How hard is it to organize a do it yourself tour to the Nasca Lines and Paracas Reserve? I have two quotes for a 2 day trip that are very high. The one I found on the internet is expensive; the quote I have from the JW Marriott in Peru is breathtakingly expensive.

My guidebook makes it sound straightforward to take a bus from Lima. However, there are a lot of busses involved from Lima to Ica to Nasca to Paracas back to Lima. Am I better off renting a car and driving?

Or was the experience of seeing the Nasca Lines and Ballestas Island underwhelming and not worth the effort?

 

Do the trips to the Nazca lines include getting airborne? If not then, then I think the lines would be very hard to see. The only times I have been to that part of Peru (Ica area), the fog was quite bad and there was no chance of seeing the lines from the air. I find the desert of southern Peru to be spectacular (although I typically worked in areas south of Arequipa), but I think most would probably find the south coast near Nazca underwhelming and rather stark as far as scenic qualities go.

Do you speak Spanish? If you planned a trip by yourself it would certainly help (but not be essential) to speak Spanish. Driving would be an adventure, but once out of Lima it should not be too much of a problem as long as you are comfortable with the idea of doing so. Random roadblocks by the Policia can sometimes be a bother, but typically harmless after dropping a few soles (or preferably American dollars) on them. You would be sharing the road with lots of trucks and buses that would need to be passed regularly on the Panamericana and these will definitely slow your driving progress. I imagine the drive will take at least 6 hours, maybe more. IIRC it is probably 450-500km Lima-Nazca.

BTW, the Marriott is probably the most expensive hotel in Peru. I am not surprised that their trips would be expensive. There are many places nearby that can be had for much less and are just as nice (e-mail me if you want names and phone numbers). About the only people you will see at the Marriott will be foreign businessmen and touristas. Hardly a true Peruvian experience.

 

rockdoc, thanks for that helpful response. Yes, we would fly over the Nasca Lines. I failed to mention that one of my concerns with not taking an organized tour is how easy it is to find a company that offers the flights. Also, if there are a range of companies offering them, how do we know their safety records.

Re the Marriott, I have a great rate of $85/night less $100 for 2 nights using a Marriott bonus buck. We're staying in a lot of simple hotels throughout the trip. I'm platinum at Marriott, so combined with the rate, it is a winning combination.

 

We did a trip to Peru in early 2003 - report here.

Very easy to take busses down the Panamerican to Paracas and Nasca. The Ballestas islands are fine, but not imo worth the trip. They are called the poor man's Galapagos, but several people on the boat trip with us had been to the Galapagos and were really underwhelmed - we have been there since, and there is no comparison.

Nasca lines were worth the trip - there are (were) three or four operators doing flights over the lines in little Cessnas, all I would imagine with similar safety records I certainly wasn't worried.

I'm pretty sure that some of the Nasca based operators ran day trips by plane from Lima, but not sure of prices. The drive south from Lima would be easy (Panamerican is good and straight) but boring.

Have a great trip

 

I agree with StewieMac on the Nasca Lines, they are worht it from the air. There are 2 or 3 air companies offering the trips and you can pay them directly when you arrive into Nasca. Two years ago I paid about US$37 for the 25 minute flight. Take a new roll of film and hope your stomach doesn't get upset with the tight turns. If possible take the co-pilot seat as you can shoot better photos. If you need, I can look up the company that I flew with.

Paracas.. aaah.. nice to see all the sea lions and a bit of other wildlife, but not worth the other $30 - $35 for the tour, but if you have not seen large concentrations of wildlife then it would be very interesting. (have not been to Galapagos so can't comment). There are zillions of boats leaving at many times throughout the day and they all have their own vendors buy the docks (in Pisco) selling tickets. All trips are the same (from what I saw).

Bus system is very good. try and get the long haul buses that go to Arequipa with the double floors as they are extremely comfortable and service is included with a light snack, very clean washrooms and lots of coffee and tea. The luxury lines leave from the new area of town in a special bus station, not the regular bus station - so definetely ask around and see if you can get tickets when you arrive in Lima.

enjoy Peru.. it's fun..

 

StewieMac, what a great trip report. We are covering much of the ground as you, albeit in a slightly different order.

I'm pleased that both you and Sargento say that "do-it-yourself" tours are easy and that the lines interesting. We've got two days to fill. From everything I've read, that's best done outside of Lima. Sargento, that's a great tip to book on a double decker bus. I'm not sure I've ever seen a luxury double decker bus. And I'm sure my husband will want to take the co-pilot seat on the plane. His pilot's license lapsed long ago, but he still likes to be up front.

So it sounds as though the bus is a better choice than renting a car?

 

The bus would be a better and cheaper choice then renting a car.
I looked into renting a car for 2 days to drive down to Nasca/Ica/Pisco area and though the daily rate was okay ($42USD/day Tax included) + mandatory insurance, the mileage allowance was not...The car rental company allowed 720 free Km (Nasca RT from Lima is about 920Km, not including additional driving) anything over the free quota will cost you .25C US for any additional Km driven.....

 

Hans, you've made a compelling case for the bus. Thank you.

 

If you just have two days to fill, I wouldn't necessisarily skip Lima. Lima gets a rather bad rap wrt things to do, but there are plenty of interesting things to do and see in Lima that could fill two days. The trip to Nazca (by bus or car) will involve at least 12-14 hours on the road RT. If you run into fog (which is quite common) it could take much longer.

Many of the museum's in Lima are very interesting (especially Museo de Oro) as is the area around the central plaza (but stay away from there after dark). I also enjoy the Indian Market where you could easily spend half the day or more browsing the stalls. There is an awful lot of junky things sold at the market, but you can also get some very nice things there as well - silver, alpaca clothing, antiques, and handmade crafts.

There are also ruins just outside of town that are worth visiting (the names escape me at the moment). Anyway, my point is that many people skip Lima on the way to somewhere else when there are actually worthwhile things to see and do while there. You might find staying in Lima a better option than making a hurried trip to Nazca.

 

The name of the area is called Pachacamac. I would agree with you that Lima is worth seeing. There is also the Museo de la Nacion, which is close to Jockey Plaza. It will cost you around 7 soles to travel from Miraflores.

 

It's very encouraging to read that Lima is worth visiting. So many sources are disparaging about the city, but I've seen quite a list of museums that look interesting.

We will already have visited Arequipas, Colca Canyon, Puno, Lake Titicaca, train to Cusco, Cusco, Sacred Valley, and Macchu Pichu before we go to Lima.

I've then got 4 days before our flight home. I'm thinking 1 day in Lima to see the historic center and museums, 2 days to go to Nazca, and final day back in Lima. We'll be able to leave luggage at our Lima hotel so that we are traveling very lightly. I'll look up Pachacamac. If there were something closer to Lima, I'd happily consider that as an alternative to Nasca Lines.

 

You can also fly from Lima or Ica if you are pressed for time; though this will be considerably more expensive than bus+flight. We used AeroParacas for our flights; there is also www.aeroica.net ($50 per person). It's definitely worth spending the night in Ica or Nazca, as it's a 5 hr ride each way to Nazca from Lima.

 

SanDiego1K, I just looked up my old (two years) pamphlets and found the airline that offers overview trip of the Nazca lines is Alas Peruanas. On their website www.alasperuanas.com they are charging $50 (US) for the 35 minute trip per person, with options of longer trips. There is a $1.50 "airport" usage tax p/p.

For the bus ride, I took Cruz del Sur and their Cruzero double decker luxury bus. The website is in Spanish but through their pictures you can peek into their bus through a 360 degree view and even get an agent on-line to assist with schedules. They have an online booking system as well, but they are pricing out for the full destination (i.e. Lima to Arequipa). You may have to do the on-line chat and see if there's a better price . For the full route (14 hour to Arequipa) it's charging aprox U$28. They can even delivery the tickets (free) to your hotel.

Let me know if you need help navigating the site as not all parts are in English.

 

sargento, thank you for those links. That's great. I'm intrigued by the luxury buses. I've seen them elsewhere in South America, but have never taken one. Perhaps this will be the trip when we finally experience them.

 

The buses are definetly fun, though take into account it's only 6 hours (pending time of day and traffic) from Lima to Nazca, but then if you want to continue inland to Arequipa (end of the line for the luxury double decker buses) you can take an overnight bus for another 8 hours. There is a "service" on board (lunch or dinner or breakfeast, coffee and tea, etc...) all served directly to your seat.

enjoy and do write up a good report.