South America Trips
Vacation Ideas

There are historic spots such as the San Felipe fortress, 500 year old stone walls around the old historic center, the La Popa hill monastery built in 1607 or the historic house Casa de Nunez. Cartagena has many other attractions. There are half a dozen nice beaches.

In January you can catch a bullfight. The mangrove swamps around the city are a popular place for an eco-tour. In November, the National Beauty Pageant with the whole town on holiday and contestants around town in parades and boat tours.

If you have extra money or time you can travel to the Galapagos Islands for a historical and stimulating stop. Staying in Quito for a day or a few can be interesting; there is Old Quito to check out which is very well-preserved and beautiful.

I climbed Cotopaxi, which is a dormant volcano, for an excruciating but exhilarating physical victory that allowed our group to see the whole valley.

For touristy stops, you can visit the Equator Line, which I did with my group. Be advised, though: 50 SPF sunscreen is heavily recommended! Be polite, know some Spanish, and watch your possessions at all time, and you're set to have a great time in South America. Travel respectfully, travel well.

There were 3 pools there, an arcade for children and a private beach. After 2 days there me and my family went to a local travel agency and bought a package that gave us a train trip through Mata Atlântica.

I found this a bit boring because I was young but now looking back, the view is amazing with its waterfalls. It finished in a small town where we could buy some gifts of course.

The other part of the package was a boat trip to Ilha Grande, a famous island here. The bluest water I ever seen. There we ate fresh fish ( just caught 1 hour ago ) and for dessert we had chocolate ice cream. There is a lagoon there and a black sand beach, which amazed me.

When we were coming back we were caught by bad weather and even though it was risky I wasn't afraid but indeed excited by the adventure! That were the best vacations I ever had in my life and I recommend for anybody who wants to go to a beautiful place, go to Angra dos Reis. It’s a beautiful place of beautiful beaches, wonderful hotels and lots of fun.

The many ancient Inca trails that lace the mountains of Peru provide endless opportunities to explore the country. These old trails are still used today by locals to move livestock and navigate the mountains. For the tourist, they are a place for trekking and hiking unlike anywhere else.

This is truly off the beaten path. You will explore hidden valleys and high passes, marvel at the views of snow covered mountain peaks, visit Incan and Spanish cathedrals and experience the culture at local villages and markets. You will travel with a knowledgeable insider, in a small group. Boundless Journeys is dedicated to responsible traveling which protects the local cultures and the environment.

At first I was a bit disappointed when I arrived in Caracas and I saw how dirty the city was and to see so many homes in such poor conditions (It makes the worst homes in the U.S look like mansions), also the traffic was terrible and I was horribly tired from the trip.

But after driving for several hours we arrived in Valencia where I would be staying and I was relieved to see that it was a million times nicer than Caracas.

The next morning when I decided to go look around the city, what impressed me the most was that you could see the mountains in the background of practically anywhere you went in Venezuela.

The next morning after I had completely settled in we decided to go the beach, we took a small boat to an island called “Sombrero” and I can say that without a doubt it was the most beautiful beach I had ever seen, it certainly beat the Bahamas and Cancun, Mexico.

The water was perfectly clear and the sand was white and thin. The weather was perfect and since you have to pay to take a boat to get there, there weren’t many people in the island so relaxing was an easy task.

That day I went snorkeling and I saw many colorful fishes and a huge variety of coral reefs which you don’t see in the beaches in Florida.

A few days later after I got over my sunburn I went on a trip to a German colony in the mountains of Venezuela called “La Colonia Tobar”. All the homes there were built as if you were in Germany, for a second I would forget I was in Venezuela until I’d hear someone speak Spanish.

The food there was amazing and there were loads of gift shops where you could shop for souvenirs for your entire family.

If you are looking for cheap clothing, I will be straight up; Venezuela is not the place to go. Clothing is extremely overpriced, but it’s all basically the same things you would find in the U.S. so it didn’t matter much to me.

Going to Venezuela was a life changing experience and it really made me appreciate the things I have back home. Even though Venezuela was fun, there is no place like the U.S. I missed the traffic regulations (because in Venezuela nobody respects a red light).

I missed the people (because at times men were very disrespectful and acted as though they had never seen a beautiful woman in their life). But I’d definitely visit again.

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