Paracas, Peru
South America, Peru
I live in places instead of visiting them. Peru, Colombia, Portugal, Mexico. Teaching English, volunteering, learning the language on the ground, then writing up what it actually took: the combi you need, the price people really pay, the office hours nobody posts. I write the same field notes at Vibing with Locals.
- Total cost
- US$42What the trip cost them
- Days needed
- 1
- Go between
- Dec to Mar
- Pace
- —
A two hour boat out of El Chaco port to the Ballestas Islands. Sea lions, pelicans, Humboldt penguins on the cliffs. Worth a full day, not a layover.
6 of 9 sections are free to read.
The Verdict
Paracas is a small port town four hours south of Lima that most people use as a layover on the way to Huacachina or Nazca. Give it a full day. The Ballestas boat is two hours, costs 35 to 50 soles, and you see sea lions, pelicans and Humboldt penguins.
Two hours on the water out of El Chaco
Getting There
Lima to Paracas is about four hours south on the Pan-American highway. Cruz del Sur and Peru Hop both run it. Cruz del Sur is cheaper and drops you at the bus terminal. Peru Hop costs more and drops you in town, which matters if you arrive late. Buses leave Lima early morning and around midday. Take the early one. The boat goes in the morning, so an afternoon arrival costs you a day. In town everything is walkable. El Chaco port, the agencies and the restaurants sit in the same few streets along the water. Going on to Huacachina afterwards is about an hour and a half further south by bus. Paracas, then Huacachina, then Nazca is the standard order and it works.
Sea lions, and penguins standing on the cliffs like commuters
Staying
A cheap room in El Chaco Budget per night
The Month
The boat runs all year. The sea decides how pleasant it is. December to March is the southern summer. Warmer, calmer water, better light, and the busiest months. June to August the wind picks up and the mornings are grey and cold on the water. The wildlife is still there. You will just be colder than you expect, which is the single most common mistake here. Whatever the month, go on the morning boat. Afternoon sailings get choppier as the wind builds through the day, and the light flattens out against the cliffs.
The Receipt
One full day in Paracas including the boat. Soles converted at roughly 3.7 to the dollar. The Monster line is two dollars over the going rate and I have left it at what I actually paid.
What Went Wrong
I sat at the bow because it looked better. Two hours of spray. Everyone mid boat stayed dry and I spent the afternoon drying out a jumper. I underdressed. Full sun, cold wind, and I was in a t shirt watching people in jackets enjoy themselves more than me. I treated Paracas as a layover on the first pass and gave it three hours. It deserves a full day. The boat is the headline but the town in the evening, with the fishing boats in and the light going pink over the bay, is the part people skip. Then the Monster. A vendor at the pier charged me about two dollars over what it should have been. I noticed. I thought about saying something. I paid it and walked off, and I have thought about that decision more than most things I have paid for. Here is the rule I took from it. There is a working price and there is a chancer's price. The working price is what a local pays plus the small margin that keeps a stall alive, and you pay it without arguing. The chancer's price is triple, and you can walk. The difference becomes legible after a few weeks in a country. Before that, pay and move on. Two dollars is not worth being the foreigner arguing on a pier.
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Background by Meg von Haartman on Unsplash