Callao Port, Lima, Peru

[40yearcruiser]

Sorry to take so long to respond. There was a crew person on the ecocruceros boat who spoke some English. I can understand a little Spanish but really we had no trouble figuring out what was going on. I do remember reading a little history beforehand about the islands we passed on the way to the sea lion island. One of them had been a prison. Google Isla Palomino prison. Was used for the terrorists in the 80s and when they revolted , well , it didn't end well for them. There is also some kind of sunken city due to an earthquake 300 years ago. Hope you have a great time.

 

Thanks for the information. After I finally got an reply to my email to ecocruceros I sent them another email to inquire whether we needed to make a reservation with them or just show up at their pier, but I've never heard anything back from them. It's been over a week and I'm concerned about their lack of response. Did you have advance reservations?

[rosebriarmary]

No, we did not have advance reservations. Just went to the ticket booth.

[ssawjo]

No, we did not have advance reservations. Just went to the ticket booth.

 

 

Hi, I was wondering where the ticket booth would be? Our ship arrives at 12 noon. Do you know if there is a tour a little after? We are in Callao overnight, so no big deal. Their website does not provide times of departure or I am missing it. And, would a credit card be ok? Thanks.

 

Bill

[barbaralove]

We arrive May oceania.

Is it feasable to disembark from ship with luggage and take shuttle to gate to pick up trasport to airport?

[Bluegirl]

12/17/12 & 12/18/12 Lima. Peru

This was the beginning of an incredible day!

Lucas (our guide and owner) and driver Jaime were standing waiting for us, they scurried the 6 of us onto their van and off we went on a culinary adventure. We used Capital Culinaria (Lima Gourmet Tours) owned by Lucas and Samantha Montes de Oca. Their website is http://www.limaculinarytour.com. This was one of the best tours I have ever been on and I am happy to share my experiences with all of you. From the second we got on the bus until late at night when we were dropped at the port gate, Lucas guided (an protected) us through the various districts of this large and crowded city.

 

Ibfern,

 

Thank you SO MUCH for this tip! Your day in Lima sounds amazing. I just went and looked at their website and am very impressed at how professional (and immediately the cause of mouth-watering) it is. I am going to contact them about a private tour, for our family of four. Two are children (boys under 10) so, exciting as it sounds, I think we will have to skip the history of sex portion of the museum tour. :))

[40yearcruiser]

Hi, I was wondering where the ticket booth would be? Our ship arrives at 12 noon. Do you know if there is a tour a little after? We are in Callao overnight, so no big deal. Their website does not provide times of departure or I am missing it. And, would a credit card be ok? Thanks.

 

Bill

 

Bill, This is the information ecocrusos sent in the only email response I received:

 

Yes it is possible March 22, the departure is 11 am.

*The port is next to our pier but it is not safe to go walking, is better is you go by taxi

*Our tour is in english and spanish

* The cost is 45 dollars cash in dollars or in peruvian soles

*We dont use credit card only in our main office in Miraflores but is very far

*We only cancell the tour if the peruvian navy clase the port

 

Hope this helps. Since Mary says they didn't have an advance reservation, we will probably just try to get a taxi to their pier. I got no answer from them where the pier is in relation to where the ship docks so I guess we'll just have to see if the taxis know where they are located. By not having an advance reservation we can make a decision when we arrive about whether the weather is favorable to be out in the boat. If we don't do this we may just get a taxi to Larco Mar (the shopping center on the cliff in Miraflores). We stayed near there last year and know the area. We will be on the Celebrity Infinity and don't know whether the ship will provide shuttle service anywhere.

Edited February 22, 2013 by 40yearcruiser

[ibfern]

Ibfern,

 

Thank you SO MUCH for this tip! Your day in Lima sounds amazing. I just went and looked at their website and am very impressed at how professional (and immediately the cause of mouth-watering) it is. I am going to contact them about a private tour, for our family of four. Two are children (boys under 10) so, exciting as it sounds, I think we will have to skip the history of sex portion of the museum tour. :))

 

Its not really a history of sex, just some pottery and figures that are explicit! I know the adults in our tour LOVED that section! LOL Just tell the guide to skip that room.

 

We all got aprons with the logo of the company after our tour. This was definitely a highlight of the 30 day cruise we took. Enjoy,

[travelglobetrotter]

We plan to take a taxi from Lima airport to port and we'd rather not change $ for what is probably a small amount needed for the transfer. Also if we take a cab into the Miraflores district, will USD be OK? We've spent more than a week in Peru previously, staying in Miraflores, but we never used taxis. Thanks, Marlene

Edited March 26, 2013 by travelglobetrotter

[ibfern]

We plan to take a taxi from Lima airport to port and we'd rather not change $ for what is probably a small amount needed for the transfer. Also if we take a cab into the Miraflores district, will USD be OK? We've spent more than a week in Peru previously, staying in Miraflores, but we never used taxis. Thanks, Marlene

 

The port in Lima is scary, its in a really bad neighborhood. My advice is to take the ship shuttle to Miraflores and grab a cab from there. I did not use a taxi so I can't comment on that but for shopping, I used $ and had no problems.

 

We had a private tour arranged which was the highlight of the whole 30 day cruise, our guides were waiting for us at the entrance of the port, getting to the entrance was hectic and lots of folks battling to get into the port shuttle buses to reach the port entrance.

[travelglobetrotter]

Thanks Amelia. We're on Oceania, and didn't know there was a shuttle to Miraflores. We'd like to see the Love Park again. What tour company did you use? We could take a morning tour before sailing, and if this was the highlight of your cruise, we'll look into booking them if we still can. Marlene

[kruznkanuk]

Maybe others are tougher or braver than we, but we just got back from the Star Princess BA to LA and a stop in Lima via airplane on the way to BA and then the overnight of the ship in Callao. We waited for our pre-booked private tour at the port entrance and were uncomfortable; would not have walked 1/2 block from the entrance guard. A crew member was robbed with a knife a block from the port entrance. There are cabs there but many look unsavory and some are very pushy. Callao as a whole is not an area for wandering around. :eek: We are seasoned travellers and have had no problem with venturing on our own in most S American ports, Europe, in Asia, and even in the US and Canada :D but Callao is a place where we were very glad to have a pre-booked car and tour. Even if you are going to the sea lions, I would book a cab online and have them meet you and bring you back. We used LimaMentor for our first visit and airport pickup and LimaCabs for the second time, port pickup and tours and drop off. Both were great, LimaCabs was outstanding. On return to the ship at about 9 PM, the LimaCabs driver did not want to drop us at the outside of the gate but got permission from the security guard to drive through and drop us in the secure area near the shuttle back to the ship.

[conniefrancis]

hello. we will be in Callao 3/19 with Princess overnight. we're signed up for the Princess shuttle to Mira Flores, but want to do the hop on hop off bus night tour of the city lights, so will need a ride back to the ship (Mira Flores to the port in Callao @ 10pm). do you have a recommendation? there will be 4 of us and it sounds somewhat unsafe? do you think taxis will be readily available or other transportation? cost? thank you!!