It is not easy to make a decision to go on vacation to Latin America, but since you decide to go there, you are unlikely to regret it: it is interesting, comfortable and tasty there. We offer you a selection of great countries for the first trip across the South American continent – check which one suits you best!
Peru
Tourists can stay in the country without a visa for up to three months. There is something to look at - several ancient Inca cities, a variety of natural monuments, including the unforgettable Colca Canyon and the Nazca Plateau.
In some regions of the country, there is a risk of catching yellow fever, therefore, despite the lack of a formal requirement, the WHO advises to make yourself a vaccine.
Pros
- Countless interesting locations
- Excellent infrastructure for tourists - starting from luxury hotels and ending with a great variety of restaurants
- Large portions and delicious food
- More economical (compared to other countries)
- Tourist regions are safe.
Cons
- The most popular places are literally stuffed with travelers
- Public transport, by standards, is disgusting
- There is a risk of developing altitude sickness (it happens when a person without acclimatization climbs too quickly into the mountains)
- A lot of thieves and generally a high crime rate.
Chile
The story with visa-free travel is similar - 3 months. You should look at the edge of the lakes, Easter Island, the Patagonian plains, pinvinchiks and the magnificent colonial city of Valparaiso.
The country is a long and narrow strip of land", "attached" to the mountain ranges.
Pros
- Interesting and intense
- Nature is incredibly beautiful and diverse
- Climatic conditions vary greatly in different parts of the country, so everyone can find a climate to their liking.
Cons
- Twice as expensive as in Peru
- The roads are disgusting and too long
- High level of street crime
- Patagonia is a harsh, windy and merciless land to inattentive and irresponsible travelers.
Argentina
The situation with visa-free travel is repeated: 90 days.
Argentina amazes with contrasts between its various locations: boastful wealth coexists with amazing poverty, virgin nature - with densely built up areas of favelas, Patagonian ice - with subtropics, fountains and almost empty jungles.
Pros
- Total landscape diversity
- Countless places of interest
- A large number of opportunities for tracking
- An amazing variety of species of flora and fauna: here you can see fur seals and penguins in their natural habitat.
Cons
- In large cities, there are areas where it is better not to visit, and during protests the authorities actively use weapons, so it is better to avoid them at all costs.
- The capital is similar to the average European city, struck by the inherent delirium of Latin America.
- There are often traffic jams on the roads.
Ecuador
To enter, it is necessary to be vaccinated against yellow fever. Without a visa, you can stay up to 3 months.
Belonging to this country, the Galapagos Islands are known to anyone from films and amazing photographs. It's hard to believe that a person can be there alive, on his own and personally!
On the mainland, Ecuador also provides many opportunities - from a large number of national parks and very eclectic settlements to mandatory surfing.
Pros
- Magnificent beaches
- Cheapness (minus the islands, here is the most modest in terms of price tag rest on the continent);
- Rarely are there many tourists
- Good public transport
- Nature is beautiful and diverse.
Cons
- To get to the Galapagos Islands, you will have to part with a lot of money, and without professional guides and accompaniment, everything is half not so interesting.
- In the country it is not customary to use turn signals
- Here, in general, calm and security reign, but pockets need to be monitored.
Uruguay
The calmest country in the region. A boring and European-style orderly life against the background of correct and pedantic colonial architecture could drive anyone into spleen and melancholy, but ocean beaches and a certain number of historical monuments partially correct the situation.
Pros
- The population is friendly and curious
- The tourist flow is insignificant: you can look at how people really live here
- Many beaches
- You can look from the Argentine Buenos Aires for a weekend
- Excellent public transport, no congestion on the roads, which makes renting a car a very profitable and convenient event.
Cons
- The country is small and there are no special places of interest, as well as the traditional flavor for Latin America.
- Fewer hotels and restaurants
- Dearness
- A lot of wine, but there is not enough food, and portions are so-so.
Brazil
And again, a three-month visa-free regime, as well as countless attractions of both natural and man-made origin, and for inspection all 90 days will clearly not be enough.
A permanent holiday reigns in the country, but it is better not to look into the favelas in the evenings, otherwise you will part with property, money, and, possibly, that life too. Natural beauties do not know their equal: for the sake of this, it is not a pity to spend a lot of money and overcome half the globe.
Pros
- Latin-flavor
- Magnificent beaches
- Rich and varied cuisine
- Amazing nature: from mountains to desert sand dunes, which in the rainy seasons are filled with life-giving moisture.
Cons
- Favelas and poverty here and there
- High level of criminalization, which is only spurred on by the rich tourist life
- Almost no one speaks English.
Bolivia
The main attractions are the city of La Paz, the Uyuni salt marsh, Lake Titicaca and the Verde lagoon on the Altiplano plateau. You need a vaccination against yellow fever.
The country is distinctive, poor and proud. National costumes here are worn not for tourists, but for themselves, colorful lagoons are inhabited by tropical birds, the brightest of which are a variety of flamingos. At the same time, it is very safe here, and the prices are quite modest.
Pros
- Llamas, alpacas and flamingos. Alive! You can even iron!
- The spirit of the past is felt
- Rent is affordable and comfortable
- People are unobtrusive, modest, and the exchange rate to the dollar is very good.
Cons
- No sea
- Sharp rises are fraught with altitude sickness
- Accommodation and services leave much to be desired
- Often there are protests, resulting in the blocking of road traffic.
