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Atmospheric landscape Peru

Coastal Road to Nazca

Bite-sized trip

  • Itinerary:
    Lima - Huacachina - Islas Ballestas - Nazca - Arequipa
  • Duration:
    5 days / 4 nights (flexible)
  • Price:
    From £ 401.- pp (excluding flights)
Take your time travelling along Peru's weird and wonderful coast, a surreal mix of enigmatic etchings, giant sand dunes, sea lion colonies and desert lagoons. Surf down the golden dunes and drift around the Islas Ballestas, spotting wild dolphins and penguins as you sail. It’s a bizarre and beautiful adventure. Whisking you from Lima to Arequipa over five days, you'll stop at the oasis town of Huacachina and have the chance to see the mysterious Nazca Lines.
Nazca Lines Peru
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Day 1 – Lima – Huacachina

This morning you’ll travel by Royal Bus from Lima to Ica, which takes around five hours and follows the coastal road. On arrival, you’ll be transferred to Huacachina, a tropical lagoon set in the centre of a desert. Your hotel is a real little hideaway, nestled amidst the pastel-coloured houses that huddle around the lagoon. Scale the sand dunes in time for sunset and sip on a Pisco Sour.

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Day 2 – Islas Ballestas excursion

This morning you’ll get up close to the Islas Ballestas. Inhabited only by animals, these islands are crammed coast to coast with seals, iguanas, sea lions, pelicans, penguins and dozens of other birds. Passing just metres from the shore, you’ll get a great close-up glimpse of the wildlife. Afterwards, you can explore Huacachina at your own pace, try a traditional lunch or ride the dunes on a sand board.

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Day 3 – Huacachina – Nazca

Next up you’ll hop on the bus to Nazca, home of an ancient mind-boggling mystery. You’ll stay in a cosy hotel with swimming pool in the centre of town, a friendly tourist mecca for travellers itching to see the fabled lines, geometric figures and plant drawings that criss-cross the desert. Nobody knows how these etchings got here, and the mystery throws a magical atmosphere over the whole area.

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Day 4-5 Free time in Nazca & departure

Today you’ll be free to explore Nazca. You have a couple of options to see the lines – either take the local bus to the viewing tower 20km north of Nazca, or book a 30-minute flight to get a birds-eye view. We can’t book this in advance, so make sure you do a little research on which company to use.

Towards the end of the afternoon, you’ll be transferred to the bus station to catch the overnight bus to Arequipa, which takes about 10 hours on the sleeper service. Arequipa lies at an altitude of 2300m and, with an average temperature of 20-25C and sunshine all year round, it’s a lovely place to spend a couple of days adjusting to the altitude.

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Accommodation

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Coastal Road to Nazca

For this bite-sized trip we offer the following options

Swimming pool accommodation exterior Peru
Twin bed room Peru
Garden balcony accommodation exterior
Option
1

Upgrade to our In Style accommodation

  • Travel sum:
    From £ 455.- pp (excluding flights)
  • Included:
    In Style accommodation, excursions, transport and meals as described above

For this bite-sized trip we have an alternative option available for your accommodation. Our In Style version is something a bit more special or unique but still with lots of local flavour! If you would like to upgrade your accommodation for this bite-sized trip select our In Style option below.

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This bite-sized trip can be combined well with

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