Palomino Islands sea lion boat trip

What draws people is getting in the water with sea lions. The boats leave from La Punta, at the tip of the Callao peninsula, and work out past San Lorenzo, Peru's largest island and a navy base, and El Frontón with the ruins of its old prison. On the rocky Cavinzas islets along the way there are pelicans, boobies, red-legged cormorants and Humboldt penguins. Then come the four Palomino islets and a colony of several thousand sea lions.

The boat stops off the colony for 20 to 30 minutes and you swim in a life jacket and a wetsuit, which the boats supply. The sea lions often come right up to swimmers on their own. Some trips go on larger yachts, others on speedboats with drinks and snacks aboard. The outing runs three to four hours. Masks and fins are not always included, and a small conservation and dock fee is usually paid separately.