After a late night arrival in Lima, Peru, we then had an early wakeup call the next morning as our Peru Hop bus left at 5.30am. We were picked up from our designated meeting spot in the Miraflores district of the city and settled into the comfy bus seats. Peru Hop is a hop-on-hop-off service that lets you stop at any point along their route then get back on whenever you like as long as you finish the full ticket within a year of starting it. It is more expensive than local transport but is secure, efficient, door-to-door and does include a few extra stops along the way that regular public transport wouldn’t include. The staff are also able to book optional tours and accommodation at the stops on the way there if you’ve left things to the last minute.
Our first stop of the morning was at El Cristo del Pacifico. Although the statue itself is a matter of ridicule for some of the locals due to the shoddy way it was built, it is near an important memorial to a battle against the Chileans. We learnt a good bit of history from here and were able to get a bit of a view of Lima although unfortunately the weather conditions meant we couldn’t see that much.
Next we made our way down the coast with a quick stop at the Hacienda San Jose in Chincha. This hotel has a cute church to look around but the main pull was walking through the slave tunnels underneath. They are a dark labyrinth (torches are provided) that at times get pretty tight. We followed our guide ensuring no one got left behind as finding your own way out would be pretty impossible. The detour there and back from the main highway had us driving through a river as the inclement weather earlier in the year with the flooding meant that the foundations of the bridge were not strong enough for anything heavier than a motorbike.
Our end destination of the day was Paracas. This beachside town is the gateway to the Ballestas Islands but because our boat trip to there wasn’t until the morning we spent our time just wandering along the coast, getting a bite to eat and watching the pelicans swim around the harbour. It is a fairly small, touristy town but was a very pleasant way to while away the afternoon.
Have you taken the Peru Hop buses? Did you find it a good way to get around in Peru?
mytravelbugbite 
If you return to Lima, the National Museum of Archaeology is definitely worth a visit, as is the Pachacamac Ruins. The ruins are a few miles south of the city, while the museum is right in the city next to Bolivar Square.
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Hello! I’m travelling solo and will be leaving for Peru in 2 weeks! I’m arriving in Lima around 11pm and want to go to Paracas the next morning morning to catch the Ballestas Island boat tour. That means I have to leave Lima fairly early too (like 6am?). I’m not doing the Peru Hop though. Did you bother to get a hostel if you had to go the next morning or just chilled in the airport or at the bus stop?
What would you advise that I do? If you’d have any helpful tips! Thanks!
Samantha
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Hi,
We did get a hostel when we arrived in Lima mainly because we were meeting up with Fraser’s mum there who was already in Peru. We also got in around 11 and were happy for the sleep but I guess it would depend on how much you rely on sleep like I do. I’m not sure I would have wanted to hang out in the bus stop though. But yes you would need to leave pretty early, most of the boat tours set off at about 8am because if they leave it much later the waves start to get too big.
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