Welcome to Highbury Nomad, a long form travel blog shaped by decades of travel through Latin America. From first encounters in 1989 to months-long overland journeys in recent years, this site brings together personal experiences, deep dives into history and culture, and practical tips for travellers seeking more than just the highlights.
A young Aymara girl on Isla del Sol, Bolivia — calmly managing two unruly baby alpacas with just a rope. She wasn’t posing. She was working
Why Latin America?
Latin America is more than a backdrop for adventure. It’s a continent of extremes, geographically, politically, culturally, and one of the few places in the world where ancient civilisations, baroque cities, revolutionary movements, and street carnivals all share the same stage.
Our own journey spans over 15 countries, from the high plains of Bolivia to the rivers of Guyana, with repeated returns to Colombia, Brazil, and Guatemala. Many destinations have changed dramatically. Others retain the same dusty charm or startling wildness we first encountered decades ago.
Our Journey
Our travels through Latin America began with family stories, my mother was born in Bogotá and grew up across Colombia, El Salvador, and Guatemala, and my grandparents lived in the region for decades. Those early tales sparked a lifelong interest that eventually led to a year-long overland journey in 2018, covering much of South America from Patagonia to Colombia.
That wasn’t our first time here: we first visited Colombia and Ecuador back in 1989, when travel felt more precarious but incredibly rewarding. Later came shorter trips to Brazil, Chile, and Argentina (2006), Central America and Mexico (2007), and Peru (2011). We even returned to Brazil for the World Cup (2014), and to Colombia (2016) before setting out on the longer journey.
Since COVID, we’ve returned to Colombia (2022) filled in the northern parts of the Pan American Highway from Mexico City to Bacalar (2023), Panama City to Guatemala City (2024) and about to complete the missing leg between Guatemala City and Cancun (2025). Also returned to Patagonia, Santiago, BA and Rio (2025) for our second Carnival. It’s a journey shaped by family, fascination, and the freedom to travel deep, not just far.
Over time, we’ve learned to blend public buses with flexible accommodation platforms like Booking.com, and to rely on services like Peru Hop or overland trucks such as Dragoman where local transport thins out. We’ve crossed high passes, lingered for weeks in capital cities, and always left room for the unexpected.
How to Explore This Site
Highbury Nomad can be navigated in two main ways: by topic and by destination.
Thematic sections which bring together places that share a common thread. Whether it’s colonial architecture, ancient civilisations, national parks, iconic treks, rivers, festivals or urban culture, these pages connect stories across borders. They offer a deeper, more reflective way to explore Latin America and are ideal if you’re drawn to a particular subject and want to see how it plays out in different settings.
Country and regional pages focus on practical journeys and individual destinations. Some are organised by country, such as Colombia, Mexico or Argentina. Others follow the logic of travel itself, grouping together areas like Patagonia, Central America or the high Andes, where cross-border movement is natural and common.
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Explore by Theme
Urban & Cultural Landscapes
Cities with stories, colour, rhythm — from colonial facades to street murals, festivals, and fierce identity.
Colonial Cities
Plazas where revolutions were declared. Churches built atop temples. Cities where time peels back in layers.
From pastel façades in Paraty to volcanic backdrops in Antigua, Latin America’s colonial cities are more than postcard perfect. They are sites of memory, power, and reinvention, shaped by Indigenous foundations, Spanish rule, African resistance, and modern life. Some cities feel frozen in the 1700s. Others buzz with new life — street art, festivals, music, and politics.
Over four decades and dozens of cities, from well-known gems like Cartagena and Oaxaca to overlooked marvels like Orizaba, Mompós, and Diamantina, I’ve sought out the stories behind the stones. Each city has its light, its textures, its layers, and when you walk its central square, you’re not just seeing buildings. You’re stepping through centuries of change, often on cobbles worn by horses, protestors, and barefoot dancers.
This isn’t just a “top 10.” It’s a curated and evolving atlas, grouped by region, threaded with history, and full of places you might never have heard of but won’t forget.
Mega Cities
Sprawling, seductive, chaotic, and at the heart of Latin America’s modern story.
Cities like Mexico City, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, and São Paulo aren’t just places to transit through. They are cultural engines, loud, layered, political, and full of contradictions.
I’ve walked through their colonial centres and business districts, watched theatre in abandoned buildings, visited hillside barrios, and ridden cable cars over cities shaped by inequality and resilience. Some are familiar, others surprise you — every visit.
This section goes beyond top sights to explore what makes these urban giants tick, through street art, literature, music, neighbourhood character, and shifting identities.
Carnivals and Festivals
Colour, chaos, and community. The calendar here dances to a different rhythm.
Nothing prepares you for the scale and spectacle of Rio’s Carnaval, the stadium parades, the booming sound trucks, the glittering wingspans of costumes. But no two editions are the same. In 2018, the mood was rebellious: samba schools denounced corruption and called out political failings. By 2025, the energy shifted, celebratory, poignant, a tribute to a retiring singer who’d led the parade songs for decades. Between the drumming and the sequins, you feel the pulse of a country expressing itself.
Yet it’s not just Rio, across Latin America, festivals erupt in unexpected places. In Puno, Peru, we stumbled upon a saint’s day, dancers in devil masks, fireworks before breakfast. Arequipa’s Independence Day brought brass bands and military flair. Sometimes, the best encounters are the ones you don’t plan: processions in sleepy colonial towns, or a café suddenly overtaken by marimba.
Festivals here aren’t staged for tourists. They’re lived. Whether political or devotional, rooted in ancient rite or contemporary identity, they blur the line between audience and participant. You watch, and you join.
Explore Carnivals and Festivals ➤
Theatre, Literature & the Arts
In Latin America, the stage isn’t just where stories are told it’s where nations wrestle with who they are.
We’ve taken backstage tours at the grand theatres of South America: the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, all red velvet and gold leaf; São Paulo’s vast opera house; even Manaus in the middle of the Amazon, an opera house in the jungle, and Belém at the mouth of the Amazon both built on rubber money and European ambition. One guide at the Colón, an actress by training, turned the tour into a performance, with some renditions from the recent operas performed at the theatre. “It’s a place to be seen and to see,” she said, echoing the social weight the arts carry here.
Literature cuts deep. Gabriel García Márquez, the master of magical realism, didn’t invent the style, he described what he saw. Pablo Neruda turned his poetry into political armour. Mario Vargas Llosa, from Peru, continues to challenge and provoke. These writers helped shape their countries’ identities, capturing beauty, brutality, and contradiction in equal measure.
Bookshops, too, are shrines. The Grand Splendid Ateneo in Buenos Aires is a cathedral of reading. But so too are the smaller stores in Montevideo, in Oaxaca, in Bogotá. You walk in for a title and leave with a new voice in your head. And among them, figures like Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera loom large, not just artists, but icons, symbols of a culture unwilling to be silent. And then there’s Evita, Argentina’s most famous actress-politician, who reminds us that in Latin America, performance and politics often share the same stage.
Finally there is Colombia’s Fernando Botero, famed for his voluminous, exaggerated forms, of people, animals, and politicians, Botero’s work is instantly recognisable and often darkly humorous.
Explore Theatre, Literature & the Arts ➤
Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro; River Scene, Mompós; Street Art, La Candelaria, Bogotá; Rio Carnival; Palciao Bella Artes, Mexico DC; Street Tango, San Telmo, Buenos Aires
Ancient Worlds
Uncover the traces of ancient civilisations that shaped the Americas — from Inca stonework in the Andes to the towering pyramids of the Maya.
Archaeological Sites
Sacred stones, jungle-covered cities, and civilisations erased and reimagined.
From mountaintop citadels to jungle tombs and desert geoglyphs, Latin America’s archaeological landscape is vast, and far older than the Spanish conquest. The Inca are only the surface.
Over time I’ve visited dozens of sites: major ones like Machu Picchu, Teotihuacán and Tikal, and many more that barely appear in guidebooks. Kuelap, Tierradentro, Calakmul, Chan Chan, each has its own logic, artistry, and unanswered questions.
This page explores these places not merel as monuments, but as living histories, with cultural context, timelines, and insight into how the land still carries memory.
Explore Archaeological Sites ➤
Nature & the Great Outdoors
From glaciers to volcanoes, cloud forests to coastlines — Latin America lives loud in its landscapes.
Iconic Treks
Trails carved by empires, glaciers, and time itself.
Some routes you remember for the views. Others for the ache in your legs. And a few, like watching sunrise through the Sun Gate or condors circling below Fitz Roy, you remember forever.
I’ve walked many of Latin America’s great trails, from the Inca Trail to the W Trek, Laguna 69, Quilotoa, and beyond. These aren’t easy strolls — altitude, weather, and solitude shape every step. But they’re also gateways into landscapes and cultures that few travellers ever reach.
This page breaks down the region’s standout treks, day by day where it helps, and includes lesser-known routes that deserve the same attention, from the volcanoes of Chile to ancient tomb sites in Colombia.
Explore Iconic Treks ➤
Volcanoes, Highlands & Icefields
Where glaciers melt into turquoise lakes, condors wheel overhead, and volcanoes smoulder on the horizon.
The high spine of Latin America is a world apart, shaped by fire, carved by ice. From Patagonia’s vast Southern Icefield to the steaming slopes of Villarrica and the snowy peaks around Huaraz, these are some of the most beautiful and humbling landscapes I’ve encountered.
Over the years I’ve trekked across glaciers, climbed active volcanoes, scrambled to high-altitude lagoons, and returned to places where the snowline had visibly retreated. The changes are stark and real.
This page brings together the continent’s most dramatic upland parks and icy frontiers: Torres del Paine, Huascarán, Los Glaciares, Eduardo Avaroa, and more. Not just scenic wonders, but fragile ecosystems and places where altitude reshapes how you move, breathe, even think.
Explore Volcanoes, Highlands & Icefields ➤
Coasts, Forests & Rivers
Where mangroves meet manatees, jungle rivers lead to ruins, and cloud forests echo with birdlife.
Not all drama happens at altitude. From the pink river dolphins of the Amazon to the Caribbean bays of Tayrona and the rolling dunes of Lençóis Maranhenses, Latin America’s lowland parks are just as rich and often overlooked.
I’ve explored coastal lagoons, kayaked through flooded forests, watched scarlet ibises land at dusk, and followed jungle trails to ancient pyramids. Some places, like Bigipans Lagoon or Kaieteur Falls, still feel undiscovered. Others, like the Amazon, are as vast and complex as a continent of their own.
This section celebrates the biodiversity and beauty of the continent’s warmer, wetter, wilder corners, parks and reserves shaped by water and teeming with life.
Explore Coasts, Forests & Rivers ➤
Rivers, Waterfalls & Waterways
From Andes meltwater to jungle deltas, rivers shape the rhythm of Latin America.
The Amazon is not a single river, but a vast lifeline. We once crossed from Macapá to Belém, a 24-hour ferry ride sleeping in hammocks above trucks, crates of produce, and the tangled clutter of jungle trade. That slow drift through water, heat, and green leaves a lasting imprint. Higher up, we traced the river’s beginnings through Peru and Ecuador, watching tributaries braid through cloud forest.
Leticia, deep in Colombia’s south, sits where three countries meet — a river town of borderless flow and surprising civility. The Río Magdalena, meanwhile, moves like a dream through Colombia’s heart. I remember sipping fresh fruit juice in Mompós, watching the current from a rocking chair, reminiscing about stories I heard many years ago of my grandfather travelling by boat up this very river to the capital when there were limited roads and no air transport.
And then there are the falls: Kaieteur in Guyana, dramatic and remote, where the cock-of-the-rock birds perch above the drop; Gocta and Yumbilla in northern Peru, thin white ribbons tumbling from forested cliffs. Rivers carry stories, people, time — and invite you to travel slowly.
Explore Rivers, Waterfalls & Waterways ➤
Beaches
Where jungle meets the sea, where dunes roll into warm Atlantic surf, and where every sunset invites a caipirinha.
From the urban energy of Ipanema and Copacabana, complete with volleyball courts, samba rhythms, and the stories behind the songs to the remote dunes of Jericoacoara and the cliffs of Canoa Quebrada, Latin America’s beaches are as varied as its landscapes. In Tayrona, palm trees lean towards turquoise waters beneath a canopy of monkeys and birdsong. In Uruguay’s Punta del Este, a swathe of high-rises glints like a Latin Cannes, where Buenos Aires elites’ summer in style.
We’ve swum in mangrove lagoons in Pipa, watched the changing tides in Itacaré, and ridden horses through the surf at Canoa Quebrada, dodging the feral dogs that call the sand home. At night in Jericoacoara, the air hums with music, dust, and lime, every stall a cocktail of sound and smell. Floripa (Florianópolis) reminds me of early Costa del Sol: relaxed, buzzing, full of Argentinians and mate. These are not just beaches — they’re slices of life where ocean, culture, and memory crash together.
Explore Beaches ➤
Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina; Las Torres, Torres del Paine, Chile; Machu Picchu, Peru; Calakmul, Mexico; Scarlet Ibis, Lencois National Park, Brazil; Manuel Antonio NP, Cost Rica
Explore by Country
Core Destinations
The countries most travellers start with — diverse, distinctive, and full of headline experiences
Colombia 🇨🇴
From near-collapse to creative resurgence, few countries have rewritten their story so powerfully.
Colombia today feels modern, noisy, energetic, alive in every sense. Yet only a generation ago, it stood on the edge of failure. I remember a guide in 2016 pointing towards the Venezuelan border and saying, “That could have been us.” Instead, Colombia found another path. Its cities, Bogotá, Medellín, Cartagena, now buzz with confidence and culture. The country’s artistic voice, once buried under bad headlines, is now louder than ever: from street murals and reggaetón to the literature of García Márquez.
This is a country I’ve returned to across four decades. I’ve wandered through Bogotá’s galleries, Medellín’s rebirth, the archaeology of San Agustín and Tierradentro, the river life around Leticia. I’ve watched formerly neglected colonial towns like Popayán and Barichara come back to life. Colombia’s coffee, once just a commodity, is now treated like wine, with single-origin beans proudly exported. Its music carries joy and history; its food may not be fussy, but the fruit is world-class and the beef surprisingly good. And no visit is complete without a gut-busting bandeja paisa.
There’s real depth here — intellectual, musical, visual — and it’s carried forward by a young, creative generation. Cities like Bogotá feel like London did: loud, ambitious, politically aware. But it’s the warmth of the welcome and the pace of change that stay with you. Colombia may still have its challenges, but it’s walking into the future with intent.
And for me, it’s personal. My mother was born in Bogotá in the 1930s. Her parents had moved there decades earlier, in a Colombia that now only exists in sepia photos and family stories. So, each time I return, it feels like more than just travel, it feels like coming full circle.
Brazil 🇧🇷
Respectful, rhythmic, and vast, Brazil is both more generous and more mysterious than its headlines suggest.
What strikes me most about Brazil isn’t the carnival clichés — it’s how helpful people are. There’s a quiet politeness, especially towards older people and family, that sits alongside the easy rhythm of conversation, music, and movement. Even roadside shops on long journeys will offer a cafezinho — a tiny cup of strong coffee — without asking. It’s a gesture, a pause, a kind of understated welcome. For a country of its size, so much of Brazil remains unknown, even to Brazilians. It doesn’t push itself forward, it opens up gradually.
Food and drink here reflect the same diversity and warmth. Churrascarias serve every imaginable cut of beef, while caipirinhas and fresh fruit juices flow from beach stalls to city bars. I’ve had everything from street feijoada to fish moquecas in the Northeast — meals that linger as long as the music. Brazil’s musical range is just as wide: samba, Afro-blocos, Carnival anthems, bossa nova — all part of a national soundtrack that runs from Bahia to Ipanema.
And then there are the landscapes. Surf beaches in the south, tropical coves in the north. Dunes in Maranhão, Portuguese tilework and gold-leaf cathedrals in Salvador and Ouro Preto, river journeys from Belém to Manaus. Theatres in Rio and the Amazon, Niemeyer’s bold lines in Brasília — even Brazil’s architecture dances. It’s not just varied, it’s cinematic.
My own journey has taken me from Carnival in Rio to colonial towns in Minas Gerais, and from surfing beaches to jungle deltas. The contrast between northern Brazil — São Luís, Belém — and the southern cities of Curitiba and Porto Alegre is profound. But everywhere, the tempo is unmistakably Brazilian. You don’t travel this country to tick things off — you travel it to listen.
Argentina 🇦🇷
Elegant, articulate, and proudly self-aware, Argentina often feels like Latin America’s most European voice.
From the estancias of Córdoba’s rolling hills to the vast ranches of Patagonia — some the size of small European countries (Belgium might be stretching it, but not by much) — this is a nation shaped by the saddle as much as the city. Horse riding isn’t just heritage here, it’s still very much alive, and my own time on horseback in the sierras around Córdoba offered a quieter, more grounded rhythm of life. That connection to the land flows straight into the kitchen, where asado is a ritual and no part of the cow goes to waste.
I once chatted with English travellers in Buenos Aires who proudly said they’d “eaten their way through the cow.” But as I described a recent tasting menu — blood sausage, sweetbreads, chorizo, baby beef, guanaco empanadas — it was clear they’d only scratched the surface. Food here is serious, layered, and full of cultural meaning.
Argentina’s sophistication isn’t limited to the plate. It’s a country of bookshops and theatres, of Borges and tango, of philosophical conversations in corner cafés and football as high art. Street tango in San Telmo, especially around Plaza Dorrego on weekends, isn’t just a performance for tourists — whole communities join in. When we returned in 2025, we recognised the same couple dancing as in 2018, now with a little more grey hair, but just as graceful.
My travels have taken me across icefields, vineyards, and frontier towns. Whether sipping wine in Mendoza or watching glaciers calve in Patagonia, the elegance is matched by raw, cinematic landscapes. It’s a place that challenges assumptions and wears its contradictions with style.
Chile 🇨🇱
Long, lean, and full of contrast, Chile rewards those who linger and listen.
From the silence of Patagonia to the pulse of Santiago, Chile has a quiet confidence — modern, creative, and deeply connected to its land. Santiago feels like Latin America’s Berlin, youthful, literate, politically engaged. But further south, the tone changes. Forests, fjords, and volcanoes emerge, shaped by centuries of Mapuche tradition — a culture that was never fully colonised. That resilience still echoes in Chile’s deep environmental ethic and strong regional identities.
Seafood is central to Chilean life: crab, salmon, and shellfish stews from the south, humble coastal ceviches, and fresh sea urchin served in tiny harbourside markets. The food is honest, often simple, but deeply rooted. Literature adds another layer: Neruda, Mistral, Bolaño — Chile’s great writers have given the country its introspective voice, capturing love, exile, and memory in lines still quoted today. And then there’s the language, Chilean Spanish dances to its own rhythm — full of slang, animal references, speed, and personality. Even fluent travellers often need a moment to catch up.
I’ve walked the lunar landscapes of Atacama, watched condors soar in Patagonia, and explored the wooden churches of Chiloé. Chile can feel remote — emotionally and geographically — but it’s not indifferent. It invites reflection. And once it gets under your skin, it’s hard to shake.
Patagonia
At the southern tip of Latin America, Patagonia feels like another world: wind-scoured plains, glacial lakes, jagged peaks, and skies that seem to stretch forever. Straddling Chile and Argentina, it’s a place of silence and scale where condors soar over icefields and guanacos scatter across endless steppe. We’ve hiked Torres del Paine, watched Perito Moreno’s ice collapse, traced the Carretera Austral, and crossed between countries on mountain passes and backroads. This isn’t just a region, it’s a journey into the elemental.
Peru 🇵🇪
More than Machu Picchu, Peru reveals a layered civilisation where Andean tradition meets modern creativity.
For many, Peru begins and ends with Machu Picchu, but the country offers far more than one postcard. From Chavín to Chan Chan, the Sacred Valley to the adobe pyramids of the Moche near Trujillo, Peru’s pre-Columbian civilisations left a legacy still visible across its deserts, mountains, and high jungle. And while Lima may be a sprawling coastal capital, it’s also a global culinary powerhouse, as is elegant, volcanic Arequipa, where food, architecture, and altitude converge.
The landscapes are breathtaking, sometimes literally. The Cordillera Blanca may offer some of the continent’s most striking high-altitude treks, but its glaciers are retreating fast. Volcanoes dominate the skyline from Arequipa to the Colca Canyon, while Lake Titicaca, Isla del Sol, and highland passes challenge even the seasoned traveller. This is a country where altitude is a character in the story.
And then there’s the people. Unlike other countries with large European-descended elites, Peru’s population is still predominantly made up of descendants of indigenous civilisations, Inca, Nazca, Chachapoya, and more. Traditional textiles and alpaca garments aren’t tourist inventions; they’re part of daily life, woven into highland identity. Market colours, village costumes, and ancient agricultural terraces blend history with the present.
Over several visits, I’ve explored both the famous and the forgotten. I’ve trekked the Inca Trail, visited the mummies near Chachapoyas, marvelled at Kuelap’s dramatic cliff-top walls, and stood in silence amid the empty ruins of Chan Chan. Peru can feel remote, timeless, but also fragile. That sense of fragility is part of what makes it so unforgettable.
Bolivia 🇧🇴
Elemental and intense, Bolivia doesn’t gently reveal itself, it grabs you by the lungs and refuses to let go.
Nowhere in Latin America feels more like another planet. In the south, the high-altitude deserts of Eduardo Avaroa blaze with colour: blood-red lagoons, green lakes, pink flamingos, sulphuric geysers. The Salar de Uyuni stretches white to the horizon, sky, salt, and nothingness. Then there’s Potosí, once the richest city on Earth, now a haunting shell, its silver mines still worked by men whose lives echo the past. In Bolivia, history is never distant.
La Paz clings to the mountains like a living market. El Alto, far above, bursts with goods and gossip. At the Witches’ Market, dried llama foetuses and herbal remedies share stalls with mobile phone cases and street food. It’s chaotic, magnetic, and utterly Bolivian. I still remember watching cholitas in layered skirts and bowler hats pick their way through traffic with a quiet, everyday dignity. Altitude hits hard here, and nothing comes easily, but everything is vivid.
This is a country of deep roots and raw edges. Its political story is turbulent, its geography unforgiving. But its people carry pride, and in their textiles, customs, and resilience, you feel a strength that’s hard to shake.
Mexico 🇲🇽
Bold, layered, and deeply alive, Mexico wears its culture with confidence and colour.
Beyond the beach resorts and tequila shots lies a Mexico of extraordinary depth. The zócalos are shaded with palms, poinsettias, and peace lilies, living rooms of public life where politics, music, and food come together. And the food truly is a national art form: from the seven moles of Oaxaca to Puebla’s sweets and smoky mezcal, it’s a country where recipes are memory. Street tacos may get the glory, but they’re only the beginning.
Mexico’s past doesn’t lie buried, it rises in stone and story. From the ancient pyramids of Teotihuacán to the ornate carvings of Palenque and Uxmal, the civilisations of the Maya and Zapotecs left an enduring mark on the landscape. Some sites, like Calakmul, still re-emerging from the jungle — remote, overgrown, and hauntingly powerful. In contrast, the Aztec empire came later, its grandeur centred on Tenochtitlán, where Mexico City now stands. In Chiapas, San Cristóbal de las Casas echoes the Mayan highlands of Guatemala, a place of deep-rooted indigenous tradition, colourful textiles, and languages older than Spanish. Too many stop at Chichén Itzá or Tulum, missing the civilisational scale of what lies beyond.
It’s also a country of soul and reinvention. Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera didn’t just paint, they helped shape Mexico’s modern identity. And in Mexico City, that identity is still evolving: this megacity is chaotic, creative, and global. Yet step away from the centre and you’ll find places like Puerto Escondido with its untamed surf beaches, or Bacalar in the Yucatán, a lagoon of seven blues, refreshingly free of mass tourism.
Mexico resists simplification. It’s a country of markets and murals, ruins and revolutions, beaches and barrios. And it’s precisely this complexity that makes it so unforgettable.
Explore Mexico ➤
Guatemala 🇬🇹
Vivid, volcanic, and deeply rooted, Guatemala is Latin America’s spiritual highland.
This is a country where most people are not descended from the Spanish, but from the Maya, a living culture still visible in the embroidered uniforms worn by villagers, once imposed under colonial rule, now proudly reclaimed. The highlands feel sacred and defiant, full of colour and ceremony. At Chichicastenango, Catholic rites and pre-Hispanic rituals intertwine, incense rises before wooden saints, and prayers in K’iche’ echo through the church walls. Guatemala wears its history on its sleeve, layered and alive.
I’ve travelled across the country’s many faces, from the silent beauty of Lake Atitlán to the grandeur of Tikal and the cobbled grace of Antigua. Guatemala City, long skipped, now feels youthful and self-assured. Since my first visit in 2007, the transformation has been remarkable: the city feels safer, cleaner, more confident, even cool.
And for me, Guatemala is also personal. It’s the country where my grandfather lived much of his life, and where he now rests, in the Central Cemetery of Guatemala City. That connection makes every visit more than just a journey. It’s a return.
Costa Rica 🇨🇷
A pioneer in eco-tourism, Costa Rica offers lush national parks, rich biodiversity, and a relaxed pace — a smooth, scenic introduction to the region.
Often seen as Latin America’s most accessible country, Costa Rica delivers much of what first-time visitors hope for — lush national parks, striking biodiversity, and a strong eco-tourism ethos. But behind the brochures lies a country with real character, from highland cloud forests to wave-lapped Pacific beaches where monkeys scamper across the sand. Wildlife is reliably spectacular, with toucans, hummingbirds, sloths and the elusive resplendent quetzal all part of the daily drama.
There’s a sense of pride in how Costa Rica presents itself. I still remember the infectious enthusiasm of the team at the orchid park near Monteverde, as well as the quieter charm of rural lodges and national reserves. Even in the capital, there are oddball flourishes — like the National Theatre’s mural, where porters inexplicably hoist bananas upside down, painted by an Italian artist who had clearly never visited. (Ironically, Costa Rica now exports more pineapples than bananas.)
Costa Rica’s success as a tourist destination has inspired its neighbours, some of which now offer similar experiences with more edge and fewer crowds. But the country’s commitment to sustainability, political stability, and pura vida lifestyle give it a distinct identity. Just beware of parking in the wrong spot — the traffic police have a habit of removing number plates from offending vehicles, and it’s an easy trap for unwitting tourists.
Further Destinations
While most travellers stick to the better-known circuits, my journey has taken me further — to lesser-visited countries, personal connections, and overlooked stories.
Ecuador 🇪🇨
Ecuador offers an astonishing range: volcanoes, cloud forests, Amazon tributaries, and of course, the Galápagos, where nature still feels primeval. What sets it apart is intention: this is a country that wrote environmental protection into its constitution — and meant it. I’ve always found Ecuador serious about conservation, but in recent years, it’s also become one of the region’s most troubled, grappling with a rise in insecurity that contrasts sharply with its natural beauty.
Even before you reach a town, Ecuador makes an impression. Cross the border from Peru, and the roadside tells a different story: no plastic bottles or rubble — just green verges and tidy villages. In the Amazon, some jungle is being actively rewilded. At one parrot sanctuary, a released bird kept flying back to visit its mate. These small moments speak to Ecuador’s emotional connection with nature — deliberate, quietly proud, and often ahead of its neighbours.
Uruguay 🇺🇾
Calm, cultured, and proudly independent, Uruguay is where Latin America slows down and opens a good book. Montevideo hums with literary cafés, second-hand bookshops, and mate shared on the rambla. Colonia is like a sepia photograph brought to life, with vintage cars spread randomly in its cobbled streets, and Punta del Este hosts a flashier crowd each summer — though Uruguay’s confidence is always more quiet than brash.
One small moment has always stayed with me: at a beach ramp in Punta del Este, a wooden walkway led into the sea so wheelchair users could swim. A floating chain gently marked the way for blind swimmers — dignity designed into everyday life. Liberal, laid-back, and often overlooked, which is just how some Uruguayans like it.
El Salvador 🇸🇻
El Salvador is intense and intimate: volcanoes, surf towns, revolutionary memory and whispered prayers in village churches. My mother lived here as a child, and that personal thread shaped how I saw it. Back in 2007 it felt edgy and unpredictable — but on a recent return, the mood had shifted. There was more confidence, more pride, and a tangible sense of national renewal.
At the border, a guard welcomed me with a smile and said, “Bienvenido a El Salvador — land of volcanoes and kindness.” It stuck with me. From the smoky slopes of Izalco to lively plazas in Suchitoto and murals in San Salvador, the country now feels like it’s walking into the future — not forgetting its past, but learning to live beyond it.
Honduras 🇭🇳
Honduras is harder to summarise but no less worth exploring. My first visit in 2007 was a hop over the Guatemalan border to Copán Ruinas — a charming colonial town nestled beside one of the Maya world’s most evocative sites. The carved stonework at Copán is astonishing: intimate, expressive, almost whimsical compared to other Maya cities.
Much has changed since then. Honduras has begun turning a quiet corner on security, much like its neighbours. Its single-origin coffee now appears in London’s specialist roasters, and its Pacific shellfish are served in gourmet restaurants. It may still be off most travel radars, but Honduras is stepping, carefully, into wider view.
Nicaragua 🇳🇮
Nicaragua reveals itself in layers — from León’s fiery murals and revolutionary spirit to the colonial grace of Granada and the steaming volcanic ridges around Masaya. Its landscapes are raw, sun-baked, and full of texture, with lakes, mountains, and Pacific beaches scattered across a country that feels unfiltered and underexplored.
Some of my favourite memories are rooted in everyday moments: waiting at 3am for a cross-border bus outside León as farm workers passed by in horse-drawn carts, nodding and smiling as the day began. In a gallery, I found a painting that mashed together Las Meninas and Guernica — a surreal, bold reflection of the country’s layered identity. Nicaragua doesn’t shout, but it speaks with memory, artistry, and grit.
Panama 🇵🇦
Straddling continents and oceans, Panama has always punched above its weight. The Canal alone — an engineering marvel — is reason enough to visit, but there’s much more beneath the surface. In Panama City’s old quarter, Casco Viejo, colonial buildings now house rooftop bars, galleries, and microbreweries like the Golden Frog. There’s something cinematic about the place: Quantum of Solace was filmed here, and stories of Noriega still echo through its alleys.
Boquete’s cool hills grow flowers and world-class Geisha coffee, while hummingbirds flit around terrace gardens. The country’s pace is fast but the moments are soft — a conversation over craft beer, a rooftop sunset, or a James Bond reference dropped into local banter. Panama is globalised, yes — but also deeply rooted, and full of surprises if you know where to look.
The Guianas 🇸🇷🇬🇾🇫🇷
Tucked away in South America’s northeast corner, the Guianas are cultural outliers — a blend of rainforests, rivers, and colonial legacies. Suriname, Guyana, and French Guiana each speak a different language, but share a rhythm shaped by creole identity and ecological riches. I’ve travelled by jungle road and riverboat here, through settlements that felt like a time capsule of the 1950s.
One afternoon in Guyana, we spotted a wild jaguar by the roadside — unhurried, regal, utterly indifferent to us. It was a reminder of how remote and primal this region still is. Kaieteur Falls thunders into a canyon with no crowds, no fences — just raw scale. The Guianas are not an easy journey, but they’re one of the continent’s most distinctive and rewarding.
Kaiteur Falls, Guyana; Chan Chan, Peru; El Pájaro Herido, San Antonio Plaza, Medellín; King Penguins, Tierra del Fuego, Chile; Isla de los Micos, Leticia, Colombia; San Antonio Palopó, Lago Atitlán, Guatemala
Itineraries
Need a place to start? We’re gradually building suggested itineraries drawn from years of travel — by bus, boat, and everything in between. These will include:
- Classic circuits — such as the Peru–Bolivia loop, Colombia’s highland–coast contrast, southern Mexico to Guatemala, or the wind-blown expanse of southern Patagonia
- Specialist trails — archaeological corridors, national parks and trekking routes, or the coffee-growing heartlands of Colombia and El Salvador
- Trip-length journeys — whether you’re planning a two-week highlight reel, a month-long deep dive, or three months tracing the Pan-American Highway
- City breaks and urban culture — think Buenos Aires for theatre and grand cafés, Rio de Janeiro for Carnival and urban beaches, Lima for food and colonial facades, or Bogotá and Medellín for graffiti, galleries, and stories of transformation
In the meantime, take a look at some of the routes and places we’ve loved, all linked to longer blog posts or thematic pages:
• Mompós — river detour with colonial elegance
• San Agustín — archaeology meets highland farming
• Cuenca — Ecuador’s most elegant city, and a base for southern exploration
• Lençóis Maranhenses — surreal dunes and lagoons, reached by backroads
• Canoa Quebrada — beach escape with a bohemian edge
• Salta to San Pedro de Atacama — one of the great Andean overland routes
• Chachapoyas and Kuelap — Peru’s ‘other’ mountain culture
• El Salvador — small country, big surprises
• Granada, Nicaragua — a colonial hub and jumping-off point
• Leticia to Manaus — three countries and the full sweep of the Amazon in between
These aren’t just pins on a map, they’re jumping-off points, alternate routes, and sometimes places to stop and slow down. More formal itinerary suggestions coming soon.
Explore Itineraries ➤
Planning & Practical Tips
We’ve learned by doing (and sometimes by mistake). Here are the key planning insights and practical tips that will help you travel more smoothly across Latin America.
Language
Spanish and Portuguese are the dominant languages, but both differ significantly from their European versions. Latin American Spanish tends to be clearer and more neutral, particularly in Colombia and Peru, while Argentine Spanish has a distinctive rhythm and uses Italian-influenced forms like vos. Chilean Spanish is rapid and slang-filled, even confusing to other native speakers.
Portuguese in Brazil is softer and more melodic than its Portuguese counterpart, and formal language is rarely used in everyday settings.
English isn’t widely spoken outside of tourist hubs, so learning basic Spanish (or Portuguese) goes a long way. Even with a guide, explanations in Spanish are often more detailed and insightful. Tools like Duolingo or more structured platforms such as Languages on a Plate are excellent preparation.
Currency & Payments
Digital payments are widespread in cities across Brazil, Colombia, and even parts of Bolivia and Nicaragua. Apple Pay and contactless cards are increasingly common. However, in rural areas, cash is still essential.
Argentina is the outlier: inflation and economic instability mean USD cash is king, and exchange rates vary depending on where (and how) you convert, though in 2025 card payments became more widespread even as the Argentinian Peso continued to fluctuate. Always avoid withdrawing or paying in your home currency. Choose local currency to avoid poor exchange rates.
USD is the best cash to carry, especially in Argentina, Ecuador, Panama, and for border crossings. EUR is sometimes accepted in Brazil and Argentina.
Getting Around: Buses, Colectivos, and Domestic Flights
Latin America’s transport systems vary widely between countries. Long-distance buses are still the backbone of travel in much of the continent, but they’re not always simple. In many Central American countries, there are no centralised terminals: instead, each company has its own depot. If you’re boarding an international bus mid-route, expect to be picked up at a main road lay-by or petrol station, we once boarded a 3am bus from León to San Salvador that way, and yes, it worked.
Local shared taxis (colectivos) are a great short-distance option, especially in countries like Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia. They’re often cheap, fast, and sociable, if sometimes a tight squeeze.
But don’t overlook domestic flights. In large countries like Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina, flying can save serious time and often cost little more than a bus ticket. For example, travelling from Medellín to Cartagena takes 24 hours by bus, but just over two hours by air, often at surprisingly cheap if booked in advance. With improving airport infrastructure and more budget airlines, this can be a smart way to cover ground efficiently.
Border Crossings & Flights
Most land borders are now efficient. In Argentina and Uruguay in 2025, passports were simply scanned and not stamped. Guatemala and Honduras now use QR-based online entry forms for customs declarations. But some quirks remain, such as paying $1 to enter the Nicaragua immigration building on the land border with Costa Rica.
If you’re flying from Europe, avoid transiting via the US unless it’s significantly cheaper. Even for a connection, you’ll need a visa waiver, clear immigration, and re-check your bags. In addition to Madrid and Lisbon, Bogotá and Mexico City are often easier gateways with direct flights from Europe.
Altitude & Acclimatisation
Much of the Andean world is high-altitude. Cities like Bogotá (2,600m), Cusco (3,400m), and La Paz (3,650m) require time to adjust. Treks can rise well above 4,000m, such as Laguna 69, Dead Woman’s Pass on the Inca Trail, or Sol de Mañana in Bolivia (over 5,000m).
Arrive gradually if you can: build altitude over several days. Stay hydrated (3–4L/day), rest regularly, and wear a wide-brimmed hat for sun protection. Local remedies such as coca tea and quinoa-rich diets can help ease symptoms.
Phone, Data & Connectivity
Local SIMs or eSIMs are cheap and reliable. Just make sure your phone is unlocked. Bring a pin to open the SIM tray. WhatsApp is the default communication method in Latin America. Hotels, drivers, tour operators, and even markets use it daily.
Check your home provider for roaming deals: UK networks like O2 offer bolt-ons with data access across most of Spanish-speaking Latin America. Keep your original SIM active in a spare phone if you need to receive codes from banks or other secure services.
Explore Planning & Practical Tips ➤
Power & Plugs
There are three main plug types:
- Argentina uses a plug similar to Australia.
- Most of South America uses the European two-pin.
- Colombia, Ecuador, and Central America use the US-style flat two-pin.
We found Apple’s international plug kit lightweight and effective.
Featured Blog Posts
Where to Next?
These are just a few glimpses from the journey so far. Dive deeper into the blog, explore our thematic sections, or browse by country. There’s much more to come – and this site is evolving just like the journey itself.
Travelling across Latin America isn’t just about the landscapes or landmarks – it’s the stories, the rhythms, the people. This blog is a way to share those fragments. Hope you find something here that sparks your own journey.