Groups
Group UTV tour in Huacachina: how it works
How a group UTV tour in Huacachina works: how to book, how to split your group between vehicles, and how taking turns at the wheel works.
Published on 7 October 2026 · 8 min read
Here's how a group UTV tour in Huacachina works: you message us on WhatsApp with your date and headcount, we split the group across several UTVs, each vehicle gets a driver (who can change at the stops) and passengers, everyone goes through the same safety briefing and practice run on flat ground, and then you head out in single file behind the guide, with radios linking every vehicle. Your group does the driving. The guide sets the route.
That's the brochure version. What actually decides how the afternoon goes is something else: who rides with whom.
We've been taking travellers into the Ica desert for more than 12 years: backpackers who met at the hostel the night before, families flying in from abroad, friends doing Peru together who planned everything in a group chat. The dunes are rarely the problem. A badly mixed vehicle is. Everyone who didn't want to drive stuck together, or the friend who gets carsick sitting next to the one who wants to floor it.
How to book a group UTV tour in Huacachina
On WhatsApp, and early. A group needs several UTVs free for the same departure, and that doesn't come together the night before, especially if you're squeezing Huacachina into a tight route between Lima, Paracas and Nasca.
What helps us get started:
- Your date, and whether it can move (morning or afternoon, or a backup day).
- Your real headcount. Not "eight-ish". That's how we work out how many vehicles you need. How many people fit in each UTV depends on the vehicle, so we'll confirm that ourselves.
- Who wants to drive and who'd rather ride along.
- Ages, if you've got kids or older travellers with you. We don't quote minimum ages from memory: ask us about your case.
- Where you're staying. Huacachina sits about five kilometres from the city of Ica, so some groups sleep in town and others in the oasis itself. Hotel pickup isn't included as standard; if you need it, ask.
It all moves faster when one person collects the details and messages us. Why, and how to do it without losing your mind in the group chat, is in Huacachina with friends.
How to split your group between the UTVs
This is the bit almost nobody thinks about before arriving, and the one you notice most out on the sand. We'll suggest a split based on what you tell us, but you know your people. Here's what we've seen work.
Every UTV needs at least one person who actually wants to drive. Not someone who'll "drive if I have to". A vehicle where nobody wants the wheel ends up with a reluctant driver, and you can tell on the first descent.
Don't put all the nervous ones together. It's a tempting idea: calm people in one car, keen ones in another, nobody bothers anybody. It backfires. That UTV ends up with everyone looking at each other waiting for someone to volunteer, and whoever drives spends more time watching faces than watching the route. Spread them out. A nervous passenger next to someone steady settles down surprisingly fast.
Whoever gets carsick goes with a smooth driver. Not with the mate who thinks the dunes are a race track. If someone knows they get motion sick, they should say so beforehand, not on the second climb.
Couples and siblings don't have to ride together, by the way. Sometimes the best afternoon belongs to the person who rode with someone they barely knew.
Not long ago a group of cousins put all their "non-drivers" in the same UTV. When it was time to set off, nobody would take the wheel. We had to reshuffle the whole group on the sand, helmets already on. One message in the chat the night before would have saved it.
Groups with very different ages
Grandparents, parents, teenagers and kids on the same outing is completely normal in Huacachina, and it's the setup that needs the most thought. Can everyone come? In many cases yes, depending on the UTV and the ages, but there's no blanket rule we can give you here. Send us everyone's ages and we'll tell you what works and how we'd split you up.
What we can tell you now: the pace adapts to the group, and if there are beginners or older travellers, it adapts to them. For that kind of trip, see also big families on the dunes.
Who drives, and how you take turns at the wheel
This is the big difference from the classic Huacachina dune buggy, where you sit on a bench and the buggy's own driver does all the driving. In our UTVs you drive, and in a group you take turns.
Swaps happen at the stops, with the vehicle standing still. Never on the move. Whoever takes the wheel adjusts their harness before setting off, and so does whoever moves over to the passenger seat: a harness is fitted to a body, not to a seat. Sounds obvious. With everyone buzzing after the photo on the crest, people forget.
One tip that saves arguments: agree the order of turns before you leave. Who starts, who's next. Negotiating it on top of a dune with the rest of the line waiting is no fun for anyone.
Nobody has to drive. There's always someone who says "I'll ride shotgun and take the pictures", and that's a perfectly respectable job. Passengers still wear a helmet and harness, and they still sit through the briefing.
What if someone decides not to go at all? It happens, sometimes right there on the sand, looking at the first dune. That's fine, and nobody has to explain themselves. Just let us know as soon as you can: if the person dropping out was the only keen driver in their UTV, that vehicle needs someone else and the split has to change. If it's nerves, riding along with a calm driver is often enough.
Visiting from abroad and wondering about your licence? See can I drive the UTV in Huacachina? and ask us before you travel.
The joint briefing, the guide and the radios
The whole group does the briefing together before anyone starts an engine, drivers and passengers alike. It's the one moment of the afternoon when everybody is quiet and listening to the same thing.
What happens, with nothing skipped:
- Every vehicle is checked: brakes, tyres, harnesses, fuel and radio.
- Safety briefing and a walk-through of the controls.
- A practice run on flat ground, driver by driver, until each one feels comfortable.
- Helmet, 4-point harness and footwear checked person by person. Whoever turned up in flip-flops finds out here.
With lots of drivers, the flat-ground practice takes longer. It's the dullest part of the afternoon and the one that prevents the most trouble later. What gets explained is in driving on sand: what the briefing covers.
Out on the dunes, the guide leads with the first-aid kit, water and GPS, picks the line, and the convoy moves at the pace of the most cautious driver, with radios between vehicles. How that line holds together with a lot of vehicles is in how a UTV convoy works with large groups.
If the wind is lifting sand or visibility drops, we reschedule. No debate. Peru's weather service SENAMHI posts wind warnings for the central and southern coast when they're expected. With a group, leave some slack in your itinerary and don't put the dunes right before your bus out of Ica.
Is Huacachina safe? A lot depends on who you go with. Ask any operator what restraint the vehicle has and whether there are helmets for everyone. Plenty of classic buggies are well looked after by drivers with years behind them; in a UTV, the ROPS roll cage and harness come from the factory. Ours is all on the safety page.
What to send us on WhatsApp to organise your group
Message us on +51 967 564 701 with this filled in:
- Date (and any flexibility)
- Total number of people
- How many want to drive and how many will ride along
- Who gets carsick or nervous, so we can factor it into the split
- Ages of any kids or older travellers
- Hotel or area where you're staying
- Anything to add: zorbing in the late afternoon, or sandboarding (that one's arranged on request)
We'll come back with how many UTVs you need and how the split could look. Vehicle and route details are on the UTV tour page.
Frequently asked questions
Does everyone in the group have to drive? No. Each UTV needs one driver at any given moment, and everyone else rides along. Most groups swap drivers at the stops.
How many people fit in each UTV? It depends on the vehicle, and we'd rather not give you a number that later doesn't add up. Tell us your headcount and we'll confirm how many UTVs you need.
Can we choose who rides in which UTV? Tell us what you have in mind and we'll look at it together. If something doesn't work, like a vehicle with nobody keen to drive, we'll flag it before the day.
