Staying in Huacachina: Best Hotels & Unique Desert Camps

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links that may earn us a small commission should you decide to click through and make a valid purchase (at no extra cost to you). Thanks so much for your support!

Are you planning a trip to Peru and wondering where to stay in the gorgeous desert oasis, Huacachina?

Huacachina was one of my favourite places that I visited in Peru and I really loved the first hotel we stayed at! My friend Candace and I stayed 2 nights in Huacachina and due to last minute booking availability, booked each night at a different hotel.

There are loads of hotels in Huacachina to choose from which made it difficult for me to choose. Most of the hotels are pretty budget friendly, with a few extra special options, including a glamping stay in the middle of the desert (which I didn’t do but kind of wish I had now that I’m home).

In this guide, I have recommendations for hotels in Huacachina based on your budget, whether you should stay in Ica as an alternative (spoiler – I don’t recommend this) and a little insight on my experience in Huacachina.

girl sitting on top of sand dunes at sunset in Huacachina PEru

Where to Stay in Huacachina: The Desert Oasis

Table of Contents

While I was in Huacachina, I stayed at both Ecocamp Huacachina and Banana’s Adventure Hostel.

At Ecocamp Huacachina, you stay in one of there permanent tents which you can lock using a padlock. Not exactly the most secure which made me a little nervous having all my camera equipment and passport with me. The showers are separate to your tent room but just down the stairs and there is a lovely pool there too which I enjoyed lounging at on our last morning.

Although it was clean and had a nice pool, because of the tent rooms, Ecocamp would not be my first choice if I were to go back to Huacachina. I would instead opt for an actual hotel or (if I wanted a tent) I would definitely do the desert glamping experience.

I do have a lot more photos from the Ecocamp because I chilled out at the pool on our last morning.

girl sitting in pool lounge chair — Ecocamp Huacachina

breakfast at Ecocamp Huacachina — Ecocamp Huacachina

Huacachina or Ica?

First things first. The desert oasis that you see in the above photo is Huacachina. Ica, on the other hand, is the closest big city which is around a 20 minute drive from Huacachina and the place you will stop in if you catch the bus from Lima.

I can, without a doubt say that, unless you are HUGE fan of big cities, you will want to stay in Huacachina. Ica, in my opinion, is nothing special and very busy and noisy.

Girl sitting on top of sand dunes in Huacachina looking over the desert oasis

Where to Stay – My top pick

On my first night in Huacachina, we stayed at the Banana’s Adventure Hostel and I honestly didn’t want to leave. It was hands down my favourite hotel of my entire Peru trip. Oh wait, there was another VERY NICE boutique hotel in Paracas that I also cannot recommend more if you are stopping there.

Banana’s Adventure Hostel

Banana’s Adventure hostel was my favourite place to stay in Huacachina.

It sells out fast because it is one of the most popular hotels so make sure you book in advance. The hostel has both dorm rooms and private rooms. We stayed in a private room with a view of the pool and bar area and the towering dunes.

The bed was super comfortable and the bathroom was clean. I absolutely loved the bar area. We had dinner there one night and even though we were there in the off season and there weren’t many people around, it still felt like the vibes were vibing with great music and a fun little tiki bar – which is also where the complementary breakfast is served.

One of the best things about the hotel is that the entrance to the dunes is literally right outside the hotel. This was perfect for us because we wanted to spend sunset up on the dunes to get some photos.

Banana's Adventure hostel at night showing the pool and tiki bar in Huacachina — View from our room

BAnana's Adventure Hostel in Huacachina — View from our room

Duna Desert Camp – A very unique stay

If you are looking for a unique experience, check out the Duna Desert Camp. I would have loved to stay here but didn’t get the chance.

At this camp in the middle of the desert, you stay in a luxury tent and enjoy a desert bar, a fireplace and breakfast and dinner included. While you are there, you can do sandboarding or sand skiing and dune buggy rides.

Duna Desert Camp in Huacachina — *Credit: Duna Desert Camp (via Booking.com)*

Best budget hotels in Huacachina

In terms of the best budget hotels in Huacachina, the Wild Olive Guest House is the best rated hotel in the area. The hotel is pretty basic but very central and extremely affordable if you are wanting to save some money on accommodation.

Moderate hotels in Huacachina

On of the best moderately priced hotels in Huacachina is Hotel Curasi. This hotel is beautifully designed with a lovely pool and, from all of the amazing reviews and comments, is very clean and serves a very tasty breakfast.

Luxury hotels in Huacachina

The good news about staying in Huacachina is that the starting price point for hotels (at least coming from Canada), is a heck of a lot lower than what I’m used to so the luxury hotels in Huacachina are a similar price to the budget hotels in places like Canada or the USA.

If you want to stay somewhere extra nice, I recommend Senoma Hotel which is adults only. It has insane views of the dunes from the massive swimming pool area and honestly gives me expensive beach resort vibes from the photos.

My Huacachina experience

I loved my 2 nights in Huacachina! It is such a unique place with loads of adrenaline junkie activities such as sandboarding and paragliding, but the town itself feels like a holiday town. For good reason, because it is a town literally made for tourists but it is also a nice place to go to enjoy the restaurants and relax by the pool at one of the hotels if the adventurous activities are not for you.

I actually opted out of sandboarding on our last morning because I felt like relaxing instead, which is when I relaxed by the pool at Ecocamp.

My favourite part of Huacachina was watching the sunset at the top of the sand dunes and experiencing a few of the restaurants.

If you are still trying to decide whether Huacachina is worth visiting, I have put together this guide that goes over everything that I loved about staying there, along with the things that I didn’t like about it.

My final thoughts about choosing a hotel in Huacachina

As I already said, I really loved staying at Banana’s Adventure Hostel, but I do kind of wish we had booked Duna Camp for a night because the experience of camping in the middle of the desert and being able to watch sunrise and sunset just sounds like a once in a lifetime experience!

Don’t plan your trip to Peru without reading these: