I’ve talked quite a bit about my wife and my upcoming trip to Peru. We’ve got our lie flat seats to Peru, booked our hotel at the Tambo del Inka and even managed to book the one flight I forgot to book!
[I’m booking 6 trips for 3 different families… and it’s starting to freak me out]
Last night though I got an email from the Tambo del Inka hotel, talking about an upcoming government strike (huelga) in Urubamba
So….. yeah?
Anyone have any insight on this or how it might affect our trip? Thankfully this isn’t during either our flights. We actually just (finally) booked our tickets to Machu Picchu and it’s not during either of these dates either
Looking through some of the news articles, I don’t see anything about it yet, though I have seen that past strikes have been converted from 48 hour strikes into “indefinite” strikes.
I’m curious if any of you have ever traveled through an area during a government strike / huelga. When I was a missionary for my church for 2 years in the Dominican Republic, I seem to recall there being huelgas, but I was never really impacted. My only (vague) memory is there was one day where there was a pretty serious one and all the missionaries were told they had to stay inside all day.
My guess would be that we’d be pretty safe at the hotel itself, but (depending on what this actually turns into), I’m not sure I’d feel great about going anywhere else?
Have you ever lived through a government strike / huelga like this? Any thoughts?
Points With a Crew has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Points With a Crew and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them
Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
This sounds as a strange question to us living in South America with literally hundreds of strikes every single month from Monday through Friday ( on Saturday strikers rest ). In Argentina where I live, strikes and pickets are a daily thing so it’s difficult to move around certain areas, but I would not worry. ( maybe because I’m used to it)
It is the way most countries in South America work (except Chile and Uruguay in my experience ). I would also not be afraid of leaving the hotel. You can rely on asking locals, taking your car to go wherever you need to go. It is sometimes even peculiar to see somethings you don’t see you at home every day.
Thanks for the insight. Living in a area / country where striking is pretty uncommon, I was (am) not quite sure what to expect
Nope, but will be there in the morning. I’ll let you know what is going on.
Thanks Ted – let me know!
Just checked in. Was told situation might change, there might be road closures.
Spg gold offered $15 breakfast…..regular $25
Hi I live in Peru.
If it’s just in that area you will only deal with overcrowded roads and slow traffic (worst could be closed roads).
You could enjoy your day at the hotel on those days or go early to sightsee since I doubt they will do anything before 8 am.
Have fun and eat lots of food!
Thanks Mirta! Starting early is a great tip!
Be very careful travelling around the strikes are often accompanied by road blocks and violence. If you cant reschedule just stay near the hotel.
I have visited Peru more than a dozen times. I have been there during major protests and strikes. If the strikers plan to block the roads, expect significant land travel delays. It is should be safe to wonder about because the strikers do not usually directly target tourists.
I try to avoid traveling to areas with strikes because of potential land delay travel delays and road closures.
What an opportunity to learn about people’s lives and their direct action to create social and political change! I’d definitely go out and meet and talk to people about it. Peru currently has a very right wing government and whether there is a strike or not, being aware of how this impacts people’s lives, not just tourists, is meaningful.