Things to Do in South America

About South America

The altitude punches first. You step off at Cuzco's Alejandro Velasco Astete Airport, 3,399 meters (11,152 feet) up, and the thin Andean air makes the taxi queue a negotiation with your own lungs. That wooziness? It is the continent's opening gambit. South America rewrites your rules before you've found the exit. One hour out, the Incan terraces at Pisac lock together stone-on-stone, no mortar, joints so tight a knife blade won't slide through. Architects still argue how they did it. Drop to Lima's Mercado Central and an 18 PEN bowl of ceviche, about $5, shows you why recipes fail: fish stiffens in citrus fire, swims in leche de tigre, gets cooled by choclo kernels and ají amarillo slivers. Freshness and heat, taught in one mouthful. Fly south and the scent flips. In Buenos Aires, charcoal snakes out of a parrilla on Calle Arévalo in Palermo. Half a kilo of ribeye costs ARS 8,500, roughly $8.50, and hits the table still spitting in cast iron. Scale is the real boss. Brazil alone spans 8.5 million square kilometers. Linking Buenos Aires and Lima, every first-timer's dream, means $120-200 flights, usually with a connection. Go overland across the altiplano and you're looking at 14 to 20 hours of switchbacks above 4,500 meters, thin air drumming a slow headache while the scenery is so absurd you forget the pain. Accept the terms and South America pays out: Torres del Paine at sunrise, the Amazon in full flood, Mendoza's wine country pouring Malbecs the color and weight of dark earth.

Travel Tips

Transportation: South America's backbone is the long-distance bus network, and it is better than its reputation suggests. On overnight routes, Lima to Cusco, Santiago to Valparaíso, Bogotá to Medellín, look specifically for cama or semi-cama services: fully reclining seats, onboard meals, occasionally a blanket. Cruz del Sur in Peru and Expreso Brasília in Brazil run reliable fleets, with overnight seats starting around PEN 80 ($22 USD). For anything above 1,000 kilometers, budget airlines like LATAM, Gol, and JetSMART tend to offer fares around $80-140 USD when booked 4-6 weeks ahead. Download Rome2rio before you land, it pulls bus, train, and flight options into one search and saves real planning time. One pitfall: book overnight buses directly through the company's website or a verified agent, not from unlicensed vendors at bus terminals.

Money: Argentina runs on two exchange rates, ignore the gap and you'll pay for it. The official rate and the informal 'dólar blue' diverge by 50-80%. Cash USD exchanged through licensed casas de cambio beats any credit card swipe. Outside Argentina, life is simpler. Visa and Mastercard work in most tourist areas across Peru, Colombia, Chile, and Brazil. ATM fees bleed you dry, withdraw big. Brazil's ATM limit runs around BRL 1,500, roughly $280 per transaction. In Peru and Bolivia, hoard small-denomination soles and bolivianos. Market vendors and local bus drivers rarely break large bills. That friction costs time you'd rather spend elsewhere.

Cultural Respect: One kiss on the right cheek, urban South America has spoken. Between any gender mix, first meeting. Nail it and they'll know you've been watching. Botch it and they'll forgive you instantly. Punctuality is another story. Bogotá and Buenos Aires boardrooms start 10-15 minutes late, acceptable. Social plans slide 45-60 minutes behind schedule. Build slack into your day and don't take the delay as insult. Football isn't sport here, it's civic liturgy. Brazil and Argentina kneel at the same altar. The Boca Juniors, River Plate feud isn't weekend chatter; it's a living cultural institution. Drop the smirk, bring honest curiosity, and locals will talk your ear off.

Food Safety: Tap water safety isn't a continent-wide rule, it's country by country. Chile and Argentina offer safe tap water in their major cities. Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and most of Brazil? Stick to bottled or filtered. Not from paranoia, the bacterial strains differ from what foreign stomachs handle easily during week one. Street food isn't automatically dangerous. Real risk factors: standing water nearby, meat sitting above 30°C (86°F), sauces that look permanent. That ceviche stand in Lima's Surquillo market with 20 people queued at noon? Likely safer than the empty airport restaurant. Follow foot traffic, not fear. Altitude above 3,500 meters suppresses appetite, eat lighter, drink more water, and give yourself two days before trusting hunger signals.

When to Visit

South America stretches from 12°N to 56°S, the same latitudinal span as Panama to Iceland, so any claim about "the best time to visit" is meaningless without a specific destination. Still, a few patterns hold across the continent. Patagonia (November through February): Torres del Paine and the Argentine Lake District are essentially open only during the southern summer. Daytime temperatures in the park hit 15-20°C (59-68°F), trails are snow-free, daylight lingers past 10 PM. Peak season hits hard, W Trek permits sell out 6-8 months ahead, hostels in Puerto Natales jump 60-80% above October rates, and the park can feel more managed than wild. Budget flights from Santiago to Punta Arenas are cheapest in October and November. By January they spike. Peru and the Inca Trail (April through June): Machu Picchu's rainy season runs November through March, bringing low cloud that sometimes delivers moody photos and sometimes just hides the ruins. April through June is your sweet spot: clear mornings, 18-22°C (64-72°F) at 2,430 meters, and crowds that exist but aren't yet insane. Inca Trail permits, capped at 500 people per day including guides and porters, sell out months ahead regardless of season. Book as early as humanly possible. Buenos Aires and the Southern Cone (March through May, September through November): Skip Buenos Aires in January. The city empties as locals bolt from 35°C (95°F) heat to the Atlantic coast, and the restaurants and clubs that make the city tick are either shuttered or running on skeleton crews. Shoulder seasons bring 15-22°C (59-72°F) temperatures, the full city humming, and, in November, jacarandas painting entire boulevards deep, dusty violet. Mendoza's grape harvest runs March through April, which is prime wine country time. Rio Carnival (February or early March, dates shift annually): Hotel prices in Rio triple or more the week before Carnival, and rooms in central neighborhoods sell out 6+ months ahead. The event is extraordinary. But it demands real logistical planning, know what you're signing up for, or avoid the week entirely. Colombia: Cartagena's dry season runs December through April, when the Caribbean coast is clear and the heat is at least predictable. Bogotá sits at 2,600 meters and stays at 14-19°C (57-66°F) year-round with no real bad season. The Pacific coast peaks July through October, when humpback whales come to calve in warm waters near Nuquí and Bahía Solano. If you're making one trip and want maximum geographic range, April through June is your window: Patagonia is accessible at the northern edge of the season, Peru is crystal clear, and Buenos Aires is fully alive. The trade-off is that the Amazon Basin's dry season runs June through October, if jungle wildlife viewing is your priority, shift your dates later.