Easy destination for a solo traveler in South America

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Valuable-General1135@reddit

If you want to come back stay away from Colombia and Venezuela 🫣 I've traveled to Brazil, Argentina and Chile but even those places have been ruined by drug lords from the afore mentioned countries. Stay safe.

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makos5267@reddit

Cusco Peru for sure. Loads of sight seeing in the nearby area. The historic center is very safe and when I went 3 star hotels were 50 a night

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filbo132@reddit (OP)

Cuscu, Lima and Buenos Aires were actually in my top 3 in which in theory I thought would be good places to start, glad you mentioned it, it gives me more confidence in my choice and I think someone else here replied Buenos Aires too.

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making_mischief@reddit

I live in Lima and wouldn't recommend it as a place to dip your toes in. It's a fantastic city, but huge and can be prone to scams and thieves. The traffic is absolutely nuts and, depending where you are, you might not encounter that much English.

Cusco is a much better option. It's smaller, safer and has more English. Your primary risk is going to be the altitude, but that's way easier to guard against than a cabbie weaving in and out of traffic or a thief on a motorcycle stealing your phone.

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filbo132@reddit (OP)

I've been to Switzerland in the past I'm regards of altitude and I do speak some Spanish (I can speak Italian which is why i can understand Spanish and speak basic spanish).

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Mercredee@reddit

Cusco is a small town. Lima is a huge city. They are almost nothing alike besides being the most visited cities in Peru. I would get bored of Cusco after a week or two.

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Nato7009@reddit

a week or two? including Macchu Picchu? and the surrounding areas, day hikes, and excursions?

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Mercredee@reddit

MaPi is one day. Cuzco in a day or two (the touristic areas are tiny.) You can do a few other hikes in the area while you’re there if you love hiking. That doesn’t require over 2 weeks.

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filbo132@reddit (OP)

1 week, but it would be just one of the 3 cities, not all three naturally.

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makos5267@reddit

Yeah I haven’t been to Lima but Id echo the other comment about it that I’ve heard decent things if you stick to the nice parts.

For the purposes of this sub I’d lean against Buenos Aires. I’ve heard it’s a cool city but it’s bloody expensive at the moment with inflation and it’s even further down

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

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Pale_Row1166@reddit

Medellín is amazing, lots to do, easy to get around, happening nightlife, and great food. It’s got a ton of natural beauty, and the Calle 13 tour is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.

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filbo132@reddit (OP)

Thanks ill definitely add it to the list of what to see 😀

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garland2242@reddit

I went with GAdventures to the Galapagos for my first solo trip. The small group tour was great and I felt very safe! Flights are surprisingly affordable from lax

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Wanderlust635@reddit

I absolutely loved Cusco, Peru. The people were super friendly, the city itself was charming, and there’s plenty to do within driving distance. My sister and I stayed there before going to Machu Picchu back in 2019.

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hanginwithfred@reddit

If you’re only going for 7 days, I would stick closer to home (assuming you’re US-based?). It’s a 10-hour flight down to Buenos Aires, that’s a lot of travel for only a few days in-country.

Perhaps Central America could be a better option? Much closer and the flights will be much cheaper because of that. One of my first ever solo trips was Guatemala, and I found it incredibly easy to travel, full of backpackers, and the country is gorgeous. It’s best if you have at least a basic understanding of Spanish tho.

Could easily do a couple days in Antigua, a couple days in Atitlan, and a visit to either Semuc Champey or Tikal in a week. Getting between Atitlan and Antigua is easy, getting to Semuc or Tikal is harder just due to distance and lack of quality infrastructure. But it’s 100% doable, and there will be plenty of other backpackers to help you out if needed.

If you’re dead set on S America, maybe look at Colombia instead? It’s much closer and has a ton of flight options, and is full of backpackers as well.

Best advice for the first solo trip or two is somewhere with an established backpacker trail and tourist infrastructure. You’ll learn from the more experienced travelers you meet and can then apply those lessons to future trips.

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filbo132@reddit (OP)

I don't mind the long travel, I can only get 1 week at a time off from work, so even though I know it's grueling, I just don't want to miss out on cities I have always dreamed of visiting. I can handle long flight pain. I actually have 9 days off, but I remove 2 for airport days.

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hanginwithfred@reddit

It’s not about grueling travel, it’s about losing two entire days minimum (of an already super short trip) in transit (and that’s assuming no delays/issues) when you could leave your home at 7 AM and be in-country by lunchtime. But hey the best part of travel is everyone doing it in the way that’s best for them, so if that’s what you want then go for it.

You asked for suggestions of something easy and good for a first timer. I’m 42 countries in at this point, and I think you’re making a mistake focusing on southern S. America. This is based on years of experience backpacking on trips ranging in length from a long weekend to 5.5 months, on 5/7 continents. You can choose to take my advice or you can ignore it, and if you’re happy afterwards that’s really all that matters.

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Legitimate-Spot-6425@reddit

You're a wanker

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hanginwithfred@reddit

lol okay bud

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Elgoyito3@reddit

Costa Rica is a great starter country in Latin America. Not a long flight from the U.S. Lots of mostly outdoor things to you (beaches, mountains, rivers, zip lines, volcanoes). Friendly people and a very tourist friendly country overall.

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Impressive_Delay_452@reddit

Seven days is good for a destination with easy ground transportation. Elsewhere, a month should be ok.

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Impressive_Delay_452@reddit

Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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filbo132@reddit (OP)

That's one of the three cities I had in mind actually (Cuscu, Lima and Buenos Aires).

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nailheadchamber@reddit

Never been, but have been researching places for travel down there, one that interests me is Montevideo Uruguay, it seems like crime is low, the area is interesting. Lots of history and nature. Good food from what I read and saw.

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filbo132@reddit (OP)

I heard that too, but the flight ticket there is anything, but cheap.

I read Lima is doable as long as you stick with the tourist area and Argentina is listed as green for "normal precautions." which is rare for a South American country, usually they are yellow for "Exercice High degree caution", so Buenos Aires might be another pick, but I would like someone's input.

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nailheadchamber@reddit

Sorry forgot to look at the sub, Im in a lot of travel subreddits.