Sep 23, 2024
Ballestas Islands, Nazca Lines and Huacachina Oasis - Excellent attention, unparalleled walk, super well attended, wonderful guides and slopes of everything at all times
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 25, 2024
Fantastic experience - The trip was excellent from start to finish, exceeding all expectations. Jonathon our tour guide made the trip providing helpful tour & local information throughout. It was a long day with a lot packed in but all elements of the day added to the experience. A memorable highlight of our visit to Peru.
Review provided by Viator
Jun 12, 2024
Incredible experience - What an incredible day we had exploring the beautiful region of Paracas with Jonathan as our private guide! From start to finish, Jonathan provided us with an amazing and authentic experience.
Jonathan picked us up bright and early at 3am, and immediately made us feel welcome and comfortable in his vehicle. Throughout the day, his driving was excellent - he navigated the roads safely and efficiently, allowing us to sit back and take in the stunning desert landscapes.
Our first stop was the Paracas National Reserve, where we took a boat out to the Ballestas Islands. Jonathan pointed out the diverse array of endangered marine life, including sea lions, Humboldt penguins, and dozens of species of seabirds. His knowledge of the local flora and fauna was incredibly impressive.
After the boat tour, Jonathan drove us to some amazing viewpoints where we could see the famous Nazca lines etched into the desert floor. It was a breathtaking sight, and Jonathan provided great context and history about this archaeological wonder.
For lunch, Jonathan took us to a wonderful local restaurant that served up authentic Peruvian cuisine and pisco sours. The food was delicious, and Jonathan made sure we tried all the regional specialties.
Throughout the day, Jonathan was an absolute delight to be around. He was friendly, engaging, and clearly passionate about sharing the beauty of his country with visitors. He went above and beyond to ensure we had an unforgettable experience.
We can't recommend Jonathan highly enough as a private guide in Peru. His expertise, hospitality, and genuine care for his guests made our day trip an absolute joy from start to finish. We're so grateful we had the chance to explore this stunning region with him.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 4, 2024
Great tour agency and reliable guide - Went for a one-day tour to Ballestas, Nazca Lines Overflight & Huacachina Oasis. Our guide, Aymen, took a great care of everything. He is so knowledgeable and will patiently explain every question you asked. I personally love how he shared his story with Peru and how he felt while living in Lima.
Travel Buddies Peru and Aymen still host some other tours like one-day Lima tour or other customized tour. And this experience is so great that if I would visit Peru again, I would still want to register their tour and cooperate with them!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
May 15, 2024
A most amazing experience - This trip truly exceeded my expectations. The flight over the Nazca Lines was phenomenal and the commentary provided by the flight crew was great. They flew over each feature twice to make sure both side of the plane got a good view. Ballestas Island was beautiful and as a bonus we say a seal and whale on the way out. But the real surprise was the Huacachina Oasis. A beautiful site and the dune buggy rides and sandboarding (unexpected surprise) was the perfect and exciting cap to a long (16 hour) day. The tour guide was phenomenal. Extremely helpful and I cannot say enough about the driver whose patience with the horrendous Lima traffic was commendable. Do not miss this opportunity of you have the chance to do this tour,
Review provided by Viator
Apr 5, 2024
Excellent and reliable agency to get to know Peru - I want to comment on my review from previous months to Lima and the surrounding area with the Travel Buddies agency and it was magnificent, we took a tour to the Ballestas Islands, we flew over the Nazca lines and the Huacachina oasis in an incredible way since I did not think I would be able to see from high in the plane the world famous and enigmatic Nazca lines, in the same way we were in the historic ballestas islands getting to know Paracas and it was magnificent and to finish that magical adventure I visited the oasis of Huacachina and I was more than fascinated since the tubular ride It is truly incredible to see the dunes of the desert at full speed. The next day they gave me a gastronomic bicycle tour of the city and it was very fun with the guide and delicious food.
The agency is very serious and with excellent service from the punctuality for the hotel pick-up to the cleanliness of their transfer vehicles and the staff who are very attentive and accommodating at all times, I highly recommend them.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Feb 7, 2024
Exciting Day out with so much to see - Picked up on time (5.30am) at hotel by guide Sergio and driver Martin. Both excellent. Flying over the Nazca Lines was a big tick off my bucket list and I loved this experience. Small plane and 4/10 passengers were either sick or queasy and not enjoying = I loved it. Everyone has a window seat and the plane banks at 45degree left and right so you all get a clear view.
Ballestas lake = again a great experience. Speed boat ride (24 passengers) - with a cover so you are not in blazing sun. Taken to various features - geological and archeological and then to colonies of sea lions. Only saw a couple of penguins, but a lot of other sea life. Water so clear. Tour buddies had made sure I was on a boat with an English speaking guide so I missed nothing.
Huacachina Oasis - beautiful, but more commercialised and busy than I expected - and I went on a week day in ‘low season’. Lots of activities like paddle boating, sand buggy drive etc if you wanted to indulge.
Although I was doing this on my own (62) it would be great for families with teenagers who like a bit of a thrill. it’s a Long day out though. 3 1/2 hours to first destination, short trips between lake, airport and oasis, but then 4 hours back (and I didn’t do dune buggies). Extremely comfortable car - Big SUV. Lots of breaks to grab snacks, restrooms etc. Sergio kept me entertained with information about the local culture, history, Music and even ghost stories. They ensured my safety and enjoyment all through the day and gave me tips for other trips (winery) but I am flying back to UK today.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 17, 2024
Nazca lines are worth it! - Nazca lines were worthy of the early morning and long and uncomfortable ride in a mini van with no leg room
Review provided by Viator
Apr 15, 2024
Long day but worth it! - Overall, we were very pleased with this tour! It is a long day but flies by and covers some major sites in the area. We booked through the companies website and they were great at communication with us regarding pickup time and questions we had. We came prepared and packed snacks and water for day. We stopped at a connivence store about an hour into the drive for a bathroom break and snacks. The cafe was not open but we bought some premade sandwiches. Nothing fancy but lots of selection. We then did our boat tour and our guide, Sergio, got us to the front of the line with little waiting time. We then continued our trip to Huacachina, where our guide told us interesting facts and lore of the area and took us for a walk around the oasis. We had the option to eat a quick lunch but decided to spend our time exploring instead and ate the snacks we brought. We did the sand boarding and dune buggy ride, which was my personal highlight! Then we ended the day with the Nazca line flight. We had a bit of a wait at the airport but that had nothing to do with the tour. The wait was definitely worth it. I was worried about gettting sick as I dislike flying to start with and have a minor fear of heights. I took some gravol beforehand and grabbed some lemon candies at the front desk and was fine the whole flight. This tour is definitely worth the money as you get a small car to take you around which is by far quicker than bus transportation. You also get to leave your bag in the car so you don’t need to worry about carrying around sunscreen, snacks, water, etc. you also have someone who speaks the language and is aggressive enough to get you to the front of the lines which is great! Lastly, we always were brought to clean bathrooms at tour group offices rather than having to use the public bathrooms at the places we stopped. I highly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 11, 2024
Ripped off - The worst tour I ever taken. Picked time was 4:30am. However, at 4 am I received a text from the guide telling me to hurry up because he has more person to pick up. By 4:15 we were already in a minivan with other 2 tourists. The guide never introduced himself or introduced the driver. He told us we were to enter the Panamericana road and the reason of that name was because the road goes to many countries. He went ahead and said “I know you must be tired” so go ahead an rest. 2 hours into the drive, the driver stop to use the bathroom, only for men because there were nothing for us. We arrived to Paracas and were hurry in a line to a boat. The boat was shared with other 30 persons, therefore we couldn’t go near the rocks or in between because of the boat size( no as shown on the picture). The information was good and the site interesting. Once back on the port, we were taken to an stand to buy “something fast” because we needed to go. I refused to buy from the stand because it was filthy. I walked into a restaurant near by, and asked for a sandwich to go but our guide informed the waiter not to put the order if time was more than 15 min. I this point I was very upset and disappointed. I felt trapped without way to go back to Lima. My husband took his medications with a juice and we left the restaurant. Only to wait 15 minutes in a curved until the driver picked us up. We them way to Huacachina. ( As per schedule we were supposed to go to Pisco Airport for the Nazca Lines tour). Upon arrival we were introduced to a men that supposedly would rent us a sand buggy. He asked the guide in spanish how much he can charge us and he said $60 dollars each!!?? The other 2 tourists decided not to do the buggy, then our guide( Jair) came and said the tour will be $70 dollars since the other people won’t do it!! We decided to find another company to rent the buggy ( there are many in Huacachina) but Jair said we couldn’t go with other people. We them decided not to do anything. We walk to a restaurant and to my surprise Jair was behind us to let us know we have 30 minutes to eat. We ordered a ceviche and 2 beers. Ate as fast as possible not to be late. Towards the end of our rapid appetizer/ lunch Jair came to let us know that our flight to Nazca Lines was delayed for 2 hours due to a mistake from the agency. ( So we could’ve lunch and enjoy the place, instead we rushed one more time.) We finally made to the airport where we wait until 4:30 for our flight ( initially scheduled for 12:15) The pilot was excellent and the airport staff very pleasant. At the end of the flight we ere given a certificate and offered to take pictures with the plane/ pilot. We them hot back in the minivan with no stop until Lima, despite the other tourists request to use the bathroom. We arrived to our hotel in Lima at 10:30 pm, needless to said all restaurants near us were closed because it was Sunday. We ended the night with a piece of cake and a tea.
No once Jair give an explanation of places we pass by or even interact with anything that was not his phone. As per the driver he was very rude even with Jair. We all have difficulties opening the van door, he got mad to need to get out of the car and said “ how many times do i need to teach that?
Jair no once open assistance to get out the car or get in. The guy gave me the impression he was feeling for someone else.
Please don’t be fooled by this people. There is many companies that offer the same experience for a fracción of what they charge. This experience doesn’t cost $550.
Review provided by Viator