Latin America (South & Central)🌎

If you are planning a few months holiday or a big world trip, Latin America should definitely be on your list. We spent eight months travelling from Chile up to Mexico and it was the best experience ever. We saw and did so much, met some amazing people and learnt a lot about the different countries and cultures. Depending on your time frame, you can spend between three months to a year if not more, to travel around these incredible, but so different, countries. Please note that this is our route and recommendations, however, there is undoubtedly a lot more you can see and explore, so do your own research as well!

Route

If you are planning to do a similar trip to us and backpacking all of South and Central America, you can either fly into Mexico or Chile. As we were flying from Australia, we found the easiest flight for us was to get a direct flight from Sydney to Santiago, Chile. We then spent eight months travelling round South America and up to Central America, but you can easily do this the other way round.

South America

Chile

The first stop for us was Chile, we ended up spending three weeks here, but you can easily do the main spots in two weeks. A blog on our route and recommendations will be here.

Highlights of Chile:

• Patagonia (W-Trek) - We did the W-Trek and it was a huge highlight for me! It is roughly a five day hike across Patagonia, on the Chilean side, so if you are into hiking, you need to add this into your itinerary! A blog outlining what it is and how to book the trek, will be here.
• Atacama Desert - We sadly didn’t do this but it is a must if you can do it. If you are going from Mexico down to Chile you can drive across the Bolivian Salt Flats into Chile and do an Atacama Desert tour there.

Argentina

Argentina was our second stop and we spent three weeks here, but you can spend a month, if not more exploring this amazing country. A blog on our route and recommendations will be here.

Highlights of Argentina:

• Patagonia (El Chaltén) - Spend five days or more hiking Patagonia on the Argentinian side. Another huge highlight for us, with Mount Fitzroy being the icing on the cake. A blog into our sunrise hike, will be here.
• Football Match - We watched a Argentinian football match in La Boca, which was a pretty cool experience.
• Iguazu Falls - If you have the time and budget, we would recommend flying to Iguazu Falls from Buenos Aires and seeing the incredible waterfall from both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides.
• We didn’t do this, but if you want to cross off two other countries you can quickly pop to Uruguay and Paraguay from Argentina!

Brazil

We spent four weeks exploring Brazil but you can also spend a lot longer if you have the time to. The main reason we went to Brazil in February, was because we were going to Rio Carnival where we spent a week there, I wrote a small blog on Carnival and what to expect here. A blog on our Brazil route and recommendations will also be here.

Highlights of Brazil:

• Pantanal Tour - The Pantanal tour is a must if you have the time and the budget. We went for the three day tour and it was an incredible experience, where we saw all kinds of wildlife. If you are lucky, you might spot Jaguars! A blog on the tour we did, will be here.
• Bonito - Before or after the Pantanal, you need to stop off at Bonito for a few days, we had the most incredible time there and even got to swim with a wild Tapir.
• Amazon Rainforest (If you want)

Bolivia

We ended up staying in Bolivia for three weeks, solely because we did Spanish School for a week. If you are wanting to do a Spanish School, a blog outlining which school we went with will be here. If you don’t do Spanish School, you can easily explore Bolivia in two weeks or less! A blog on our route and recommendations, will be here.

Highlights of Bolivia:

• Salt Flats Tour, Uyuni - One of the main activities to do in Bolivia is the Salt Flats. We did the three day tour and it was another huge highlight for us. A blog on our tour and which company we went with, will be here.
• Death Road, La Paz - Another must do activity, in my opinion, is Death Road, which is a mountain bike tour across Bolivia’s most dangerous road. A blog on which tour we did will be here.
• Amazon Rainforest (If you want)

Peru

You will need at least three to four weeks in Peru to do the main sites, however to properly explore and do all the incredible hikes you will definitely need over a month! There are a lot of different places for hiking, so if you are a hiker girly like me, this is the perfect spot for you. Our hiking recommendations, will be here. There are also plenty of spots to relax, chill on the beach and have no responsibilities! A full blog into our Peru route, will be here.

Highlights of Peru:

• Colca Canyon, Arequipa - A two day hike into one of the world’s deepest canyons, it is definitely worth the gruelling second day 6km vertical hike! A blog detailing this hike will be here.
• Machu Pichu Hike, Cusco - One of the famous treks that needs to be done! We did the five day Salkantay Trail to Machu Picchu, and it was one of the best things we have done so far! A blog going into detail on the tour we did, will be here.
• Rainbow Mountain - A must do from Cusco, do a day trip to Rainbow Mountain and get the iconic photo with the llamas.
• Huaraz - Another amazing hiking spot, you can spend three days to a month here! A blog into Huaraz and the hikes we did will be here.

Ecuador

One of the most underrated countries ever, we ended up spending a surprising three weeks here! Famous for the Galápagos Islands and Amazon Rainforest, if you have the time, make the most of exploring this country because I bet it will surprise you!

Highlights of Ecuador:

• Amazon Rainforest - We went to the Amazon Rainforest here and it was another highlight of our trip! We did the four day tour from Cuyabeno and we highly recommend it! A blog outlining our tour will be here.
• Galápagos Islands - Another huge highlight for us! We were lucky to do the Galápagos with Ned’s parents, who came out and joined us for a week! A blog going into detail of our trip, will be here.
• Cajas National Park, Cuenca - Another place for hiking is Cajas National Park in Cuenca. We only had one day here so made the most of it doing the most popular hike, however, you can make a few days of it doing multiple different trails!

Colombia

A country we were really excited for! We spent nearly four weeks here and it was a mixture of exploring whilst also some chill time for us after going non stop for the last few months! A blog into our Colombia Route will be here.

Highlights of Colombia:

• Football Match - You have to watch a football match in Medellín.
• Tayrona National Park - If you have the time, you should definitely spend a night camping in Tayrona National Park, which gives you enough time to explore the park and relax on the different beaches.
• San Blas Boat Tour Colombia to Panama (vice versa) - This is a must do and a really fun way to travel between the countries. A blog going into our tour and company we went with will be here.

Central America

Panama

We breezed through Panama only spending six days here to help us get to the border of Costa Rica.

Highlights of Panama:

• San Blas Boat Tour Colombia to Panama (vice versa) - This is a must do and a really fun way to travel between countries. A blog going into our tour and company we went with will be here.
• Bocas del Torro - If you don’t do the San Blas Islands, you can go to Bocas del Torro, which are more beautiful islands up in the north of Panama, towards the border of Costa Rica. We stopped here for another two days of relaxing, making our journey to the border a lot easier!

Costa Rica

We have heard really good things about Costa Rica and its wildlife, but sadly because the whole country is really expensive, we only spent six days here travelling to a couple of spots. A blog going into the spots we visited will be here.

Highlights of Costa Rica:

• Puerto Viejo - A relaxed surf town with loads of beaches, so a lovely place to relax at for a few days.
• La Fortuna - Definitely spend a few days here exploring the National Parks, the volcanoes and the wildlife.

Nicaragua

Another country that we were excited about! Ned initially wanted to miss out Nicaragua, but quickly changed his tune and absolutely loved it here. We were only meant to be here for one week, but it turned into two weeks because we enjoyed it so much. Our Nicaragua Route and the places we stopped at will be here.

Highlights of Nicaragua:

• Ometepe Island - Definitely spend a few days here because there is so much to do on the island and it was one of our favourite places!
• Popoyo - Another cute surf town, which can easily be missed, but we loved it here, especially for the nightlife.
• Volcano Boarding - A must do activity where you can board down an active volcano in Leon.

El Salvador

We nearly ended up missing El Salvador due to the weather, but we both really wanted to go, so ended up staying a couple days extra in Nicaragua with hopes the weather would change and thankfully it did! We spent just over a week in El Salvador and absolutely loved it. Our route and recommendations will be here.

Highlights of El Salvador:

• La Union - You have to camp at the top of a volcano to watch the sunrise! The views are insane!
• Ruta de Flores - Hire a moped and drive through the different towns from Santa Ana.

Guatemala

Guatemala was a country that we were really excited about and wished we had more time here! We spent three weeks exploring and our route and recommendations will be here.

Highlights of Guatemala:

• Volcán Acatenango - You must do the two day hike up to Volcán Acatenango and Fuego to watch the incredible lava eruptions.
• Lake Atitlán - Spend a few days relaxing on the lake and exploring the different towns.

Belize

We did a quick pit stop at Caye Caulker in Belize, which was a really lovely place to relax on the beach and do nothing! Our Caye Caulker recommendations will be here.

Highlight of Belize:

• Snorkel or Dive - We did the snorkel tour around the islands and it was the best one we had done in a long time. We saw so much wildlife and got to swim with three manatees, sting rays and sharks.

Mexico

We spent two and a half weeks exploring Mexico, but you can definitely spend at least a month here. This meant we had to breeze through some places but we still made the most of it! A blog going into our route and recommendations, will be here.

Highlights of Mexico:

• Bacalar - Spend two full days here exploring the town, swim in the gorgeous lagoon and enjoy floating down the rapids.
• Isla Holbox - Beautiful island with gorgeous beaches, whale shark snorkelling and delicious food.
• Valladolid - Chichén Itzá, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
• Oaxaca City - Absolutely loved it here, wish we had more time to explore all the streets and markets.

This sums up our Latin America route with our stops and recommendations. I hope this helps you plan your trip and you have the best time and experiences like us!