Visit South America

If sliding into your dancing shoes for a sultry tango in Buenos Aires doesn’t float your boat, and the sheer scale of Iguazu Falls isn’t a huge enough rush, perhaps you’d prefer to saddle up and unleash your inner gaucho. Riding with Argentina’s cowboys gives a palpable insight into the heart of rural Argentine life and access to its most spectacular scenery.

Spend a morning mustering cattle on a Patagonian working estancia (ranch). For lunch, feast on fire cooked juicy beef ribs before drifting off for a well-earned siesta. Visit Indian burial caves inside lava tunnels. Watch out for baby armadillo and majestic condor soaring above – all of course, with the mighty Andes as your ever changing backdrop. Sure beats a screensaver. 

Our Picks for Argentina Tours

Northern Wine Route - 5 days from $1545

Best of Argentina & Brazil - 7 days from $2941

Patagonian Highlights - 13 days from $5385

Grab some bolivianos and buckle up for the ride of your life in beautiful Bolivia. Who needs 5 star luxury when you can mountain bike down the dubious “Death Road”? Starting in your winter woollies at elevation near La Paz (the world’s highest capital city), this heart starter will have you plunging down 4000 metres of hairpin bends and sheer rugged cliffs to tropical lands below. If you survive the ride, head to the witches market in La Paz for your fill of superstitious remedies such as dried frogs, llama foetus and strange aphrodisiacs. 

Our Picks for Bolivia Tours

Bolivian Amazon Jungle - 5 days from $1380

Sacred Lands of the Incas - 15 days from $3590

Keen to party and come home utterly inspired? Brazil is a giant country with a giant heart. Host of possibly the biggest party on earth, Rio’s Carnaval attracts over 2 million partygoers each evening. It’s a dazzling mix of flamboyance, flesh, music and movement…and not a ruffled feather in sight! Gird your loins for big nights of samba and the eye-popping spectacle of beautiful people moving with the intoxicating sounds.

Perhaps after this a quiet recovery is on the cards? The world’s fifth largest nation also beckons you with the glorious Amazon, underground cave pools at Chapada Diamantina National Park, and the colourful Pelourinho in Salvador. Here in the heart of Afro-Brazilian culture, you can hang out in a throng of drummers or practice Capoeira with its masters.

Our Picks for Brazil Tours

Rio Carnaval Package - 5 days from $2149

Brazil Journey - 9 days from $2379

Fancy a drop of red at the end of a long day on the road? You’ll love a visit to the wine growing regions of Chile. By virtue of its dramatic geography, Chile’s long and thin expanse of land (flanked by the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean) lends itself well to viticulture. Sip and swirl your way around as you sample some of the delectable local wines. Together with its deserts, volcanoes, glaciers and fjords; Chile will reward you with spectacular variety. 

Our Picks for Chile Tours

Easter Island - 6 days from $3843

Easter Island Independent - 4 days from $1139

Chile - Patagonia Cruise - 7 days from $2778

Torres del Paine W Trek - 7 days from $2505

When you treat yourself to a trip to Colombia, it’s like stepping onto the set of a movie about colonial times. The architecture of cities such as Cartagena is incredibly well preserved. Locals live in surroundings that appear to be trapped in time. In Colombia you can travel from the sand strewn beaches, through coffee plant covered fields to Bogota; the world’s third highest capital city, and the heartbeat of this amazing country. 

Our Picks for Colombia Tours

Colombia Journey - 12 days from $2624

Colombia - Lost City Trekking - 7 days from $799

Caribbean Colombia Express - 8 days from $1499

Ecuador may be small, but it’s incredible and you’ll love its mix of ancient culture and awe-inspiring scenery. In Quito and Cuenca you can admire the array of architecture, including churches, monasteries and mansions that have been restored to their former glory. Trek through the Andes and experience the lives of remote villagers. Marvel at magnificent wild Andean Condor, the world’s largest birds of prey, as they soar overhead in search of their next meal.

Our Picks for Ecuador Tours

Cruising the Ecuadorian Amazon - 4 days from $1659

Handpicked Ecuador - 8 days from $3119

Local Living Ecuador - Amazon Jungle - 7 days from $599

Nature lovers will treasure exploring the place made famous by under performing former medical scholar, Charles Darwin. The Galapagos Islands catalysed Darwin’s profound break through and eventually led to his famous and wildly controversial theory of evolution.

At the glorious Galapagos Islands, you can still get up close to some of the weird and wonderful creatures that inspired Darwin to unlock the mystery of natural selection. From the famous finches and slightly creepy marine iguanas, to 150 year old giant tortoises. Watch these ancients haul their massive domed shells across highlands of Santa Cruz, munching greenery in their wake. Incredibly, these guys can survive without food or water for over a year.

Our Picks for Galapagos Tours

Cruising the Galapagos with National Geographic - 10 days from $9725

Cruise the Galapagos - 5 days from $4495

Galapagos Camping Adventure - 9 days from $1849

Looking for beaches, cheap diving and tropical island adventures on a budget? Consider Honduras. Whilst it may not have the best reputation, it’s actually a country of diverse and beautiful landscapes and one where adventure sports come at an extremely reasonable price. Visitors can experience Bay Islands where both partying and diving are the norm. Also a must, on a visit to Honduras, is a trip to see the Maya ruins at Copán, and an exploration of the jungle reserves where visitors get to exist side by side with a wonderful array of wildlife. 

Our Picks for Honduras Tours

Beyond the Mayan World - 15 days from $2850

Volcano Adventure San José to Antigua - 21 days from $2699

The secret’s out. Nicaragua is a hot spot to visit for budget conscious families and independent travellers looking for adventure. If you’re into good surf, cheap beer and phenomenal hiking, consider a trip here. Check out the colourful Spanish colonial architecture so well preserved in Granada. Nicaragua is known as the land of lakes and volcanoes, and these two phenomena dominate the landscape. One of the most incredible experiences for visitors to this land is to climb Volcán Concepción and gaze out across a landscape that includes crater lakes, secluded sandy beaches and Volcán Momotombo rising skywards.  It’s an incredible view that you have to experience. 

Our Picks for Nicaragua Tours

Amazing Central America - 29 days from $3255

Volcano Trail - 17 days from $1699

History lovers, you’ll adore Panama. Not just for the modern marvel of engineering – where the mighty Panama Canal links the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Panama is a country that maintains its natural essence in stunning colonial towns, despite the progressions of modern life. Explore the lush green environment of the rainforests, or sail bright blue waters between tropical islands. Modern day is catching on in Panama City which has seen much development as it makes its way to becoming a truly cosmopolitan metropolis. Visitors to Panama have one foot in tradition and nature, and one foot in the modern world. 

Our Picks for Panama Tours

Costa Rica & Panama Discovery - 13 days from $1420

Cycle Nicaragua to Panama - 15 days from $4334

Best of Panama - 8 days from $999

Make this your year to visit extraordinary Peru. Magical Machu Picchu tops every traveller’s list of best South American adventures. Seeing this relic of Incan civilization is a truly memorable experience; but an historical journey into Peru doesn’t end there. You can also visit some of the more remote communities of this nation, where ancient traditions are still in tact. While you’re there, explore the museums of Lima, where the history of Peru unfolds in all its glory. 

Our Picks for Peru Tours

Trekking the Inca Trail - 5 days from $1465

Discover Peru - 8 days from $2668

Explore Machu Picchu - 8 days from $1999

Machu Picchu & The Amazon - 10 days from $2379

If you’re a fan of cobbled streets, small bars and beautiful old colonial towns, head for the charming World Heritage Listed town of Colonia. Uruguay is the smallest of the South American countries, but there is still a feast of activities for you to enjoy. The capital, Montevideo, is a cosmopolitan hub of culture where there is plenty to keep you occupied; but it’s the natural Uruguay, away from the urban landscapes, that really takes the breath away. This is where you can watch the wildlife along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, or ride horses through the wide-open spaces of the country’s stunning interior. 

Our Picks for Uruguay Tours

Handpicked Uruguay - 8 days from $2779

Away from the concrete jungle of Caracas, Venezuela offers intrepid travellers the real jungle. Venezuela gives you incredible opportunities for adventure, a breath of fresh air compared with mass tourism in so many other parts of the world.

Head to the Orinoco Delta, stay in stilted thatched huts with the indigenous Warao Amerindians or ‘people of the canoe’. Trek through pristine sub tropical rainforest to Angel Falls – the world’s highest waterfall, and marvel as it tumbles over the edge of Table Mountain at Canaima National Park. 

Our Picks for Venezuela Tours

Handpicked Venezuela - 6 days from $2615

Lost World & Angel Falls - 14 days from $4235