The wildlife is awesome.....but the boats are packed shoulder-to-shoulder and it is hard to even stand up to get a photo. The boat we were on smelled really awful. I couldn't tell if it was the life preservers or the boat itself - but the smell was nauseating. I'm not sure if there are other options for a tour -... More

I haven't been to the Galapagos islands, but I think this trip is worth it. For one, you get to see plenty of animal and bird life, and I cannot say that I ever had the feeling we were intruding upon the peace & quiet of the animals. We did not approach the beach where the sea lions raise their... More

First I would like to tell to everybody who is planning to visit islands - instead of staying in Pisco, would be much more reasonable to stay in Paracas village. Who is following Lonely Planet, then in South American version there is no hint about Paracas and I did`nt find hostels from Hostelworld but hostels are there and waiting for... More

I went with my 2 older children, 11 and 9 yrs old. I highly recommend this trip. Make sure before you hire the service to show you a picture of the boat that you'll be riding. You can pay less but the boat is awful. We paid 40 soles each, which is like $15. At the hotel, the concierge gave... More

Our cruise ship docked in the ugly and awful port of Pisco, Peru. Then, via bus, we zipped to a nearby private pier - for a long wait for our 40 plus passenger boat to Ballestas Islands. Hint - the 45 minute trip from pier to Ballestas Islands was very, very rough; we were told that rough - sea sick... More

The islands indeed offer a wide range of birds, sea lions and penguins and it could have been stunning if there weren't MASSES of tourists on MASSES of motorboats. The driver and guide seemed to be really unconsiderate about the animals since they got way to close and scared them away. We saw a sea lion teaching its baby swimming... More

It's like a tour of a mini Galapagos. Gorgeous blue water, seals, sea lions, penguins & pelicans are in abundance. The guide fills you in on points of historical interest & you can grab a bite to eat on the beach which cheeky pelicans will promptly try to take away from you. Great day trip. More

We went here to the so-called "poor man's Galapagos" as a day trip from Lima and had a great time. There wasn't a group tour available on the day we wanted to go, so JAER travel agency (office in Miraflores) helped us arrange a private car to take us there. We left our hotel at 6 am and got there... More

This tour was great. It was a sunny day (every day) and quite calm. We saw Humboldt penguins, cormorants, grey-footed boobies, red beaked terns and thousands of sea lions. Very worthwhile tour and no other way to see it than by the local power boats. These are high powered speed boats and everyone has to wear a life jacket. I... More