Traveling to Peru soon and looking to buy a sim card for your trip to Peru at Lima International Airport? This is exactly what you are looking for, a complete guide with everything you need to know about buying a prepaid sim card for Peru at Lima Airport. Find out where to buy a Peru sim card, up to date prices as per May 2023, my recommendation, a vlog about my experiences and even info about international and e-sim cards for Peru.
Buying a prepaid sim card is the first thing I do when traveling overseas and as I am also trying to visit every country in the world you can find almost 200 prepaid sim card guides on Traveltomtom from all over the world: Peru, Colombia, Bogota, Brazil, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Paraguay, USA, New York, Panama, Mexico, Costa Rica, Amsterdam, London, Madrid, Paris, Istanbul and many more.
So next time you are planning your adventure abroad come check out Traveltomtom for the latest and most up to date prepaid sim card advice for your destination. Bookmark this website!
My recommendation
Be aware that buying a prepaid sim cards at arrivals in Lima Airport is EXTREMELY overpriced and Traveltomtom does NOT recommend buying a sim card here. Traveltomtom recommends buying a sim card at Departures of Lima Airport, it is 6x cheaper!
Read below about my experiences and find a vlog about buying a sim card at Lima Airport with my experiences. Also if you want the absolute cheapest sim card deal for Peru you should wait until you reach the city center and head to an official retail store. For more info check out my guide for buying a sim card in Peru in 2023.
At Traveltomtom we also think that global sim cards with data are great for traveling to Peru. Have a look at our comparison of the best travel sim cards with data in 2023 and find one for $29.90 USD with 12 GB data.
However, the easiest way to stay connected when traveling in 2023 is an e-sim card.
E-sim cards for Peru
Much cheaper than a sim card at Lima Airport and you can arrange it all online in just a couple minutes. No more swapping physical sim cards and with an e-sim card you keep your own phone number from home! Order an e-sim card, receive a QR code, follow the instructions, apply the settings and you are all done.
Check out the following e-sim card deals for Peru:
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $6 USD
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $15 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $20 USD
Click here to order one of the above Peru e-sim card deals directly online or get more info.
The above Peru e-sim cards from Habla Telefon operate on the 4G/LTE network of Movistar Peru. Find more info in the link.
On another website I found international e-sim cards that work in Peru as well. The Three e-sim cards are valid in more than 70 countries and the AIS e-sim card is valid in more than 120 countries.
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $24.90 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $34.90 USD
- 6 GB data for 15 days = $39.90 USD
Click here to order an international e-sim card for traveling in Peru.
Make sure that your phone is e-sim card compatible before ordering an e-sim card for Peru.
Lima International Airport (LIM)
The Jorge Chávez International Airport of Lima is relatively small and easy to navigate. When going through customs you are guided through the Duty Free and then you walk straight into the baggage hall. From here you pick up your luggage and walk into the Arrival hall.
The airport is located about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the city center, but about 22 kilometers (14 miles) from Miraflores, the most popular tourist area in Lima. The Lima Airport offers free WiFi for all passengers and it actually works pretty good.
Where to buy a sim card at Lima Airport
There are 3 options. The easiest and most convenient place to buy a sim card for Peru at Lima Airport is the Claro shop at Arrivals. Located between luggage belt 1 and 2, just before you exit the baggage collection hall with all the luggage belts, near the customs check exit. You can’t miss it! However, this kiosk is the one that sells Peru sim cards for a ridiculous price!
Then there is another Claro store, but you will have to go to Departures. To reach the Claro store at Departures you will need to take the escalator in the Arrival Hall to the second floor and walk to your right to the departure hall. Here you will find a Claro store that sells prepaid sim cards for a normal price right in front of Domestic Departures.
Both Claro shops are open 24 hours and accept credit cards as well as Soles (local Peruvian currency). There are ATMs and Money Exchange all around the baggage claim, arrival and departure hall.
The 3th option is the new Peru Sim store in the Arrival Hall of Lima Airport, next to the official airport bus and taxi companies.
Prices prepaid sim cards at Lima Airport
Claro store Arrivals
As I dropped already a couple times before this is the store where tourists get scammed if you ask me. If you really desperately want to buy a sim card immediately on arrival at Lima Airport then this is your place. These are their Peru sim card deals for tourists:
- 14 GB data + unlimited calls and social media for 1 week = $59 USD
- 25 GB data + unlimited calls and social media for 2 weeks = $108 USD
- 30 GB data + unlimited calls and social media for 3 week2 = $157 USD
I told you prices are insane! Now you understand why I call buying a sim card for tourists at Lima Airport a SCAM!
Claro store Departures
However, at the Claro store at in the Departure Hall of Lima Airport they sell prepaid sim cards for Peru for a local price:
- 4 GB data + unlimited calls and social media for 10 days = 35 Soles - $9 USD
Peru Sim
At the Peru Sim in the arrival hall you also pay the tourist price:
- 5 GB data + unlimited calls/sms + free social media apps = $21 USD
- 15 GB data + unlimited calls/sms + free social media apps = $27.5 USD
- 30 GB data + unlimited calls/sms + free social media apps = $37.5 USD
Best Peru sim card at Lima Airport
No need to tell you what I advice you to do. Please do NOT buy a sim card for Peru at the Claro store at Arrivals. These prices are exactly the reason why I write these travel blogs and arrival guides and provide travel tips for fellow travelers.
International sim cards for Peru are more expensive than local prepaid sim cards, but it depends what you want. An international sim card will be send to your home address before your trip. For $29.90 USD you get 12 GB data in Peru for 30 days. E-sim cards are the easiest way to stay connected when traveling to Peru but rather expensive as $20 USD only gives you 5 GB data for 30 days.
If you walk out from Baggage Claim into the Arrival Hall you could consider the Peru Sim, but if you want the best sim card deal for Peru then you take the elevator/escalator to the second floor and walk to domestic departure. It is a 3 minute walk, but well worth it if you want to save some money.
Here is my vlog about when I arrived at Lima International Airport and tried to buy a sim card for my trip to Peru.
In the end I did NOT buy a sim card at Lima Airport, but that was due to the fact that the Claro store at Departures had a little trouble with the system and I had to wait 30 minutes. Since I arrived late at night and I was tired I decided to buy my sim card for Peru the next day in Lima city center.
In case you also missed the opportunity buying a sim card at Lima Airport, you want more info about the best 4G/5G network in Peru or you really want to get the best deal then check out my complete guide for buying a sim card in Peru in 2023. For 25 Soles ($6 USD) you get 4 GB data for 30 days.
Order a sim card for Peru online
If all the above sounds like too much hassle or you simply want to make it really easy for yourself then you can buy an international sim card for Peru online and get it shipped to your home address:
- 10 GB data for 30 days = $24.90 USD
- 12 GB data for 30 days = $29.90 USD
- 10 GB data for 14 days = $49.90 USD
- 12 GB data for 1 year = $59.90 USD
- 12 GB data for 2 years = $79.90 USD
Click here to order a pre-activate international sim card for Peru directly online or find more info.
Also a last reminder that you can arrange everything online with an e-sim card. Click here to order an e-sim card for Peru or get more info.
How to get from Lima Airport to the city center
At the airport you will find the Airport Express Lima bus that runs from the airport to the city and vice versa from 06.00 am till 11.00 pm. A bus tickets is cheap and only costs like 12 Soles one-way ($3 USD). The bus has multiple stops along the way as well as several stops in Miraflores. The bus ride often takes more than 1 hour, depending on the time of the day and traffic situation.
My preferred way to go from Lima Airport to the city is to take an Uber from the airport. To Miraflores, my favorite place to stay in Lima an Uber costs around $12 USD. An Uber comfort will cost you a little more: 60 Soles - $15 USD. The Uber can be arranged through the free WiFi of the airport and the ride will take between 30-40 minutes.
I hope all the above tips for buying a sim card for traveling in Peru at Lima Airport were helpful and may you still have any questions then please leave me a comment below. I will try to help you out as much as I can.
Curious what it looks like trying to visit every country in the world? Go check out my Instagram account @traveltomtom and follow along. As of May 2023 I have visited more than 155 countries, so still a long way to go.
Enjoy your trip to Lima!
Some links in this article about buying a sim card at Lima Airport are affiliate links. If you buy any of the products after using an affiliate link I will earn a small commission. Don’t worry this is at absolutely no extra cost to you.
