their respective office where all the paperwork will be process by the staff in the office, do not worry about this step, it is safe but if you are concerned, go with the driver. He will return your passport with the needed immigration documents for Peru back to you and off you go.
The total distance from Arica to Tacna is about 53 kilometers and the total ride time, this includes both border check points should not be much over one hour of course this all depends on a few factors but in all my times doing this, the border check points have been very quick without problems. Your circumstances could be different depending on unusual factors but for the most part it is a very easy crossing.
You will stamp out of Chile, no need to remove your luggage for this step, get back in the vehicle, drive less than 5oo meters to the Peruvian check point, remove all your luggage, follow the driver to the immigration counter, hand them your passport and the document the driver gave you in Arica, tell the immigration officer how long you wish to stay in Peru, in my case I always ask for at least a 90 day stay which I always receive, then you will put your luggage through their x-ray scanner and unless your are doing something illegal, then there will be no inspection. You will then proceed out the door to the awaiting vehicle where you will reload your luggage and then off you go down the motorway driving to the Tacna bus terminals.
The nice point about doing this is that you will not be waiting for a bus load of passengers to have their papers and passports processed at each border check point.
Once you arrive at the bus terminal in Tacna there are two terminals. You will arrive at the smaller of the two and you can book buses there depending on your destination or you simply go out the gate across a street to the larger bus terminal and book a bus there. These are within 50 meters distance of each other and it is the other terminal where you may need to go for booking other buses but that is dependent on your destination.
Going to Arequipa there are two bus companies which I suggest, one being Flores and the other is Oltursa both of which have nice buses including Cama seating. I booked a Cama seat with Oltursa, paid 40 Soles and the ride was wonderful. You can also pay with a credit card but they will add about 3.4 Soles to the total price but this is still an excellent option for those who wish to use a credit card.
There is at least one ATM machine in the smaller bus terminal so you can get your Peruvian money at that point or go to the Cambio exchange inside the same treminal where you will actually receive a very fair exchange rate for which ever currency you may be exchanging and this would included currencies from Chile.
Going to Arequipa there are two bus companies which I suggest, one being Flores and the other is Oltursa both of which have nice buses including Cama seating. I booked a Cama seat with Oltursa, paid 40 Soles and the ride was wonderful. You can also pay with a credit card but they will add about 3.4 Soles to the total price but this is still an excellent option for those who wish to use a credit card.
There is at least one ATM machine in the smaller bus terminal so you can get your Peruvian money at that point or go to the Cambio exchange inside the same treminal where you will actually receive a very fair exchange rate for which ever currency you may be exchanging and this would included currencies from Chile.
Below is a link for booking a bus and paying online for one Peru bus company. A word of warning, some of these web sites will only function completely with Internet Explorer and not Thunderbird or Chrome and the version of the program may need to be the latest for the web site to support.
Cruz del Sur is the largest bus company in Peru but does not go everywhere and they may have stopped service to Arequipa. Take this link Cruz del Sur for online booking and payment of buses in Peru. Remember, not all bus companies go everywhere but this bus company is one of the best in Peru.
Another excellent bus company to use is Oltursa and if you know your departure time purchase a ticket in advance online, however, I do not recommend booking a bus in advance from Tacna as there are plenty of bus companies to choose from to depart to you destination in Peru, it is only a matter of the timing of your arrival and the departing bus schedules.
To use the Oltursa web site you must have an account which is very simple to setup, then you can look at the departing times and also see how full any particular bus will be.
Another excellent bus company to use is Oltursa and if you know your departure time purchase a ticket in advance online, however, I do not recommend booking a bus in advance from Tacna as there are plenty of bus companies to choose from to depart to you destination in Peru, it is only a matter of the timing of your arrival and the departing bus schedules.
To use the Oltursa web site you must have an account which is very simple to setup, then you can look at the departing times and also see how full any particular bus will be.
I personally use this both of these bus companies and they are like those in Argentina for their comfort and quality . Flores and other buses have cheaper ticket prices but remember, you get what you pay for.
Unless I have already booked my bus from Tacna or I am not sure what time I will leave Arica and arrive in Tacna, I will wait till I get to Tacna to book my forward transportation there. The Oltursa office is up the stairs in the main terminal and they have a large green sign with their company logo outside the door and booking is very simple and they take credit cards as well.
For the reverse trip, Tacna to Arica, ask around the bus terminal for the collectivo taxis and you should be able to locate them without too much difficulty. Once done, everything should proceed in reverse from the Arica to Tacna trip and you will arrive in the main bus terminal in Arica.