Slow travel in South America
In South America, it’s the in-between days that make the best memories – so don’t waste them in airport lounges.
It was a few hours into the bus journey that I began to grasp the vastness of Patagonia. There was a sky so big that it always seemed to contain multiple weathers, just as the land below contained so many landscapes: a broad slice of lake, a mountain that it took almost an hour to pass, a glacier set like a gem.
“It’s indescribably big. I don’t think people think about how big it is,” says Sarah Faith, values writer at Responsible Travel, who spent several months in South America travelling and working. “You could spend two weeks in Europe trying to see Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Austria, but you wouldn’t see very much – so I wouldn’t recommend trying to do it in South America.”
Yet people do try. You could see South America in two weeks: fly into Brazil, fly to Iguazu, fly to Buenos Aires, fly to Cusco and see Machu Picchu, and then fly to Lima – spending a vast amount of time in airports that could be anywhere in the world.
The Andes run for thousands of kilometres; the Amazon runs across nine countries. The Atacama Desert is so distant from what many find familiar that its 1,000-mile-long dry landscape of salt flats and high-altitude volcanoes is often compared to Mars. This is a landscape that needs to be experienced out of a wide windscreen, yet a flight compresses them to nothing.
It was a few hours into the bus journey that I began to grasp the vastness of Patagonia. There was a sky so big that it always seemed to contain multiple weathers, just as the land below contained so many landscapes: a broad slice of lake, a mountain that it took almost an hour to pass, a glacier set like a gem.
“It’s indescribably big. I don’t think people think about how big it is,” says Sarah Faith, values writer at Responsible Travel, who spent several months in South America travelling and working. “You could spend two weeks in Europe trying to see Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Austria, but you wouldn’t see very much – so I wouldn’t recommend trying to do it in South America.”
Yet people do try. You could see South America in two weeks: fly into Brazil, fly to Iguazu, fly to Buenos Aires, fly to Cusco and see Machu Picchu, and then fly to Lima – spending a vast amount of time in airports that could be anywhere in the world.
The Andes run for thousands of kilometres; the Amazon runs across nine countries. The Atacama Desert is so distant from what many find familiar that its 1,000-mile-long dry landscape of salt flats and high-altitude volcanoes is often compared to Mars. This is a landscape that needs to be experienced out of a wide windscreen, yet a flight compresses them to nothing.
Slow buses & changing landscapes
On our holiday in northern Argentina, you can experience the landscape as it changes out of Buenos Aires through the Ibera wetlands, and then on to Iguazu Falls – all without taking a single flight.“It’s slower, literally,” says Sam Gough from our partner Travel Differently, who designs holidays that focus on slow travel in South America. Before setting up the company, he spent a lot of time on the continent, travelling independently. “You’ll spend time on private buses, but it’s way more interesting, more economical and better for the environment. And you’re seeing the landscape change before your eyes. I found some of the best memories were in the links connecting different areas.”
Sarah remembers with fondness bus rides in Ecuador – including a memorable early morning bus to take a picture of Cotopaxi: “There came the bus, blasting reggaeton at ear-splitting decimals to get us to Latacunga – those are the things you remember from a trip. I don’t remember taking the picture of the volcano. I didn’t spend much time there, so it’s not my core memory of Ecuador. What I loved was the hilarious journey and chatting to other people on the bus.”
Staying put
Dismiss the size of South America at your peril. There are two approaches you could take: embrace the vastness by travelling overland, and watch the massive landscapes go by. Or forget its size and focus on what’s around you. Long transfers aren’t for everyone. But there are ways to make more of highlights that you want to visit.“Take Machu Picchu as a good example,” says Sam. “On most tours, you fly into Cusco and maybe see the Sacred Valley, which links Cusco to Machu Picchu. You’d do it a as day trip and see Machu Picchu the day after – that means exploring the Sacred Valley in less than a day.”
But the Sacred Valley has many other treasures. If you spend longer, you can spend time with the Andean Misminay community, or in smaller towns, stopping for pisco sours and coffee. There are chances to mountain bike or walk around an inspiring reforestation project.
“You can take a trek and hear about how the valley used to be a forest. The trail finishes at an Inca ruin,” says Sam. He gets more feedback about the Sacred Valley than about Machu Picchu itself. “We’ve never had anyone come back and say they wish they’d done it quicker.”
“If you’re able to go with a local company and guide, you’ll be able to escape the really well-trodden tourist routes,” says Sarah. She remembers spending time in Peru’s Colca Canyon, which is often approached as a day trip out of Arequipa city to a condor-spotting spot.
“We trekked for maybe four days,” says Sarah. “That was amazing. We stayed in a campsite with hot springs at the bottom of the canyon – this spectacular place. The night sky was the most incredible I’ve ever seen it.”
The money doesn’t just go to the big blockbuster highlights. It goes to the lesser-visited national parks and the quieter villages – where the most interesting experiences can be found.![]()
Where money is more needed
Our slow South America trips are around 20 days long, but people ask to stay far longer – for up to seven weeks.
“And they’re not rushing through,” says Sam. “They’re spending a little bit longer in each place to get to know the people. They make sure the money doesn’t just go to the big blockbuster highlights. It goes to the lesser-visited national parks and the quieter villages where the most interesting experiences can be found – and where the money is needed more.”
Tourism is an important part of many South American countries’ economies, but communities benefit unequally from it. Amanda Zenick, co-founder of our partner Ayni Peru Expedition, is keen to connect community-based tourism projects with travellers who want to visit them. It involves getting people off the usual tourist circuit.
“Just a little bit off it,” says Amanda. “Our tours visit all the highlights, but they also visit traditional communities – just for lunch if our guests want, or for something longer that lets them see a Peru that’s not quite as developed as a tourism product.”
The tours Amanda runs for us often take people to Chachapoyas in the north. “The town probably has 10 percent or less of the tourism that somewhere like Lake Titicaca or Machu Picchu has.”
Slow travel in South America doesn’t forsake the big sights. You’ll find that trips still visit many of the highlights you’d expect from a South American tour, whether that’s Buenos Aires and Iguazu, Cusco and Machu Picchu, or Atacama and the Andes. But it’s what’s in-between these big names that matters – the places that take you by surprise, because they have no expectation to live up to.
These places are harder to get to on a traditional tour, because they don’t make as much money for the tour operator, who gets more commission if they’re putting you in cities with luxury hotels. Less-visited places are fiddlier to arrange, and the payoff is less. It’s important to book your holiday with someone who speaks the ‘slow travel’ language: then, the rewards are many.
“And they’re not rushing through,” says Sam. “They’re spending a little bit longer in each place to get to know the people. They make sure the money doesn’t just go to the big blockbuster highlights. It goes to the lesser-visited national parks and the quieter villages where the most interesting experiences can be found – and where the money is needed more.”
Tourism is an important part of many South American countries’ economies, but communities benefit unequally from it. Amanda Zenick, co-founder of our partner Ayni Peru Expedition, is keen to connect community-based tourism projects with travellers who want to visit them. It involves getting people off the usual tourist circuit.
“Just a little bit off it,” says Amanda. “Our tours visit all the highlights, but they also visit traditional communities – just for lunch if our guests want, or for something longer that lets them see a Peru that’s not quite as developed as a tourism product.”
The tours Amanda runs for us often take people to Chachapoyas in the north. “The town probably has 10 percent or less of the tourism that somewhere like Lake Titicaca or Machu Picchu has.”
Slow travel in South America doesn’t forsake the big sights. You’ll find that trips still visit many of the highlights you’d expect from a South American tour, whether that’s Buenos Aires and Iguazu, Cusco and Machu Picchu, or Atacama and the Andes. But it’s what’s in-between these big names that matters – the places that take you by surprise, because they have no expectation to live up to.
These places are harder to get to on a traditional tour, because they don’t make as much money for the tour operator, who gets more commission if they’re putting you in cities with luxury hotels. Less-visited places are fiddlier to arrange, and the payoff is less. It’s important to book your holiday with someone who speaks the ‘slow travel’ language: then, the rewards are many.
Brazil wildlife holiday, waterfalls and beaches
Explore the Pantanal, Bonito, Iguazu Falls, Paraty and Rio
From
£3950 to £4500
16 days
ex flights
Northern Argentina luxury holiday
Unique slow travel luxury adventure in North Argentina
From
£5500 to £6500
23 days
ex flights
Colombia slow travel holiday
Cultural exploration of Colombia, cities, villages and coast
From
£4600 to £6100
22 days
ex flights
Ecuador & Galapagos active adventure holiday
Hike, bike and kayak through Ecuador & the Galapagos
From
£3950 to £4950
15 days
ex flights
Galapagos luxury nature cruise
Boutique expedition cruise around the Galapagos Islands
From
£3900 to £5900
10 days
ex flights
Peru adventure holiday, private departure
Private Peru tour with day treks, rafting, cycling & culture
From
£3500 to £4000
15 days
ex flights
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What happens when you travel slowly in South America?
Sleep in a giant tortoise reserve in a tree house and see tortoises going past your front door the next morning.![]()
Island time in the Galapagos
If you want to see the widest variety of wildlife, you need to be on a boat in the Galapagos to see a variety of island ecosystems. But once the cruise is over, the slow traveller might want a few days land-based on either San Cristobal, Floreana, Isabela or Santa Cruz, the inhabited islands in the archipelago. This benefits local Galapaguenos directly and means you get to know the place a little better.
“Sleep in a giant tortoise reserve in a tree house and see tortoises going past your front door the next morning,” says Sam. “Or stay another four or five days and then you can hike to the top of the Sierra Negra volcano – which no one else ever thinks of doing.”
“Sleep in a giant tortoise reserve in a tree house and see tortoises going past your front door the next morning,” says Sam. “Or stay another four or five days and then you can hike to the top of the Sierra Negra volcano – which no one else ever thinks of doing.”
More Atacama in Chile
“The classic Chile itinerary is to spend a bit of time in Santiago, fly to the Lake District, fly to Patagonia, fly to Atacama – spending two or three days in each – and fly home again,” says Sam. “It’s bad for the environment and you don’t get to see any of these areas properly.”
It’s almost impossible to see Chile without internal flights, but you can cut them down on our Chile holiday, cutting out the Lake District and spending time with gauchos on a working estancia in Patagonia before spending close to a week in Atacama.
It’s almost impossible to see Chile without internal flights, but you can cut them down on our Chile holiday, cutting out the Lake District and spending time with gauchos on a working estancia in Patagonia before spending close to a week in Atacama.
Extra time in Colombia
“We go to all the popular destinations, but we also go to the off the map destinations as well. For me, they’re so much more special as they aren’t so well travelled.”
Bruce McClean, founder of our partner BnB Colombia Tours tells us all about the country, which you can see on a three-week tour. He points out that money and Spanish language skills are needed for slower travel in places like Colombia.
“We don’t put people on local buses unless they speak Spanish,” says Bruce. Without language skills, you may be looking at spending more to have a local guide accompanying you. “Slow travel is feasible, but you have to have budget. Colombia’s not a cheap destination. It’s not like Asia. But for me, it’s the best – there’s something here for everyone.”
Our special slow travel in Colombia holiday takes three weeks and spends several days in each destination, including three discovering the pretty villages around Medellin.
Bruce McClean, founder of our partner BnB Colombia Tours tells us all about the country, which you can see on a three-week tour. He points out that money and Spanish language skills are needed for slower travel in places like Colombia.
“We don’t put people on local buses unless they speak Spanish,” says Bruce. Without language skills, you may be looking at spending more to have a local guide accompanying you. “Slow travel is feasible, but you have to have budget. Colombia’s not a cheap destination. It’s not like Asia. But for me, it’s the best – there’s something here for everyone.”
Our special slow travel in Colombia holiday takes three weeks and spends several days in each destination, including three discovering the pretty villages around Medellin.
Three Brazilian ecosystems; zero planes
Brazil is a massive country, and the temptation to take internal flights when you're there is strong, but you don't have to: this three week itinerary uses just one internal flight.
Most people fly in to the Pantanal to see it, but it’s possible to see the Amazon, Pantanal and savannah in Brazil without flying between the three ecosystems – provided that you use ecolodges in the Amazon that are connected to the road network.
Most people fly in to the Pantanal to see it, but it’s possible to see the Amazon, Pantanal and savannah in Brazil without flying between the three ecosystems – provided that you use ecolodges in the Amazon that are connected to the road network.
Practicalities of slow travel in South America
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