Lima, as a capital city and one of South America’s most populous cities, provides expats and digital nomads with opportunities to play a variety of sports, including even sports like cricket, which you may not have expected to find in Peru.
Whilst I focused on many of the sports I grew up playing and currently still play on the other Lima pages, here is an introduction to a few other sports you can do in Lima.
I will add more sports to this page in the future as I gather more information, but for now, let me introduce golf, mountain biking, tennis and volleyball in Lima.
Golf
Considering Lima’s desert location and the city’s relative lack of greenery, you might be surprised to learn that Lima has four 18-hole golf courses. With no rain or wind to speak of, and temperatures that remain warm all year round, the weather conditions are ideal for playing golf in Lima. The cost of playing a round, or knowing the right person to play with, is another story!
Country Club de Villa Golf Club, Chorillos
Golf courses in Lima
Below are Lima’s four 18-hole golf courses:
Country Club La Planicie, La Molina
Country Club de Villa, Chorillos
Lima Golf Club, San Isidro
Los Inkas Golf Club, Surco
You can also play a nine-hole course in Ate, northeast of La Molina:
Granja Azul Country Club de Golf
And 20 miles (32 km) to the east of Lima, you have another nine-hole course:
Los Andes Golf Club
How much does it cost to play golf in Lima? Do I need to be a member of a golf club?
As you might expect in South America, all Lima golf clubs are private. Golf is considered a luxury sport in Peru, after all.
If you are lucky enough to know a member of a Lima golf club, here’s what you can expect to pay in green fees as a guest:
Country Club La Planicie
Mon–Fri US$80
Sat, Sun and holidays US$130
Plus S/120 for a caddy (compulsory)
(S/90 if you wish to rent clubs)
Country Club de Villa
Mon–Wed and Fri–Sun S/350
Thurs S/175
Plus S/110 for a caddy (compulsory)
(S/80 if you wish to rent clubs)
I don’t see the green fees listed online for Lima Golf Club and Los Inkas, which may go to show just how exclusive those places are!
How do I play golf in Lima without being a member of a club?
If you’re just passing through Lima and staying in certain hotels, you’ll be able to access some of the city’s golf courses as a hotel guest without the need to play alongside a club member.
Country Club La Planicie Golf Club, La Molina
Country Club La Planicie
US$130 green fee + S/120 for a caddy (compulsory)
Be a guest at any five-star hotel in Lima and communicate with the golf club through your hotel to arrange a tee time.
Country Club de Villa
S/580 + S/110 for a caddy (compulsory)
Be a guest at a hotel in districts like Miraflores, San Isidro or La Molina. Think international hotels, but best check with the club beforehand to make sure your hotel is accepted.
Lima Golf Club
US$150 + 28% taxes
Stay at the Country Club Hotel, located across the road from the golf club.
As for Los Inkas, don’t be fooled by the hotel name or its proximity to the golf course: Casa Andina Premium Golf Los Incas Hotel has no arrangement with the adjacent golf course.
Long-term visitors to Lima who do not know any golf club members to play with or who are not staying in select hotels will need to play on the golf courses located outside of the city, as you can play at both Granja Azul and Los Andes without being a guest of a member.
Granja Azul
I haven’t been able to confirm prices yet.
Los Andes
S/170 + S/70 for a caddy (compulsory)
(S/80 if you wish to rent clubs)
You can only play the course as a non-member twice. However, if you play as a guest of a member, you can do so twice a month.
All prices accurate at time of writing in May 2025
What sport do you want to play?
Mountain biking
Despite its coastal location, Lima offers serious mountain biking opportunities on Morro Solar in Chorrillos. Read about Morro Solar as a running destination on the Where to Run in Lima page, as the running trails described are actually biking trails.
What are the Morro Solar bike trails like?
It is the descent that mountain bikers come for, but really, the descent of Morro Solar is for downhill bikers, and experienced ones at that, as this video will testify.
My rental mountain bike couldn’t have handled the more technical trails from the summit. Plus, I wouldn’t have had the skills or confidence to fully enjoy them. Thankfully, there are more beginner-friendly mountain biking trails further down the hill. If you are just out for more of a casual bike ride, I would ride up as far as Cristo del Pacífico and explore the trails below there.
The lower slopes of Morro Solar are better suited to novice mountain bikers
Pedalo is a great resource for learning about the various trails on Morro Solar, as well as other mountain biking and downhill biking routes in and around Lima.
How to reach Morro Solar from Barranco
As you approach the foot of Morro Solar from Avenida Malecón Grau, turn off the main road by bearing left to begin the first part of the climb up to the Cristo del Pacífico statue. This stretch of paved road provides sweeping views back along the Lima coastline.
The first part of the climb up Morro Solar is on tarmac
After about ¾ mile/1.1 km, you will reach the turn-off for Cristo del Pacífico. From there, the route to the summit of Morro Solar (called Mirador del Morro and where antennae can be seen) becomes an unpaved road that totals about 1.5 miles/2.4 km in length.
The antennae mark the summit of Morro Solar
Is it safe to bike on Morro Solar?
Pay the same amount of attention you would in other, more remote parts of town. I didn’t feel unsafe, but you can be exposed up there. I was told to make sure I was off the hill before sunset. That said, Morro Solar is very popular with local mountain bikers, particularly in the mornings, as well as those who simply want to enjoy the views.
Tennis
For those arriving in Lima and fresh from the airport, the sight of tennis courts is your signal that you have arrived in Miraflores - for me, at least. Coming from the airport, it’s likely you will have travelled along the Costa Verde highway before climbing the rampway into Miraflores, where you will pass the Club Terrazas Sports Club and its ten tennis courts. However, given the exclusivity of this private club (with an eye-watering $30,000 joining fee), you will probably want to consider other Lima tennis clubs!
Where are some public tennis courts in Lima?
Thankfully, public tennis courts also exist in Lima. You can find some along the malecón in Miraflores and San Isidro. The latter are part of the Complejo Deportivo Municipal de San Isidro.
Expect difficulty securing a court. You might find a two-week waiting list when booking them online, although Miraflores residents get precedence. It’s my understanding that you need to be a San Isidro resident to play on the tennis courts at the Complejo Deportivo Municipal de San Isidro. This could apply to other municipal courts as well.
Public tennis courts along the malecón in Miraflores
What are some tennis clubs in Lima?
If you take your tennis seriously and plan to be in Peru long-term, consider joining a tennis club. Tennis clubs can be found right across the city, but below are a few options. Many Lima tennis clubs are, in fact, sports clubs.
Disclaimer: This is far from an exhaustive list of tennis clubs. I felt I had to omit somewhere like Club de Regatas in Chorillos, which has (I believe) a $100,000 joining fee! The hefty joining and monthly fees of many sports clubs in Lima will be an obvious barrier to playing tennis, but more reasonably priced clubs like Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposición exist to make tennis a viable option for your average Lima expat.
Barranco
Barranco Tennis Club
Jesús María
Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposición
This club is the only realistic option I know of, given the “mere” S/5,000 joining fee and S/200 monthly membership fee. You don’t need to pay each time you play tennis either. Membership at Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposición gives you more than just tennis (as must be the case with other clubs), as your membership includes the use of their gym, swimming pool and other facilities, as well as discounted rates on sports coaching. Six-month memberships are also available.
Some of the 17 clay courts at Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposición
Federación Peruana de Tenis
Magdalena
Lima Cricket & Football Club
Surco
Surco Tenis
Lima tennis social media groups
I’ve been told that there are several WhatsApp and Facebook Lima tennis groups, so it’s a case of knowing the right people to invite you to them, but I at least have two to share.
Regardless of whether you’re looking to play tennis or not, all expats and digital nomads in Lima should consider joining the Lima Community WhatsApp group.
From the community, you can join the Tenis y Pádel group (the two groups recently merged). It is not such an active group, and there is little discussion about meeting up to play tennis, but it could be a good starting point to learn about the tennis scene in Lima.
As for Facebook, La Confraternidad del Tenis is one group to join.
Tennis-related Spanish vocabulary
And finally, a few pieces of tennis-related vocabulary specific to Latin America/Peru to get you started with finding a court in Peru:
una cancha = court
la superficie = surface
arcilla = clay
Laykold = hardcourt (Laykold is a brand of tennis hardcourt)
Volleyball
An informal mixed volleyball group plays twice a week in Miraflores. By all accounts, the standard is not so high, as the group caters to all abilities. It’s more about having a good time.
When?
Tuesdays and Thursdays 8–10pm
Where?
Near the Wong supermarket on the Avenida Benavides/Avenida República de Panamá junction in Miraflores
The volleyball court where the group plays
Cost?
S/17
Games are arranged over WhatsApp. You can find the group by joining the Pichangas Mixtas por Diversión en San Isidro Community on WhatsApp, and there, you’ll find the Voley Mixto en Miraflores por Diversión group.
More serious volleyball players might want to check out the VOLEY LIMA PERU Facebook group.
It’s an active group for all volleyball-related topics in Lima. Although there are a lot of people selling trainers (!) or volleyball equipment, it’s a good group to join if you want to learn about the competitive volleyball scene in Lima or find a team/group to play with.
The Alianza Lima women’s volleyball team
Do you have anything to share about these sports? What other Lima sports should be mentioned here?
What sport do you want to play?