What to do in Lima, Peru
Updated: Jan 26
The larger Lima area in Peru boasts many unique activities. Well, if you're in visiting Lima and wondering what to do I'm going to talk about a lot of fun activities including exploring seaside cliffs, fine dining, wildlife tours, pisco tasing and sandboarding down sand dunes!
Most people will be arriving from the Jorge Chavez International Airport near Lima, where I suggest you head down to Miraflores or Barranco. These two towns display large skyscrapers atop the cliffs, lots of fine dining and surfing classes! This is also the hub for some unique outdoor activities further down the coast! I heard from friends that there is a free walking tour of Miraflores you can sign up with as well!
Unfortunately, the bus from Cusco was down due to landslides, and plane was the only option. When possible, I suggest taking public ground transport to reduce your carbon footprint. If you are arriving from Arequipa, you will be arriving to your Hotel of Hostel in Miraflores or Barranco according to the Peru Hop 2024 update.
In Miraflores, stayed at the BayView Hostel, and it was a great spot! This pace was within walking distance of the coastal bluffs and a lot of necessities! The food options atop the cliff in the shopping mall were however either American fast food or expensive dining options.
I did enjoy a good waffle breakfast at overlooking the ocean at Mangoes Cafe at the Larcomar Mall in Miraflores, but once again it was expensive!
For dinner, I opted for Rosas on the Pier, for local scallops and fish. It definitely was on the expensive side but was worth the view of the pier and surfers for sunset, and to taste a local delicacy right above where they are harvested! I did not want the KFC, Burger King or other fast food chain in the Larcomar Mall.
I stayed around two days in Miraflores before I headed down the coast, where you can see penguins and sealions in the dessert of Islas Ballestas in Paracas, taste Pisco sours in the vineyards of Ica and enjoy sand buggies and sandboarding in the Huacachina desert all in the same day.
I was limited on my time in Lima, and opted to do a Full day tour with Adanny Tours, and it was such a cool experience! If you are interested, please book using my affiliate link!
For this trip, you will depart from Miraflores in the early morning and initially drive down to Paracas to hop on a boat to the Islas Ballestas. I learned on the tour that this small chain of islands close to the coast of Peru supports sea lions, boobys and Humbolt Penguins. These animals are there to eat baitfish following the cold-water current from southern Argentina and the South Pole.
After the tour of the islands, the tour group continued on towards Ica, where there are vineyards of grapes used to make Pisco, a Peruvian liquor. We came here to enjoy an included traditional lunch with an upscale twist, a demonstration on how Pisco is made and a tasting of different types of Pisco.
For the final leg of this tour, we started to drive towards Huacachina, a unique desert oasis where you can ride dune buggies and sandboard down the sand dunes! We didn't have a bunch of time there but were able to survive a terrifying ride in the ATV over giant sand hills, enjoy a few runs down the mountain on the boards, and drink an ice cold Maracuya (Passionfruit) slushie. (Sidenote: You will have to arrange and pay extra for "professional sandboarding/skiing" if you want boots and a strap in. If you are ok with a sled-like ride down the slope, then this is included in the tour).
After that it was time to head back to Lima to arrive later that night. It definitely was a lot of a single day but very worth it for a short amount of time in the greater Lima area.
I really enjoyed learning about the history and culture on this tour and had a great time with the group! Would definitely recommend this tour if you're looking for interesting activities to do in Lima. If you are interested in the tour with Adanny Tours, please book using my affiliate link!
The day after this tour, it was time for me to head back to the Jorge Chavez International Airport. I enjoyed my 72 hours in Lima, and felt I was able to cover a lot of ground and experience the different opportunities available in the area! I hope this can help you figure out what to do in Lima!
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