Lima is the capital and largest city in Peru. It has a diverse mix of cuisine and cultures throughout the city. There are many museums and beautiful architecture to explore. We stayed in an AirBnB that was within a few blocks of a hub full of restaurants, outdoor markets, and a square. One of our favorite parts of visiting Peru was going on the Huacachina Oasis tour!

Paracas Tour

We took a Paracas boat tour to see the sea lions and penguins. The boat itself was a little concerning but they gave us life jackets and it seemed to hold up just fine. The boat drove around old ships that had sea lions and tons of birds on top of it. Once we got the small cliffs we got to see the itty tiny penguins that were adorable. They explained how they have “the best sh*t” because of the bird poop that covers much of the area. A couple hundred years ago, they exported the bird poop as a fertilizer due to its high levels of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium. It is apparently good luck if you get pooped on by the birds (it happened to the people right behind us on the boat). Overall, we really liked this tour.

Huacachina Oasis Tour

This tour was so much fun! We got to ride in dune buggies and go sandboarding. There were a few different sized dune buggies and they all looked to be in good to great condition. I was a little sad as some appeared to go faster than others. I would recommend wearing sunglasses or having a scarf to help cover your face. The sand can feel a bit aggressive at times. The sandboarding starts at a smaller hill then you work your way up to the bigger ones. If you crash or accidentally let the board hit the ground a certain way then you’ll likely get a face full of sand. The best boards had the better hand grips so you had a little more control with less opportunity to crash. There is a spot where they let you take photos on top of the buggies with the Huacachina Oasis view. The area also had a few restaurants allowing us to sit down for a bite to eat after the adventure.

Recommendations for

Huacachina Oasis

Items I would recommend bringing for these tours: scarf, sunglasses, jacket for the boat, wet wipes (in case you get lucky with the birds), and motion sickness medicine. We chose to take the tour starting in Lima and returning to Lima. There was an option to start Lima and end in Cusco. This is a good choice if you are planning to go to both towns by saving you a plane ride.

The City

Staying in Lima was for sure interesting. To start with, our AirBnB was on the 5th floor. Which like no big deal, except the 4th floor led out to a roof. From here there was a slick spiral staircase that led to our room. That was not the most fun for carrying our bags up. It did require a code to get into…and out of (which like what if there was a fire? That would suck to try to remember the code while trying to get out). We were able to walk to the square close by to get dinner. A couple of streets were blocked off with little markets and restaurants. One of my favorite parts was in the square was a gazebo/amphitheater where for over an hour guys had a rap battle surrounded by a crowd. The city itself was nice, very similar to many other big cities we have been to.

Below is a link for the tour we mentioned in this post!

If you are going to Peru, we would love to chat about our experiences!

Want to read more about adventures in Peru, click here — The Full Experience of Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley, Peru or Machu Picchu Inca Trail 2-Day Excursion.

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