Paracas, Ballestas Islands and Huacachina Tour from Lima
Description
Get ready for a complete adventure in Ica and its surroundings! In addition to the excitement of the Huacachina dunes, your trip includes a visit to the stunning Ballestas Islands, in the beautiful Paracas National Reserve. Here you will embark on an exciting boat tour around the islands, where you will witness Peru's incredible marine biodiversity. As you sail through the crystal-clear waters, you will be able to admire colonies of playful sea lions resting on the rocks, seabirds such as Humboldt penguins, and thousands of seagulls, pelicans, and boobies that make this place their home. Also, don't miss the iconic Candelabro, an enigmatic figure carved in the sand that dominates the coast and whose origin is still a mystery. Book now and combine the best of the desert, ocean, and adventure in one spectacular adrenaline-filled trip!
Tour Options
Itinerary
Initial boarding point. It is located at the intersection of Av. Larco and Armendariz, in front of the Larcomar Shopping Center. The trip to Paracas will take approximately 3 hours.
We will arrive in Paracas around 9:30 am, and then board the boat for the tour to Ballestas Island.
Boat ride to the Ballestas Islands to see sea lions and Humboldt penguins in their natural habitat. There we will have a tour of approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes, where we will also be told about the famous and mysterious "Candelabro" that we will see on the hill, as well as all the marine fauna that inhabits the place.
We will depart from Paracas to the Nietto Wine and Pisco Winery for a delicious lunch and tasting. The trip lasts 1 hour and is enlivened by the vehicle.
In this place we will be able to enjoy the best of Peruvian cuisine. Then, we will try the most delicious Peruvian wines and piscos, we will have a very fun and relaxing time.
We will visit the famous Huacachina Oasis in Ica before entering the desert with 4x4 buggies. We will be able to appreciate its enigmatic shape while we board the dune buggies.
It's time for the extreme part of the excursion and where your adrenaline will be at its limit. We will jump over the most beautiful dunes in sand trucks and then at the top of the dunes you can go sandboarding.
From Ica, we will begin our return on a full day full of adrenaline back to the starting point in Lima. The return trip takes approximately 4 hours and may vary slightly in case of traffic congestion in Lima.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We start pick-up at hotels in Miraflores and at 5:00 am at the Frontis of the JW Marriott Miraflores hotel (no additional cost). We can also coordinate pick-up at hotels in San Isidro, Miraflores and Barranco (additional cost).
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- In case you wish to pick up from Miraflores hotels, this will cost an additional $10 per person.
Reviews(20)
I had so much fun, the wine tasting & food were exceptional. The sand boarding experience was so thrilling, it reminds me of Dubai. We also got to see, the sea lions, and penguins. My guide was so friendly, informative, and always made sure I was good. I Highly recommend this tour. Great experience.
We’re delighted to hear you had such a great time — from the wine tasting and delicious food to the thrilling sandboarding adventure and wildlife encounters. It’s wonderful that it reminded you of Dubai! We truly appreciate your kind words about your guide and your recommendation. It was a pleasure having you with us, and we hope to see you again soon for another amazing experience in Peru! 🇵🇪✨
Terrible. We were confirmed and booked for 10/7/25. And pick up time as said on the confirmation message starts at 5am. We woke up at 345am to prepare ourselves and took the uber to the meeting place JW Marriott at 430am.We waited and waited and tried to call the Milenario tour operator but no answer. My husband got the message from Elver Jhon Llacza Chuco from the tour company 7 minutes before 6am that the booking was cancelled and they already had 2 buses out for the day. What the h…k! They never sent us a cancellation message the day before. They wasted our time, and Elver Jhon Llacza Chuco sent an apology and said they committed human error. The h…k! I don’t recommend thos Milenario company, can’t be trusted.
Dear traveler, We are truly sorry for what happened on the morning of your tour. You are absolutely right — this situation should never have occurred, and we completely understand your frustration after waking up early and waiting without proper notice. The cancellation was due to a human error in our internal scheduling system, and we sincerely regret not informing you in advance. This was not the level of service we aim to provide, nor does it reflect how we usually operate. Please accept our deepest apologies for the inconvenience caused to you and your husband. We have already reviewed our procedures to ensure that this kind of mistake does not happen again. We truly value your time and trust, and although we failed to deliver on this occasion, we hope you will allow us the opportunity to make it right if you ever return to Peru. Kind regards,
It was exciting and full of information about the Peruvian history. Great entertainment and fun activities. Thank you for the friendly helpful hosts.
Thank you so much for your kind words! We’re very happy to know you enjoyed the tour, the historical insights, and our fun activities. Our team truly appreciates your visit and your trust in us. We hope to welcome you again on your next trip to Peru! 🇵🇪
Fantastic... wonderful place, sea lions, penguins, lots of birds, all very beautiful. Boat trip with exceptional guide. Then we went to the two with bugs, good muuuuito. Beautiful place. Excellent guides. Super recommend.
Muito obrigado por sua avaliação tão gentil! 🌊 Ficamos muito felizes em saber que você gostou do passeio, dos guias e das belezas naturais do lugar. É sempre um prazer receber visitantes tão entusiasmados. Esperamos vê-lo novamente em uma próxima viagem ao Peru! 🇵🇪
The trip is great and fun. The time control is perfect. So we can catch the midnight flight home smoothly. The customer service and guide are both very understanding and caring.
Thank you for your kind feedback! We’re glad you enjoyed the trip and that everything went smoothly with your flight. Hope to see you again in Peru! 🇵🇪
Adventurous dunes, beautiful scenery, and an expensive restaurant. Nice tour guide and great driver.
Thank you for your kind review! We’re glad you enjoyed the dunes and our team. We appreciate your feedback about the restaurant — it helps us get better every day. 🇵🇪
I was in agreement with what they offer, compliance, Ballestas Island is the best, the hotel restaurant is very good, the guide was very kind and helpful, to improve I had more expectations in the pisco tour, since I needed to know the manufacturing process
¡Gracias por su reseña! 😊 Nos alegra mucho que haya disfrutado de Isla Ballestas y de la atención de nuestra guía. Apreciamos su sugerencia sobre el tour de piscos y trabajaremos en mejorar esa parte. ¡Esperamos verlo pronto en otra aventura con nosotros! 🇵🇪
It was a beautiful and safe experience. My tour guide, Valeria, was very attentive. They were very punctual at pickup time, I really liked that
If you have a chance to take a tour with another operator do it. The guide did not show mastery of the itinerary, omitting information about the stops and their times, nor did it maintain a line in the story he made during the tour. Personally I selected this experience to meet Pisco Nietto and the tasting ended up being somewhere else, where there was disorder at the time of charging for lunches. The weather in Huacachina is very short and disorganized, the activities are after lunch and are a bit heavy. The best was the tour to the Islands, where the guide of the place (Rocio), provided a great experience telling the peculiarities of the Islands and their fauna. The bus was very small, next to me was a large person and we were both very uncomfortable.
Excellent tour times, all very organized and fulfilled the itinerary Javiar the guide very attentive and always kept the group informed and organized
