What You Need To Know

Paracas Travel Guide

Discover the enchanting coastal beauty of Paracas, Peru, with my essential travel guide. From breathtaking landscapes to rich cultural experiences, Paracas has it all.

Paracas Unveiled

Discovering the Hidden Charms With Your Paracas Travel Guide

At first glance it might not seem like there’s much to do in Paracas compared to other cities and towns in Peru. However, the sights here are stunning – it’s where the desert meets the ocean! The attractions here are few, but they’re amazing.

Vanessa's Insider Tips

My Travel Tips for Paracas

Here are some helpful Paracas travel tips to know before you go:

When to Go: Paracas enjoys a dry desert climate all year round, so there’s no rainy season and you can go whenever!
Where to Stay: Paracas is tiny, like super tiny, so there’s no specific area or neighborhood I recommend since it’s so compact.
How to Get Around: How to get around: You can walk everywhere in Paracas since It's tiny. For the tours of course you’ll be picked up by your guide or meet at the starting point!
Paracas Solo Female Travel: Paracas is a very safe destination for solo female travelers. I will say though if you want to come here and meet a lot of people you might not. There’s not a ton to do, and there’s no real nightlife, so don’t expect it to be a super social trip! However, as part of a larger backpacking or solo trip, definitely include it on your list.

Discover Paracas

My Recommended Itinerary for Paracas Travel

You don’t need to spend too much time here. You can either do it as a (long) day trip from Lima or Huacachina. Here’s what I recommend for Paracas:

Islas Ballestas:

The Ballestas islands are known as “the Poor Man’s Galapagos.” However it doesn’t mean it’s not worth seeing or absolutely beautiful! It’s just a less expensive way to view some really cool marine life, like adorable sea lions and penguins.

You’ll see tours for this all over town and they all pretty much offer the same thing: you meet at the pier and then they take you on a boat ride for a couple of hours.

Paracas Natural Reserve:

This is a protected area where various elements come together: the desert, the ocean, and islands.

You will also see tours for this all over town. You’ll get picked up and driven here and is usually a few hours. The reserve is huge, and you’ll stop at many places – even a beach! It was honestly so so stunning, and I was in awe seeing the desert and ocean meet.

Flavors of Peru

My Recommended Food in Paracas

Even a town so small has some really great food options – it just goes to show you how delicious the food in Peru is! Here are some places I recommend to eat in Paracas:

Nautilus Seafood & Pasta:

I am NOT a seafood person so don’t think that’s why I came here! Instead, I went to this restaurant on the water and tried their pollo saltado, which is the chicken variation of the lomo saltado. I didn’t expect much, since Paracas is such a tiny town with not much going on, but the pollo saltado was juicy and flavorful!

Fruzion:

A cozy shop that has American pancakes and yummy smoothies (among other things).

Hotel Paracas:

I don’t usually dine at fancy or high-end places when I’m on my solo trips, but I made an exception here because Paracas was just so slow and tiny I wanted something exciting. This place was phenomenal, but I guess you shouldn’t be surprised since it’s a restaurant inside an upscale hotel! Get the ravioli and chocolate dessert!