canonjohn922 Loc: Vineland,NJ

Hi all, question on travel to Peru. Reading the entry custom info they state that you can only bring in 4 memory cards or pay 12% duty on the others. Heading there next week and my camera takes two cards (i shoot one raw and one JPEG and usually backup to my laptop and save the card as the second backup (I usually bring 10-12 cards). Anybody had any problems with more than 4 cards or any other issues? Thanks in advance.

TonyP Loc: New Zealand

Hi John, My daughter, her family and I spent 6 weeks traveling through Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil about 18 months ago. After a number of dire warnings from a number of experienced UHH travelers I have to say we never had a problem, with anything. We were 3 adults and 3 children and traveled mainly by some very crowded and rickety buses. I have to say immigration gave us some worrying moments once (we had somehow left Bolivia and entered Peru without getting exited from Bolivia??) but after some behind the counter discussion they just stamped us through. Then going back in to Bolivia was fun, as they couldnt work out how we got out. But again they eventually shrugged and welcomed us back with a smile. It certainly helped that my daughter spoke Spanish tho.
All in all we had a relatively hassle free trip. It may not have been as relaxed however if we hadnt had a Spanish speaker with us. I carried my ipad everywhere with Google translate open. Helped immensely.
We all had pretty obvious cameras. Daughter had a brand new Fuji DSLR. Me with my D7100 and 24-70 lens permanently attached. Backpacks and wheelie bags carried almost everywhere every day. Never ever felt threatened.
One notable case I will always remember was getting on a very crowded (over crowded) bus in A small 'town' in Peru. We were going to let it pass however the driver insisted we got on board and shifted every one to make room. We ended up standing halfway down the bus, our wheelie bags were nowhere in sight (but we knew they were on the bus, somewhere), when people started standing up to give me (the oldie) and Bekky (a woman) their seats. Very embarrassing. Doesnt happen in NZ these days. We were some of the last to get off and found the driver had crammed our bags into his little cab for us. (Son-in-law watched all passengers getting off in case they had a bag of ours. What he would do if he saw one, we didnt discuss)
Amazing.
Only time we felt we had to 'be careful' was around more touristy areas. Cusco was one. But again, nothing bad happened. Just got a feeling sometimes we were being 'watched'. But it may have been local curiosity.

Our lack of immigration/customs hassle (we were never searched), may have been our NZ Passports. Who knows. May have been Bekkys speaking the local language?
Certainly never had a question raised about my camera gear.

Not sure any of this will help other than to allay some fears you may have. Having said all this, we were always very aware we were in a foreign (to us) country.
Have a great trip John.
(Some pics of our trip on my website if interested)

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Come on John, 12% is just not that much money even if they did enforce it!
Spread the cards out among everybody in your group!
I’ve only been searched thoroughly enough to find cards one time, but yes, that time they would have found them even if I had swallowed them!!! LoL
Are using SD, CF or both?
SS

canonjohn922 Loc: Vineland,NJ

Thanks Tony, Cusco is one of my stops.

Robeng Loc: California

Canonjohn,

I had two full frame bodies and a bunch of memory cards and batteries with me. I didn't have any problems. One thing though, if you plan on visiting Machu Picchu, bring your passport with you. They have their own passport stamp at the entrance and its pretty cool. Ask them to stamp it for you. Be aware if you bring a tripod the staff at the entrance will ask you to pay a higher fee because they feel you are a professional photographer. I highly recommend hiring a guide that knows the area, they can set you up with photo opportunities.

Feel free to check out my website

Rob

sbilheimer

I used an external hard drive and only took 4 very large memory cards. Keep your equipment with you. Don't store anything as theft from stored luggage can occur. Peru is wonderful.
Enjoy!

Lieb Loc: Idaho

I've lived in Lima, Peru for the past six months. Went to Machu Picchu and Amazon last week. I brought six memory cards into the country along with a Canon D 80 and a Canon SX60 bridge camera. I had all my camera gear in a backpack as a carry on. Went through security and customs with no problems. They didn't even examine my gear. They were more concerned about my knee replacement which set off their alarm.

I've also traveled to Colombia with no problems getting my camera gear through customs or security.

Have a great trip. Peru is full of photographic opportunities.

mckraft

Would recommend 128GB cards. I have traveled to 86 countries with a backpack full of camera equipment. I have never had any problems anywhere. As a side note did Macho Picchu in 1978. Had an 8mm video camera with a Canon A1... things were different back then...

Terry in Indiana Loc: rural Indiana

We spent 3 weeks in Peru last September...Amazon adventures plus Machu Picchu and also Mancora. Several flights in country, and never hassled once. I took 2 cameras (both have 2 cards in them), a few lenses, and multiple extra memory cards. They never once questioned or opened my camera bag. I had no idea that was a stipulation even! You will have a wonderful time and will probably breeze right through security too. :) Have a fabulous trip!!!

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

I've been to Machu Picchu and surrounds twice. The first time we had a guide. She gave us lots of information, but it did make the tour slow so we didn't get to see it all. It really does help having a guide when going through some of the other sites, but Machu Picchu is pretty well signed. The second time I went, we were supposed to have a guide, but he was very slow so we simply walked away and everyone did their own thing and found each other again about 6 hours later. Again, I didn't see it all, so I need to go back again! I carried a monopod, which I also used as a walking stick. But was 4-5 years ago.

TonyP Loc: New Zealand

How quickly the body forgets 😢
You asked about any other problems John.
We all had varying degrees of altitude sickness in Peru. My son in law Steve the fittest and strongest suffered
badly. Strangely, I thought, as the oldest and probably least fit, I wasn’t too bad. But I drank lots of the ‘tea’
on offer in the foyers of our accomodation. Steve didn’t like it and didn’t.
There’s a guy on UHH who’s very experienced in travel to South America and a doctor as well. He gave good advice.
Hopefully he might pick up this conversation.

araia

Hello, I was in Lima, Peru last October with my Nikon camera and some lenses. No one in Customs asked me about memory cards. It was all smooth.So I don't think it will be a problem.
Araia

nhastings Loc: Telluride, CO

Hello Tony P from New Zealand. Coming down your way in a couple weeks. Anything I should know about bringing my camera equipment into New Zealand? Never had a problem before (this is second trip) but a lot has changed in the world. Thanks for anyone's advise.

TonyP Loc: New Zealand

Nope. Can assure you, no problems with camera gear.
Only advise I can give re arrival is dont try to bring ANY food. Sniffer dogs will find it before you get to the immigration desk and you wont be popular
If your itinerary includes the Bay of Plenty, happy to meet up at our home or coffee shop or the like for a chat.
We have VERY changeable weather at the moment. Even the forecasts cant get it right. Today was for rain and a high of 23C (http://www.metservice.com/towns-cities/tauranga). Right now its 26C at midday and a beautiful sunny day, 18C overnight. A couple of days ago tho we had a massive storm which left 10's of thousands without power for 3 days (some still arent back on). 100+ year old trees down etc.
So weatherwise, prepare for anything. It is mid Autumn (Fall) of course so we expect it at this time of the year. Just not as dramatic as it has been.
Can only say we'll think positive for you

canonjohn922 Loc: Vineland,NJ

Thanks everybody for your input. My camera uses both SD and Cf cards so I ordered some larger cards to take. I'm also bringing a small laptop and external drive for backup. I would hate to lose the photos from a once in a lifetime experience. Thanks again.