Travel guides, itineraries, and experiences across South America, including cities, landscapes, and cultural highlights.
Most people treat Cusco as a stop on the way to Machu Picchu. A place to land, adjust to the altitude, sleep for a night or two, and leave again for the main event. But after visiting Cusco twice, once in 2019 and again in 2025, I don’t agree with that narrative at all. Cusco…
Our last day in Cusco was supposed to be simple. An early flight to Lima, a few hours with family, and then a midnight departure home. But travel rarely follows the plan exactly as you imagine it. And in a strange twist, our return coincided with the opening of the new Lima International Airport. Early…
Planning Machu Picchu looks simple at first. Until you realize it’s not just one ticket. It’s train schedules, timed entry circuits, buses, transportation between Cusco and Ollantaytambo, altitude adjustment, guides, and constantly changing availability. By the second time I planned Machu Picchu, I already knew one thing for certain: I was absolutely using a local…
My final city in Colombia and the final stop of my entire South America trip was going to be Cartagena. I spent three days in Cartagena and immediately the city felt completely different from Medellín. Medellín felt dense, energetic, fast-moving, you can read my full experience here. Cartagena felt slower, colorful, coastal, and much more…
I’m always excited for every country I get to visit, but I think we can all agree that there are certain destinations that come with an extra level of excitement and anticipation. For me, Colombia was definitely one of those places. Colombia wrapped up my five-week South America journey. There’s another post dedicated entirely to…