How to Get to Huacachina from Lima: Best Options
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Huacachina is a desert oasis in Peru and one of the most unique places you can visit in the country, but despite being one of Peru’s most popular tourist destinations, getting there is not exactly easy.
In fact, the first time I went to Peru, I ended up cutting Huacachina from my itinerary because it seemed like too much of a hassle to get there. Look back, that was a mistake.
Eight years later, I finally made it to Huacachina during my second trip to Peru and quickly realised the journey wasn’t nearly as complicated as I had expected. It does take a little planning, but the experience of staying in a desert oasis surrounded by towering sand dunes is absolutely worth it.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through exactly how to get to Huacachina from Lima, the different transportation options available, which one I chose, and whether I’d make the same decision again.
Everything You Need to Know About Visiting Huacachina from Lima
Short on time? If I only had one day available, I’d book this Huacachina Day Tour from Lima. It includes the Ballestas Islands, sandboarding, dune buggies, a pisco tasting and all transport from Lima.
My experience getting from Lima to Huacachina
After way too much umming and ahhing, my friend Candace and I decided to catch the public bus from Lima to Huacachina and then onto Paracas and back to Lima.
Once we were on the bus it was perfectly fine, but finding the actual bus terminal in Lima was… interesting to say the least. Our taxi driver dropped us off at the wrong place so we ended up having to walk with our two huge suitcase along a main road.
After we arrived at the Javier Prado bus terminal, we purchased our tickets to Ica (which you can also do online beforehand). The one way trip is around 15-20 USD (60-65 soles).
Then they weighed our suitcases because our tickets included bags up to 20kg and anything over you have to pay extra. Mine was a bit over (surprise surprise) but it was only a few dollars for a couple of extra kgs.
The bus itself was more like a coach and super comfortable so the 4 hour drive flew by. Then once we reached Ica, we were able to get a taxi straight away (after a big of haggling on the price) to Huacachina which was around another 15 minutes.
When we arrived, I caught the first few glimpses of our awesome hotel surrounded by the towering sand dunes and I knew that Huacachina was going to be 1000% worth it! The whole vibe of the place was just so cool! Our hotel had a pool, a tiki bar and a super colourful garden with fun music playing.
On the way back, we did the reverse order and got a taxi from Huacachina to the bus station in Ica and then we got the bus to our next destination which was Paracas and from Paracas back to Lima.
Tip: If you have spare time in Ica while waiting for your bus
While we were waiting for our bus in Ica, we had some time to kill so we went out in search of a café and found a pretty good in Plaza de Armas de Ica. The café that we went to was called Lora café and had great coffee and empanadas.
Why visit Huacachina from Lima?
Huacachina is one of the craziest places I have stayed. You feel like you are in the an oasis in the middle of the desert. It’s like something out of a movie. You can even go a step further and stay literally in the middle of the dunes at a Desert Glamping camp. If I ever get the chance to go back, this is what I’ll be doing.
You can relax by the pool at a resort surrounded by towering sand dunes or go sandboarding, climb to the top of the sand dunes for dreamy sunset photos and so much more.
There’s a lot of reasons I think Huacachina is worth visiting but if you are still wondering if it’s the right place for you, I have a blog post all about whether or not Huacachina is worth it to help you decide.
Distance and travel time from Lima to Huacachina
By car, Lima to Huacachina is 4 – 5 hours drive and around 310km / 192 miles. Of course, this time can vary depending on what form of transport you decide to take.
Getting to Huacachina from Lima: Your options
| Option | Time | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day Tour | 18 hours | $$$ | First-time visitors |
| Public Bus | 4-5 hours | $$ | Budget travellers |
| Rental Car | 4-5 hours | $$ | Adventurers and Roadtrippers |
👉 My recommendation: If you’re short on time, book the tour. If you’re planning to stay overnight in Huacachina, take the bus.
Option 1: Tours from Lima: Easiest option
This is by far the easiest option to get from Lima to Huacachina and the best way to pack a ton of sights and activities in if you are short on time. The tour that I recommend choosing above all others is this Huacachina Day Tour from Lima because I have a couple of friends who did and won’t stop raving about it.
The best part about this tour is that you don’t have to think or stress about anything. You get picked up from your hotel in Lima and you don’t only get to see Huacachina but you also get to visit Paracas and the Ballestas Islands, also known as the Galapagos of Peru and visit a local pisco vineyard.
Although this is the easiest way to get to Huacachina from Lima, it is a massive day and you will cover a lot of different sights. The entire day last around 18 hours with pick up in the morning being 5:30am and drop off around 11pm. The good thing is that you can sleep on the bus each way because it is around a 4.5 hour bus ride.
The reason I would pick this tour over any other is that it includes:
- Pick up and drop off at your hotel in Lima
- A 2 hour boat tour to the Ballestas Island (the Galapagos of Peru)
- Free time to explore the Huacachina Desert Oasis
- 2 hour dune buggy, sandboarding, and sunset toast tour
- Visit to a local pisco vineyard with pisco tasting
Option 2: Bus from Lima to Ica (Then Taxi/Transfer to Huacachina)
- Bus company: Cruz Del Sur
- Cost: 15-20 USD (60-65 soles) one way
- Duration: 4 hours
- Leaves from: Javier Prado bus terminal
- Bag Limit: 20 kgs – for anything over, you pay by the kg.
- Book here – It’s best to book ahead of time to ensure that you get a seat.
This is the option that my friend and I decided to go with after a lot of back and forth between this and doing an overnight tour. In the end we chose the public bus to give us the freedom of staying in Huacachina for longer and visiting Nazca while we were there.
The bus was really comfortable. In fact, it was more like a coach than a bus and once we arrived in Ica, getting a taxi was easy. We paid 10 soles for the 15 minute ride.
Option 3: Rent a car and drive yourself
The 3rd option is to drive yourself which is what I found a few other travel bloggers did but many of them also mentioned that driving in Peru was absolutely terrifying so I wouldn’t recommend this as the easiest option. I can confirm that I saw some absolutely horrific driving while I was in Peru.
Renting a car will cost you around USD20-30 per day which isn’t too bad considering it gives you the freedom of exploring wherever and whenever you want. Keep in mind though, when you get to Huacachina, you don’t actually need a car because everything is walkable.
It would be a great option if you want to stop and explore other spots along the way, however, depending on where you want to go, some of the public buses can also take you to places along the way like Paracas which is a cute little seaside town.
If you do want to drive yourself, many of the hotels in Huacachina have parking available but it’s best to check when you book.
To get the best deals on rental cars
I always use DiscoverCars to find the lowest prices on rental cars when I travel.
What to do in Huacachina once you arrive
My favourite thing that I did in Huacachina was hiking up to the top of the sand dunes for sunset and watching the sand boarders and sand skiers do their thing. It felt so unreal seeing people ski on sand instead of snow.
Sandboarding and Dune Buggies
The most popular thing to do in Huacachina is a sandboarding and buggy tour where you get to tour the sand dunes in a buggy and then are taught how to sandboard or sand ski down the dunes. This tour is the only one that offers sand skiing as well as sandboarding.
Glamping in the Ica Desert
In my opinion, the coolest thing to do in Huacachina is to camp in the middle of the desert. I’m shouting out this tour because it’s so much more unique than any other Huacachina tour. You get dinner cooked for you by a private chef, your home for the night is a gorgeous glamping tent and at your camp you have a panoramic view of the desert which is perfect for watching the sunset from. The tour even includes sandboarding and dune buggies and don’t even get me started on how bright the stars are in Huacachina!
If you’re celebrating a honeymoon, anniversary or simply want a more unique experience than staying in Huacachina town, this would be my top pick.
Where to stay in Huacachina
If you’re travelling on a budget, I absolutely 100% recommend Banana’s Adventure Hostel. It was one of my favourite stays in Peru thanks to the pool, social atmosphere and surprisingly comfortable beds. I can’t stop raving about our stay there but I’ll keep it short. We also stayed at the Eco Lodge but in my opinion, Banana’s was much more of the vibe I was looking.
If you are looking for something a bit more up market I 100% recommend looking into Senoma Hotel. This hotel is adults only and I was dying to stay there but it was just a bit too out of my budget.
frequently asked questions
My thoughts
No matter which method you choose to get to Huacachina, I can guarantee that you will love it there. I have fond memories of my couple of days in Huacachina and would already love to go back. If I only had one spare day in Lima, I would definitely opt for the day tour so that I could see as much as possible.
Don’t plan your trip to Peru without reading these:
- How to Spend a Magical 3 Days in Cusco
- Best Day Trips From Cusco, Peru
- Things to do in Cusco for First-Timers
- Unique Places to Stay in Cusco
- An Incredible Lima 1 Day Itinerary
- Best Things to do in Lima Peru
- Where to Stay in Lima (I found the best place ever)!
- Is Lima Worth Visiting: My Honest Review
- Is Cusco Worth Visiting?
- Is Rainbow Mountain Worth It? What I’d Do Differently After Visiting
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