The 7 best tours on your visit to Lima

Lima offers some of the best tourist attractions in Peru. Although it is possible to visit them on your own, most visitors prefer to hire a tour for their visit. The tours offer everything you need to enjoy the trip: pick up, transportation, entrance to all the sites, professional tour guide service and more. Learn about the best tours in Lima, their prices, services included and more. Dare to know the capital of Peru!

The City Tour Lima

The City Tour Lima is the service that most tourists choose to discover the streets, temples and archaeological sites of the capital of Peru. These tours may vary depending on the tourism agency you choose. However, they generally include a visit to the Cathedral of Lima, the Government Palace, the Municipal Palace, the Convent of San Francisco (the Catacombs) and the Miraflores boardwalk with views facing the sea.

The City Tours include everything necessary for the visit: pick-up at the tourist’s hotel (generally in the Miraflores district), full tourist transportation and professional tour guide service. Some tourist agencies include entrance fees, while others do not. For this reason, the price varies depending on whether it includes tickets or not. In general, this tour lasts half a day: from 9 in the morning to 1 in the afternoon or from 2 to 6 in the afternoon.

• Approximate price: 30 dollars per tourist.
• Includes: Transportation, professional guide and entrance to all sites.

Half-day tour to the Sanctuary of Pachacamac

Pachacamac was the most important religious sanctuary located on the coast of ancient Peru. It was an oracle for the Incas and various cultures that preceded it. Today it is one of the main historical tourist attractions of the city of Lima. The tour there lasts half a day: from 9 in the morning until approximately 2:30 in the afternoon. In some services, in addition to Pachacamac, the district of Barranco is visited.

The tour includes everything necessary for the visit: pick-up from the tourist’s hotel (in Miraflores), full round-trip transportation, entrance to the Sanctuary and Museum of Pachacamac as well as professional tour guide service . Although it is also possible to visit it on your own, most tourists choose the tour since Pachacamac is located far from the city center, about 27 kilometers from the Miraflores district.

• Approximate price: 35 dollars per tourist.
• Includes: Transportation, professional guide and entrance to all sites.

Tour to Caral for 1 day

The Sacred City of Caral is the most important archaeological find in Peru in recent years, as it represents the oldest civilization in South America (dating back 3,000 years before the Christian era). It is located 174 kilometers from the city of Lima. Therefore, the best way to visit it is with a day tour starting from the city of Lima. These services begin at 6 in the morning and end at around 7 at night.

The tour begins with the pick up and the trip in tourist transport along the north highway to the Sacred City of Caral. There the visitor will tour its temples, squares and enclosures in the company of a tour guide. The entrance is already included. Some services make a tourist stop in the town of Huacho, famous for its delicious cuisine. Likewise, some tours include lunch while others do not.

• Approximate price: 150 USD per tourist.
• Includes: Pick up, complete transportation, entrance, lunch and tour guide service.

Tour to Palomino Islands 1 day

The Palomino Islands in Callao (province of Lima) are famous for offering a boat adventure along the Peruvian coast as well as the option to swim with the sea lions that inhabit these islands. The tours offer an adventure of approximately 3 hours at sea with all the necessary equipment: boat, tour guide, wetsuit, life jacket, accident insurance at sea and more.

The Palomino Islands are located about 14 kilometers offshore from the port of Callao. The tours also include a visit to San Lorenzo Island and Camotal. However, the most exciting part is when tourists have the opportunity to swim with the sea lions (a sure adventure). The tour begins at an average of 10:30 in the morning and ends at an average of 1:30 in the afternoon in the port of Callao.

• Approximate price: 70 dollars per tourist.
• Includes: Transportation, neoprene suit, professional tour guide and other utensils (life jacket, rehydration and accident insurance at sea).

Tour of Lima the Gastronomic half day

Lima, the capital of Peru, offers some of the best restaurants in the country. Because of this, gastronomic tours around the city offer an experience that is difficult to match. Important restaurants run by renowned chefs are visited where you can enjoy various dishes including: anticuchos, causa rellena, picarón, ají de gallina and, of course, ceviche.

Food tours in Lima usually last half a day (from 10 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon). Services usually tour the restaurants of the picturesque district of Barranco. In addition to meals, tourists can learn cooking classes and taste traditional drinks such as pisco sour. There are various types of tours. All allow you to discover Peruvian gastronomy, one of the best in the world.

• Approximate price: 85 dollars per tourist.
• Includes: Chosen restaurant meals, drinks, tour guide, transportation, and in some cases, cooking classes.

Canoeing Tour in Lunahuaná 1 day

Lunahuaná is a district in the province of Cañete that is located about 183 kilometers by road from the city of Lima. It is famous for its mountainous landscapes, its vineyards, hot climate and, above all, for the adventure sports that can be practiced in the Cañete River. Boating is the main tourist activity. The majority of visitors who arrive there are from Lima.

The one day tour is intense. Begins around 5 or 6 in the morning. It ends at around 9 pm. Includes full transportation, professional tour guide, canoeing team with instructor and, in some cases, lunch and wine tasting. The waters of this river offer an incredible but safe experience. Another option is to choose a 2-day tour with a hotel night in Lunahuaná.

• Approximate price: 50 dollars per tourist.
• Includes: Complete transportation, professional guide, canoeing equipment, meals and wine tasting (in some tourism agencies).

Tour to Huancaya 2 day

Huancaya is in the Sierra de Lima. It is located 232 kilometers from the city, at an altitude of 3,500 meters above sea level. It is part of the Nor Yauyos – Cochas Landscape Reserve (221,268 hectares), an area full of waterfalls, forests, mountains and unforgettable landscapes. Due to the distance from the city, the tours last 2 days and include a hotel night in the town of Huancaya.

Most tours include a visit to the Carhuayno waterfall, the suspension bridge, the Huallhua lagoon, the forest of love, the Papacocha lagoon, as well as kayaking adventures. They start early in the city of Lima and end right there a day later. Includes everything you need: transportation, guide, food, entrance fees and a hotel night. The best time to do the tour is from April to December. In January, February and March; the rains are intense.

• Approximate price: 120 dollars per tourist.
• Includes: Complete transportation, professional guide, tickets to the main tourist attractions, food and tourist hotel in Huancaya.

By Machupicchu Terra – Last updated, August 28, 2023