🌏 South America

South America is rarely a weekend trip. The flight is long, distances within the continent are large, and the seasons in its different parts do not line up. Readers usually arrive here once the country is chosen but the plan is not yet in place. The questions are which months to go, how many days to allow and which tickets to buy in advance.

Most of the articles are about Brazil. We go through the country month by month, separately for the north and the south, and explain when to visit Rio de Janeiro for Carnival, for sunshine or for lower prices. There are pieces on the season at Iguazu Falls, on the Pantanal and its jaguars, and on the coast where whales and dolphins come close to shore. For a first trip there are introductory guides to Brazil and Peru: visa, flights, main regions.

Rio de Janeiro is laid out over three days and Buenos Aires over a week, while for Lima and Cusco there are articles on where to stay, what to see and how to travel between the cities. Separate pieces cover the Christ the Redeemer statue, Machu Picchu and Humantay Lake, Los Glaciares National Park with the road to Perito Moreno, and the trails to Fitz Roy. Brazil also has its lesser-known places here: Fortaleza, Preá, Joinville, São Francisco do Sul, Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park. The far-flung spots are covered too: the Galápagos, Easter Island, Angel Falls and the Catatumbo lightning in Venezuela, Medellín.

Everyday practicalities get their own space. We write about Brazilian and Peruvian food dish by dish, about souvenirs from Peru, Brazil and Buenos Aires, and about the groceries you will not find in a Brazilian supermarket. For those going for a long stay there are articles on living in Brazil and on working remotely from São Paulo. There are also short overview pieces with facts about Brazil, Argentina and Peru, which help you check your expectations before the trip.

Every article opens with a short takeaway: what matters most and where the time will go. Then come the practical sections: how to get there, which tickets you need, opening hours, how park entry works. Next to a price or a schedule we give the source and the date it was checked. We are direct about the downsides: crowds in high season, altitude in the mountains of Peru, safety concerns in the big cities.

The section is meant for people who plan independently and want to know the sequence of steps ahead of time. It works for a first trip to the continent and for a return visit, when you need one specific park or city. If you are looking for a ready-made escorted tour, these articles will be of little help. We describe how a trip works and do not sell it.

Start with the introductory guide to the country: it gives the overall picture on visa, season and regions. Then open the month-by-month article to pick your dates. After that, move on to the cities and individual sights and check which tickets have to be bought in advance. Food and souvenirs are best left for last, just before you fly.

This section is part of "Destinations." Articles by country are gathered in the subsections "Argentina," "Brazil," "Peru" and "Venezuela," where searching is quicker if you already know the country. Look for pieces on Chile, Medellín, the Galápagos and Easter Island in the section's general list. If you are still comparing options, take a look at the neighboring sections: "North America," "Africa," "Asia," "Europe," "Oceania" and "Antarctica."

Prices, entry rules and schedules change. That is why we go back to published articles and check them against the official websites of parks, museums and carriers. The date of the last check is shown in each article. New articles appear as they are ready, starting with the countries in the subsections.

Visa requirements depend on your citizenship and should be checked on the websites of consulates and immigration services. The same goes for insurance and health requirements: we point you to where the current rules can be found, but we do not replace the official source. Before buying tickets, reread the article on the season and the one on the sight you want: together they show which dates to plan for and what to arrange before departure. The rest can be sorted out once you are there.