Cruz del Sur
Cruz del Sur is a bus company in Peru that operates all over the South and North of Peru. Get information on all their routes, buses and schedules below.
CRUZ DEL SUR OVERVIEW AND HISTORY
Cruz del Sur has been operating in the Peruvian market for over 50 years and has become of one of the best bus companies in Peru. With a focus on quality, they were market leaders in tourist terms until around 2015, when the new Peru Hop service began with its focus on providing the best bus service to tourists in Peru. Up until 2015, it was Cruz del Sur that carried the majority of tourists across Peru on their excellent buses, and to this day, a lot of tourists still use the Cruz del Sur bus service.
CRUZ DEL SUR: TYPES OF BUSES IN OPERATION
Cruz del Sur have various different types of buses, from the most modern buses with personal TV screens and cama (bed) seats, to more economical and basic buses.
Below is a summary of the types of buses they use:
- Cruzero Suite: Cruz del Sur´s best buses. 2 levels, 39 cama seats, personalised TV screens (although with limited movies)
- Cruzero Plus: 2 levels with 1st floor cama seats and 2nd floor semi-cama seats
- Cruzero Evolution: 2 levels with 1st floor cama seats and 2nd floor semi-cama seats. All seats with super soft sponge foam
- Cruzero Tour: 2 levels all with semi-cama seats.
- Ica Express: 1 floor bus with semi-cama seats – only used on short journeys to and from Ica
CRUZ DEL SUR: ARE THEY SAFE?
Cruz del Sur are usually quite safe however bus hijackings have been taking place over the last 5 years on their Lima-Ica-Nazca-Cusco Route. The main reason for this is that Cruz del Sur, like most other public bus companies in Peru, always crosses the Andes mountains when going between Lima and Cusco and vice versa. This is the quickest route (it saves about 5 hours compared to going the longer way via Arequipa) however as the bus cross the middle of the Andes, they lose GPS signal. Local thieves are aware of this, and so using a local person on board, they coordinate the arrival of the bus to a certain point and put big rocks in the middle of the road which grinds the bus to a halt. They then proceed to threaten the driver with their guns until they open the doors and let them on board to steal credit cards, passports, laptops etc of all the tourists on board.
This unfortunately is quite common on this route and Oltursa, Civa and other famous companies have also experienced the same issues. It is why tourist companies like Peru Hop always use the longer route via Arequipa, however local Peruvians need to get to their destination quicker, and so this is why Cruz del Sur and other bus companies operate this quicker but more dangerous route.
BUS ROUTES AND SCHEDULES COVERED BY CRUZ DEL SUR
Cruz del Sur cover most of the major bus routes across Peru.
If you are looking for a bus on any of the following routes, see our link for information as to whether Cruz del Sur covers that route or not
- BUSES FROM AREQUIPA – Cruz del Sur cover most major routes from Arequipa such as Arequipa to Lima and Arequipa to Cusco
- BUSES FROM LIMA – Cruz del Sur cover Lima to Cusco and Lima to Arequipa as well as Northern Routes to Mancora
- BUSES FROM CUSCO – Finished Machu Picchu? Cruz del Sur have buses from Cusco to Arequipa and Cusco to Lima
- BUSES FROM ICA – Going sandboarding in Huacachina (near Ica). Cruz del Sur have buses running in all directions!
CRUZ DEL SUR – THE BEST BUS COMPANY IN PERU?
In one of our other articles, we analysed if indeed Cruz del Sur was the best company in Peru. You can read more about it here.
CRUZ DEL SUR – DO WE RECOMMEND TAKING CRUZ DEL SUR?
The answer to this question is yes and no! If traveling to the North of Peru (to Mancora or Truilljo for example) then yes Cruz del Sur is highly recommended. However, if you plan to travel in the South of Peru (to Cusco, Arequipa and Ica) then Peru Hop is a much safer and better bus company in our opinion.
Do you agree with us? Have you ever taken a Cruz del Sur bus? Or maybe you have taken another company not mentioned in our article? Let us know in the comments section!
