Awesome tour - This was a surprising tour, revealing things we didn’t expect to see during our short trip to Peru. We left Ica early in the morning in a comfortable van. After a little over an hour of travel, we arrived in the town of Paracas, where we boarded a fast and equally comfortable boat headed to the Ballestas Islands. Our captain, a veteran with over 9,000 trips under his belt, was nearing retirement but expertly guided us. Our first stop was the mysterious “Candelabro,” a colossal figure etched into the ground, standing at 100 meters tall and 50 meters wide. It raises the question: who made it and why? All I know is that it made for a spectacular photo! After the Candelabro, we continued towards the islands, constantly accompanied by countless birds diving into the sea to catch fish. It was breathtaking to watch them disappear into the water and then reemerge. And before we knew it, we had arrived at the Ballestas Islands. The ocean here is not as peaceful as its name might suggest, but our captain once again proved his skill. And, even though it wasn’t the season, guess what? We saw the famous Peruvian penguins hopping around at the top of the islands (still wondering how they got up there!). Just below, we spotted some sea lions, including a male that tried to woo a female but was rejected, right in front of dozens of cameras. Poor guy! Back in Paracas, we headed to the National Reserve. What a stunning place! The views are breathtaking, like scenes from a movie set on Mars, but with cheerful tourists riding ATVs, rally bikes, and vans. Despite the crowds, the area is so vast that nothing spoils your experience or your photos. Still in the park, we visited a beach where there was time for a swim. However, being used to the warm waters of Brazil, I didn’t dare to try the cold waters of the Pacific. But the view was gorgeous. If you’re braver than I am – like the many children enjoying the water – you’ll want to take a dip. A fun tip: while the water is cold, the stones on the beach are warm, so you can warm up by holding them! We ended the tour with a delicious lunch by the sea. Everything was so wonderful that I can’t wait to return. And I must mention our guide, who was an absolute gentleman, speaking perfect English and Spanish, and giving everyone the attention they needed. Highly recommended!

Cool experience - Fun and interesting experience, Carlos is knowledgeable and makes the trip pleasant. Would recommend and bring swimming gear!

Top 10 experiences - This trip was one of my top experiences I have had. I definitely recommend this tour company. They were able to pick me up at my hotel in Las Dunas. The views were beautiful. They gave us a lot of opportunities to take pictures and enjoy the area. The driver was great and our tour guide spoke English and Spanish. He was very friendly. I recommend to bring a jacket/ sunglasses and a hat. Also some sunscreen and definitely some Soles to tip the tour guide and if you would like to buy anything in the area. The boat is windy and cold but the sun is out so it’s hot too. The boat also gives you life jackets. To use the bathroom depending on where you go it can be one or two Soles.

Recommend - Very well organized excursion. We were the only English-speaking in our group and our guide made sure to translate everything for us so we didn't miss out on the fun

Very good experience - Very interesting trip to Islas Ballestas and Paracas reserve! I recomend it to all visitors in Ica! If you have to choose only one place I recomend to go only to Paracas Reserve...

Super experience! - Very good experience with Sam Travel Experiences, clear information and a lot of flexibility in making reservations. Always attentive and communication was very fluid. Our guide Juan Carlos was very professional, the tour was very complete and he accompanied us at all times. Super recommended!

Amazing experience ☺️ - He organized everything from beginning to end and also find very fast a solution when had problems. We can highly recommend him. The experience was amazing, the employees are very kind, the places absolutely beautiful. We are so much happy ! Thank you! Blessings! 🙌🙌🙌☺️😺

A great full day option - Great trip to show the National park and the Ballestas islands. Smooth pick up and well communicated. Really good if you want to see the main sites in a day. Would have enjoyed slightly more history/explanation in order to give it 5*.

Impressive Paracas Reservation - The Paracas Reservation is amazing. It is worth discovering and with San Travels it was all very simple. They came to pick us up at the hotel and gave us all the facilities

Ballestas Islands and Paracas - The trip itself was good, and what was expected, but the pick up was badly organised and the driver and guide seemed keen to use it as a taxi service, and to get it over as quickly as possible.