Vichayito Beach in Peru
James Bustamante is Native to New York but born to Peruvian parents. He has been traveling throughout Latin America since early 2003 and finally made his home in Peru. James has made his way by eating and traveling through almost every country in Central and South America.
Last Updated on November 28, 2023 by James Bustamante
Peru has exquisite beaches in the northern region of the country. Among these, we find Vichayito beach in the province of Piura. If you’re looking to relax and spend a few days recovering from your highland adventures in Cusco, like the Machu Picchu hike, a visit to a northern Peru beach might be just what you need.
Where is Vichayito Beach?
We can find Vichayito beach in Peru’s northern area in the Piura province, about 3 hours from the border with Ecuador or an hour and twenty minutes from Lima by plane.
How To Get To Vichayito?
The fastest way to reach Vichayito beach is to take a flight from the airport in Lima to Piura. The flight takes around an hour and twenty minutes in total. Once in Piura you can take a taxi (They are at the airport) to Vichayto beach, the drive time is two hours and thirty minutes. You can also head to the Piura bus station and hop on a bus that takes you to Vichayito for a fraction of the cost of a taxi. The bus will take around 4 hours, though, so be ready for a long ride to the beach.
If you have more time on your hands and like bus travel, you can take a double-decker bus in Lima that heads to Piura. It brings to travel by bus to Piura is around 16 hours. Once in Piura, the same process applies. You’ll have the option to take a cab or take another bus to Vichayto.
Activities in Vichayito
Most people travel to Vichayito to relax, swim in the warm, calm waters, or practice water sports. While I was there, I went paddleboarding, jetskiing, swam at the beach (which was mostly empty), and ate plenty of fresh seafood. You also have the option to go fishing, swim with sea turtles, or go whale watching.
- Paddle Boarding
- Parasailing
- Swimming with Sea turtles
- Whale and Dolphin Watching
- Trips to the Mangroves
- Horseback riding by the beach
- Fishing
Where To Stay in Vichayito?
There are several Vichayto hotels scattered throughout the beautiful northern coastline. If you look, you’ll find accommodations that range from the affordable $20/day to the more luxurious $250/day hotels and everything in between.
We decided on a hotel that was somewhere in the middle price-wise. The Kokoa hotel had everything we were looking for in accommodations by the beach. In addition, we wanted to have the beach at walking distance from our bungalow, a restaurant that specialized in seafood, a pool, room service, air conditioning, and nice rooms.
We were looking for a nice place to relax and recharge our batteries after a long year. I was pleasantly surprised to have miles of beaches and warm water almost all to ourselves. In addition, every morning, we woke up to take a thirty-minute walk before breakfast. I spent the rest of the day playing beach volleyball, swimming, and getting some much-needed sun.
We also went to the town of Mancora by tuk-tuk to buy some supplies, eat at a few restaurants and walk around. Tuk-Tuks are the quickest way to get to the more crowded Mancora around the beaches. They are not my favorite type of transportation, but they’ll do in a pinch.
What To Eat In Vichayito?
Vichayito is part of a chain of beaches famous for their seafood. In the morning, you can see the local artisanal fishing boats come in with the catch of the day. Some local species include rockfish, white fish, shrimp, spiny lobster, and many different kinds of shellfish. You can go to the docks and spend a few dollars on fresh seafood. Personally shopping for produce is more useful if you rent a house with a fully equipped kitchen. In any case, some hotels have chefs that will be more than happy to prepare the fish in local dishes for you.
The chefs at the hotels go to the docks to get fresh fish every day. That is what they will usually serve for lunch and dinner. I was personally floored with how delicious my ceviche was. This simple dish was made with a small, inexpensive fish called a “Carajito.”
We also ate in Mancora a few times and were equally impressed. We went to a Thai fusion restaurant that served a delicious surf and turf grill, which included spiny lobster, tuna steak, salmon, shrimp, and steak. The grill was accompanied by roasted potatoes and a salad in a chilly Thai dressing. The cost was around 130 soles or $35, and it was plenty for two people.
In addition, you can walk to any other hotel and eat at their restaurant. There were also a few local pizza and hamburger places near our hotel.
Are There Stores or Markets in Vichayito?
There were two stores near our hotel. We could walk for 10 minutes and find the Vichayito beach market; there was also a smaller market on a second floor across the street.
If you want to find plenty of shops, restaurants, convenience stores, banks, and bars, you can head over to Mancora. The TukTuk ride will take around 10-15 minutes, depending on which hotel you stay in.
Additional Information
The northern area of Peru is well known for its “chiffles” or plantain chips. Many farm owners grow and fry their own plantain chips in order to sell them to travelers. In all presentations, you’ll see them be sold in just about every shop, so try them out.
You will also run into merchants selling their coconuts. The cost is $3 each, and they’ll cut the coconut open for you so you can have the refreshing liquid inside. $3 might seem a bit steep for one coconut but remember that the merchants will walk around the beach with a bag full of cold coconuts. It’s not an easy job. We ended up buying one every morning during our early walk on the beach.
Conclusion
Vichayito is a great place to visit if you want a relaxing adventure by a secluded beach in the country’s northernmost area. We recommend this trip to all travelers that want some time to relax after an arduous Inca trail hike or Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu.
