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Ballestas Islands and Paracas National Reserve Day Trip from Paracas
Paracas, Peru
- 7 hours
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Get up close and personal with the rich array of marine life that inhabits the waters and rocky shores of Peru during this full-day trip to the Ballestas Islands and Paracas National Reserve. Start your morning with a boat ride to the Ballesta Islands, stopping to check out the Candelabra geoglyph and observe the wild array of species like Humboldt penguins, Peruvian boobies (birds), sea lions and sometimes even dolphins that inhabit the area. In the afternoon continue your trip at Paracas National Reserve, observing the area’s Andean flamingos, whales, and other wildlife. Your trip also includes the services of a guide.
- See native wildlife in their natural environment
- Travel by boat to the Ballestas Islands
- Observe flamingos, sea lions, penguins, and more
- Led by an English-speaking guide
What's Included
- Ballestas Islands Boat Ride
- Paracas National Reserve Tour
- English-speaking guides
- Paracas National Reserve Entrance Fee (11 Soles)
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Paracas, Paracas, Ica Region
Departure Point: Paracas Local Office (Paracas Explorer Office in Paracas located inside the Ballestas Island hotel, A.H.ALAN GARCIA PEREZ mz -LT 9 EL CHACO) Address: Paracas Explorer Office in Paracas located inside the Ballestas Island hotel, A.H.ALAN GARCIA PEREZ mz -LT 9 EL CHACO)
Start time
08:00 AM
End point
- Paracas, Peru
Paracas city centre
What To Expect
Ballestas Islands
2 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included
Paracas National Reserve
4 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Suggestions for Ballestas Islands Boat Tour: Make sure you bring adequate clothing to keep you protected from the cool ocean air, the sun and spray from the sea. Bring a pair of binoculars to get a closer look at the birds and sea lions. If you are prone to motion sickness, you should take medication about a half-hour before you board.
- Suggestions for Paracas National Reserve Tour: If you are taking this day tour during summer (December to March), please bring an extra set of fresh clothing due to high temperatures, especially during January and February. For the rest of the year, please bring a jacket to protect you from cold winds. Sun block, hat and sunglasses are highly recommended.
- Not recommended for child aged 6 and under
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 19 travelers
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
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Reviews
4.0
30 reviews
Kristen_T, Jan 2018
The Ballesta Islands were AMAZING! There was an abundance of sea lions and birds. We even saw crabs and starfish and penguins. The National Reserve wasn't was excited as I expected and the lunch was crazy expensive, but overall, a very good tour.
Kaisa Liisa H, Jul 2017
Very professional and inspiring guides both for English and Spanish speaking customers. Both Ballestas Islands and Paracas National Reserve trips were perfectly scheduled and guided. With the help of positive attitude of the guides people started to chat with each other as if we had been friends already before.
Jericho_L, Dec 2016
Ballestas Islands tour was worth it, but the Paracas National Reserve was not.
Ballestas Islands tour good:
Got you up close to the animals.
Boat slowed down for pictures.
Various locations visited.
Neat information from tour guide.
The bad:
Wear wind-proof jacket and a hat as it is both sunny, windy and chilly.
Likely to get pooped on by birds as a few people did.
Paracas National Reserve tour good:
A few nice viewpoints if you don't have much ocean / desert experience.
The bad:
Tour guide only gave 30 minutes at the first location that had 3 sights to see and told us we only had time for ONE. Picking one was difficult and left you sad you missed out on the other two. Could have time to see anthropology museum, natural history museum, or walk to beach and see flamingos. Definitely not enough time for all 3, or even 2. This was very upsetting to many people including myself. Side Opinion: museums were terrible, go see flamingos.
Visited 3 viewpoints and were all pretty much similar scenery and it got old fast.
Last stop was a 2 hour waste at a very overpriced seafood restaurant that we couldn't afford anything.
No bathrooms, not even at restaurant. Dock near restaurant had pay-for bathrooms that were dirty and no running water.
Save your time and money. Get the islands tour and take a taxi into the reserve to look at viewpoints and museums if you'd like.
Ernest L, Oct 2016
Nice trip to see over 250,000 birds and desert wonder.
Wojciech_W, Jul 2016
The tour was great. We had Ballestas first and we could see all the animals we had been promised. And we could come very close. The tour of Paracas Reserve was to follow. We had a knowledgeable guide - Eduardo, who was really passionate and told us a lot about history and nature of the beauty spot.
Maria R, Jun 2016
Stunning islands and spectacular desert and beaches. The biodiversity in Peru is incredible and encapsulated in this quick tour, from birds to sea lions to penguins. The tour included a delicious though pricey seafood lunch.
Carrie C, May 2016
I recommend this tour. The boat ride was very interesting and informative. We saw many animals and had a lot of fun. Only downfall is that the boat ride is very rough... so if you get seasick, I recommend taking Dramamine. After, we had a bit of time to explore before the Paracas tour. That was good because we got to grab something to eat in between. The Paracas tour was a little less put together, but interesting nonetheless. We spent a lot of time at the visitor center, but then got rushed through the rest of the tour. My favorite part was the red sand beach and we didn't even get to stay there for 10 minutes because they rushed us so much. We ended in a little beachside town where we were basically coerced into eating at a restaurant of their choice, which was very expensive. Overall, it was still a lot of fun and was very informative and worth the money.
Bryan K, Apr 2016
Unfortunately due to high winds the boat trip to the islands was cancelled so I can't review that part. They did offer to take us the next day but we had to catch a bus back to Lima. The reserve tour was interesting. We stopped at several locations and got some great pictures. We were the only English speaking people on the bus, but the guide made sure to repeat everything to us so we understood. Overall worth seeing as it is very unique from the other parts of Peru.
carlos c, Mar 2016
It was good , but comparing to ushuaia in argentina is not so good. The boats are far from the animals
ins_B, Dec 2022
C'était très sympa surtout nous laisser le temps de se baigner l'après-midi. Je pense juste que le restaurant devrait rester facultatif car attendre 1h30 au soleil que les gens aient fini de manger c'est long.
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Ballestas Islands and Paracas National Reserve Day Trip from Paracas
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