COVID-19: Protocols for safe travel in Peru

Understand the risks and precautions and stay safe

Our adventure tours take place in and around the top destinations of Peru. Depending on your itinerary our adventures may include river rafting, mountain biking, hiking, and more. Over the course of the tour, you will come into contact with others. Though you may be tempted to mingle, it is in your interest to maintain a safe distance from others. You can’t know who carries the virus so keeping apart is your best insurance against COVID-19 infection.

We use government-approved guidelines to ensure your safety when you’re on tour.

Group management

In light of the virus, we have reduced group sizes to make social distancing easier. This offers families and groups of friends the option of traveling safely.

• Individuals must stay physically distanced from other group members as much as possible.
• We have scheduled visits to popular tourist attractions at times when crowds are least likely. Many places have introduced new procedures to make your visit safer. These may include reduced numbers, permits, and online booking. They will also require improved sanitation, the wearing of face masks, and even health screening.
  • Please bear in mind, a face shield cannot replace your face mask but you may use it together with your face mask for extra protection. You may use a face shield on its own only when you partake in high exertion activities where a face mask isn’t recommended.
• Our adventures involve many cultural experiences. Here you will take part in interesting activities involving other people. Make sure to keep your distance. Please ensure that you bring a face-covering for use in remote communities.
• We will ensure that we understand the site Covid-19 regulations before we visit. We will also make sure that any place that we visit has protocols in place. Management and staff must also monitor and maintain procedures in line with government guidelines and the standards of the company.

Hotels and lodging

We have done a full check of the hotels that we use for our tours. Where necessary we have upgraded our accommodations to ensure that the rooms in which you stay are safe and sanitized. We have found hotels with bigger rooms and we’ve ensured that they have social distancing measures in place.

Likewise, the lodgings that we use in the Amazon jungle must follow official guidelines.

Transport

Group transport poses a higher risk of viral transmission. So, we have taken steps to reduce the risk to our clients. These include:

• We use private transport wherever possible. It is, however, sometimes necessary to use public transport. The public transport that we use must comply with health department protocols.
• All passengers using private transport must wear face-coverings for as long as the health department requires it. The transport provider will maintain a gap between each passenger.
• All passengers must sanitize with the provided sanitizer before getting on or off the bus.

Pursuits and adventures

You’ve come with us on an adventure. So, we want you to build memories and have as much fun as you would have had before the pandemic. Yet, we must ensure that you stay well. So, we ensure that all the hosts take our guidelines seriously. They have a special responsibility especially when it comes to social distancing.

We have taken extra precautions in areas that tend to attract crowds. These include:

• Scheduling visits during quieter times of the day or week. Most attractions such as museums and archaeological sites will ensure that their guidelines are followed. These will include the maintenance of crowd control, enhanced hygiene, and the wearing of face-coverings.
• If we are not happy with the restrictions and controls, we may avoid those attractions and find safer alternatives

Meals

Restaurants

Where restaurants form part of your Peru travel plan, we ensure that the restaurant management and staff take the official guidelines seriously. If they want to do business with us, they must ensure food safety and Covid-19 guidelines.

Outdoor eating

We ensure that everyone, from the chefs to servers, that handles your food adheres to our thorough handwashing and sanitation protocols. These include:

• Scheduled hand washing at designated washing areas.
• We’ve trained our cooks in food safety and presented them with protocols to reduce health risks.
• We use a three-sink washing system ensuring rinsing, washing, and sanitizing of dishes and utensils.
• Food storage, utensil sanitation, and hand washing all form an essential part of our risk mitigation protocols.
• The food we use is washed and sanitized and sometimes even cooked according to safety standards.
• We sanitize all surfaces, containers, cookware and tools before and after food preparation.
• Food handlers use face-coverings when preparing and serving food.

Camping

Because camping takes place in the outdoors where accommodation is well-spaced, it is a low-risk way to enjoy a holiday. This means that there is little supervision required. Still, travelers must still understand the Covid-19 guidelines and stick to them. Here are some of the ways that we reduce the risk of contamination.

Camping sites

• We prefer to use campsites with plenty of space so that the group can spread out and maintain a distance.
• When you are unable to maintain an appropriate distance; for example, when using common areas, you should use a face-covering.
• We assign large well-ventilated tents to an individual for the full extent of the tour. Campers should not share or swap them.

Toilet facilities

• Personal hygiene is essential when it comes to toilets. We provide chemical toilets and ensure that they have washing facilities.
• We have a disinfection schedule to ensure consistent cleaning.

Camping and hiking equipment

The best way to mitigate the risk of infection is to sanitize and keep your distance. It is thus vital that you use and care for your own personal equipment. Sharing equipment raises the risk of infection.

We have taken the following actions to prevent surface contamination

• We’ve identified frequently used areas such as vehicles and office areas. We clean these areas often and where possible we avoid contact with surfaces in such areas.
• Every traveler must have their own equipment including sleeping bags, mattresses, and tents for the full tour.
• We minimize surface contact where the staff cares for the equipment
• Issued equipment requires little handling. So, travelers should manage their own equipment during the tour.
• Where trekkers use our gear, we ensure appropriate sanitization before we issue it.

Cycling

Cycling is good fun and a great way to exercise too. It is also one of the safest ways to get around during Covid-19 because it takes place in well-ventilated areas where it’s easy to keep your distance.

Routes and Roads

• In the interests of health and safety, we use routes where there is less chance of exposure to others. We do this by choosing low traffic times and backroads.
• We plan stops along the way to ensure that there is plenty of place for distancing.
• Each cyclist handles their own gear and equipment to ensure minimal cross-surface contact.
• If a fellow cyclist needs help make sure to sanitize your hands before and after touching their equipment. Where you can’t keep your distance, use a face cover.

River rafting

Unlike hiking or cycling, rafting involves a number of people and a guide in a tightly-knit group. On the other hand, it takes place in the open air and there is a lot of water around, washing the area.

Our response to Covid-19 has been to reduce rafting groups to five including the guide.

We have made plans to reduce the amount of exposure that groups have with one another. These include

• Ensuring that everything is ready to launch on arrival at the launch ramp.
• On the rafts, we keep rafters as far apart as possible
• We maintain distance between boats on the water.
• When we stop for refreshments, we make sure that there is enough room to keep our distance.
• We minimize the possibility of people requiring rescue. When we have to rescue someone, we use personal protective equipment such as face-coverings.

Hiking

Like cycling, with hiking, there is little risk of viral transmission and for similar reasons. Hiking takes place in well-ventilated areas. It is easy to keep your distance and there isn’t much equipment required. Hiking doesn’t need much supervision.

Though we hike in small groups, hikers must understand the protocols and stick to them. Here are some of the actions that we have taken:

• We use trails where it is easy to keep our distance taking into account the level of difficulty, trail conditions and the general landscape
• When we happen upon other hiking groups, we make sure to keep our distance.
• We have reduced the chance of injury and evacuations by ensuring that the hiking level of difficulty is well within the capability of the group.
• We have adapted procedures such as training to maintain social distancing.