Having now spent over four years on this one-way trip to Latin America, it’s safe to say I’ve learnt a lot.
Although I’d already been here on a few trips in the last decade to countries like Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba and Puerto Rico – this was the big, “no going back” one. And as a result, I’ve picked up my fair share of tales and stories which range from the very useful, to the down right questionable and bizarre – and all make for some very useful tips for anyone else thinking of travelling anywhere in Latin America.
In this article, we’ll explore 7 of my biggest lessons learnt first-hand after travelling four years through Latin America. Whilst other blogs may copy stories or lessons from other websites (or dare I say even using AI-generated tips) – these are all real, raw and proven lessons from my own eyes for your trip planning and enjoyment.
This article is part of my Travel Series — real experiences from my journeys across Latin America.
If you’re a tour operator in Latin America, click here for tour operator content.
Lesson 1: Your Safety Depends 100% On You – And Not Where You Visit
Perhaps the most controversial to begin with, this is also the most true. Wait George – so even if I’m in a drug smuggling town in Mexico, or by the border of Venezuela, it’s still my fault if anything happens to me? – the answer is YES, and I’ve actually survived both of those examples above as a testament to this.
If you live in a more developed part of the world, you’ll usually see news headlines that paint Latin American countries as giant risks wherever you head. And while of course there are some rare exceptions, usually any incidents of individuals can be traced back to a decision that they made that same day. Here’s a perfect scenario – a tourist gets robbed whilst walking home from a nice restaurant, in fancy clothes with their phone out in their hand looking lost. Definitely the fault of the robber, right? I would disagree. Yes it’s a very unfortunate case and the tourist isn’t responsible for someone else’s actions, however when in a different country we must adapt to how that country works.
Common sense goes a long way here in Latin America, and the great thing is that you can easily avoid 99.9% of all incidents just by considering how your actions might influence your surroundings. Trust me – I’ve had very few incidents in my entire time here, and after a while of doing quick mental risk assessments, it becomes natural after even just a few days.
Lesson 2: Altitude Humbled Me More Than Anything Else In Latin America (The Chachani Story)
Out of everything that I’ve experienced here in Latin America, altitude was the one that taught me by far my biggest personal lesson. Not only was this a big physical one (well, after all, you are heavily impacted physically) – altitude is also a big teacher in respecting nature and that there are indeed things that are much bigger than us.
Just arriving into Peru at the start of my trip, I quickly made my way to Arequipa to explore the incredible white sillar architecture and giant Colca Canyon. Very quickly upon arrival, I learnt of a giant volcano called Chachani which could be hiked right up the summit (at a total altitude of 6057m). Given Arequipa is located at a moderate 2359m, and that I had no experience at all of altitude, I was already feeling good physically and signed myself up.
What came next was arguably one of the worst travel experiences of my life. Falling over from a lack of oxygen, constant sickness and no way back as I couldn’t walk more than 20 metres alone – I had to wait for 7 hours alone at basecamp whilst the entire group headed up and down the summit (base camp was a two hour ridge walk at 5500m, and guides needed to accompany other hikers as they progressed further up). The physical implications were obvious, however those seven hours of helplessness also taught me that nobody else was to blame for this apart from me, and that we are all really just tiny blips in comparison with nature.
Lesson 3: 80% Of Your Travel Success Begins Before You Leave Home
Big dreams, big plans and usually big itineraries – heading on your first trip to Latin America is going to be a very memorable one. However, big packing? You might want to skip on that one. Overall a big part of how your trip goes will be how you plan beforehand, and I see countless mistakes all the time that can easily be avoided with some expert know-how.
First of all, the most important factors are your overall safety. This includes your health, where you’ll want to ensure you have the latest vaccinations for the areas you want to visit, and also checking anything else out that you feel you should before leaving home. The other major part to consider are your support systems, which includes having all important documents photo-copied and kept in a separate wallet, and also preparing your budget and bank for international travel.
Secondly, make sure you pack properly. It’s true that Latin America is an extremely varied country, and even in just one country like Peru or Chile you can experience almost all climates and geographies. So yes be sure to bring what you think you will need – however try to leave 1/3 of your luggage or bag free. Why? Overpacking is also a big problem, and trust me when I say you will not use everything you bring. Aside from saving you weight to carry and potentially money from airport baggage costs, you’ll also have more space to bring back memorable souvenirs.
Lesson 4: Knowing Spanish Or Portuguese Isn’t Mandatory (But It Will Enhance Your Trip 70%+)
First let’s start by stating the obvious – if you’re a traveller heading to Latin America for a few weeks, then learning an entire new language isn’t your biggest priority with everything else going on in your life. The only exception would be if you’re heading on a long multi-month trip, or planning to work and live in Latin America.
However if you can learn even some basic conversational Spanish or Portuguese, you’ll find it can unlock many more doors to an even better travel experience. Latin Americans are very friendly people, and even just a bit of linguistic effort from a traveller’s side can completely change the interaction. This could easily lead to a great learning experience for you both, a new friend or even learning about a hidden travel destination you’d otherwise not know about.
Now how do you learn conversational Spanish or Portuguese with just a few weeks or months to go until you fly here? Apps like DuoLingo are great, and there’s also online learning platforms like Preply where you can learn live with a remote teacher (both I can vouch for – DuoLingo as a student and also Preply as a teacher).
Lesson 5: Even Highly Independent Travelers Need Tours Sometimes
Whether you like heading on tours or not is really a personal choice, and also depends on what your main goals are. If you have a short time and prefer a safe and all-inclusive experience, then tours easily tick this box. However, on the other side, more independent travellers can also enjoy authentic tour experiences such as a guided street food tour or expert-led wildlife spotting hike.
As an independent traveller, I almost always drifted towards the “do it yourself” category, even when I should have headed on a tour either for safety or educational reasons. Now given I was always following tip #1, I was always mitigating risks and nothing ever happened to me. However, my biggest regret though, is that I didn’t learn more about certain places given I wasn’t on a tour – and an expert tour guide could have easily taught me lots of insightful information and made the experience more memorable.
So if you do usually forgo all tours as you want the most authentic experience – keep in mind that a good tour guide can actually enhance your experience and what you learn – rather than restrict it. Just be sure to pick a tour company that is flexible, and ideally one that focuses on smaller-group experiences that allow for independent exploration along the way.
Lesson 6: Be Careful With Food And Drink (Getting Sick 20+ Times In Latin America Is NOT Fun)
Ah, travel sickness. Something that none of us think of until we find ourselves with that inevitable dread as we haul ourselves to the nearest bathroom. Now whether I am extremely unlucky or just made rash choices (I’d say mostly the latter), getting sick over 20 times in four years – with 12/20 coming in my first year alone – shows just how careful we need to be when eating street food over here.
Street food and local restaurant meals are some of the very best parts of a trip through Latin America, and simply cannot be missed when travelling here. Whether that’s empanadas in Venezuela, papa rellenas in Peru, gallo pinto in Costa Rica or chilaquiles in Mexico, eating locally is actually an integral part of travel and understanding culture from the inside out (both physically and mentally).
My very top tip after everything I’ve learned, is to follow local behaviours and advice. The first trick is to look visually – are there long queues? filled-out tables? Those are good signs. The second tip is to ask locals for their suggestions (whether that’s in your hotel or with your tour operator), given they usually know the most reputable spots in their areas.
Lesson 7: The Attitude That Helped Me Achieve All Of My Latin America Dreams
If not one of my biggest and most important tips of all (along with #1), is that you really can make all your travel dreams come true here in Latin America. Now of course we all have different dreams and the very best intentions when excitedly planning our trips at home and packing for the upcoming flight, however this is really just half of the battle.
The most important part of making your travel dreams come true is by taking 100% responsibility for how your trip goes – and to execute your thoughts quicker. Want to experience Machu Picchu with no crowds at sunrise? Book an early VIP tour, and be the first person in the room to get up and ready (and first person on the first bus too, ideally). Want a truly authentic tour through the deep Amazon Rainforest? Talk to lots of people until you start getting the right contacts, and keep going deeper until you find the very best operator or guide.
Now of course this is quite easy to do during your first few days when you’ve got the “new travel energy” which naturally gets you up and about. However, if you are heading on a longer trip (from more than a couple of weeks to a month), then you’ll need to rely on your discipline and this attitude. Whilst I would have loved to have this energy naturally help me over these last four years (and sometimes it does pop-up here and there), it’s the discipline that helped me tick-off all of my wildest bucket list dreams over here in Latin America.
This article is part of my travel series — real experiences from my journeys across Latin America.
If you’re a tour operator in Latin America, click here for tour operator content.