If you’re working your way along the Peru tourist trail over the next few weeks and you’ve landed in Huacachina – probably exhausted from a lengthy bus, and obviously desperate to work out where to actually watch the World Cup – don’t panic. I’ve got you.
At first glance, it looks like there should be loads of places to watch the World Cup in Huacachina. A quick google maps search shows so many restaurants and bars relative to Huacachina’s size. And it’s an international backpacker town, so big sporting events should be on the agenda all over right? Wrong. It was actually trickier than I thought to find a spot. When my favourite outdoor bar with great food, craft beer and generally good vibes just wasn’t even bothering to put it on because of slow buffering speeds, I realised I’d have to get a bit more creative!
And so I did. I spent three days in this adorable little desert oasis catching games every day, and have pinned exactly where to go depending on what you’re after: a big lively night, a chilled afternoon on a sofa, or a quiet beer right by the famous Huacachina lake. Here are my three top picks to watch the World Cup in Huacachina.
1. Wild Rover – Best for the night matches and big atmosphere
Wild Rover is your go-to for the evening kick-offs. It’s a hostel bar, so it comes with all the usual hostel-bar trimmings – cheap beer, average service, questionably stable furniture. And this is a party hostel, so expect plenty of people, plenty of chaos, beer pong going on around you. But also a properly lively atmosphere, lots of energy when someone scores, and an easy way to bond with other world cup-mad travellers.
The big win here is the screens. They had three of them above the bar, and although they’re not massive, during the group stage they were showing both simultaneous matches at once on different screens, so you could keep up with two games in real time without missing a thing. I’d expect them to keep doing that whenever there are concurrent kick-offs.
They also have beer promotions, buy a bucket of 6, it’s cheaper than buying 4 etc. Great if you’re in a group.
The only niggle here is that they don’t let you in with a backpack. We went during the day after checking out from our main hotel, and they wouldn’t let us in, were weird about bag storage, and then tried to charge us 20 soles ($6) to keep the backpacks. We left and when somewhere a little less intense. Not a major issue but worth nothing as you’ll probably find yourself in a similar situtation before a night bus. I’d still recommend though, for a casual evening game watch – without luggage!
So if you want to watch multiple matches at the same time, or you just want energy and a crowd around you while you watch the world cup in Huacachina, this is your best bet.
2. Viajero – best for a chilled daytime game
Viajero is another hostel, but a much more relaxed one. You’ll be watching in an outdoor shaded area, and honestly it’s far better during the day than at night. In my experience it doesn’t have a huge vibe in the evenings, probably because the bedrooms are literally right next to the viewing space so people are trying to be respectful.
That said, for a daytime or lunchtime game, it’s lovely. There were maybe fifteen of us spread across comfy sofas in front of the TV. They do coffees, soft drinks and beers, and you can order food, which makes it ideal for the lunchtime fixtures. Side note though – the food service is slow and both times that we ordered, they got the order wrong. Have patience.
Viajero also kept world cup-viewing fun: free (very watered-down) shots every time someone scored, a score-prediction competition with a free drink for the winner, a round of flip cup at half-time, and a ping pong match once the final whistle went. And no pressure if you weren’t into that they jsut happily moved on. At the same time, people were not rowdy either. Genuinely a nice, chilled setting to watch a game – and I’d imagine as the tournament reaches the latter stages this place will get busier and even better. And importantly – they were not weird about backpacks and didn’t care how long you sat around their communal area. Win.
3. Huacaf**kingchina – best for a quiet beer on the lagoon
Finally – and yes, that really is the name (without the asterisk but I’m being polite…). This is a small bar-restaurant right on the lagoon with a massive TV. And I mean truly massive. It’s never especially busy here – I rarely saw a big crowd and there was 0 atmosphere other than the vibes our little group of four created. But they were happy to put on whatever game we asked for, which is a real plus.
Drinks are on the pricier side, you’ll, pay way more for a beer than in the two places above, so it’s not the budget option. But if you just want to nurse a beer in the daytime and watch a match in a quieter spot, this works nicely. There is also a decent food menu – the taqueños (fried cheese sticks) and chifa (fried rics) are excellent. It’s also a solid backup if Wild Rover is rammed and you can’t get in.
My quick verdict
- Night games and big energy → Wild Rover
- Daytime games and a relaxed crowd → Viajero
- A quiet lagoon-side beer (or a Wild Rover overflow) → Huacaf**kingchina
And remember – Huacachina is tiny, so you’re never more than a few minutes’ walk from any of these. When we couldnt get into one 5 minutes before kickoff, we were already in another when the national anthems were happening.
You’re also really close to all of the other attractions of Huacachina. So you can watch a game, go sandboarding or dune-buggying between matches, catch the sunset on a pedal boat by the lake a few steps away, or grab a tuk tuk right outside to take you to the bus station for your next adventure. Either way, you’ve got yourself a pretty perfect World Cup pit stop on the tourist trail!
Also worth reading
Best places to eat in Huacachina – where to go and what to order
The best vineyards in Ica – how to avoid the overcrowded tourist hotspots and get an actually authentic vineyard experience
How to spend a weekend in Huacachina – the perfect itinerary
Where to stay in Huacachina – because in a sea of accommodation options, you want the ones that are tried and tested!
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