Taxis in Lima & Safety issues
 

Does anyone know whether there are pre-paid taxis available at the airport in Lima? If yes, how much is a ride from the airport to the Miraflores area?

Also is there an ATM at the airport for obtaining local currency? Same rates/fees as ATMs downtown?

Finally, how safe is it to walk around Miraflores / Centro areas around 8-9pm on weekdays? 'Safe" meaning what are the chances of being mugged / robbed?

Most taxi drivers charge 20 soles from the airport to Miraflores. Pre-paid is usually private transfer and is going to run a bit more. Its a half hour ride down the beautiful coast.

Yes there is currency exchange/withdrawl before you exit security at fair prices.

Miraflores is great during the night. Walked along Larcomar all the way to Parque del Amor during the night felt safe. Not sure what you mean by "central area." We stayed in miraflores and I woudn't stay anywhere else. Its like a completely different city in Miraflores. Entrance to the club at Larcomar runs 100 soles... LOL!!!

Wow cagalindo 20 Soles? When did you go to Lima?

I was at LIM about 4 weeks ago I made the effort to hunt down the official taxis. Saying that I have forgotten what they are called. I have them in my phone as Taxis Verdes but I suspect the actually might be Taxis Green.

OK outside of the terminal building there are numerous taxi touts, ignore them, saying that the official taxi places are pretty well hidden.

Directions:

International arrivals - When you come through the doors from customs there is a false wall thing that you have to walk around, there are two exits from international arrivals. Left takes you into a funnel of happy family members waiting to greet you. Take a right turn and there is a far quicker exit where you will see the Taxis Green pedestal. Request your taxi there.

Domestic arrivals - As you enter back into the main landside part of the airport from the baggage arrivals hall, there is another Taxis Green pedestal next to a column.

These are the authorised airport taxis and a trip to Miraflores costs a fixed S/.55. That's not bad because if I get my private guy to come and fetch me I have to pay his parking and waiting if I get delayed somewhere so it costs about the same.

All ATMs in Lima airport are operated by GlobalNet which is the ATM network of Per'u´s Interbank. As such I wouldn't imagine they would charge more than any other GlobaNet ATM in an Interbank branch.

I felt perfectly safe in both areas on weekdays and weekends.

Use TaxiGreen from the airport - follow JohnnyColombia's directions to the stand. In all of my trips there I have always paid 40-50 soles from LIM to Miraflores, never more. Sometimes they try to bump the price a bit but stand firm at the 40-50.

I have never used an ATM there, so I cannot comment on that. I always change a small bit of dollars (usually a hundred) to get me through the first night and then the next morning I hit up a cambista on the corner of Larco and Benavides in Miraflores or a money changing business (several located along Larco)

Walking in Miraflores is safe. Use the normal precautions that you'd use walking around any city here and you will be fine. Don't flash your cash or valuables and you will be fine.

A tip for you should you take cash money there - get NEW or CRISP dollar bills (20-50-100's) as if they are old and worn or have ANY rips or folds they will not likely be accepted for fear that they are counterfeit. Also, make sure you check your soles that you receive from cambistas or vendors to ensure they're not giving you old or worn soles either.

IME, if you are willing/able to negotiate, you can usually get a cab to Miraflores for 30-40 soles.

Do taxi's at LIM airport take credit cards or is it a cash only deal?

Also, do airports in the US exchange USD to Soles? My bank has some hefty foreign atm fees and I am on a mileage run for 2 days so I am budgeting a small amount of this little excursion.

Never seen one that takes credit cards. Cash only. You can do the USD -> Soles exchange at Lima airport.

Even though the airport exchange doesn't have the best exchange rate, it's not crazy or anything... it'll definitely be a better option than exchanging in the US. Once you get into town it'll also be pretty easy to find money-exchanging "agents" (cambistas).

Thanks for the advice but now I have to cancel my ticket for this weekend.....I broke my damn foot....how convenient.

What price should I try to negotiate for in order to get from the airport to Javier Prado for a bus? I am planning to use the Taxis Green station as described above.

How big of a bus are you looking for? I'm not aware of Taxi Green having any buses available.
Anyway, the rate from the airport to Javier Prado will depend on what part of Javier Prado you are tying to get to. It is a very long avenue that crosses through several districts.

SceneStealer7 most likely means that he's going to a bus station in Javier Prado, to catch a long distance bus. Taxi Green probably has fixed rates depending on destination, should be about 40 soles or so? You could try contacting them. Hopefully someone else who's done this recently will reply as well...

Depends which bit of Javier Pardo. San Isidro or San Burja will cost S/.45
I did it bazactly 2 weeks ago, that is the official rate with Taxis Green, no need to negotiate, it is already a cool service and reasonably priced.

By all means haggle with the guys outside and they might lower their price from US$45 to US$40. Seriously, go to the stand and don't pickup a taxi outside.

If indeed you do want a bus, Taxis Green also have vans, I didn't take much notice of the price

Yup, I did mean take a taxi from the airport to Javier Prado to then catch a bus from there (Cruz del Sol to Ica). Address is Av. Javier Prado Nº 1109 - San Isidro. 45 soles is great with me, and I'd rather take a verified company since I'm a solo female traveler. About how long is the trip?

Thanks so much, Johnny, Pedro, and Andrea!