Revealed: The best way to spend a family-friendly holiday in Peru - from magical Machu Picchu to boat trips and hidden islands

Daily Mail​

22-05-2025

'We should take a family holiday to Peru!' says Mrs Brown in the third Paddington film. And of course they do, easy as that - and riotous and ridiculous bear-related adventures follow.
That may be all very well in Hollywood but is it really an option in the real world?
Well, we gave it a go with our 10-year-old-son, Alfie, and our 8-year-old daughter, Poppy.
And yes, the verdict is, not only is it achievable, it is indeed a fantastic, fun-filled, beautiful country that, with a little grit and determination, is well worth the effort. Here are the top five things to do with kids in Paddington Land.
1. Jungle Fever
Head to Puerto Maldonado (accessible by a short flight from the capital Lima or Cusco in the Andes), to experience stunning wildlife in the heat of the Amazon basin.
The children's senses will be in overdrive as they take in the amazing abundance of animals of all shapes and sizes, making all sorts of sounds as they experience being immersed in the jungle.
We booked with Jungle Pro who met us at Puerto Maldonado airport in the south east of Peru and within 10 minutes we were boarding a long boat to begin our three-hour journey to our lodge in the heart of jungle.
Along the banks of the incredibly wide and brown Tambopata River, which feeds the Amazon, capybara and caiman dozed, while sloths slept in trees and squirrel monkeys played in the branches.
Shortly after our arrival we set off on night walk where we saw, much to the kids' delight, pink-toed tarantulas, chicken tarantulas (apparently they have been known to eat our feathered friends, hence the name!) and the Amazonian Horned Frog. All great finds for the kids to jot down in their travel journals.
Other activities during our three-day stay included searching for anacondas (alas no luck although just seeing where they had been lying in the flattened reeds was fairly nerve-wracking), spotting giant river otters and catching piranhas with rudimentary fishing rods in a lake - the children could not have been more entertained.
You'll need to pack the mosquito repellent but this is an experience the little ones will never forget.
2. Magical Machu Picchu
Even children who find 'old buildings dull' can't help but be blown away by the world famous Inca site nestled high in the Andes.
We took the beautiful, glass ceilinged train from Ollantaytambo which snakes alongside the river Vilcanota to Aguas Calientes where a short, but hairy (or exciting if you're a 10-year-old) bus ride hairpinned us up to the Machu Picchu gates.
Our guide Marco, provided by Peru travel experts Stubborn Mule, was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly and a dab hand at taking family snaps!
It's a long day for the kids - so pack plenty of snacks and water - but one they loved, especially when the odd llama wandered past amid the remains of this wonder of the world.
3. Lake Titicaca
From Cusco we jumped on board with Peru Hop bus travel, who provide a superb hop-on and hop-off way of getting around the sites of this vast and varied land.
First stop was Puno, the gateway to the enormous Lake Titicaca which straddles Peru and Bolivia in the Andes. We stayed in a lodge on one of the Uros 'floating islands' which the kids loved as our room swayed and creaked with the movement of the water.
The islands are small and man-made, created by layers upon layers of cut Totora reeds that grow in the shallows of the lake.
The indigenous Uros people have inhabited the islands for hundreds of years, and their everyday life includes travelling to floating schools and churches by boat.
This truly is a unique experience for the whole family to witness a fascinating culture and a different way of life.
Don't worry, although the 'buildings' move with the water they are anchored down so you won't wake up in Bolivia (but don't tell the kids that!)
4. The deserts of Huacachina
Back on the Peru Hop bus and the next stop was the desert.
The kids will love the adrenaline buzz of dune buggy riding (the adults do the driving, the kids are the co-pilots in these noisy roaring caged go-karts) in Paracas on the coast or sandboarding in Huacachina an hour inland where you can fly down the dunes.
Your little ones don't need to be experts. They can just lay on their tummies on the board, and zip down these incredible gigantic dunes that surround the oasis town. It's a thrill ride they won't forget.
5. The Ballestas Islands
Dubbed Peru's Galápagos Islands, these are a group of small islands near the quaint coastal town of Paracas on the south coast. While not quite having the wildlife the Galapagos can boast, a two-hour boat trip is well worth it and is another animal-filled thrill for the kids.
We saw Humboldt penguins, albeit from a distance, and witnessed hundreds of South American Sea Lions up close from our boat, congregating on the beach, the males roaring to establish and defend their territory.
Though not as colourful as their Galapagos friends, grey-footed Boobies can be seen nesting on the rocks too. It's an amazing trip, almost too quick, but well worth the visit.