Lima Travel Guide: What to Do, Where to Stay, and Travel Tips
CITY BREAKS
When I arrived in South America, I very quickly regretted my lack of effort in learning Spanish before coming here. I did a few hours of Duolingo, and then some not-so-great life circumstances got n the way, and I lost all motivation to continue.
I had naively assumed most people in South America (at least in the popular tourist spots I was heading to) would speak some English, however that was rarely the case. I often found myself relying heavily on Google Translate, and then getting embarrassed when I’d realise I was being asked very basic questions such as “where are you from?” or, “how long are you here?”.
After my first month in South America, I had a couple of weeks before I had to fly back to Australia for a week, so I decided to attempt to up my Spanish game and try a week of Spanish lessons. I decided upon Lima, as I’d not yet been there. Chile and Argentina both are known for being difficult countries to learn Spanish in due to their slang and fast talking, whereas Peruvians generally speak slower and clearer.
After a couple days of exploring the city, I set into my week-long routine. On top of Spanish school, I offered to do some work for my job back in Australia that I’m on a sabbatical from. The team needed help during a busy period, and I was craving some routine by this point! I spent from 9am-1pm in Spanish school, had a few hours to explore/go to the gym/have a swim at my Airbnb, then I would log in to work from about 4:00pm to 9:00pm.
At the end of the work/school week, I still had another week to go before I had to make my way back to Santiago for my flight. Initially I had planned to do a Peru-hop tour for 5 days taking me down to Arequipa, stopping at some hotspots along the way. However, due to landslides on the road (not too rare in February, which is rainy season), they had to cancel their scheduled departures to Arequipa. Instead, I did a 3-day tour to Paracas and Huacachina (more on that below), leaving me with a couple of extra days to eat my way around Lima!
And as for my Spanish skills after my week of classes? Well, let’s just say I’ve now been in South America a few months and I still can’t hold a conversation! The classes were mostly focused on grammar and not vocabulary, which makes it quite hard to learn grammar when you don’t know any words to use the grammar with…
Where I stayed:
Selina Hostel Miraflores
Cost per night: AUD$17.50/USD$11.90
Room type: Bed in a 12-bed dorm
Website: https://www.selina.com/peru/miraflores-lima/
Selina is a popular hostel chain not only in South America, but around the world. They cater more for “flashpackers”, and the closest I can liken it to is a hostel version of WeWork – they even offer co-working spaces (which you have to pay extra for, which I think is a bit ridiculous if you’re already staying there). They have flashy and fun amenities and décor, and they generally are a bit pricier than other hostels.
I stayed here for the weekend thinking if I liked it, I could extend and spend the week there, using their co-working space in the evenings to do my work. However, I didn’t love the vibes of the people in my dorm room, or the guy smoking weed right underneath me first thing in the morning. Everything else about the hostel was nice though and a good location – so perhaps if I had better dorm-mates, I would have had a more enjoyable experience.
Airbnb - Barranco
Cost per night: AUD$60/USD$39.90
Room type: Large Studio Apartment
Wanting some peace and tranquility whilst I worked and studied for the week, I “splashed out” and checked into an Airbnb. This place also had a gym, a pool and laundry facilities, so it was perfect for my week of routine and feeling a bit more at home. The apartment itself was spacious for a studio apartment, and I couldn’t fault it.
The location was great, bordering on Miraflores and Barranco – a short walk in either direction to the two most popular suburbs in Lima for tourists (see more below).
Ancestral Hostel Barranco
Cost per night: AUD$14/USD$9.30
Room type: 6 bed female dorm
Website: https://ancestral-hostel-barranco.lima-hotels-pe.com/en/
I really liked this hostel. Firstly, it’s set in a heritage-listed colonial style house that is stylishly decorated. There is a great rooftop which is a perfect spot for watching sunsets with the beach in the background.
There is a small kitchen you can use, but it can get quite busy so you might have to wait a while. There is also a bar on site which at first I was worried might be rowdy, but this isn’t the case at all – it was a nice spot to have a relaxing drink whilst I did some work or read!
Where I ate:
Cala Restaurant & Lounge - Barranco
What I ate: : 5-piece sushi (x2 because it was THAT good)
What I drank: A fruity mocktail
What I spent: AUD$32/USD$21.30
I came to this beachfront restaurant purely to enjoy the views of the sunset. I didn’t expect to love the food so much – it was a bit out of my backpacker budget, so I had just planned to order a 5-piece sushi plate and a mocktail. The sushi was so good that I had to order another 5!
The views of this place were amazing, I got in about half an hour before sunset and managed to get a table out on the balcony. By the I left, the music was pumping and more people were piling in, so it seemed like quite the place to be on a Wednesday night!
Caleta Dolsa Coffee - Barranco
What I ate: Smashed Avo
What I drank: Flat White
What I spent: AUD$12/USD$8
This café has, hands down, the best smashed avocado in South America. Yes, I may have only had a few smashed avo’s in South America, but I don’t see how anything could top it. It was complete with balsamic, radish and micro-greens on top – it would give any Melbourne café a run for their money, and for half the price!
Alanya Reposteria - Barranco
What I ate: Baked Ham & Cheese Croissant, Oreo Croissant (to go)
What I drank: Cappuccino
What I spent: AUD$12/USD$8
The only problem with this café was deciding what flavour croissant to have – there are so many to choose from! I went for a savoury to dine in and a sweet to take away, and they were worth every calorie.
Restaurant Javier – Barranco
What I ate: Pollo Saltado
What I drank: Some weird blue cocktail
What I spent: AUD$33/USD$22
This restaurant has beautiful sunset views and is slightly hidden away in a leafy green oasis. I had an amazing Pollo Saltado – perhaps one of the best I’ve had (and I order this popular Peruvian dish a lot, I love it!). I can’t say the same for the cocktail though – they didn’t serve wine by the glass so the waiter promised me the “next best thing”… which was the complete polar opposite of a glass of wine.
Colonia & Co - Barranco
What I ate: Salmon and Quinoa salad
What I spent: AUD$14/USD$9.40
Another beautiful cafe in Barranco, this time in a quaint colonial building. The menu here specialises in brunch items, but my salad was much needed and the salmon was fresh and tasty!
What I did:
Carnaval Bar
What I spent: AUD$80/USD$53 (3x cocktails)
Website: https://carnavalbar.com/
Ok, so this one is technically a bar and not an activity, but I think it deserves a spot here! Carnaval Bar is one of the World’s 50 Best Bars, and you get quite the entertainment with your drinks! I went with a couple that I had met in Mendoza, and between the three of us, we made quite a dent in the menu. We each ordered three different cocktails, and each came out with a different creative feature to “wow” you – from drinks that change colour, to a cocktail served in a Chinese lantern. It’s obviously a little gimmicky, but so much fun!
Cooking Class
Cost: AUD$90/USD$60.10
Website: https://luchitoscookingclass.com/
Luchito’s Cooking Class is a must-do when in Lima! We learnt to make two traditional dishes – Causa, a layered dish with potato, avocado, chicken mixed in mayonanaise and Ceviche, a seafood dish of raw fish marinated in a lime mixture. They both tasted incredible – I still haven’t had a Ceviche as good as the one I made, just saying!
We finished off the class with a lesson on making Pisco Sours, Peru’s most popular cocktail. They emailed us a PDF copy of the recipes afterwards, and I can’t wait to attempt to recreate these dishes when I go home.
Swimming with Sea Lions
Cost: AUD$120/USD$80
Website: https://maradentroperu.com/
This was a huge highlight for me. I had debated whether to do this, as I’d already spent more than expected in the past few weeks. I decided it was a once-in-a-lifetime activity, and I could always cut costs down the path.
It was it was a bit of a mission to get to via public transport. Ubers was the best option for the 35-minute drive from my hostel. We met the tour guides at a café, and set off sail shortly after.
The boat ride was a highlight in itself, learning about the history of the ports of Lima and saw (from afar) Lima’s naval base on an otherwise remote island. On the boat ride we passed many marine birds and Humboldt penguins, before arriving to our destination – Palomino Island.
Palomino Island was COVERED in sea lions – like, thousands. It’s estimated between 8,000-10,000 sea lions live here! Once they saw the boat, the some of the younger sea lion pups jumped in the water and swam over to the boat, seemingly very excited to see us.
We got into our wetsuits and jumped in – we weren’t allowed to touch them, but it was very hard to avoid it – they got so close, wanting to play with us. It was such a fun experience, I didn’t want to get out of the water! Any hesitations I had about swimming with these creatures had disappeared and it was truly an experience of a lifetime.
Walking Tour – Lima
Cost: Tip based
Website: https://www.peruhop.com/free-walking-tour-lima/
I had spent all my time in Miraflores and Barranco, and I was keen to explore another part of the city. I decided to do a walking tour of the Historic Centre of Lima, to learn more about the city I’d just spend the past 11 days in.
The tour started in Miraflores, and from there we all jumped on a 20-minute bus into the historic centre. We wandered around to view some of the significant historic sites of Lima. Unfortunately, our group was rather large and our guide was rather quiet, so I missed a lot of what she was staying about the history. It was a good way to see a bit more of Lima, and she gave us some recommendations of where to visit after the tour. I went with a father and son I had met on the tour to the Central Market for lunch, where we had some ceviche and chicha morada – a traditional Peruvian drink made from dried purple corn.
Wander the coastline of Barranco
Cost: Free!
There are gardens that stretch along the coastline of Barranco, and are a perfect spot for a picnic and to watch the sunset. The vibes are so wholesome here – think couples cuddling, friends painting watercolours, people reading – and even girls cuddling their cats!
The walk along the coast between Barranco and Miraflores is so spectacular, or you can hire a bike and cycle as well – the roads are quiet and there is a bike lane, so it’s really safe!
Lymphatic Massage
Cost: AUD$24/USD$16
Website: https://www.vitalimaspa.com/
Out of curiosity, I had a look into massage costs in Lima. I was amazed how cheap they were!
I found this place that offered lymphatic drainage massages – something I’d heard a lot about and that’s hugely popular in LA, where basically the masseuse massages you in a way to move lymph nodes around the body to help flush toxins. I’m not sure if it really did much and don’t quite understand the hype, but at least it felt nice!
Tour to Huacachina and Paracas
Cost: AUD$229/USD$153
Website: https://www.peruhop.com/passes/3-day-tour-from-lima/
I did a 3D/2N tour to Paracas and Huacachina with PeruHop – if you have the time, I’d highly recommend visiting these places! Watch this space for an upcoming blog post about my experience!
Top Tips:
When to go:
Lima is a year-round destination! Summer months are between November and February, which can be hot and humid, and winter is slightly cooler but still pleasant.
Getting there/around:
The bus from Lima airport to the Miraflores is a great option for a low cost, however it only leaves hourly. Uber is more convenient, and will cost approx $xx to Miraflores or XX to Barranco.
You can easily explore Miraflores and Barranco on foot, or on bike - especially along the coastline, using Lima's bike-share system. Public transport is available also, but I found walking with the occasional Uber at night the best way to go.
Where to stay:
Barranco and Miraflores are the two most popular spots to stay in Lima, and my favourite is Barranco. It's full of culture and boho vibes. Think colourful buldings, hipster buildings, boutique markets and street art.
Miraflores is home to upscale hotels, trendy restaurants and is a the main tourist shopping hub of Lima. You can walk between Barranco and Miraflores, which is just 30-40 minutes along the coastline walkway.
Prices were what I paid at the time in 2024, please check updated prices when travel planning!
Selina Miraflores
Airbnb
Ancestral Hostel
Cala Restaurant & Lounge
Rutina Café – Miraflores
What I ate: Cordon Bleu Chicken Pesto Sandwich, and a Butterscotch Praline Cheesecake (to go)
What I drank: Diet Coke
What I spent: AUD$24.86/USD$16.60
The first time I attempted to go here, I made the mistake of getting there at 11am on a weekend. When I next had the chance, I visited at a much quieter time of 2pm on a weekday.
Whilst I didn’t get the French Toast brunch I initially had hoped on getting, I had an incredible sandwich that was MASSIVE and so tasty. I was too full for my cheesecake desert, so I took that to go, and it was worth the wait – I ended up having it for dinner (super healthy, I know!) and every bite was incredible.
Grano Dorado - Miraflores
What I ate: Avocado Toast
What I drank: Black coffee, Green Juice
What I spent: AUD$11/USD$7.30
This is a quaint café, where you are surrounded by plants and fairy lights. The food was ok – a little plain, but the fresh juice was delicious, and the atmosphere was peaceful and relaxing.
Cevicheria Miramar – Miraflores
What I ate: Ceviche – Pescado (fish)
What I drank: Diet Coke
What I spent: AUD$12.40/USD$8.30
Ceviche is a must-try dish if you are in Peru, and this place is great, budget-friendly place that doesn’t compromise on taste! They have a huge menu specialising in seafood, so if Ceviche isn’t up your alley there is plenty of other dishes to choose from.
Ambra Rooftop Bar – Miraflores
What I drank: Pisco sours (x3)
What I spent: AUD$33/$USD22
This rooftop bar is located on top of the Pullman hotel, and has stunning nighttime views over the city. I met up with some friends there who were staying there on their honeymoon (thanks for letting me crash your date night!) and it was pretty packed, but they said it was less crowded in the day, and a good spot to relax poolside with a cocktail in hand.
Alanya Reposteria
Caleta Dolsa Coffee
Restaurant Javier
Grano Dorado
Rutina Cafe
