Paracas & Huacachina Day Trip: Islands, Wine & Desert Tour

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.00 (3 reviews)

Free cancellation

1/8

Duration15h 30m

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Sea lions and penguins at dawn, pisco at noon, sand dunes at sunset.

A full-day tour from Lima combines a 90-minute boat trip to the Ballestas Islands to watch sea lions and Humboldt penguins in their habitat, a pisco and wine tasting at Bodega Huarango in the Ica region, and desert adventure sports at the Huacachina Oasis. The guide speaks English or Spanish, pickup is included from your Lima hotel at 4am, and the group stays under 20 people per bus. Breakfast and lunch are included; lunch at the winery is your choice and paid on-site.

15h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Paracas and Huacachina Day Trip

Pickup from hotel early morning
Travel south to Paracas
Boat tour to Ballestas Islands
Tasting of local sweets
Lunch at winery in Ica
Visit Bodega Huarango winery and pisco tasting
Free time at Huacachina Oasis
Buggies ride and sandboarding in Huacachina
Return travel from Ica to Lima

The Experience

The day starts before sunrise. Your guide and driver arrive at your hotel at 4am for the drive south to Paracas. By 9:30am you're boarding a boat to the Ballestas Islands, a set of rocky outcrops off the Peruvian coast where sea lions haul out on the rocks and Humboldt penguins nest in the crevices. The boat ride lasts roughly 90 minutes—long enough to see the animals move and hear them, short enough that the swell doesn't wear on you. On the way back to shore you pass the Canyon of the Lost, a narrow gorge carved into the cliffs.

By late morning you're in Ica, the region known for pisco production. First comes a free tasting of chocotejas and local sweets, then at 1:30pm you arrive at Bodega Huarango, an artisan winery where you taste pisco and learn how it moves from grape harvest to distillation. Lunch at the winery restaurant is optional and paid directly—the tour covers breakfast earlier in the day, but the midday meal is on you. The winery visit gives you time to understand what makes Peruvian pisco distinct from other grape spirits.

At 2:30pm you reach the Huacachina Oasis, a lagoon surrounded by towering sand dunes in the middle of the desert. You get about 30 minutes to walk around and take photos, then from 3pm onward you're in the action: a buggy ride across the dunes and sandboarding down them, both activities lasting roughly an hour combined. The return drive to Lima takes the evening, with arrival between 9:30pm and 10pm. Only a small backpack or suitcase up to 10kg per person fits on the bus, so pack light for the day.

What’s included

Hotel pickup in Lima at 4am.
breakfast and the boat tour of the Ballestas Islands.
free tasting of local sweets and pisco at Bodega Huarango winery.
entry to the Huacachina Oasis.
buggy ride and sandboarding in the desert.
return transport to Lima.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyNot for heart conditionsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by TraveleaPeru

Is this one for you?Book this if you're connecting Paracas, Ica, and Huacachina in one day and need a set itinerary that coordinates boat times, winery hours, and activity slots—the schedule locks everything together so you move between regions without gaps or overlap.