South America is home to incredible landscapes, passionate dancing and music that makes everyone else looks bad (unless you spent your childhood taking dance classes), and lively cities with energetic people. Every country is different, their Spanish varying from one another, their cultures varying based on their unique history, and their landscapes morphing into different mountains, deserts and jungles. Despite the magic of South America, there are some things you should know to prepare yourself. Their culture and mindset is much different from other parts of the world – especially compared to the structured first world society I grew up in.
So if you’re thinking about exploring what South America has to offer, here are a few tips to make your trip run more smoothly. Or at least help you to not pull your hair out.
- Be prepared to speak Spanish.
Most people in South America don’t speak English. Sure, if you go to hostels or tourist offices you’ll run into English, but taxi drivers, bus drivers, people at the market or in ticket offices are going to speak Spanish to you as if it was your first language. They’ll assume that you speak it, even though you’re clearly not from there. So I suggest you pick up a few useful phrases before you go. Download Duolingo or pick up a phrasebook to read on the plane. Or if you happen to meet a local who speaks English, talk to them and pick up a few words from them. A lot of the Spanish we learned back in grade school is different from what they actually speak in South America. It goes a long way to try to speak their language and is respected too.
But even if you never studied Spanish before, don’t be afraid to travel. I met several people who didn’t speak any Spanish and they were able to get by, sometimes meeting other travelers to help them translate or using good ol’ charades.
Here are some words and phrases to get you started:
Hola, como está? – Hello, how are you?
Bueños días! – Good morning!
Bueñas tardes! – Good afternoon!
Bueñas noches! – Good night!
A que hora sale el bus para (insert city name you want)? – What time does the bus leave for…? (Also know that times are read as a las ocho en la mañana for at eight in the morning.)
Hay espacio? – Is there space? (For a hostel for example)
Cuánto cuesta?/Que vale? – How much is it?
Me regala una cerveza por favor – Give me a beer please (this is a polite way to ask)
Cómo llego a (insert place you’re trying to find)? – How do I get to…? *Know that –ll makes a –y sound. And in Argentina and some part of Colombia it makes a –j sound.
A la izquierda – To the left
A la derecha – To the right
Derecho – Directly/straight
Also know that most people use acá instead of aquí (here) and allá instead of allí (there).
- Collect toilet paper.
This sounds weird but is oh so helpful. You’ll be surprised by how many times you’ll get to bathrooms with no toilet paper. And this is not a fun thing if you have the runs from some street food you decided to try the day before. You’re also going to want tissues for when you hit high altitudes. Your nose will be a faucet. I got the hang of saving napkins from restaurants or smuggling some sheets of toilet paper from hostels. Trust me, you’ll thank me.
- Learn how to let go.
South America is one of the lesser organized and laid back places in the world. You’re going to encounter late buses, disorganized tours, wrong directions or incorrect bus times, important information that is failed to be passed along and plenty of other confusion. My friend and I ran into a nonviolent strike in Cusco and weren’t able to leave the city for a day, making us a little off schedule on our travel plans. This kind of stuff is just going to happen. You’re going to get frustrated. But then you have realize that it’s all going to be ok. You were taught that everything has to be exactly it was said to be, that people need to be reliable or that public transportation should be right on schedule, but that is your society, not South America’s. You might even find yourself enjoying the laid back culture of South America. People don’t stress too much about things. Tranquilo as they say. Relax.
- Sleep on buses.
South America is a big continent. Traveling is going to take longer so you might take more flights than you hoped. But traveling by bus is very doable. Just be ready for some long ones (the longest one I took was 30 hours). Traveling by bus is always the cheapest option. It’s going to be at least half, if not a fraction of the cost of a flight. But it takes much longer. So what my friend and I did to save precious travel time in Peru was take night buses. It’s safe and many people do it, travelers and locals. Just make sure to slide your leg through the arm strap of your backpack and keep it securely hidden between your feet. Another trick my friend taught me is that you can slip your bus ticket under the seat cover on the seat in front of you, leaving part of the ticket out so the bus driver can check your ticket without waking you up. Also, don’t be afraid to take a bus to cross into the next country. I’ve done it three times!
- Take a break from tours.
What I noticed during my travels in South America is that there are a lot of tours. I personally do not like taking tours, but of course there are times when taking a tour is the only way to visit certain sites. Despite this, there are definitely times when you have the option to visit places without taking a tour. Take advantage of those opportunities. It will save you money and will also give you a more authentic experience. You might end up having more interactions with locals. Challenge yourself by figuring out the bus system or using a map to walk through the city. That’s what traveling is for (just make sure to ask people at the hostel front desk for advice and find out if there are any areas you should avoid). Also be sure to ask your hostel about free activities in the city or town you’re visiting.
6. Find out about taxi fares.
When you fly into an airport or arrive at the bus station of your destination, you’ll be tempted to hop in a cab and head straight for your hostel because you can’t wait to just get there already. But you have to know that taxi drivers are going to see that you’re a tourist and try to get more money out of you. In some places there will be a meter but many times cabs will give you a price or even charge you more than what the meter reads. I’ve learned that it’s best to ask someone at the airport or the bus station how much a cab typically costs to get to my destination. They may not have a direct answer but at least you can get an estimate and know if a price is too high. Another good thing to look for is if you book your hostel on hostelworld.com, they tend to tell you how to get to the hostel and how much each option costs under the “Map” tab.
7. Have fun!
South America was a blast for me. There are so many exciting places to see and fun people to meet. Enjoy Colombia’s raw jungles, learn about Cusco’s incredible history, see the Rainbow Mountains in Peru and Argentina, enjoy the rich dulce de leche (caramel) in Argentina and Chile, see the flamingos in Bolivia’s high altitudes, and hike unbelievable mountains in Southern Chile and Argentina. I suggest spending more time seeing the landscapes this continent has to offer than visiting big cities. Who knows how much longer they will remain preserved. Here are some of my favorite places I visited:
Chicamocha Canyon, Colombia • Medellín, Colombia • Bogota, Colombia • Guatapé, Colombia • Guadalupe, Colombia • Valle de Corcora, Colombia • The Amazon (Iquitos, Peru) • Huacachina, Peru • Cusco, Peru • The Bolivian Salt Flats • Quebrada de Humahuaca (Tilcara and Humahuaca, Argentina) • Buenos Aires, Argentina • Bariloche, Argentina • Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina • Parque Torres del Paine in Chile
For tips on places to visit in South America, check out Traveling South America in Winter. These places are gorgeous any season of the year, but can be enjoyed in the colder seasons as well, even at the southern tip of the continent.
