Tacna, Peru!

February 17, 2008 6:49 AM

Things to do and places to stay in Tacna, Peru?

On my way to Tacna, Peru tomorrow. Wonder if any of you have any suggestions of places to stay and things to do while I´m there for a couple days.

posted by mateuslee to Travel & Transportation around Tacna, Peru (1 answer total)

I've been to Tacna quite a few times to work with the local Jesuit schools there.

There's one main "tourist" hotel in town, the Gran Hotel Tacna, on Ave. Bolognesi. There's also several more run-down-looking places near the bus station, but I don't know much about them.

There's not tons to do in Tacna; it's not really a tourist town. The big industry there is buying and selling - it's in a free trade zone, so there's a lot of shops bringing in clothing and electronics to S. America - they can be bought there without paying tariffs.
The cathedral and fountain in the main plaza are nice. There's also some petroglyphs outside of town - here's a little blurb about them.

You can also take a cab down to Arica, Chile if you want to check that out or get the stamp on your passport. Just go to the bus station and talk to the cab drivers there - it should cost 10-15 soles. Be careful, though - the border closes at 9pm, so if you're not careful, you could get trapped in Chile.

There might be stuff going on for Lent - there's often parades in town between Ash Wednesday and Easter.

Have fun - the Tacnan people have always been great to me when I've been there.
posted by chbrooks at 2:57 PM on February 17, 2008