Ballestas Islands from San Martin Port CRUISESHIP TERMINAL
Description
Taking the Ballestas Islands tour directly from San Martín Port is the ideal choice for cruise passengers seeking a seamless and enriching shore experience. Our service begins just steps from your ship, eliminating the need for the cruise shuttle or extra transport. Designed to perfectly match cruise schedules, the tour ensures your timely return while offering a breathtaking encounter with nature. In just minutes, you'll reach the Paracas pier and embark on a boat journey to witness sea lions, Humboldt penguins, dolphins, and the iconic Candelabra geoglyph etched into the coastal hillside. Operated by a fully authorised local company with modern transport and experienced guides, the tour guarantees comfort, safety, and a personal touch. Booking directly with us means no middlemen, better value, and dedicated customer support from start to finish.
Tour Options
Itinerary
You will be met by our guide at 9:15am at San Martin Port, then you will be transferred to Paracas town, at this point you will meet the rest of the group and board our speedboat to begin the adventure to the stunning Ballestas Island. On the way you will stop at the Paracas peninsula to see the enigmatic figure of the Candelabro, a stunning design drawn on the side of a hill in the Peninsula. Nobody knows for sure who did it or why. There are many hypotheses regarding its origin, some believe it is related to the Nazca Lines but still found no proof or evidence that can define its creation. Afterwards, you'll head off to Ballestas Island, where you will see a stunning world filled with birds and sea lions. Here, you'll visit the three islands at a distance allowed, navigating inside some caves, depending on the condition of the sea. On your return to the port, you will board our vehicle to drive back to San Martin port to re-join your ship.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- If your ship has a delay in arriving, we strongly suggest to notify us three to four days in advance so we can arrange a new pick up time. We also suggest you to keep checking your emails in case the pickup time changes.
- Printed travel voucher or E-travel voucher along with your passport or any ID its required before boarding (verification purpose only).
Reviews(40)
The boat ride was great! Fiorella and Captain Oscar are a great guides. We even saw two whales (mother and baby) on the way back. The weather was perfect. It truly was worth every penny. However, the "only land" experience was very mid. No food, no water. We were left to our own devices for about 30-45 mins, with nothing to do. Weird. That's why I'm removing one star. But the birds and sea lions are totally worth it.
Thank you very much for your review and for sharing your experience with us. We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed the boat ride and that Fiorella and Captain Oscar helped make the trip special. Seeing whales, especially a mother and baby, is always a wonderful and memorable moment, and we are glad the weather was perfect for your visit. Regarding the land portion of the tour, we would like to clarify that this tour does not include food or drinks. At the end of the Ballestas Islands excursion, our guide informed the group that there would be approximately 40 minutes of free time in Paracas. This time is provided so that visitors can walk around the town, explore a little more of the area, buy souvenirs, or choose a place to eat or drink if they wish. In our tours we intentionally do not include meals, as this helps avoid any potential issues if a particular food does not suit someone. Instead, we prefer to give travellers the flexibility to choose where and what they would like to eat. Our guides are always happy to give suggestions, but we leave the final choice to each guest so they can enjoy something that suits their preferences. 🍽️ Thank you again for joining the tour and for your feedback. We truly appreciate it and hope to welcome you again in the future.
Excellent boat tour of Candelabro and Ballestas Islands. Fascinating places. Unfortunately overall experience was not 5 star due to lack of organization. We met tour operator just after getting off of the ship right on the pier. Perfect. Took a while for them to figure out who was on which tour. But the big issue was when we finished the boat ride. We were supposed to be returned to the ship by the tour operator. Didn't happen. No one assisted us. Luckily we were able to figure out how to get to the shuttle bus provided by the cruise line. That issue needs to be fixed.
The duration of the excursion was more than 4 hours, because on our return to the port, the guide gave us 2 hours in the town of Paracas to walk and shop. The visit to Ballestas Island was very interesting and appreciated. Our guide Marco even stopped us in another peninsula to take pictures of the beautiful scenery before we returned to the boat.
An amazing tour, with a wonderful guide. Brenda is an absolute treasure. We only booked less than 24 hours ago. To have missed out on this experience would have been a travesty. We will return to Peru.
Excellent tour with personable and competent guide. Met at the port right off the ship. Really enjoyed.
An informative day with Marco, our guide, who pointed out each species of bird, several hidden marine creatures, and sea lions. The bus was waiting outside our ship and we left on time. It was a sunny, warm day but the advice to bring a jacket for the wind on the ride to the islands was good. We spent a nice long time floating around the islands to observe and photograph the animals. Seeing the Candelabra was a special treat and Marco shared several theories about its origin. At the end of the boat tour he brought a number of us to a very good restaurant for local seafood.
Our guide was very eager to make the tour memorable to everyone, and it was. We would definitely recommend this tour.
We had a great tour. It took about two hours total. The boat ride to the islands was about 30 minutes each way. We saw lots of birds, including penguins and pelicans. We also saw hundreds of sea lions. The guide seemed quite knowledgeable.
Booked the tour about a month before the cruise and the trip could not go any more smoothly. Price was outstanding and was about $200 less per person than the same tour offeered by Princess. Jose and his staff were at the pier as promised and took us for a short drive to the boat in Paracas for the tour bypassing several other groups that were waiting for their boat. His staff was excellent inculding our guide Olinka (sp?) who knew her stuff and was easy to understand. I must confess some apprehension as Princess warned us that independent operators could not enter the port area (false) though they alerted us to the same situation in Lima (Callao). He and his staff met us at the gangway in Paracas as promised. We did not see any independnet operators in Lima. Jose and his saff ushered through the entire boarding process and did the same when our boat returned. The boat carrying approximately 40 people was in great condition and the cpatain did a wonderful job showing us the wildlife and guano fields. He made certain that both sides of the boat had ample opportunity to see the wildlife and take pictures. We had a brilliant sunny day and the canopy on the boat shielded us from the sun. Highly recommended as Jose was responsive to several emails with detailed explanations. At the conclusion of the tours my wife decided to return back to the ship with their return transfer whike I stayed in gthe small town for lunch and shopping. His restaurant recommendation as spot on as well--Muna. My only recommendation to the tour operator is that they encourage people to provide voluntary tips to both the guide and the boat captain. I was surprised that very few people and I mean very few people gave tips. The trip was outstanding and I highly recommend the company--job very well done. If I return, I would book them again for other trips without any hesitation. For those arriving by ship, book them!
Just a really fun tour best we had in the seventeen days we were gone. We saw Penguins, sea lions, some of the others saw whales, I missed that they were on the other side of the boat. The caves were so interesting to see what water can do to rock over the years. Great tour don’t miss this one.
