Details

• Peru
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• SoSe 2026
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months
• Contact: Login to see contact information

1. Preparation

Going to South America its good to have checked if you have all the necessary shots/vaccines, this is not necessary for Lima but useful if you plan to visit other places and countries, especially the amazonian rainforest. Make sure you look for a housing and compare them with each other, if you can't do that its not that bad because there were always rooms available during the semester so some students joined student housings throughout the semester, it it useful however because most of the housings organize events for the international students so you can meet more people more fast. Look which courses you would like to take but don't be upset when you need to change your plans. The university sends you lists of courses and when you want to sign up for one it might not even exist anymore in the moment of signing up. Try to make your travel plans as soon as possible as prices can rise up pretty fast. If you want to visit another country plan that fast and don't wait too long to book your connection flight to Lima. In Lima, depending on where you live you can take the bus to university or find a group in your house or nearby houses that you can share an uber really cheap with if enough people are there.

2. Accommodation

I didn't search a lot myself as my friends who did the exchange one year before advised me to go to BOLUMA Housing (which I can just recommend) and gave me the necessary contacts. However I noticed in the ERASMUS Peru WhatsApp Group which is created every semester that there was a lot people that arrived in Airbnbs or apartments and later they joined an international student residence like Boluma, there is quite a few. Boluma was located in Miraflores, a really beautiful und safe district in Lima, close to the Larcomar shopping centre right at the cliff to the ocean where you can get great surfing lessons. In the same street was a Gas Station 24/7 for buying water and snacks, a Subway 24/7, different cheap and nice restaurants and a GYM. There was 2 really big supermarkets nearby (5-10 minute walk) Wong for international products, and plazaVea (both with a big Sortiment of all products you can need). The housing is a bit further away from university but there was a bus right around the corner which would get you to the uni for 1-3 soles which I actually never took. We shared an Uber everyday with 4-5 people averaging on 1€ per person to get to the uni. In the mornings during the rush hour this could take up to 45-50 minutes. Rarely with few traffic 25 minutes. There is a LOT traffic in lima always. Closely there are a few nice districts but be careful not to run into the wrong one late at night. Miraflores I would say is safe in general but still I would always keep a guard as there are a lot of phone thieves! (I don't have experience but during my stay I've heard quite a few times that someones phone was stolen by the street, even the locals!) Well and to the nice things now: The BEST Ceviche you can get a bit further away but still in the same street as the housing at "Alfresco", the best logo saltado in a place called Domo (or Doomo) Saltado. Don't miss out on the small restaurants offering their menu del dia for 12-15 soles (3-3,75€) You get really full with pretty good food :)

3. Academic life at host university

The Campus is nice, the library pretty small compared to the WU but still always with room to sit. The food is better off the campus but there is really good and cheap options with the menu del dia just 5 minutes walking away. The teaching style is very different, you have a lot small tasks all the time in every course, you have 80% mandatory attendance in every course, which however is possible to stretch if you talk with the professors. Compared to Germany and Austria it feels more like a regular school class, some teachers are very authoritarian and don't like when you correct them or argue with them if they say something wrong or ask for a task they never assigned to you, but you learn to adapt to that fast. Sadly I was in the hospital during the week of exams fighting with a health issue which led to me not taking 3 exams, they can be retaken, however if you have already booked your return flight after the exams its difficult as they are all to be taken presential. That however is not the normal case! Luckily the work in the course counts way more than the exams, (usually the exam weighs 30% which allowed me to pass all my courses even without taking some of the exams, reaching effectively 0% on them. Overall I would say that completing all the tasks and reaching a good grade in the running course is easy if you put in the work, that is minding some exceptions where you can do everything as good as you can and deliver the best result of all and still the professor deducts points without proper explanation. This is a lot critic as it was a stressing point during my semester there, yet everything went well and I don't see it as that bad afterwards. However I think it's good to have heard that before attending the university there. And a big bonus is just always being nice to the professors no matter what the case is as they expect respect.

5. Every day life in the host country

I have never used public transportation as uber is really cheap and I had a group from my housing I could share every ride with. Miraflores is Safe, Baranco, san Isidro and Magdalena Del Mar right next to it are really safe too. In the night you should always be careful when alone and keep distance from small streets with no light and no plants. The people always said: when you see a lot green and people walking their dogs you are pretty safe. If a street is dangerous and ugly you can see and feel that too. The Erasmus Peru WhatsApp group offers a lot activities you can book and do with other international students. There were a lot people in a fight with that group for reasons I don't know, yet the trips were nicely organized and always fun, in that group also people write ideas and look for small groups for smaller or bigger trips. For the Erasmus Students also there are some Nighclubs with free entry, most of them in more dangerous areas, that is not a problem. Just go there by uber until the front door and order the uber home inside before you leave, in those areas you don't want to walk around in the night! I have never had issues doing it that way. There are nice options to go to smart fit, a local gym. However it's a more pricey activity which had cost me 20€ per month. Near to larcomar you can go down to the beach and enjoy good surf lessons for beginners, you can also go south by bus or uber and enjoy a more advanced surfing area. The Mountains in Peru are amazing for hiking, I would definitely recommend doing the Inca or Salkantay trail to get to Machu Picchu, which is pretty hard but worth every second :) There are also possibilities to do all different sports, Tennis, Padel football and basketball are more common, Just talk with the locals from the university and they can give you a lot tips.

6. Testimonial

I have made a lot friends and met a lot people I won't forget. The University life taught me a lot about cultural differences and especially work ethics, it allowed me to slow down and see everything from different perspectives. And it was incredible to see how many different foods, places, people and especially landscapes Peru has to offer. (I can't upload any pictures as the website won't let me)