Does anyone known if arrivals at the Lima international terminal are shuttled directly to immigration, or are you let out airside?

More specifically, can I access either lounge (I understand both are airport operated) on arrival?

My experience is that you're herded directly into immigration, which lets out into customs, which lets out into an int'l arrivals section on the "dirty" side of security.

I don't think you can access the lounge that's in the corner next to the internet cafe upon arrival. I don't know where the other lounge is.

There used to be an Admrirals Club landside - but this has now closed. IIRC, there are no other landside lounges.

As mentioned, you are put directly into a hallway leading to customs when you de-plane. During your walk to the customs hall you can hang a left and follow the "connecting flights" sign and you will re-enter the terminal. Not sure if they will let you through without a ticket, and if they did I am not sure how you would make it back to immigration when you were done, but that would be the only way to access the lounges.

Hmm... well, normally I might buy a refundable onward Int'l ticket to be let back into the secure area, but I don't speak any spanish, so I'm a bit worried that the immigration folks might take an interest in my strange behavior and I wouldn't be able to explain my way out of it.

Any recommendations on how to pass 6 hours overnight after arrival in LIM? I will be connecting onward in the morning, but I understand there are no lounge facilites in the domestic portion of the terminal, and that there are no hotels within a resonable distance.

A bunch of people seem to sleep in the airport - backpacker-types, mostly, waiting for the AM flights to CUZ.

If you're gonna stay at the airport, you should hang out at one of the restaurants upstairs, IMO. Seems completely safe. The coffee shop/internet cafe at the very end of the 2nd floor (nearest to the domestic check-in) might be your best bet.

The LIM airport is not anything like its European or U.S. counterparts. They aren't so strict around there. I went back and forth from baggage claim to ticket counter and back behind the ticket counters as well with Varig-no problem. As for the Spanish thing, it is hit-and-miss, most people who need to speak English do, but not everyone.

I am not sure what lounge would be open to you in the early morning hours either (12-6AM)? Are you sure there will be an open lounge at that time?

Lastly, the domestic side of the airport is small and certainly fine for sleeping. Not sure if passengers can enter 24 hours a day or only during certain times, but if you can enter the terminal just find a quiet spot towards the back and nap until the 4am crowds come rushing in. Then go and enjoy a fresh Dunkin' Doughnut and wait for your flight.

Sorry about the layover at LIM airport, could be one of the worst places to have that layover

I've also done the 6-hour stopover in LIM. After you come through the press-the-button-random-generator-do-I-get-searched thing, you get herded directly outside to the mob of taxi drivers. I wouldn't hold out for being able to get airside for the lounge.

When I was there, you couldn't even get into the international check-in area without a valid ticket. This was a couple of years ago, though.

So, I managed to pass the time by having a very big breakfast downstairs (pretty tasty as it turned out). The rest of the time, one of the best ways to occupy yourself is to play the bait-a-tout game. It's quite good preparation - test your negotiating skills, find out their techniques, work out local prices... And have a chat when they see you're not biting, and they get bored.

It's worth learning a little Spanish for things like that - it's not a difficult language to get basic phrases in, and it can make transactions much smoother.

Get your tax voucher paid pretty early on, too - there can be a flurry at the counters when the first bank of morning flights heads off. Keep an eye on the security queues, but leave going through airside as late as you can. It's pretty basic through there and can get very, very hot (and the seats can run out pretty quickly, too...)

Strangely enough, the lounges are open 24 hours a day, despite the fact no flights depart between 1:30 and 6am. Guess they don't see any reason to shut down for the two to three hours that it would make sense to.

Lovely. Ah well, sounds like it'll be an adventure!

I once had to spend about an hour in that terminal and it was way more than enough. Someone on FT actually is flying down to SCL and back to LIM and connecting to the same flight he would have had he just sat in LIM for several hours - he'd rather be on the plane than in LIM. (With just 6 hours, that wouldn't be possible.)

Erasmus - landside of the main terminal is really not that bad, but it's just pretty boring. Get some Soles, hop on the Internet, grab a beer - time will go by pretty fast. Not as terrible as we're making it out to be.

Once you get into domestic departures, past security, however, it's a craphole. Although, as I said in another forum, the *ancient* Aerocontinente planes sitting around the terminal make it kinda like a museum visit.

rockdoc could probably answer the lounge question pretty definitely. You might want to email him.