Huacachina

Travel Guide South America Peru Huacachina

Introduction

Desert Oasis

Huacachina is a small Peruvian oasis town that is very popular among younger backpackers on the gringo trail. The pretty village, that is mainly hotels and cafes, is located around a small oasis surrounded by towering sand dunes. Most people come for a day or two but some longer. The main activities include hanging around the pool at a hotel, drinking at a hotel bar till 5:00 in the morning, then hitting up a sand board the next day.

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Sights and Activities

Sand Boarding is the big thing here. Most hotels offer deals were you can get a sand board and a dune buggy ride, to avoid the walking, for about $15. Remember people have gotten injured sand boarding and countless camera's never really work again after the experience.
Drinking is a big activity here. All the hotels, even cheaper ones, have pool areas with a bar that don't seem to get to lively till after 10:00pm then keep raging.

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Events and Festivals

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Getting There

After Arriving in Ica the only way to get to Huacachina is by taxi and it is usually 3 to 6 Sols depending on the time of day and how nice the taxi is. Remember the bus stop in Ica is not nice and is the kind of place where you should keep a close eye on your bags. For leaving town taxi's seem to collect at the entrance to town.

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Getting Around

The town is small, very small. It is actually more a of a village. The road forms a U around the hotels around the spring and then there is a walking road around the oasis itself.

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Eat

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Drink

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Sleep

Property	Address	Type	Popularity
Banana's Adventure	Calle Angela de Perotti s/n	Hostel	88
Bananas Hotel	Perotti Av. End of street	hotel	86
Carola del Sur	Angela de Perotti s/n.	Hotel	60
Casa de Arena	Av. Angela de Perotti S/N Balneario de Huacachina Ica	Hostel	-
Desert Nights Hostelling International	Boulevard de Huacachina s/n	Hostel	84
Hospedaje Rocha	Huacachina s/n Costado de la Capilla	Hotel	-
Hostel Del Barco	Huacachina 180	Hostel	80

More expensive hotels are located on the walking street while the cheaper places are located on the road. Some of the cheaper hotels can be a bit basic so ask to see rooms and make sure the lock works on the door.

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

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Keep Connected

Several of the hotel offer overpriced internet that is slow.

Internet

Phone

Post

Check the Serpost website, the national postal service (a private company), for more information about prices and options regarding the sending of postcards, letters and parcels. The post service is relatively efficient and post offices can be found in most cities and (larger) towns. Post offices generally are open from 8:00am to 8:00pm Monday to Saturday and some are open on Sundays from 9:00am to 1:00pm. Postcards are available from street vendors and shops at any touristy area, and stamps are generally available as well, though sometimes only at the post office itself. It takes at least 10 days to send a postcard to North America and prices start at S/5.5. To Europe it is S/7.8 and it takes even a bit longer, around 2 weeks. For little extra money, you can choose 'expresso' services. For large parcels and quantities, you can use both Serpost or a company like DHL which is faster and offers the same prices, though it is still relatively expensive. UPS for some reason is much more expensive in Peru!