Peru Hop day Trip

Table of Contents

Huacachina, Ica, Peru

Paracas, Province of Pisco, Ica, Peru

Lima, Peru

Peru Hop are a travel company based in South America that offer a hop-off bus service along with day trips. The hop-off bus service means that you can pay for a ticket for a longer journey, but choose when to get off at certain destinations. Spend a few days in Ica or Arequipa, or wherever else they stop, then catch the next bus to your next destination. We chose to do a day trip instead. This took us from Lima to Paracas and Ica, then back to Lima.

It’s important to keep in mind that it is a LONG day. Pick up from your hotel in the morning is between 5.30-6am and drop off after 11pm at night! Not something you would want to do with younger kids, but at 8 and 11 years old they coped well. Make sure you are at your hotel reception desk at the exact pick-up time you are given. Our bus was 10 minutes earlier, so definitely try and get there early if possible.

As tour operators Peru Hop have other day trips from Cusco including Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca, although some tours do involve overnight stays if you would like to experience more. The reason Peru Hop is different from public buses is that they aren’t just there to take you from A to B as fast as possible. Instead they take you to small hidden gems that are harder to get to via public bus companies. It’s important to note that Peru Hop has an unbeatable safety record with regular checks for safety to buses.

Peru Hop Review – Peru Hop Day Trip

The buses are a fleet of modern guide buses, complete with their own tour guide for every Peru Hop bus. They take you to famed destinations around Peru for a full day trip to trips of several nights to further flung destinations. You will also find Bolivia Hop buses that also do a whole day trip from La Paz, including to Copacabana. The bus drivers are used to the roads and with a large team of drivers there’s no worrying about whether your driver is too tired.

Each luxury bus is equipped with huge reclining seats and USB ports to charge up your devices. There was even a clean toilet available to use, good to have with kids! Our only issue with PeruHop was that the film they chose to play on the way back was not suitable for children, and with the sound so loud it was hard for them to ignore it. It would be great if something more family friendly could be played when children are present on the bus.

I had a small problem when booking the tickets online and accidentally put in the wrong month. Fortunately PeruHop were fantastic at quickly changing it across to the right date and sending over a new booking confirmation. Please note that we were told there was no need to take passports with us, but we were asked for our passports on the bus. Fortunately I had photos on my phone which could be used instead.

Ballestas Islands

First stop on the day trip is at the town of Paracas for the Ballestas Islands tours. Otherwise known as the poor man’s Galapagos. The islands are famed for their natural habitat that supports Humboldt penguins and Sea Lions. When we arrived at the Pacific beach town of Paracas at 9.30am we had a short break to go to the toilet and get a coffee or some snacks. Then the tour guide led us down to where the boats depart to the Ballestas Islands.

Normally you are taken for an hour boat tour of the islands. However, it was foggy when we arrived and so we weren’t able to go to the main islands. Instead we took the boat past the Paracas Candelabra, a prehistoric geoglyph similar to the Nazca Lines. After a short stop in the sea to take photos we went to the two closest islands of the Ballestas chain where we could see some sea lions and penguins, although not as many as on the larger islands.

Once back on land there is free time to get some lunch. PeruHop organised a lunch with a choice of meals at a nearby restaurant, which incurs an extra cost. However, I knew our two children wouldn’t eat any of the choices, so instead we found a nearby restaurant with more child friendly options.

Make sure you bring a jacket and perhaps a hat too for the boat trip, it can get a bit chilly!

Huacachina, Ica – Peru Hop Day Trip

Another hour on the bus and we were in the stunning desert oasis of Huacachina, a small oasis in the Atacama desert. Interestingly Huacachina is South America’s only desert oasis! On arrival everyone is directed to the hotel where there are toilets and bags can be safely stored. You certainly don’t want to be carrying a large bag around for the next part of the trip. Again you have some free time to grab some water or snacks and take a few photos of the oasis (don’t attempt to swim as the water is not clean!).

Dune Buggy

Your tour operator will divide the group into smaller groups of between 5-10 people to go the dune buggy. The dune buggy is a lot of fun if you enjoy being thrown about like on a rollercoaster. Myself, husband and 11 year old loved the dune buggy tour! Unfortunately the 8 year old, who also hates rollercoasters, did not like it! I think it was partly because he’s smaller and thrown around a lot more. He was absolutely fine when it was just going fast!

Sandboarding

The highlight of this trip was definitely sandboarding down the biggest sand dunes we had ever seen! The sandboarding tours involve going in the dune buggy to drive up and around the dunes (they are seriously crazy drivers!). Then we had fun sandboarding down various sizes of dunes. The 8 year old was a bit nervous on the first dune. Mainly after being quite angry and grumpy at me for taking him onto the dune buggy. Whoops! But the guide held the board from the front and got him to lie down on it before slowly taking him down the first part of the slope. Then he let go and the child was converted to sandboarding!

After the initial nerves of the first sand dune it was easy after that! Although the sand dunes did get progressively steeper with the best saved to last! Before we headed back the driver stopped so we could watch the sunset over the top of the incredible sand dunes. We all agreed it was a lot of fun in the desert, even if the youngest wasn’t keen on the dune buggies!

Peru Hop day Trip – Ballestas Islands and Huacachina Sandboarding Review

Peru Hop Day Trip