Lima: Paracas Reserve, Slave Tunnels & Ballestas Islands Full Day
Recommended by 97% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Lima, Peru
- 18 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Expand your awareness of Peruvian nature and culture on this guided tour to the Ballestas Islands and Paracas National Reserve from Lima. Take a boat tour of the Ballestas Islands and then tour the Paracas National Reserve in the afternoon, which hosts one of the world's highest concentrations of seabirds.
- Guided tour from Lima to the Ballestas Islands and Paracas National Reserve
- Boat tour of the Ballestas Islands, with opportunities to spot wildlife
- See where the desert meets the ocean on a tour of Paracas National Reserve
- Hotel pickup and drop-off from Lima included
What's Included
- Round-trip transport by air-conditioned restroom-equipped luxury
- Stay connected with high-speed onboard Wi-Fi (Only available through Peru Hop)
- Bilingual local host/guide throughout the day
- 2-hour Ballestas Islands speedboat tour
- Guided tour of Paracas National Reserve
- Guided visit to the Chincha Slave Tunnels (Hacienda San José)
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Miraflores, San Isidro, or Barranco
- All taxes and entrance fees included - no hidden charges
- Exclusive comfort - the only operator using luxury buses (others use small vans)
- Food and drinks
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
View the pickup list when booking to see if your hotel is included among the pickup points. If it is not on the list, choose “I'll decide later" or "My hotel is not on the list" and after booking let us know where you are staying. We will inform you whether we can pick you up directly at your hotel, or the nearest alternative. -Pick ups from hotels/hostels in San Isidro: between 5:05 am and 5:15 am -Pick ups from hotels/hostels in Miraflores: between 5:15 am and 6:00 am -Pick ups from hotels/hostels in Barranco: between 6:00 am and 6:20 am -Pick ups from hotels/hostels in the Airport and Lima downtown will be confirmed via chat
Operating hours.5:30 am
Itinerary
1
Miraflores
4 hours • Admission Ticket Free
2
Las Islas Ballestas
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
3
Paracas
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
4
Paracas National Reserve
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
5
Hacienda San José
4 hours • Admission Ticket Free
6
Lima
4 hours • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- The bus will arrive back in Lima around 11:30 pm - midnight
- The Only company with Luxury Buses for the long journey, others use small vans
- Minimum age: 8 years old – Must have parents permission
- Recommended: Treking or tennis Shoes (no flipflops allowed), Sunglasses, Hat, Sunscreen, Drinking water, Windbreaker jacket & warm clothes.
- The tour runs with slight adjustments during the following holidays: Easter weekend (April 2-5) and Peru's Independence Day celebrations (July 27-29). The pick-up time will be 1 hour before the usual time.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 40 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Jose_R
Really great tour, the guides Sol and Roberto were super chill and informative, excellent company to book with
Reviews
4.9
based on 693 reviews
Lurdys_G, Mar 2026
As others have stated there was some confusion at the beginning of the tour because there are 2-3 different itineraries being managed at the same time but once you get your bus assignment, everything else falls into place. The Ballastas islands were beautiful as well as the Paracas Reserve. Anna, our guide for this portion was sweet, helpful, and informative. While I enjoyed visiting the hacienda, I don’t think it was a necessary part of the trip —despite our visit I’m still going to have to use Google to understand the “slave tunnel” reference. Also, we didn’t stay that long because it was approaching sunset by the time we arrived. Perhaps it could be combined with the Paracas Reserve visit as a separate excursion and extended to include a meal as the grounds are very beautiful, often hosting weddings, quinceañeras, etc.
Andrew_F, Mar 2026
This is a very long day with lots of time in a bus. The Ballestras and Paracas preserve were worth going, but again it was a very long drive and much of it not on a highway. Peru Hop, Diego and Anna were excellent at guiding us that day. Know that there are different tours on the bus, which can be confusing but the guides are there to help, I would not also do the hacienda and slave tunnels on this trip, it made the day too long.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Hi Andrew,
Thank you for taking the time to share such detailed feedback. We’re really happy to hear that you enjoyed visiting the Ballestas Islands and the Paracas National Reserve, and that our team made the day a great and memorable experience.
We truly appreciate your suggestion as well. Your feedback is very valuable to us, and we will be sure to share it with our team so we can continue improving the experience and provide even clearer information for future travelers.
Warm regards,
Peru Hop
James_M, Feb 2026
Be ready for a very long bus ride to and from. At least the bus was very comfortable. Most people slept both ways. The three events were interesting. The hi-speed boat ride to the islands was a lot of fun and we did see a lot of wild-life. Mostly birds and sea-lions. It was great to see them in their natural habitat. The tour of the Paracas Reserve had some good scenery, but be ready to see basically nothing but desert sand. Pretty desolate. This is where the desert meets the ocean and presented some good sites. The final event….the slave tunnels, was also an unexpected experience. It’s pretty much away from the beaten trail, but worth the trip.
Miguel was a great guide and worked hard to be sure we understood the history and culture of each location.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Hi James,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience in such detail! We’re really glad to hear that you enjoyed the high-speed boat ride, the wildlife on the islands, and the unique visit to the slave tunnels, your honest impressions about the long bus ride and the contrasting desert scenery are extremely helpful for future travelers to set expectations.
It’s fantastic to know Miguel made a positive impact with his knowledge and attention, ensuring everyone appreciated the history and culture throughout the day. We’ll be sure to share your kind words with him and our team.
Warm regards,
Peru Hop
Jose_R, Jan 2026
Really great tour, the guides Sol and Roberto were super chill and informative, excellent company to book with
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Hi Jose,
Thank you so much for your kind words! We’re really happy to hear you had a great time with Sol and Roberto. They’ll be thrilled to read this 😊 Hope to see you again soon!
John_M, Oct 2025
Good communication via WhatsApp in the lead up to the trip but due to a number of people doing different tours on the coach there was some confusion and lack of information once the journey started. I would not recommend the buffet lunch option in Paracas as there are a number of better relaxed options around without the chaotic feeding frenzy we experience. The pick up and coach trip was good, as was the tour we selected. Juan Carlos was our guide for the return trip to Lima, he was great, very knowledgeable and helpful and made this an enjoyable trip. Definitely worth doing.
Angela_L, Mar 2025
We enjoyed seeing wildlife and beautiful geology of Ballistas islands. Nice lunch in Paracus as we waited for second activity. Hike in Paracus was moderately difficult, hiking up sand dunes/hillsides. I wouldn’t recommend for small children or people with mobility issues. Views from the top were spectacular and sunset as well. Tour guides were working hard to keep track of various tours for people on the bus. We were alerted that it would be a long time on the bus, and for us that was a bit long from Lima.
Response from Host, Mar 2025
Dear Angela
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience! We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the wildlife at the Ballestas Islands and the beautiful landscapes in Paracas. The views from the Golden Shadow Trek, especially at sunset, really are something special!
We also hope you had a comfortable journey on our luxury bus. Unlike many companies that use vans, we aim to provide a more spacious and relaxing ride.
We agree that the hike can be a bit challenging, especially for young children or those with mobility concerns, which is why we include this information in the tour description on our website and we appreciate you highlighting it as well.
Thanks again for your feedback. We are grateful you chose us for this adventure!
Peru Hop
Jeffrey_H, Sep 2024
Reviewing tour company and tour destination separately. The tour seemed to be well organized and Anna was a great tour guide full of interesting facts, especially about the slave tunnels. Ballestas Islands,unfortunately was pretty much a bust. We were told it was probably due to climate change and disease resulting in a majority of the animals disappearing, with no indication of any resurgence in the future. It was definitely not worth the time(7 hour bus round trip), effort or money.
Kelly_K, Sep 2024
I agree with other reviews that there is a lot of down time between activities, and we ended up having our visit to Paracas cut short to get back to Lima earlier for some reason. The main reason for my rating though was that the boats clearly got too close to the wildlife, especially the sea lions- this was causing them visible stress and they were clearly looking for a way to get away. But the boat stayed extremely close for many minutes regardless. I think this made other participants uncomfortable too, and I would encourage the tours to use this as an opportunity to teach respect for these amazing animals by staying a little further back, rather than prioritizing photographs of nervous animals.
Simon_S, Jul 2024
Islas Ballestas and Paracas were absolutely incredible - worth visiting without a doubt. This specific tour (full day excursion) was not well-organized. The schedule does not account for the need to eat dinner, and includes a random stop to a ranch in the middle of nowhere on your way back to Lim to visit catacombs. They should either get rid of the stop, or organize dinner at the ranch’s restaurant as part of the excursion.
Martin_B, Oct 2023
- [x] I found Peru Hop organized and a stress free way to move to somewhere new. I did the Isla Boat tour and the Paracas National Reserve tour, not the Oasis tour. The boat tour was amazing with the geoglyph and peninsula views, and of course the wildlife. What surprised me with the Paracas Reserve tour which ended up being an ATV tour of one. My guide was wonderful and I found the site breathtaking. I ended up not doing the other tours available, but I did enjoy some sunset views of Paracas.
Alexandra_F, Apr 2023
Everyone was nice but activities/tour weren’t the most exciting. You’re better off going to Huacachina or doing something else.
Ben_F, Feb 2023
Communication between tour guides and tourists was great. Sandra is so nice and pleasant. We always felt welcome. Beautiful experience!!
Raychel_A, Dec 2022
I really enjoyed the entire day. The Ballestas Islands are beautiful and worth seeing the birds and sea life such as penguins, sea lions and if your lucky dolphins. Paracas National Reserve is a must see, the desert landscape against the Pacific Ocean is incredible. The Pan-American highway south of Paracas was closed so instead we were taken to the sand dunes in jeep like sand buggies, it was a rough ride but amazing views and and adrenaline rush. We also had chance to sand board! Free time for lunch and dinner in Paracas. Our guide was wonderful as well. Great experience!!
Antonio_C, Sep 2022
This is not a tour. The provider Peru Hop operates a system of scheduled buses and they contract short duration activities locally. This means dependency on their bus schedule. I have spent 10h and 30min in Paracas and only 2h morning plus 2h and afternoon were busy, the rest 6h30m were waiting time. If this was a normal tour we would have been back after the activities, but instead the bus returns to Lima late at night only. Completely unacceptable. Also the activities and travel don’t have that team spirit, because random people hop on and off from different places and tours. I really don’t recommend booking this. Most reviews look good but pay attention they are about the other variant tour which includes the oasis Huacachina, not this one with the Paracas natural reserve in the afternoon. They messed up their reviews. On the other hand, nature around Paracas is really beautiful and if you can reach there by other means, do so.
kmespaldon64, Feb 2020
Very well organized and excellent tour guides. Diana and Johnny were very friendly and knowledgeable.
Pedro_B, Nov 2025
We went to the Ballestas Islands by speedboat, they take us to breakfast at a buffet at a good price, only it does not include drinks, they sell them separately, ask the cost, before requesting them, In the Paracas Reserve beautiful landscapes and buy the wonder of the world known as the Red Beach, then the bus takes them to the Hacienda San José, as a complement I recommend the African American museum in Lima that is free and located in Congress.
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Response from Host, Nov 2025
Hola!
Muchas gracias por compartir tu experiencia con nosotros. Nos alegra saber que disfrutaste las Islas Ballestas, el desayuno buffet y los hermosos paisajes de la Reserva de Paracas. Agradecemos mucho que menciones el detalle sobre las bebidas, será de gran ayuda para otros viajeros.
Nos alegra también que hayas disfrutado la visita a la Hacienda San José y agradecemos la recomendación del Museo Afroamericano en Lima, es un excelente complemento para quienes desean conocer más sobre la historia del país.
Gracias nuevamente por viajar con nosotros y por tomarte el tiempo de dejar tu comentario. Esperamos acompañarte en una próxima aventura.
Thomas_T, Jan 2024
Trajet super bien passé. Guide super!!!! Je recommande vivement . Nous pouvons apprendre beaucoup de choses sur les Isles ballestas
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Hola,
¡Gracias por tu comentario! Nos alegra saber que tu experiencia en el trayecto fue excelente y que disfrutaste de la guía. Apreciamos tu recomendación y esperamos volver a verte en el futuro para seguir compartiendo más sobre las Islas Ballestas.
Saludos,
Equipo Peru Hop
Pablo_G, Jul 2023
Bonita experiencia, dar las gracias especialmente a Cherly que fue la que nos enseñó la reserva de Paracas
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