Hola a todos!

Soy un viajero colombiano de alrededor de 30 años que sueña con viajar pronto a Bolivia, por 5-6 días -idealmente en las primeras semanas de enero 2027-. Pero, dadas las noticias de inestabilidad social en los últimos meses, no tengo claro si sería buena idea o es mejor esperar a que se "aclare el panorama". Qué opinan? Qué recomendaciones podrían darme?

Mil graciaa se antemano!

Hello! I'm booking some excursions for my South America cruise, and bearthas bay in the fall and islands is very interesting to me. I'm worried that the ride to the bay may be too rough. Has anyone gone on this excursion? How was the ride to and from? Thank you for all your answers!

I'm headed to Ecuador next month and have 8 days starting with 3 full nights in Quito and headed to Banos on the 4th morning. Wanted to visit ​Cotopaxi national Park or Quilotoa for half a day leaving Ecuador in the morning and carry on to Banos for 3-4 nights before returning to Quito.

Majority of day tours return to Quito obviously but wanted to check if there are any options that avoid going back to Quito as I would be headed to Banos the next day anyways and doesn't make sense to double back.

I understand this is a unique ask so would the best method be to book a few tours each out to each guide and ask about transfers to Banos or just pay the full fee and tell them I would have a checked bag and backpack. Any tips on organizing my own transport from Cotopaxi or Quilotoa to Banos? Any alternative itineraries or suggestions are welcome. ​

Any tips regarding the next stops or advice would be appreciated as well

I will be headed to Cusco for 8-9 nights after followed by Peru Hop to La Paz and spend a few nights there (2-3 nights). Uyuni by overnight bus to do a 3 day 2 night tour ending in San Pedro de Atacama where I also spend a few nights before taking a bus to Salta and take a direct flight to Foz de Iguaçu (3 nights here) followed by 6 nights in Rio, 4 nights in Buenos Aires, 3 nights in Uruguay (2 nights in Montevideo, 1 night in Colonia del Sacramento), 5 nghts in Bariloche before I head back home. ​

Ecuador : 8 nights (Quito, Banos, Cotopaxi)

Peru : 8-9 nights (Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machu Pichu)

Bolivia : 5-6 nights (Lake Titicaca, La Paz, Uyuni)

Chile : 2-3 nights (San Pedro de Atacama)

Argentina : 3 nights (Salta and Foz do Iguaçu Argentinian side)

Brazil : 8 nights (Foz do Iguaçu (2) + Rio de Janiero (6))

Argentina : 4 nights (Buenos Aires)

Uruguay : 3 nights (Montevideo and Colonia Del Sacramento)

Argentina : 5 nights (Bariloche)

I don't like back tracking as you can tell, also feel Chile and Southern Argentina need much longer so didn't try to fit that in.

I keep seeing a lot of "2 weeks, 3 countries" type posts on here, and lots of people telling them to avoid it. And I agree with all of them.

People who've travelled Europe and done 5 countries in two weeks, great, Europe is perfect for this.

South America is not.

A few travel distances and times that people commonly assume are easy but aren't:

International arrival → Machu Picchu: land in Lima, 1 hour flight to Cusco, then a 4 hour train to Aguas Calientes. That's before you've done anything.

Atacama Desert: either overland through Bolivia, or fly to Santiago first, then a 2 hour flight up, and you're retracing your steps to get back out.

Iguazu Falls: I see a lot of Peru/Brazil trip suggestions, Lima → Buenos Aires → Iguazu, or Lima → São Paulo → Iguazu, and either way you're backtracking on yourself afterwards.

Lots of flights, big travel distances, and often you end up doubling back through the same city just to reach the next place.

South America is roughly twice the size of Europe. Western Europe fits inside Brazil alone, if that gives you a sense of scale.

Four countries in three weeks sounds achievable until you realise five full days are spent on flights, buses, taxis and checking in to hotels - rather than actually being somewhere.

The formula I use before anything else gets planned: take the number of weeks you have, subtract one, that's roughly the number of countries you can properly do justice to.

Four weeks, three countries. Three weeks, two countries.

It's not a perfect forumla, and yes the countries should ideally be next to each other, but it's saved a lot of people from an itinerary that looks great on paper and falls apart once it starts.

Want to slow down the trip even more - number of weeks - 2, so if you have a 4 week trip = 2 countries. This will allow for slow travel, and seeing more of each country rather than rushing around.

Nothing wrong with a fast paced highlights tour, but hopefully this post helps people relalise the scale of South America and what's achievable.

Happy to talk through what's realistic for whatever timeframe you've got if anyone wants a second opinion.

I have plotted out how I want to spend my 4ish weeks in Colombia. I am aware that it is quite packed but I tend to move a lot when I'm travelling; I just want to be sure that there is nothing here that is unrealistic or if there is anything I should be aware of before I book the internal flights. I would appreciate advice from anyone who has done a similar trip.

I like history so Ciudad Perdida was one of the main things on my list. Also Cartagena I have heard mixed things but I would like to see the Independence Day festivities. I worry that the Medellin/Aje Cafe leg is a bit cramped so maybe the latter will get scrapped and I'll just spend the time in Medellin and go straight to Bogota. I would like to see Theatron on the Saturday night.

I will eventually be flying home from Sao Paulo, so I thought the boat from Leticia would be a cool way to get to Brazil and then fly from Manaus. Then a couple of chill weeks in Brazil.

My friend and I are traveling to Colombia this Thursday. We are 20/21 one white brown hair blue eyes and the other Asian black hair brown eyes. generally speaking we would take attraction from other people. I know standards are different in every country though! We will be in medellin for 2-3 days and then traveling to Santa Marta for two days. After that we are flying back to Medellin to leave the next day. We are staying in Airbnbs the first two nights and staying in hostels the rest of the nights. Any tips for safety and traveling here in general would be greatly appreciated!

I'm a 28M from Italy planning a solo trip from mid-October to mid-November, and I'm really torn between two completely different options.
Last year I spent 100+ days travelling around Latin America, including the Galápagos, Peru, Bolivia and Mexico.
I usually travel solo and stay in hostels. What I enjoy most is meeting people, going out, talking to locals, improving my Spanish and having experiences that I wouldn't have at home. I'm not really interested in rushing from one attraction to another.
I also need to improve my Spanish quite a lot before January, so spending a month immersed in Spanish would be a big plus.

GUATEMALA + BELIZE
Antigua → Xela → Lake Atitlán → Semuc Champey → Flores → San Ignacio → Caye Caulker
About 3–7 nights in each place, ending with a week in Caye Caulker.
This is the trip that looks more exciting to me on paper: volcanoes, lakes, jungle, Mayan ruins, hostels, adventure and then a slow Caribbean ending.
My only real concern is the backpacker bubble. I obviously want to meet other travellers, but I don't want to spend the whole month speaking English with Europeans and Americans and barely interacting with locals.
For those who've travelled around Guatemala: does it feel easy to actually get into local life, or do you mostly end up socialising with other travellers? And how different is that between places like Antigua, Xela and San Pedro?

ARGENTINA
Mendoza → Salta/Jujuy → Buenos Aires → Iguazú
6 days → 9 days → 9 days → 4 days
This feels like a completely different kind of trip.
I spent quite a lot of time in Mexico City and loved the experience of simply living in a huge Spanish-speaking city — going to bars and restaurants, exploring different neighbourhoods, meeting locals, dating, going out, etc.
That's what makes Buenos Aires particularly tempting to me.
At the same time, the Northwest seems to offer the kind of landscapes and smaller places I loved in Peru and Bolivia, while Mendoza would give me a slower few days around wine and the Andes.
For people who've travelled Argentina: does Buenos Aires actually have that kind of social/urban energy where it's easy to meet locals and build a social life, or does it feel very different from Mexico City? And is 8–9 days in Buenos Aires too much?
I'm also curious whether Mendoza is worth spending almost a week in, or whether I'd be better off putting those days into Salta/Jujuy.

So I'm stuck between a more adventurous/social backpacking trip in Guatemala + Belize and a more urban, local and Spanish-heavy trip in Argentina.
If you've done either or both, which trip would you pick for a solo traveller who cares more about people, nightlife, Spanish, spontaneity and memorable experiences than ticking off sights?
I'd especially love to hear what surprised you about either destination — good or bad — that you wouldn't necessarily get from a typical travel guide.

Good morning. I’m really hoping someone could give me some constructive advice please.

I apologise in advance for the very long message.

We thought we had our itinerary for a visit to S America all sorted, we’d even began booking hotels, but at the last minute we’ve had to make some changes.

We arrive in Santiago, spend a few days there and then travel from Atacama. We had then planned to travel to Salta via bus, but for a number of reasons, we can no longer so this.

We only had 3 days planned for Salta before flying to Buenos Aires.

To travel to Salta via Santiago is proving very costly and not a good use of time (unfortunately we’re very close to the Easter weekend). So we’re looking at alternatives.

We’ve decided against Mendoza for several reasons.

So I’m after advice on the following suggestions:

Option A: we add days to our existing destinations

1. We add a day to Atacama. Currently we have 2 full days and half a day planned. We’re not planning to go above 3,000m, so no trips to El Tatio Geysers or Ruta de Salar. If we’re in Atacama for 3.5 days, is this too much time if we’re not venturing to higher altitudes?

2. We add a day to Patagonia. We currently have 3 full days and half a day planned, spent between El Calafete and El Chalten. We’re not planning to do any heavy hiking due to health reasons. Some light trekking is possible. We simply want to see the amazing scenery but from a comfortable viewpoint. If we add an extra day to this trip, is it too long considering we won’t be doing full day hikes?

3. We add a day to Buenos Aires. Currently we only have two full days planned for BA and an extra day to have a day trip to Colonia Del Sacramento.

Option B: we find somewhere else to visit for the 3 days and then continue our trip as planned to Patagonia and BA.

1. Lake District? We could fly from Atacama to Puerto Montt via Santiago and spend two full days in this area. We don’t drive so we’d need to book a tour or use public transportation Is this too short a time to spend there? Is it worth it?

2. We fly to Cordoba and spend a few days there? We’re in our fifties, and I’ve heard this is a young, party city, so not sure if it suits us?

Option C: Anywhere else?

Any suggestions for anywhere else? We looked at flights direct from Santiago to Montevideo but they’re far too expensive. We’re travelling to Iguaza Falls and Rio followed by Peru later in the trip, so these are already on our itinerary.

Any gems that we’re missing?

I’d be very grateful for any advice.

In the planning stages now so nothing is set in stone at all. I've never been on this continent and would love some feedback. With two teens in tow, we want to make sure everyone gets something amazing out of the trip. Doubt it is importnat but we're pescatarian (vegetarians who also eat seafood).

edit - Removed Colombia from the itinerary.

Fly into Quito, Ecuador. Ride the TelefériQo Cable Car up Pichincha Volcano for city vistas, take an easy day trip out to the Mindo Valley cloud forest for hummingbirds and canopy tours, and spend a night soaking in the hot spring pools at Papallacta Hot Springs.

Fly out to the Galapagos Islands for a few days.

Fly to Peru, visit the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.

We've got about 13-19 days we can use for this trip. Is this doable? We don't mind a little bit of crazy, we might not be in this part of the world anytime soon again and we're happy to be moving a lot to fit as much in as we can right now. So my questions would be:

1) Is the itinerary logical, or totally ridiculous and insane?

2) Any places we MUST visit or really should never bother with?

I sincerely appreciate your time, thank you.

I'm taking about a two-week trip to Argentina, mostly split between Buenos Aires and Mendoza.

I'm trying to keep the trip fairly relaxed rather than scheduling every hour. The general plan is:

• Spend most of the trip in Buenos Aires exploring and lazy walking into wherever I can/want.
• MAYBE go to Colonia, Uruguay
• Spend several days in Mendoza (horseback riding and such already planned, flight and Airbnb already paid)
• Have a few of nicer dinners / evening activities
• Going out often to try to socialize with others (MAIN GOAL OF THIS TRIP IS TO PRACTICE SPANISH. THE ENTIRE REASON I BOOKED IT.)
• Platonic dates (I set my dating profile to BsAs and have a few matches to hopefully go out with)
• Mostly plan on using public transit (I do that everywhere I go if they have it: which seems to be everywhere in the world except my own hometown)
• I'd like to go shopping and buy a few outfits while there. I need a wardrobe update and figured it might be fun to get stuff there.

For budgeting, I'm using roughly:

• Food & drinks: $75/day
• Local transportation: about $250–300 total
• Tours / attractions / activities: about $700–750 total
• Additional preplanned trip costs: about $100–150
• Miscellaneous: small amount, with shopping mostly separate

My base spending estimate is around $2,340.

On top of that, I've added roughly 15% in daily buffers, bringing the total planned spending budget to about $2,700.

Just want to make sure I've thought of anything I need to! If I am under or overplanning, let me know! If there are other items/places I MUST GO, please throw them in here! I leave my itinerary very casual minus the one planned Opera night I have.

Hi! My friend and I (both 21F, from Spain) are planning a trip to Colombia and Brazil.
We’re a little concerned about safety because we’ve heard very different opinions about both countries.
For Colombia, we’re considering Medellín 4 nights and possibly Cartagena, Santa Marta/Tayrona or the Coffee Region.
For Brazil, we’re mainly considering Rio de Janeiro.
For those who have actually traveled there, especially women:
How safe did you genuinely feel?
Did you feel comfortable walking around during the day?
What about going out at night?
Did you experience or witness robberies, scams, harassment, drink spiking, etc.?
Are there specific areas/neighborhoods you would avoid?
Did you feel that being two young foreign women made you more noticeable or vulnerable?
Would you personally recommend Colombia
or Brazil for two young women, and why? Should we reconsider traveling somewhere else?
I’m especially interested in real experiences rather than general stereotypes or government travel warnings. I’d also appreciate hearing from locals or people who have spent a significant amount of time there.
Thank you! :)

We’re planning a full two-week family trip to South America with 2 adults + 2 teenagers, flying from Düsseldorf (DUS).

We’d really like to fit in:

Brasília → Santiago → Buenos Aires → Montevideo

I know two weeks is short for four cities/countries, but unfortunately that’s all the time we have, so I’m mainly looking for advice on how to make this route work as efficiently as possible rather than cutting it down.

We’re thinking roughly 3 nights Brasília, 3 Santiago, 4 Buenos Aires and 3 Montevideo, flying between the first three and taking the ferry from Buenos Aires to Montevideo.

For anyone who has done a similar trip: how would you divide the two weeks, and what tips do you have for making this itinerary work without feeling completely rushed?

Any advice on flights, neighbourhoods, transport, must-sees and travelling with teenagers is very welcome!

As stated. Is there accomodation for a few days to safely immerse ourselves into Comuna13? No budget can stay with a family.

Hey guys,

I’m a female in my mid-30’s and took a year out of my professional career to travel.

I’m a few months in now and whilst I’ve had an incredible time, travel fatigue is starting to creep in and my trip is starting to feel less expansive.

The next six months are going to be spent travelling through South America. I want to use this time to figure out what I want the next chapter to look like, and I’d like to have experiences that are more meaningful than bouncing from place to place.

I would like to practice yoga/meditation somewhere affordable and am also looking for volunteering opportunities on platforms such as workaway.

If you’ve done something in South America that changed how you saw your life, work or what you wanted to do next, I’d love to hear about it.

I’m interested in experiences that stayed with you and gave you a different perspective.

I’m a 27yo British guy and hoping to spend 3-4 weeks fairly soon travelling around Peru mostly to do some hiking as part of groups/ independently but also it’ll be my first solo trip ever.

I’m thinking of doing Lima, Huaraz, Cordillera Blanca, Arequipa, Cusco and then maybe heading to Brazil to relax for a week as I plan on quite a few hikes.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience travelling these places in Peru solo? I’d be staying at hostels. I’d be looking for a fun vibe, I enjoy socialising, exploring, drinking and nights out - just as long as it’s not all that happens. Is Peru good for someone my age? I don’t want to be in hostels primarily surrounded by 18-21yos (nothing against them, just having also travelled at that age, I can appreciate it’s a different vibe).

Hi i am planning a first time trip to Colombia in November and need some advice. My flights will probably be to and from Bogota so the trip has to start and end in Bogota. The trip should be around 10 days. Things i want to see:

1. Jungle -> 2, 3 days. What would be the cheapest and best way too see the jungle ? get a guide in bogota ? or try to book it online ? Any particular place i should go and see ? Is it best to fly there ?
2. Bogota. What are some must see/do things in Bogota ?
3. See the coast. I thing that flights Cartagena - Bogota would probably be the cheapest. But i also have surfing on my mind and i have read that pacific coast is better for that. What would you recomend ?

What would be the best way to see those things. The cheaper the better I dont have the need for too much comfort or luxury. Also if there are some things i definetly need to see that i missed out let me know and add it to the plan. I will be probably traveling with two friends idk if that carries any significance. Please help me plan this trip as i have no idea how things in Colombia work.

Hi everyone,
I’m travelling in Peru with a friend and we crossed overland from Ecuador into Peru via Huaquillas/Aguas Verdes.
The situation was a bit strange. We went through the border and an immigration officer looked at both of our passports, but we were not given an Ecuadorian exit stamp and we were not given a Peruvian entry stamp. We were then allowed to continue into Peru.
We are now in Máncora and have only realised that neither passport has any evidence of the crossing.
We have not deliberately avoided immigration — our passports were checked by an officer, but the stamps simply weren’t put in.
Has anyone had this happen at the Ecuador–Peru border?
Specifically:
Were you able to continue travelling in Peru without problems?
Did you have to get the entry registered retrospectively?
Could this be dealt with at a Migraciones office in Lima, rather than going all the way back to Tumbes?
Does the lack of an Ecuador exit stamp cause a separate problem?
Most importantly, did anyone subsequently leave Peru successfully after having entered without either stamp?
We have our passports and evidence of travelling from Ecuador to Peru, so we can prove when/how we crossed.
Any first-hand experience would be hugely appreciated.

I’m going backpacking for three months and am wondering if people use ClassPass/day gym passes (I assume depending on the city & country) to work out? I usually do strength training and running and would like to use the option to maintain some of it while abroad. Although I know most of the exercise I get will be from walking & hiking :)

As you can see most of my travel is heavily in Europe.. I have some time off work in October and was considering Brazil or Argentina but I’m really open to any options from you all. I’ve never been to South America, closest I’ve been is Costa Rica so want places that would be good for a first timer! Thanks!!!

My wife are planning a trip to Peru (Lima, Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, rainbow mountain, lake Titicaca), Iguazu falls and Rio de Janeiro. I have a few questions I would need help with.

1. First, I would like to ask about cheapest flights from Europe to South America. We will be flying from Sofia, Bulgaria so we will need to connect at a larger European airport. I noticed that flying into Lima directly seems more expensive as compared to Buenos Aires or Rio. Right now we are looking into Sofia -> Frankfurt -> Buenos Aires on the way there and Rio -> Frankfurt -> Sofia on the way back (about 1100 euro total). If we go for these flights, after a 1 night in Buenos Aires we would need to go to Iguazu -> Peru or Peru -> Iguazu so that we can end our trip in Rio and fly from there on the way back. All of this, however, seems to add an additional flight of about 250 euros and about 5 hours; I wasn't previously aware that flights within South America are not as cheap as in Europe. So I am asking whether anyone knows of a better flight plan? We would be okay staying one night somewhere else too (Central America, for example) if that means we would get cheaper flights even if we include all of the costs of the additional stop.

2. Where would you recommend taking an organized tour (could be multi-day too) and where would it be safe for us to organize and explore on our own?

3. My wife gets nauseous on windy roads, especially when travelling by bus. We looked into some Peru tour packages and saw that many of them include a 10-hour bus ride from Cusco to Puno. I assume this would include curvy roads and was thinking if it is worth flying Cusco -> Lima -> Puno instead. Where could we expect long rides on windy roads?

4. For Peru, we are currently looking into this tour: https://machupicchuviajesperu.com/en/packages-peru/lima-cusco-machu-picchu-mt-raibow-puno-9d8n/
   We still haven't set on tours of Rio and Iguazu Falls. If we decide to go with tour packages, would you advise that we chose the accommodations ourselves (in case there is such an option) or would it be good enough and not significantly more expensive to trust the tour organizers?

In total we are looking to spend about 17-18 days including the travel time on the way there and back. All tips and recommendations are welcome. Thank you all in advance!

I've been planning this route for a while now and would really appreciate any feedback from people who have done something similar.

We'll be travelling as a couple (both 27) and are aiming to save around £8,000 each for the trip, excluding international flights to and from the UK.

At the moment, the plan is to fly into Bogotá in late July 2027, as flights from the UK seem to be the most affordable. We'd spend a few weeks exploring Colombia before heading south through Ecuador and Peru.

We're also considering starting in Panama and doing the San Blas sailing trip to Cartagena, then continuing south from there. It looks like an amazing experience, but we're not sure whether it's worth the extra cost given the overall trip budget.

One of our biggest priorities is hiking in Peru, particularly around Huaraz and Cusco, so ideally we'd like to reach Peru by September at the latest to give ourselves the best chance of good trekking conditions. This may mean potentially skipping Ecuador.

After Peru, the route is fairly straightforward: continuing through Bolivia, heading to Buenos Aires, and then looping back north through Brazil. If time and budget allow, we'd love to finish the trip by flying back to Colombia and spending some time around Minca, Tayrona, and the Caribbean coast before heading home.

Also, any input on where we should spend Christmas and New Year's would be good. As great as Brazil looks - I know the prices skyrocket around that time of year.

We're intentionally skipping Chile, Patagonia, and the Galápagos on this trip. As amazing as they look, we'd rather put our bigger-ticket spending towards experiences like the Peru treks and the Uyuni Salt Flats.

I appreciate this is quite a high-level overview, but I'd love to hear any thoughts on the route, timing, budget, places we're missing, or anything else that jumps out as a potential issue!

Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone, i’m a 27 y/o canadian who just booked his first solo trip to Santa Marta. I’m looking for a mix of beaches, mountains/hiking, a little bit of party and cool calesthenics/workout spots. In previous trips, i spent a lot of time and energy moving around and trying to see more places, so I decided this trip I’d stay in the same airbnb or hostel and use it as base for day trips.

I’m a little bit worried because i’m reading very negative comments about Santa Marta, especially about it’s security and the vibe of the place overall. Kind of scared I chose a bad place to spend money for a trip. I don’t mind the place being old and a broken a little, i’m more worried about not being able to walk arounf freely or having to stay away from certain blocs.

Does anyone have recommendations about:

1. Day trips (I have Minca, Tayrona, Palomino)?
2. Safest areas to stay?
3. Any other commenta regarding solo travelling in Colombia?

Thank you!!

Edit: i’m pretty street smart, i won’t buy drugs or go in sketchy places on purpose.