San Bartolo

Eight Km farther south from Punta Hermosa [1] on the Panamericana, past an exclusive area of homes perched on a seaside cliff and an exclusive beach club known as La Quebrada, lies the laid-back beach town of San Bartolo.

The town itself is perched on a bluff above an attractive horseshoe-shaped beach, lined with hotels, condos, and a malecón, known as Playa Norte.

San Bartolo is less of a surfer party spot than the center of Punta Hermosa, even with Peñascal, a right reef break that gets as high as four meters on the south end of the Playa Norte. There are gentler waves, and a good place for swimming on the north end of Playa Norte, along with a few nice beachfront hotels.

After entering from Km 48 of the Panamericana, the main drag into town is Avenida San Bartolo. Most hotels are along Mar Pacífico, a street that runs to the left (south). To the right, another road leads around to Kahunas Hostal and Playa Norte.

Getting to San Bartolo

Probably the easiest way to get to San Bartolo from Lima [2] is to hire a taxi (US$15) or take the Cruz del Sur bus, which stops at the town entrance. Local buses for Mala—which stop outside of Punta Hermosa [1], San Bartolo, and Santa María—pick up passengers at the circle, or trébol, where Avenida Javier Prado intersects with the Panamericana in Barranco [3]. These buses, called Maleños, take 50 minutes to reach San Bartolo and charge US$0.75.