If you’re searching for New Year’s Eve in Huacachina, here’s the honest starting point: we could not find a verified official midnight program in the oasis for 2026-27, and we’d rather tell you that before you book. What we can offer is a real, checked plan for those days: the Ica in 2 Days / 1 Night tour with Turismo Liberty, from $265 per adult, leaving from Lima with a night in a Paracas hotel, a speedboat to the Ballestas Islands, a wine route and the Huacachina oasis. Already have dates? Message us on WhatsApp +51 959 175 901 and we’ll confirm availability in under 5 minutes.
The calendar works in your favor: in 2026 December 31 falls on a Thursday and January 1, 2027 on a Friday, a natural window for a short getaway from Lima. This guide covers what the tour does, when it leaves, how to fit it around December 31, how to stay safe on the dunes, and what Huacachina really offers at year-end.
🎉 Ica 2-Day Tour: Price, Pickup and What’s Included
Here’s the essential snapshot of the tour we recommend for a year-end trip between sea and desert:
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Main tour | Ica in 2 Days / 1 Night: Adventure and Wine in the Desert |
| Price | From $265 per adult |
| Duration | 2 days / 1 night |
| Starting point | Lima, between 4:10 and 6:00 AM depending on the pickup (Los Olivos, Plaza Norte, Av. Aviación, Larcomar in Miraflores or Mall del Sur); Miraflores hotel pickup is also available |
| What’s included | Tourist transport Lima–Paracas–Ica–Lima, 1 night in a 3- or 4-star Paracas hotel, breakfast, guide, Ballestas speedboat with island fees, Huacachina visit, wine route with tastings, Chocolatería Noelia, SOAT insurance and first-aid kit |
| What’s NOT included | Lunches and dinners, tubular rides and sandboarding (reference $10), Yaku Park ($14) |
| Difficulty | Easy · groups up to 18 · English and Spanish-speaking guides |
🎆 What to Expect in Ica and Huacachina on New Year’s Eve
Huacachina is a small oasis a few kilometers from the city of Ica, ringed by dunes and known for lively nightlife at its hostels and bars. As for New Year’s Eve itself, we found no published official agenda of midnight events for 2026-27. If you plan to be in the oasis on the 31st, the sensible move is to ask your accommodation directly what it organizes and book early: the village is tiny and spots run out on busy dates.
What doesn’t change on those days is the usual appeal: a morning on the Pacific at the Ballestas Islands with sea lions, Humboldt penguins and guano birds, pisco wineries in Ica and a late afternoon among the Huacachina dunes. For a fuller picture of the area, read our guide on what to do in Ica in one day.
🗓️ Ica 2-Day Tour Itinerary, Hour by Hour
This is Turismo Liberty’s standard program. If you’re traveling at year-end and want to adjust your departure date, message us on WhatsApp.
- Day 1 — Lima to Paracas (departure between 4:10 and 6:00 AM): about a 4-hour drive to Paracas, with a box lunch on board (juice and a cookie). At 9:30 AM you reach the Paracas tourist pier and board the speedboat to the Ballestas Islands.
- Day 1 — Ballestas Islands (1 h 45 min boat tour): you’ll see sea lions, Humboldt penguins, cormorants, flamingos and other seabirds, and the guide explains the theories behind the Candelabro geoglyph. At 11:15 AM you have free time in Paracas; lunch is at your own expense.
- Day 1 — Free afternoon (check-in 2:30 PM): 3- or 4-star hotel in Paracas. Optional visit to Yakupark at 12:30 PM (extra cost). The evening is free.
- Day 2 — Paracas to Ica (breakfast 7:00 AM, departure 12:00 PM): arrival in Ica at 1:00 PM, lunch on your own, and at 2:00 PM a winery and pisco distillery visit with tastings of wines, piscos, creams, macerados and mistelas.
- Day 2 — Chocolatería Noelia and Huacachina (3:00 to 5:00 PM): a stop at Chocolatería Noelia, then the Huacachina oasis, with optional tubular rides and sandboarding (extra cost).
- Day 2 — Return (departure 5:00 PM): optional stop at Bodega Racimo de Uvas (on weekends with live Afro-Peruvian dance and local food), then back to Lima with an estimated arrival of 10:00 PM.
⚖️ 1, 2 or 3 Days in Ica: Which Tour for New Year’s?
It depends on where you want to be on the night of the 31st and how much time you have. Here’s an honest comparison of Turismo Liberty’s three options:
| Aspect | Full Day Ica–Paracas | Ica 2 days / 1 night | Ica 3 days / 2 nights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price from | $75 | $265 | $495 |
| Hotel included | No (day trip) | Yes, 1 night in Paracas | Yes, 1 night in Paracas and 1 night in Ica |
| Departure from Lima | 4:30 AM, Larcomar; back 9:30 PM | Between 4:10 and 6:00 AM; back 10:00 PM on day 2 | 4:30 AM, Larcomar; back on day 3 |
| Best if… | You want one full day of Ballestas, a winery and dunes with buggy and sandboarding included | You want Ballestas, wineries and Huacachina with the hotel sorted | You want to sleep in Ica, near Huacachina, with a free evening |
If you already have a hostel booked in Huacachina for the 31st, the Full Day Ica–Paracas or the City Tour Ica and Huacachina fit better. If you’d rather sleep in Ica with a free night, look at the Ica 3 days and 2 nights tour. And for a detailed breakdown of the 2-day program, see our guide to the Ica Paracas 2-day tour.
🌡️ Year-End 2026-27 Dates and December Heat in Ica
December is summer on Peru’s coast, and travel guides agree the heat in Ica is strong from December through March. For a year-end getaway, that means doing the most physical activities, like the dunes, in the late afternoon, and bringing sunscreen and water. To plan your dates, here’s the calendar reference:
| Date | Day | How it fits the tour |
|---|---|---|
| December 29-30, 2026 | Tuesday-Wednesday | Leave and return before the 31st, arriving in Lima at an estimated 10:00 PM |
| December 30-31, 2026 | Wednesday-Thursday | You return to Lima on the night of the 31st; timing may shift with traffic |
| January 1-2, 2027 | Friday-Saturday | Start the year with Ballestas and Huacachina, with January 1 a public holiday |
Not sure which of these dates suits your trip? Tell us when you land in Lima and we’ll suggest the departure that fits.
🛡️ Dune Buggy, Tubing and Sandboarding in Huacachina: How to Do It Safely
On Turismo Liberty’s tour, tubular rides and sandboarding in Huacachina are optional and paid separately (reference $10). Local media have reported warnings from authorities about tubular dune vehicles, so we recommend using licensed operators only and following the driver’s instructions at all times. People with heart conditions, pregnant travelers or those with reduced mobility should skip these activities.
If you want to know what to expect from sandboarding before deciding, we have a guide with price and safety tips: sandboarding in Huacachina.
🎒 What to Pack for the Ica and Huacachina Tour
These recommendations come from the tour’s official page, with a few summer adjustments:
- Sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat or cap — the desert sun in December is strong.
- A windbreaker — it can be cold and windy on the boat to the Ballestas Islands.
- Plenty of water — especially for day two in Ica and Huacachina.
- Comfortable shoes or sandals — for the pier, the wineries and the dunes.
- A scarf or bandana — against dust and sand.
- Cash in Peruvian soles — lunches, dinners, tubular rides, sandboarding and Yaku Park are not included.
💰 Ica 2-Day Tour Price and What’s Included
Turismo Liberty’s Ica in 2 Days / 1 Night tour starts from $265 per adult, with groups of up to 18 people. Breakfast on day two is included; lunches and dinners are not. The recommended season is all year, but at year-end it’s worth confirming the rate and date on WhatsApp before booking. For the full trip budget, see our guide on how much a trip to Ica and Paracas costs.
To learn more about the tour’s first stop, read our guide to the Ballestas Islands. And for background on the oasis itself, the Huacachina entry on Wikipedia covers its history and location.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions: New Year’s Eve in Huacachina 2026
Turismo Liberty’s Ica in 2 Days / 1 Night tour starts from $265 per adult. It includes tourist transport Lima–Paracas–Ica–Lima, 1 night in a 3- or 4-star hotel in Paracas, breakfast, a guide, a speedboat tour of the Ballestas Islands with island fees, a Huacachina visit, a wine and pisco route with tastings, and SOAT accident insurance. The reference price can change on high-demand dates like New Year’s, so confirm availability and the current rate on WhatsApp before booking.
Included: tourist transport Lima–Paracas–Ica–Lima, 1 night in a 3- or 4-star Paracas hotel, 1 breakfast, a guide, the Ballestas speedboat tour with island tax and pier access, the Huacachina visit, a wine route with tastings, Chocolatería Noelia, SOAT insurance and a basic first-aid kit. Not included: lunches and dinners, tubular rides and sandboarding (reference $10) and the Yaku Park visit ($14). Groups are capped at 18 travelers.
It leaves from Lima on day one, between 4:10 and 6:00 AM depending on the pickup point: Los Olivos Municipality (4:10), Plaza Norte (4:20), Av. Aviación 2410-2420 (4:50), Larcomar in front of the Marriott in Miraflores (5:20) or Mall del Sur at Puente Próceres (6:00). Hotel pickup in Miraflores is also available at a pre-arranged time. The tour returns to Lima on day two, with an estimated arrival of 10:00 PM.
We could not find a verified official New Year’s Eve program in Huacachina for 2026-27. Huacachina is a very small oasis village known for nightlife at its hostels and bars. If you want to be there at midnight, check directly with your accommodation about its events and book early. Turismo Liberty’s tour has no midnight event: it is a daytime program of the Ballestas Islands, Huacachina and wineries.
The tour reaches Lima at an estimated 10:00 PM on day two, but that can change with traffic on the Panamericana Sur during holiday periods. If you want to be in Lima at midnight, pick a departure that ends before the 31st (for example December 29-30) or starts after January 1. Message us on WhatsApp and we’ll set the date that best fits your year-end plans.
On Turismo Liberty’s tour, tubular rides and sandboarding are optional and paid separately (reference $10). Local media have reported warnings from authorities about tubular dune vehicles, so use only licensed operators and skip the activity after drinking, which is common on party dates. People with heart conditions, pregnant travelers or those with reduced mobility should avoid these activities.
Confirm as soon as you have your dates. Turismo Liberty groups are capped at 18 travelers, year-end is a high-demand travel period in Peru, and the Paracas hotel included in the tour has to be arranged ahead. Message us on WhatsApp at +51 959 175 901 with your dates and group size and we’ll confirm availability and the exact price.
Ringing in the new year in Ica and Huacachina can be a plan of sea, wineries and dunes, as long as you build it around the right dates and don’t count on an official event that isn’t confirmed. Turismo Liberty offers the Ica in 2 Days / 1 Night tour from $265 per adult, with a Paracas hotel, the Ballestas Islands, a wine route and Huacachina arranged in a single booking.
Ready for your year-end getaway to Ica?
The Ica in 2 Days / 1 Night tour with Turismo Liberty starts from $265 per adult and includes transport from Lima, a Paracas hotel, a guide, the Ballestas Islands and a wine route. Confirm your date on WhatsApp. No middlemen.
