Should you visit La Plata or Paracas?
Which city is more affordable and which is best for your travel style? If you're trying to figure out where to go next, comparing the travel costs between La Plata and Paracas can help you decide which place is right for you.
La Plata
Just over an hour from Buenos Aires, the bustling university city of La Plata is notable for being South America's first planned city. Indeed, also known as the City of Diagonal, La Plata's intricate grid system includes diagonal streets that run through it, contributing to easy navigation but confusing intersections.La Plata is the Capital of the Province of Buenos Aires, the main Argentine state, so you will find lots of elaborate government buildings alongside leafy green plazas in this laid back as well as active city. La Plata is a happening university town with a population of over 700,000. You can walk the width of it in under an hour, stopping at trendy craft beer bars, local music joints, and great restaurants along the way. Also, football is a religion in Argentina and if you're looking for some local atmosphere, La Plata is the place to go! Two of Argentina's biggest football teams, Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata and Estudiantes de La Plata challenge each other each year. If you are around during that special day for the city, you will witness thousands of fans wearing the relevant colours heading off to watch the match and parade by calle 7.
Paracas
Paracas, also known as El Chaco, is a resort town on the Southern coast of the country, about 150 miles south of Lima. The town in located in one of the oldest regions of Peru, with a history dating back to 900 BC and offers many pre-Inca cultural sites throughout the area. Paracas is possibly best known for being home to the Paracas National Reserve, a nature reserve boasting one of the most abundant and diverse ecosystems in the world.
Which city is cheaper, Paracas or La Plata?
These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations.
The average daily cost (per person) in La Plata is $62, while the average daily cost in Paracas is $47. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each city. Below is a breakdown of travel costs for La Plata and Paracas in more detail.
Accommodation
Double occupancy rooms typically run around $50 in La Plata For nicer amenities and a premiere location, you can expect to pay a bit more.
Paracas's average price for two people sharing a typical double-occupancy hotel room is $34. A typical place to stay for one person, per day is $17.
Food
On average, meal and food prices in La Plata cost around $24 per person, per day. While this price can vary widely by location, the type of restaurant, and the amount of food ordered, a typical meal often costs around $9.60.
Paracas food costs typically run travelers around $17 per day. Eating every meal in a nicer restaurant will drive the cost up, and grabbing fast food or casual meals will help you save money.
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Food
Meals for one day
La Plata $24
Paracas $17
Typical Food prices in La Plata
Here are some examples of typical meal expenses from previous travelers to La Plata:
Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Paracas
Also, here are some specific examples of food and dining related activities in Paracas.
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Dinner on Paracas Desert:
$393
Local Transportation
Public transportation tends to be much less expensive in La Plata than paying for a taxi or private car service, as is expected. Typically, people spend $18 on transportation in La Plata on average per day.
The average price of local transportation around Paracas is $14 per person, per day. As this average includes both taxis and public transport, keep in mind that the prices of private drivers and taxis are significantly more expensive than public transportation.
Hired Cars and Shuttles in La Plata
Also for La Plata, here are a few examples of actual transportation services:
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La Plata hotels to El Palomar Airport (EPA) - Departure Private Transfer:
$75
Hired Cars and Shuttles in Paracas
Some specific examples of transportation prices in Paracas:
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Private transfer from Paracas to Lima Airport (price per vehicle):
$490
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Private transfer from Paracas to Lima (price per vehicle):
$480
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Transfer Paracas -Lima:
$250
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Private Transfer from Paracas to Ica:
$110
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Private Bus Station transfer in Paracas:
$9.10
Is it cheaper to fly into La Plata or Paracas?
Prices for flights to both Paracas and La Plata change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.
Entertainment
Sightseeing expenses in La Plata, including the cost of admission tickets for day tours, museums, and attractions, usually cost an average of $16 per day, per person.
Paracas's costs for entertainment, tickets, attractions, and tours will often cost around $19 per person, per day. This cost can vary widely by the type of activity, however, as this includes admission tickets, day tours, museums, and other things to do.
Typical Entertainment prices in La Plata
For La Plata, here are some examples of average entertainment and activity prices from previous travelers:
Tours and Activities in Paracas
Here are a few actual costs in Paracas for available activities, ticket prices, and tours:
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ATV Tour in Paracas:
$45
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Ballestas Islands Group Tour from Paracas:
$26
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Ballestas Islands Private Group Tour:
$440
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Ballestas Islands Sightseeing Boat Ride from Paracas:
$24
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Ballestas Islands Sigthseeing Tour:
$36
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Ballestas Islands and Chandelier tour from Paracas:
$36
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Ballestas Islands and Paracas National Park from the Cruise pier San Martin:
$124
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Ballestas Islands for cruise ship passenger - Paracas Harbour:
$32
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Buggy & Sandboard Adventure in Paracas:
$98
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Desert Adventure: Luxury Picnic, Off-Road & Sandboarding:
$629
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From 2-Hour Private Ballestas Islands Tour:
$405
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From Ica Vineyard Private Tour Including Lunch and Tasting:
$99
Alcohol
Alcoholic beverages can often be a significant portion of a traveler's budget, and the costs can vary greatly from person to person. In La Plata, the average amount that a visitor spends on alcoholic beverages per day is $8.69.
While the amount that someone spends on alcohol while visiting Paracas may vary from person to person, on average a person spends $8.33 per day on alcoholic beverages.
When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between La Plata and Paracas, we can see that La Plata is more expensive. And not only is Paracas much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. So, traveling to Paracas would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Paracas and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in La Plata would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in La Plata than you might in Paracas.
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