Peru: Huacachina
Coming: Take the bus from Lima or Paracas. If you’re coming the opposite direction then you’ll be taking a bus from Nazca or Arequipa. Check HERE for descriptions and comparisons. I took Peru Hop and was very satisfied.
Sleeping: Location isn’t an issue in Huacachina since the “town” is so small. Every place to stay is within a few minutes walking.
Casa de Arenas- There is a pool and a nice deck area with good food and decent drink prices. The rooms and facilities were acceptable, but there was only one outlet in the room, the pool was only cleaned one of the days I was there (and it was green the other days), the internet only works in the lounge and there’s not much of a vibe for meeting new people unless they’re in your room. It’s also pretty noisy. Staff is up and yelling across the property to each other at 7 am, you can hear EVERYTHING happening outside your door and on weekends there is a nightclub next door open until late with loud music.
Overall- 6.5/10 Price- S/. 25 PEN ($7.64 USD) for a 14 bed dorm and discounted with Peruhop Cheap for Huacachina
Banana’s Adventures and La Casa de Bamboo – These are the more backpackery places to stay. I have heard good things about both and while I don’t know anything about the actual facilities I would probably recommend staying in one of these if you’re looking to meet people.
Bananas- Price- S/. 80 PEN ($24.45 USD) for 6 bed mixed dorm – crazy expensive
La Casa de Bamboo- S/. 28 PEN ($8.56 USD) for 8 bed mixed dorm – average for Huacachina
Eating:
Wild Olive Trattoria- Good Italian food – but they didn’t have wine. L
Nuna- Quiet, nice vibe though. Peruvian food as well as burgers, pizza and pasta available. You’ll definitely leave full. Only downside is they didn’t have a 2×1 drink special like most other places did.
Huacafuckingchina – Amazing name. Nice food and drink specials and the staff is friendly and fun.
Doing: Take the sand buggy and sandboarding tour, climb the dunes for sunset, chill out
Sand buggying and boarding is AMAZING!! It is a two hour long tour and so much fun! Wear sunscreen and prepare to get sand everywhere. It’s well worth it though.
If you’re staying two nights then hike up one of the closets sand dunes around dusk to watch the sun set. It’s great exercise, an awesome view and really unique.
Huacachina is an oasis. There’s a ton of great happy hour specials, places with pools, etc. Take your time and relax. Have a few pisco sours, lay out by the pool, nap in the shade by the lagoon and take it all in. It’s a really cool place.
There is a pisco tour available as well- it wasn’t worth it. You learn a liiiitttle about Pisco and there is a tasting at the end but it’s just a few sips of bad wine and no actual Pisco. It was free with Peruhop so fine, but don’t pay to do this.
Staying: You could easily do everything there is to do in a day. The sand buggy tours are at 4:30 every evening and Pisco tours can be done in the afternoon. But, I would recommend staying an extra day to chill out and enjoy the dunes. I stayed 2 days and was quite content. After that there isn’t much to do and you’ll just be spending your money on eating and drinking out.
Going: Head down to Nazca or Arequipa or if you’re going the opposite way Paracas or Lima is your next stop, depending on how much time you have.
