Family Trip With Kids In Peru
As a family of four we spent a couple of weeks in Peru with kids and travelled by bus to 3 major locations. There was plenty to do and each of us would love to go back to Peru. Here is a list of things you can do in Peru with kids (or without, as us grown ups loved it all too!)
Going To Peru with Kids
First things first, how did we get to Peru? Well leaving Cartegena, Colombia we had an impromptu stop in Bogota, due to a cancelled flight, redirections, delays and panic. So once we got to Peru we were tired and just wanted to get to our AirBnB. We got a taxi from a service in Jorge Chavez International Airport, Lima, where we landed.
Everyone was really helpful and there were separate queues for people with kids in Peru. After the kids having meltdowns in the very slow moving queue in New York we LOVE to see family queues.
Where Did We Stay in Lima
Charlotte managed to find an AirBnB for an apartment in Miraflores for about £30 a night. We were happy with the price considering we were right in the centre of a capital city, Lima, with plenty of amenities around us.
Should You Stay In Miraflores?
Miraflores is listed as one of the safest districts in Lima. South of downtown Lima it has an upscale shopping centre, restaurants, bars and is one of the more affluent areas of Lima. Where we stayed was close to local parks, more about those later on, multiple supermarkets and we could get to the coastline with a 15 minute walk. The coastline has its own boardwalk, with small outdoor exercise spaces and equipment, paragliders jumping from the cliffs and surfers hitting the waves. It makes for a great walk and it’s 10km long so you can definitely work off some of those churros you picked up on the way.
Is Miraflores safe for kids?
I felt safe the whole time I was there, everyone was very friendly and we found so much to see and do within walking distance. Everything is within walking distance yet it doesn’t feel busy and cramped, like London can. Everywhere is open until late, expect the parks to stay busy into the night. The place feels alive, there is a lot of healthy activity going on at all times. You will see lots of skaters, runners and surfers. We honestly didn’t leave the area that much for the first few days. So what did we get up to with kids in Peru?
1. Go to the Markets With Kids
The markets are so colourful and fun. Picking up baby alpaca wool is high on the list of souvenirs tourists want from Peru so expect to see piles of beautiful wools and assortments of patterned jumpers, hats, ponchos and anything else you can knit. The people there are all really nice and don’t harass you into their stalls. They also expect to haggle the prices, so understand you could get things cheaper than what they first say. We went to a few markets and so which markets should you go to in Miraflores?
Inka Market
We found this one just walking around, it’s hard to miss with the large archway entrance and a floor tile pattern right in front of it. This market is quite small and the stalls are pretty close to each other but honestly it added to the atmosphere of the place.
Indian Market
The Indian Market is is outdoors (mostly) with a bit more space. This market is also larger and has a food area so expect to see more locals shopping here.
2. Parque De La Reserva
Another thing to do before you leave the Capital is the Parque De La Reserva. We took an Uber there but it only took 5 minutes so you could walk it. There is a small entrance fee but kids under 5 are free. Just another way kids in Peru are set to have a great time.
What is Parque De La Reserva?
Parque De La Reserva is a beautiful park located between two of the main streets in Lima, Peru. It has 13 water fountains including one that goes 80 metres up. Others are interactive and the kids had lots of fun playing with them. They also do a light show to music, which is worth a watch but being just a couple of weeks after the heights of Disney World the kids weren’t as impressed as they perhaps should have been.
Our favourite bit though was the water tunnel, which you can walk through and come out dry (mostly). We took several trips through.
3. The Malecón (Boardwalk)
This 10km (6 mile) long walk hugs the coastline of Lima. Offering great views of the Pacific, where you can find lots of people offering surfing lessons. The walk is populated with lots of people riding skateboards and scooters. There are plenty of stops for parks if you are with kids in Peru, or little gym set ups if you want to get a workout in. You will also encounter some nice green areas to just relax in too.
Parasailing in Miraflores, Peru
There are lots of people parasailing over the pacific ocean and flying alongside the cliff edges. Most of these places offer tandem rides for anyone with no experience and wants to give it a go. They were priced at around £30-£40 for a 10 minute glide.
4. Larcomar Shopping Centre
Larcomar is a large shopping centre on the coastline of Lima. You can get to it along the boardwalk that hugs the coastline we mentioned earlier. The location means you get great views as you shop on this multi-storeyed open complex.
With an abundance of shops, some you will recognise some you won’t. Plenty of food options and bars you could certainly spend some time there. There’s also a park a short walk from the higher layer of the centre, which also has an amazing view of the coast.
This is a nice place to go but you will see a lot of tourists here and shopping centres aren’t always the most fun thing when you’re with kids, so let’s leave Lima and explore what else Peru has to offer.
5. Paracas and Wildlife
Paracas is on the west coast of Peru and is known for the place to go to get to the Ballestas Islands. The town itself didn’t offer too much, there are nice beaches close by but we did a one night stay here in very basic accommodation, you will not find many options for accommodation in this little town. We just came for the Ballestas Island tour
Ballestas Islands, Paracas
The uninhabited Ballestas Islands are a great place to go to see sea lions, pelicans and penguins. Yes Penguins, Humboldt penguins to be precise. If you take a tour you’ll go out on a fast boat to the rocky island, you will get close to some of the rocky outcroppings and see plenty of wildlife. It will get noisy with the amount of birds flying around.
The penguins are small and we didn’t see any swimming around only high up on the cliffs. It was still great to see all the wildlife and a great thing to do with kids in Peru. Just hold on tight during the bumpy and fast parts of the boat ride.
6. Huacachina Desert Oasis, Peru
Huacachina is a tiny village and desert oasis in southwest Peru. It had a very chilled out vibe to it. The hostel we stayed in (you won’t find many accommodation options) there were lots of hammocks and quirky seats as well as a small pool. The place is pretty small and being surrounded by desert is quite isolated. We spent a couple of days there and found some great places for food during our stay.
Sandboarding and Dune Buggies
You will find an abundance of options to go out and have fun in the dunes. You’ll get taken out to a spot just outside of Huacachina central to all the dune buggies. Some of which are used for the sandboarders, taking regular trips to the top of the dunes for you to fly down on the hired boards.
Climb The Dunes
Climbing the dunes was so much harder than I thought it would be. I consider myself reasonably fit but trying to walk uphill on so much sand is harder than expected. My feet hurt because my shoes were literally full of sand. I’ve never experienced that before or since. We tried to scale the dunes with kids but quickly realised that wasn’t going to happen. While the kids had fun playing in the sand we took it in turns to scale the remaining heights. It’s worth the effort. The views you get from the top are amazing, you really get that whole being in the middle of the desert sense. If you drop down the other side and Huacachina disappears you can’t see anything but sand.
How did we get around in Peru with kids?
Most of what we saw in Miraflores was within walking distance but booking an Uber is easy for the times you don’t want to walk with kids in Peru.
Lima to Paracas
For the bigger trips we took the bus. You can get backpacker specific buses such as PeruHop. You book an amount of hop-on and hop-offs and your ticket lasts for a year. The buses go to all of the tourist spots you would want to visit and a few more. This means you can stay as long as you want in each place. Get somewhere and want to stay longer or leave early, just hop on their next bus.
How are the buses?
The buses we used hopping around Peru with kids were great. Each one was a little different and had its own quirks. Depending on the distance you might get some food served out, just a simple packed lunch sort of meal and you can expect to find simple toilet facilities too. USB charging ports and some TVs on board for entertainment help to keep the kids from going crazy while you watch the view out of the window.
FAQs
We spent a few weeks across Peru with kids, including the capital city Lima and felt safe the whole time. We stayed in Miraflore while in Lima, which is known to be one of the safest districts. All the people we encountered were friendly, helpful and loved the kids.
Peru came in quite nicely for our budget. It can be a little harder to find accommodation in some of the areas of Peru, even the ones with high tourist traffic. Getting around by bus is great value and the food is reasonable, especially the baked treats on the streets, I miss the churros!
Everyone we met was lovely and loved our kids, they caught a lot of attention. The language barrier is a challenge and it will come down to you to make the efforts of translation.
We didn’t do the Machu Picchu tour after seeing all the information about altitude sickness and the amount of walking without support it would take. It was a close call and I’m sure we could have done it, but we took the decision to do all the other things we wanted in Peru and miss this one (for now)
We spent a couple of weeks there and found that to be good. There is a lot to do across Peru as a family. We tend to take it a little slower for the kids but certainly spend some time in Lima and you only need a day in the other attractions such as Paracas and Huacachina.
