Guide · Board or skis

Sand skiing at Huacachina, or a sandboard? How to choose

The better outings at Huacachina let you pick: a snowboard with bindings or a pair of skis with poles. Here is how the two feel on the dunes and which one suits you.

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Editorial team, huacachina-sandboarding.comUpdated October 26, 2026read in 6 minutes8 sources

The tour behind this guide Sandboard or sandski at sunset, Huacachina 4.9 (507 reviews) 4 hoursSnow gear and instructor includedPickup in Huacachina or Ica from$48per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

In short

01Both on offer: Our pick supplies skis, boots, poles and bindings.
02Skiers: Choose skis: the movements carry over from snow.
03Snowboarders: Choose the board and expect slower, grippier sand.
04Total beginners: Try lying on the board first, as PromPeru describes.¹
05Not sure: Ask whether you can try both on the night.

Sand skiing at Huacachina is a real option

Most people arrive expecting a board. Fewer know that sand skiing at Huacachina is offered by several outings, with the same kind of skis, boots and poles you would rent at a ski resort. The tour this site recommends names sandboard or sandski in its title and includes full ski or snowboard equipment: skis, boots, ski poles and bindings.

It is not the only one. A 4-hour outing filmed with a drone also offers sandboard or sandski at sunset, and a professional school sold on Viator runs sandboard and sandski sessions of 3.25 hours. On those evenings the choice between the two is yours.

The dunes suit both. PromPeru describes slopes up to 100 m high around the lagoon, which gives long runs for a skier and room to link turns on a board.² What differs is how the sand behaves under each, how hard it is to get up after a fall, and which skills you already bring from snow.

Your first evening

From fitting to the last run

Before the start

Try the gear

The group meets 30 minutes early for the fitting.
First run

A gentle slope

Find your balance on a short, easy pitch first.
Next runs

Bigger faces

Move up once you can stop and turn with control.
Halfway

Ask about a swap

Ask the instructor whether you can try the other gear.
Sunset

Last run and bonfire

Snacks and cocktails around the fire.

How a board feels on the dunes

On a snowboard you stand sideways with both feet fixed in bindings, and you steer with your hips and the edge of the board. On sand the board slows down more than on snow, and the edge bites less. That makes the first runs calmer than many snowboarders expect, and the turns come slower.

The hard part is the fall. On a board both feet stay locked in, and getting back up on a steep, soft face takes effort. The easiest way up is to sit back, push up from the uphill hand and rise facing the slope. Expect sand in your sleeves and collar; the helmet, goggles and bandana in the site tour's kit earn their place here.

If you have never stood on a board, there is an easier way in. PromPeru notes that you can ride down the dunes sitting, lying down or standing, and that less confident riders can even go down with another person.¹ ³ Lying on the board is the version most buggy tours offer, and it is a fine first taste before you try to stand.

Ratings

How guests rate the board and ski outings

out of 5

Average ratings as each listing shows them, from 27, 169, 108 and 507 reviews; a high score from few reviews moves more easily than one from many.

Board against skis

Sandboard or sandski, point by point

Question	Sandboard	Sandski
Gear on our pick	Snowboard, boots, bindings	Skis, boots, poles
Stance	Sideways, feet locked	Facing downhill, poles
Suits	Snowboarders	Skiers
Getting up after a fall	Harder	Easier
Gentle start	Lie on the board	Short, gentle slope
Feel on sand	Slower, softer edge	Heavier turns

The equipment row follows the site tour's listing of skis, boots, poles and bindings; the other rows are our own riding advice, not figures from a source.

Where to ride

Three sunset outings with real boards

Huacachina: Real Sandboard|Sandski, dune buggy, après-ski, bonfire at sunset

Our pick

Sandboard or sandski

Snow gear, bonfire, cocktails

Duration: 4 hours
Group: Up to 10
Price: from $48

See the outing

Huacachina: Sandboard|SandSkiing|Sunset Videos with Drone and 4x4 Dune Buggy

Filmed

Drone videos & 4x4

Board or skis at sunset

Duration: 4 hours
Reviews: 169
Price: from $47

See the outing

Huacachina Real Sandboard Buggyride Apres-Ski bonfire Sunset

Small group

Bonfire & apres-ski

Board, buggy and a fire

Duration: 4 hours
Group: Up to 10
Price: from $59

See the outing

Decision helper

Board or skis for you?

Start from what you already do on snow

Skis

The stance, turns and stops carry over from snow.

Board

You will spend the evening riding, not relearning.

Lie on a board first

PromPeru lists riding lying down as one of the ways.¹

Ask to swap

The site tour's kit includes skis, boots, poles and bindings.

Professional school

Sessions of 3.25 hours for groups of up to 16.

You can ride down the dunes sitting, lying down, or, if you are feeling more adventurous, standing on the board.

PromPeru (peru.travel)Source 1

How skis feel on the dunes

On skis you face down the slope with a pole in each hand, and each leg moves on its own. For anyone who has skied on snow, the stance, the turns and the stopping are familiar from the first run. The poles help you balance on the climb, and getting up after a fall is easier when your feet are not locked together.

Sand is slower and stickier than snow. You need a steeper line to keep your speed and a little more weight forward than you are used to. Turns feel heavy, and your thighs will notice by the end of the evening. Wide, round turns work better than quick short ones, and on the steepest faces a straight run with a long run-out at the bottom is the easiest way to enjoy the pitch.

Skis also suit people who want to keep their eyes on the view. You face the direction of travel, the lagoon stays in front of you on many lines, and stopping on a crest to watch the light is simple. For a skier on a first visit, sand skiing is a quick route to a run that feels like real skiing.

Checklist

Before your first run

At the fitting

Boots snug, heel down, no pressure points
Bindings set for your stance, or poles at the right length
Helmet, goggles and bandana on

Bring yourself

Sunscreen and sunglasses
Water and drinks
A light layer for after sunset
A daypack for your things

Cost calculator

Price a board or ski evening

Enter your group size to compare four outings.

Sandboard or sandski4 hoursfrom $48 Drone videos & 4x44 hoursfrom $47 Professional school3.25 hoursfrom $56 Bonfire evening4 hoursfrom $59

People 2

Total from$95

pp from $48

Check availabilityfree cancellation

The total is each outing's from-price on its booking site multiplied by your party, converted at the day's ECB rate; the checkout shows the final amount.

Video

Dunes: sand skiing in Peru

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Which suits you: a quick guide

If you ski on snow, choose skis. If you snowboard, choose the board. That rule covers most people: you spend the evening riding rather than learning a new sport from zero. Your first run on familiar equipment is also the best way to judge how much the sand changes things.

If you do neither, think about what you want to come home with. A board looks more like the photos of Huacachina and teaches a skill you can take to snow later; skis are often easier to stand up on and to stop with. Children and nervous adults can start by lying on the board, which PromPeru lists as one of the ways to ride.¹

If you cannot decide, ask about swapping. The site tour's kit lists both kinds of gear, and its guided part at Huacachina runs 3.5 hours. Ask whether you can try both before you set off, not at the top of the dune.

Gear, clothes and what the outing supplies

The better outings supply everything you ride with. The site tour's inclusions list full ski or snowboard equipment, plus a helmet, goggles and a bandana, a certified instructor and photos and videos filmed with a follow cam. The group meets 30 minutes early to try on the gear, which is the moment to sort out boot size and binding angles.

Bring the rest yourself. The same listing asks you to bring comfortable shoes and clothes, sunglasses, drinks, sunscreen, water and a daypack. Long trousers protect your legs on a fall, and thin layers suit the late afternoon heat and the cool after sunset. San Camilo, the weather station near Ica, records a mean daily low of 10.3 °C in July.⁴

Cheaper buggy tours mostly hand out a plain board for sledding, and one listing warns that stand-up sandboarding needs a professional board rented separately at extra cost. PromPeru also notes that sandboarding equipment is for rent at the resort around the lagoon.⁵ If you want bindings and boots, book an outing that lists them.

Filming your runs on board or skis

Half the fun of an evening on the dunes is the footage. The site tour includes photos and videos filmed with a follow cam, and the drone outing puts sunset videos from the air in its title. You do not need to carry a camera on the slope, which is good news: sand and a phone in a pocket do not mix well on a fall.

Board and skis look different on film. A snowboarder carving across a face throws a fan of sand that catches the low sun, and that is the classic Huacachina shot. A skier reads better from straight below, with the lagoon or the dune crest behind. Tell whoever is filming which line you plan to take, and ride it a little slower than you think; speed looks bigger on video than it feels.

Keep your own camera for the quiet moments: the buggy parked on a crest, the group on the ridge, the bonfire after dark. Wipe the lens often, keep it zipped away between shots and never change a lens in the wind. The desert light at the end of the day is generous, and the best pictures often come in the last half hour before dark.

Who should sit this one out

Board and ski outings at Huacachina are physical. The site tour lists who should not take part: anyone with back problems or a mobility impairment, wheelchair users, people with epilepsy or a pre-existing condition, babies under 1 year and people over 70. Those limits apply whichever piece of gear you choose.

There is also the buggy: the site tour includes a 3-hour dune buggy ride. PromPeru's advice is to skip dune buggy services, as the activity is currently neither regulated nor officially supervised.⁶ Our dune buggy page covers that advice in full, and it is worth reading before you book any evening on the dunes.

Neither limit rules out a visit. You can still walk up a dune from the shore for the sunset, rent a board at the resort and slide a short slope near the lagoon, or take a boat out on the water.⁵ ⁷ The dunes are there for everyone, with or without a lesson.

Your sunset