Private Lima Magic Night City Tour

My ten-year-old daughter and her 13-year-old friend went on this tour with me. Our guide's name was Walter. It was us, Walter and the driver. We saw the laser light show beamed onto the fountain. Interesting concept. It told the story of Peru in lighted images. Then we walked under a long canopy of fountain water where we had our picture taken for approximately seven dollars. Finally, the children played in fountains springing up from the ground. We were there in October so the night was chilly it being early spring in Peru. My daughter got her pants wet and I asked Walter if we could stop at a store downtown to buy her another pair of pants and that's what we did. We drove on to El Beso or The Kiss. It is a park in Miraflores where the main attraction is this gigantic statue of a man and a woman locked in tight embrace and kissing. There were mostly couples milling around. Downtown, we went to the Church of San Francisco. Walter told us all about this church. We had been to the church the previous day and the catacombs underneath it are really worth the visit. Franciscan monks are still being buried there. In addition to the catacombs, the colorful tiles, intricate woodwork, the library of rare books and statues of the martyrs and how they were killed are all memorable and educational. Walter and the driver took us back to the Westin Hotel in San Isidro. The best part of the tour was the chance to get out of the hotel room at night and go somewhere with the children safely and pleasantly. I think it's a great idea. The only thing I would suggest is to add another destination or two to the itinerary. Even a stop by the Pacific Ocean to listen to the surf and breathe the fresh ocean air would be nice. The smog in Lima is extreme. We never saw a blue sky or the sun the whole week we were there. Herman Melville author of Moby Dick called Lima, Peru the strangest and saddest city in the whole world. He would know. He spent his life sailing around the world.

The fountains were amazing. I would recommend going there. This tour, however is not one I would recommend. The guide arrived on time but the driver was more than a half hour late. Then he had a car that was not appropriate for the number of people. The guide sat in the front and my husband and granddaughter and I were crammed in the back seat. If we had truly been 3 adults which we paid for we would not have fit. We almost didn't make it to the start of the fountain show. Had to run through the park to get there. The box lunch dinner which was included was finally given to us as they dropped us off at the hotel at 11:30 pm. I had asked several times for it and all along it was in the trunk of the car. If yoiu can find another provider, go with them.

This was a private tour and my guide was highly informative and interesting. We covered the water show and the city at night by car and by walking. We were able to see churches , buildings of importance, squares and other historical sites. I was especially impressed by the knowledge and personality of our guide. He did an outstanding job.

Private tour meant just me and the guide - as far removed from the normal grayline mass production as can be imagined!!! Very pleasant and the magic water park is truly awesome. Highly recommended.

Apart from the Water Park pretty spectacular, the rest of the tour consisted of a drive-past but with an informative and interesting English-speaking driver/guide. As it happened, the Independence Day holiday meant the Plaza de Armas main square was closed to traffic: had I not previously had the opportunity to visit on foot with another tour, I would have been more disappointed.