South America Travel, Designed by Experts, Tailor-Made for You

The answer depends entirely on what you are looking for. Peru offers Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, Cusco, Lima’s restaurant scene, and the Amazon. The Galapagos Islands deliver wildlife encounters found nowhere else on earth. Patagonia — spanning both Chile and Argentina — offers glacier trekking, puma sightings, and some of the most dramatic landscapes on the continent. Argentina adds Buenos Aires, the wine country of Mendoza, and Iguazú Falls. Bolivia has the Salar de Uyuni, Lake Titicaca, and two of the best-preserved colonial cities in South America. Ecuador combines the Avenue of the Volcanoes, the Amazon, and the cloud forest. Colombia has Cartagena’s walled city, the Coffee Region, and Medellín. South America does not have a shortage of things worth doing — the more useful question is which of them matter most to you.

It depends heavily on where you are going, since South America spans an enormous range of latitudes and climates. For Peru and Machu Picchu, the dry season runs from May through October, with May and September offering the best balance of clear skies and manageable crowds; the Inca Trail closes in February for maintenance. For Patagonia and Torres del Paine, the hiking season runs from November through March, with December through February being peak season and November and March offering fewer crowds and still-good conditions. The Galapagos can be visited year-round: the warm season from December through May brings calmer seas and warmer water for snorkeling, while the cool season from June through November brings stronger currents, whale shark sightings, and peak wildlife activity including blue-footed booby mating displays. Bolivia’s salt flats are most dramatic after rain, which falls between December and March. Because the seasons vary so much by destination, combining two or more countries in one trip often requires careful sequencing — something our specialists plan around.

They are two entirely different experiences. The Galapagos Islands sit 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean and are best explored by small ship, with daily shore landings and snorkeling sessions across multiple islands. The wildlife — giant tortoises, marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, sea lions, Galapagos penguins — evolved in near-total isolation and shows almost no fear of people. The Amazon is a vast tropical rainforest accessible from Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, or Brazil, experienced through jungle lodges or river cruises. Wildlife is present but harder to spot than in the Galapagos — the Amazon rewards patience and expert guiding, and its appeal lies as much in the ecosystem itself as in any individual sighting. Many travelers combine both on a single trip, typically spending time on the Ecuadorian or Peruvian mainland before or after a Galapagos cruise.

Safety varies significantly by country, city, and neighborhood, and is best assessed destination by destination rather than as a blanket statement about the continent. The destinations Vaya works with most frequently — Peru, the Galapagos, Patagonia, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and Colombia — are all traveled safely by thousands of visitors each year with appropriate planning and local guidance. Traveling with private guides, using vetted drivers, and staying in well-located properties eliminates most of the risk factors that independent travelers encounter. Our specialists brief every traveler on destination-specific considerations before departure.

South America has a strong and growing luxury travel infrastructure. Peru has excellent boutique hotels in Lima, Cusco, and the Sacred Valley, and some of the best restaurants on the continent in Lima. The Galapagos has a range of small luxury vessels with high-end cabins, gourmet meals, and expert naturalist guides. Patagonia has some of the finest remote lodges in the world, with private access to national park landscapes and guided experiences that are genuinely hard to replicate elsewhere. Argentina offers estancias, Buenos Aires design hotels, and exceptional wine country experiences in Mendoza and the Luján de Cuyo valley. Bolivia and Colombia are less developed in terms of luxury infrastructure but have standout properties. The key is knowing which properties are genuinely worth the price — something our specialists assess from firsthand experience.