• Puerto Natales, Chile
• Torres Del Paine, Chile
• El Chaltén, Argentina
• El Calafate, Argentina

Pro tips for Chilean side:

• In South America, domestic flights tend to be much, much cheaper than international ones so if you can try to fly domestically and then do border crossings by bus, you can often save money. For example, we flew from Santiago down to Patagonia but stayed on the Chilean side (Puerto Natales). Then we took a bus to El Calafate (Argentinean side) and will do the border crossing by bus. Then we fly to Ushuaia from there, successfully avoiding any international flights!
• For Torres Del Paine, you want to fly to Puerto Natales or Punta Arenas (but this is much further). You can base yourself in Puerto Natales but it means a 4 hr bus ride or 3 hr drive roundtrip each day into the park.
• Don’t forget to get your park pass. There’s limited service at the park so best to buy it in advance. You can buy it at the park if you need to (double check this before going though).
• I’d recommend renting a car. Our favorite part of exploring the park was driving around on our own time.
• If you want to do the W Trek or O Trek, you’ll need to book pretty far in advance. The refugios book up pretty quick. We decided not to do it because we didn’t want to lock ourselves into any dates and we didn’t know how long it would take us to get from Bolivia down to Southern Argentina.
• The W & O Trek’s get all the glory and fame, but also the people. We loved our tranquil, empty hikes through the rest of the park better than our day hike on the W trek.
• In general we found that most places took credit card (except our hotel outside the park), but it’s always good to have some cash.

Pro tips for Argentinian side:

• Argentina just implemented park fees so make sure to read up on which one you want to get. It’s pretty new so my experience is that they are still figuring out how to implement everything. Most folks would just enter the park or trailheads before 7am before the park rangers were at the stations. There were some reports that they would check your ticket as you left, but I didn’t personally see any of this happening. We bought a 3 day Flex pass so we could use it for the two hikes in El Chaltén as well as the Perito Moreno Glacier in El Calafate, tbh they never scanned the ticket so I’m not sure how they would track how many days we were using it.
• El Chaltén is very expensive, especially restaurants so I would go as far as to say it might behoove you to bring groceries with you from elsewhere as the groceries stores weren’t much cheaper and weren’t all that well stocked.
• Cell service was very spotty in El Chaltén, so download some offline maps before heading there.
• Renting a car last minute in El Calafate is near impossible or extremely expensive so if you think you’ll want one to take you to the glacier, then book ahead of time. We ended up using a tour, which was ultimately totally fine.

CITY: Puerto Natales, Chile

HOW LONG: 4 Nights

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at El Patagonico in Puerto Natales. It was a great hostel. Big open concept kitchen + common area that was really cozy. The outdoor garden was great for phone calls. The rooms were quiet and we got good nights sleep here. Wifi worked great. Highly recommend staying here!

WHERE TO EAT:

Puerto Natales is full of cute restaurants and cafes! We celebrated Sonja’s birthday here as well so we tried out some nice spots:

• Kau Lodge – Great spot for a coffee, brunch or to read. Has a lodge feel and it’s super cozy. We loved it so much we went twice, including once for Sonja’s birthday
• Slowly Bar – great spot for a cheap Completo (Chilean hot dog)
• Restaurant La Picada de Carlitos – We went here for Sonja’s birthday dinner and it was awesome!! It was packed and we were lucky to get a table at 9pm. Food was delicious and it was a real treat after so many backpacker meals haha. Always nice to have a proper, good meal once in a while.
• Nomad Coffee – cute spot for a hot chocolate & to catch up on your book.

WHAT TO DO:

There’s not much to DO in Puerto Natales, unless you are using this as your base to/from the park. Given we had the luxury of traveling slower, we enjoyed 2 days before and after the park here just preparing and catching up on admin stuff. It’s a lovely, lovely spot for a chilled out break. It was Sonja’s birthday so we had a spa treatment at Vibenso Spa (at the Darwin Hotel) We did enjoy walking along the waterfront, as well as just around the small town. We also met some new friends to play monopoly deal and explore the park with!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I really liked the town itself, but if you aren’t using it as a base then you don’t need to spend all that long here. If you are using it as a base, then prepare yourself for some long days. Our friend Gabbi met us in the park and she had to leave at 6:45am and returned at 10:30pm using the bus. We’d recommend renting a car, no matter whether you stay close to the park or in PN.

CITY: Torres Del Paine, Chile

HOW LONG: 3 Nights

ACCOMMODATION:

We splurged a little and stayed at a hotel near the park entrance to save some back & forth driving. Estancia Dos Elianas ended up being the perfect little spot! The room was so cozy and the heat cranked, which was much needed after chilly days in the park. Breakfast was included as well. There were cute cats & a dog on the grounds as well.

Don’t count on access to gas or an ATM once in the park, so be prepared. We found a hotel 5 min from that ended up selling us some gas from a gas canister – when in Patagonia!!!

WHERE TO EAT:

Honestly either bring your own food or bring your wallet lol. Because we had splurged on a hotel and a rental car, we decided not to buy food while at the park. Knowing we wouldn’t have access to a kitchen, we brought ingredients to make sandwiches for lunch & packs of ramen since all we would need is some hot water to cook that. We got very creative haha.

We found that the refugios or other cafes that are supposedly open in the park were sometimes closed or were very expensive. The only thing we bought was a hot chocolate at Hosteria Pehoe. It was $5 but the views were worth it.

WHAT TO DO:

Again, obviously the most popular thing to do here is the W Trek, O trek or hiking to Grey Glacier. We did none of those things. As I mentioned earlier, because we weren’t sure of our dates as we planned our South American adventure, Sonja & I didn’t want to lock ourselves into anything ahead of time. Instead, we spent 3 days exploring the park with our rental car. Some of our new friends from Puerto Natales met us in the park and joined us for 2 of the days as well. The park felt very empty since everyone who was here was doing one of the more popular hiking adventures. Here’s what we did do to fill our three days:

• Mirador Condor – beautiful lookout, but it’s a steep 40 min walk up. We loved watching the condors soar above us.

• Mirador Cuervos – our favorite hike! You pass by the beautiful waterfall and continue on your way until you see the backside of the Towers.

• Lunch by the lake right about here – we ate our sandwiches right on the lake with gorgeous views
• Hot chocolate at Hosteria Pehoe

• Base Towers hike – this was our one monster hike! It’s a day hike along the W Trek. It took us around 9-10 hours with some stops along the way. The top was absolutely incredible. The water is such a beautiful, intense blue. Sadly, other than that, we didn’t love this hike. The hike itself wasn’t THAT stunning, and there were so, so many people. It felt like a Disneyland line trying to all pass each other along a very narrow path. It’s hard to tell people not to do the hike since it’s the iconic spot in the park, but I would recommend starting earlier than all the people coming via the bus aka start earlier than 9am.

• Just drive around the park for views like the below

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

This park is stunning! Take your time, and enjoy the park beyond the W Trek. We loved having the park to ourselves. Our introduction to Patagonia lived up to the hype!

CITY: El Chalten, Argentina

HOW LONG: 5 Nights

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at Rancho Grande hostel. The customer service was pretty bad and the downstairs was a restaurant so it was sometimes hard to distinguish who was staying versus just eating. Luckily the upstairs was just backpackers. The beds were not great but got the job done. We were worried it would be hard to meet people but we ended up finding our tribe. The kitchen was horrible and disgusting, but when prices are sky high, you make it work. Overall I would try to find a different hostel or airbnb before staying here, but it’s not the worst place in the world.

WHERE TO EAT:

Since it was so expensive here, we did lots of cheap backpacker dinners at the hostel, but here were out highlight finds in town:

• Domo Blanco – delicious ice cream for a relatively affordable price (this town is expensive okay). $4 for a small but 2 flavors and all you can pour sauces!!! My dream. 
• Andrea’s – new bar with cute vibes and great bartenders.
• La Wafletaria – great after a hike!! Lots of waffle options to choose from.

WHAT TO DO:

Hiking, hiking, and more hiking! Honestly if you don’t like hiking, then there wouldn’t be a reason to come here haha. This town is known as the “hiking capital” of Argentina. It’s like a ski town but for hiking. Most trailheads are walking distance from town, which is so cool! The two big hikes we took on:

• Lomo del Pliegue Lombado – This is a fabulous hike that is a local favorite, but not one of the most popular hikes. It’s stunning and we passed maybe 20 people so you have the trail to yourself. We started at 10 am and got back at 4pm. 22km total with 1000m of elevation. Trailhead is walking distance from town.

• Tres Torres  – This is the classic, famous hike up to the Fitz Roy (the inspiration for the Patagonia logo). We decided to do it for sunrise with some new Argentinian friends we made. One of their mom’s dropped us at the Rio Electrico trailhead so we could do a through hike instead of an out & back from town (but this is an option). We started at 2am & got back at 11am. We arrived at the top right at sunrise at 6am. 3000 ft of elevation and around 14 miles so not for the faint of heart. If you want to do the Rio Electrico start (which ultimately makes the hike slightly easier and shorter), you’ll have to arrange for a taxi to take you there.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

You could spend many days here and still have hikes to explores for the first time. Other than the prices, I don’t have any complaints. It’s a very cute mountain town that is small enough to start to feel like you’ve lived there for years by day 3. You quickly start to recognize people in town & I never tired of the views. Anywhere between 4-7 days is great here (as long as you like hiking). Have I made that clear?!

CITY: El Calfate, Argentina

HOW LONG: 4 Nights

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at Red House Hostel and had a mixed experience. The hotel itself was cute, clean, and in a pretty good location, but the staff were rude. Breakfast was from 7-10 but the pancakes would run out at 7:30am… which is odd, like just make enough if you know people are staying there. Also the common area shuts at 11pm sharp so there is no place to hang and play cards or make a phone call home if time zones don’t align with Argentina. I had to spend 2 hrs in the freezing cold to speak to a friend. I still think it’s not a bad spot, but just consider the above. It’s a small hotel so very easy to meet people!

WHERE TO EAT:

We did lots of cooking at the hostel but here are the two places we went that I would recommend:

• Buenos Cruces – yummy homemade pasta + great ambiance. Lovely service as well!
• Helados Tito – delicious ice cream! 
• Waffle Como En Casa – The waffle was great, but the best part was sitting outside in their patio in the sun. We spent a few hours here reading and playing cards after eating!

WHAT TO DO:

The main, almost only, thing to do here is visit the Perito Moreno Glacier. And boy is it a stunner! If you have enough people, renting a car can be cheaper & more efficient than taking the bus or a tour, but plan ahead because rental cars can get pricy last minute (if you can even find one). We were quoted $250 per day so we decided to just do the tour. We opted to upgrade and include the boat ride for an extra ~$85. It was pretty cool to see the glacier up close, but if you are on the fence, I would say the boardwalks also do a comprehensive way to see the glacier (just $55).

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I loved the glacier. It was a total highlight for me. I had been saying “what’s the big deal about glaciers” since every other one we had seen was just firmly fine. This one knocked my socks off. Do not miss seeing this thing. You probably only need 2 nights here (to allow for one day visiting Perito Moreno), but we are happily traveling a bit slower these days to allow for some lazy ready & monopoly deal days. This was a perfect spot for a few extra days.

BUDGET FOR 16 DAYS IN PATAGONIA:

Patagonia is not a cheap travel destination in South America. Most people here are on vacation, rather than long term backpackers. It also tends to be more remote locations so it’s more expensive to get goods there.

• Accommodation: $629 ($39 per night) – Our hotel in Torres Del Paine brought the average up a bit.
• Food: $350
• Groceries: $83
• Activities: $376 (Park entrance fees, tours, Sonja’s birthday)
• Local Transportation: $322 (includes a rental car for 3 days)
• Miscellaneous: $110 (laundry, gifts, postcards, etc)

Total: $1870 (Daily average: $119)

Transportation to next destination: $177 (Flight to Ushuaia)

• We didn’t find there was much to do besides wine tasting so just do some research ahead of time to determine how many days you want to spend here.
• If you have time to take the bus to or from Santiago, I would highly recommend it! It’s a stunning ride through the Andes.

CITY: MENDOZA

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at Lagares Hostel and honestly did not like it. We had a private room but the beds were very saggy in the middle. The hostel just felt very dark, like no natural light. Breakfast was pretty subpar. There was zero atmosphere and it was very hard to meet people. Overall don’t recommend 4/10.

WHERE TO EAT:

Overall we weren’t really all that impressed with the restaurants we tried in Mendoza. We also found the service at restaurants to be weirdly bad. The two spots we’d recommend:

• Brod Ciudad – gorgeous outdoor patio seating- perfect for a sunny afternoon coffee or pastry! 
• Flavio Soppelsa – Such a fun (but expensive) ice cream experience. Highly recommend, it’s a work of art!

WHAT TO DO:

The highlight here is wine tasting!! It was slightly novel as the main way people wine taste here is to rent a bike and cycle your way through a few wineries throughout the day. While I am not a huge alcohol drinker, I actually had a blast biking around in the sun while staring through the vineyards to the Andes in the background. We visited Mevi, Tempus Alba and Entre Olivos for some wine, snacks, and an olive oil tasting!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

If you are a wine lover, then don’t miss a visit here. Sonja was absolutely in love with it and would’ve done a few more days of wine tasting. I was sorta ready to leave after the one day of wine tasting haha. The city itself didn’t wow me and just felt like a big city. It definitely didn’t feel touristy, but also didn’t feel super nice.

BUDGET FOR 3 DAYS IN MENDOZA:

Mendoza felt overall pretty reasonable compared some of the places we had been to lately.

• Accommodation: $50 ($16.67 per night) – my half of the private room since I split it with Sonja
• Food: $50
• Groceries: $12
• Activities: $15
• Local Transportation: $9
• Miscellaneous: $27

Total: $163 (Daily average: $54)

Transportation to next destination: $70 (RT bus to/from Santiago)

• Book flights ahead of time and be flexible on your dates. We found that flights were either $800 or $330 roundtrip. Luckily we were able to build our time in Chile around the dates that were $330 for flights. There is only 1 flight per day in/out of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) as of publishing this and was only serviced through Santiago.
• Don’t forget to fill out the Single Entry Form (FUI) before you get to the airport (we filled it out a week in advance). You will head to a different security line at the Santiago Airport (look for the signs pointing you to the right direction) and you will be asked to show your FUI.
• Update the time zone on your phone manually. Strangely when we landed, the time zone didn’t update it automatically like every other time I have travelled. Sonja & I headed down to the beach for sunset and were very confused with how the sun was still so high, yet was supposedly going to set in 30 min. We felt like we were in the twilight zone until we figured out we were 2hrs behind. We literally spent the whole day thinking it was 2 hours later than our phones were telling us. Thankfully we figure this out on our first evening as we would have been two hours early to our early morning tour the next day…
• We read very conflicting information online about whether there would be ATM’s on the island and whether we would be able to use credit cards. Given this we took plenty of cash (after scrambling to find an ATM that was open in Santiago). Turns out, there were two ATM’s on the island and other than our accommodation, literally everyone took credit card. My recommendation: take some cash, but you will likely be fine using your credit card
• We also read conflicting info on how good the grocery stores would be as well as how expensive restaurants would be so we actually brought a bunch of easy ingredients/groceries with us like ramen noodles. In hindsight it was probably overkill as the grocery stores were decently stocked with basics and restaurants were plentiful and truly weren’t much more expensive than Santiago.
• Cell service was honestly great! No stress about connectivity in town, although some of the more remote parts of the island were dead zones.

CITY: Easter Island/Rapa Nui

HOW LONG: 5 Nights

ACCOMMODATION:

There are tons of hotels, B&B’s and guesthouses around the island. We stayed at Hostal Vieroto, which ended up being exactly what we needed. We loved the location right across from Playa Poko Poko, which offered a man-made swimming hole and grassy area under the palm trees to read your book. It’s about a 3-5 min walk to the main strip of restaurants and the beach where the turtles swim. The property wasn’t fancy by any means, but the beds were comfy and the bathrooms were clean. The kitchen wasn’t great but it did the job (we wish it was cleaner & was better stocked with cooking utensils). The owner also had two cute big dogs roaming about.

WHERE TO EAT:

We honestly ate a ton at the hostal, but I’d recommend the following three spots:

• Mikafe for ice cream in the afternoon. It’s very close to the turtle beach!
• Oheho Surf Cafe – Great reasonably priced restaurant for lunch or dinner. Food was fantastic, especially if you like fish!
• Iti Lafken – we had lunch here and it was a great choice.

WHAT TO DO:

Summary of options in Rapa Nui:

Pro tip: You need to purchase your Rapanui National Park Ticket ahead of time (we bought ours at the visitor center in town using a credit card). Also, most parts of the park require you to visit with a tour guide so a tour is basically the only way to go.

• Must do: Full day tour of all things Moai (We booked ours through Hahave, and would recommend them). We learned all about the history of the Rapa Nui people, everything they know about the Moai, and had a stop at the beach. Pro Tip: the completo (Chilean hot dog) at the beach is worth a try.
• Half day tour – You visit Rano Kau Volcano Crater & learn about the bird man competition. We actually thought this tour wasn’t great. We wish we had just hiked ourselves up to the crater and done it without a tour.
• Sunrise tour – Sonja did this (as we know I am not a morning person) and raved about it. Pro tip: take a look at the weather beforehand as you’d hate to wake up at 5am just to have a cloudy sky.
• Scuba Diving – it was definitely not the best diving I’ve ever done, but it was novel to see a (fake) Moai being integrated into the coral. It was also my first time scuba diving in South America

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, totally blew us away. We both expected to learn about the Moai statues & the mystery surrounding how they were moved around the island. We didn’t expect a tropical paradise full of sunshine, turtles & beaches AND incredible Moai statues. I can’t recommend this place enough. It just was so special to be in the middle of the ocean learning about this beautiful culture.

BUDGET FOR 5 DAYS IN EASTER ISLAND:

Easter Island is definitely not a cheap spot to visit, but it also wasn’t as expensive as I feared.

• Accommodation: $153 ($30.60 per night) – my half of the room since I split it with Sonja
• Food: $78
• Groceries: $20
• Activities: $211.60 (National Park Entrance ($75), two tours, & scuba diving)
• Local Transportation: $0

Total: $462.6 (Daily average: $93)

Transportation to next destination: $328 (RT Flights to/from Santiago)

• Currency is not complicated here (unlike Argentina or Bolivia). You can pay by credit card most places and to get cash, just use any ATM. FYI ATM fees can be pricy (but doesn’t matter if you have a debit card that reimburses ATM fees like mine does).
• When you cross the border into Chile, you will receive a slip of paper called the PDI. DO NOT LOSE IT. You need it to leave the country!
• Chile is definitely a more expensive South American country, but the infrastructure is generally better.
• In South America, domestic flights tend to be much, much cheaper than international ones so if you can try to fly domestically and then do border crossings by bus, you can often save money. For example, we fly from Santiago down to Patagonia but stay on the Chilean side (Puerto Natales). Then we will take a bus to El Calafate (Argentinean side) and will do the border crossing by bus. Then we fly to Ushuaia from there, successfully avoiding any international flights.

CITY: San Pedro de Atacama

HOW LONG: 5 Nights

ACCOMMODATION:

I loved my hostel here! When I began searching for the right spot, every review of Hostal Mamatierra mentioned how clean it was. It lived up to its reputation! It was so cozy, clean and had the best hostel breakfast I’ve had in a while. Pancakes, fruit, & eggs in addition to cereal & yogurt. Very easy to meet people and it’s small enough that you actually end up talking to almost everyone over breakfast or in one of the hammocks. Easy to book tours through the front desk as well. Beds were comfy and the rooms were cleaned every day! Overall a 10/10, can’t recommend enough!

WHERE TO EAT:

• Franchuteria – cute cafe with outdoor seating. Two locations in town but I preferred the one with the outdoor seating. Delicious baguettes and sandwiches. Huge portions. I ate lunch and had enough leftover for dinner. Great spot to play cards or chat with new friends from the hostel. Definitely my favorite place in San Pedro.
• Adobe – pretty expensive but very cute restaurant. Live music and food was delicious. I had a cheese, mushroom, and onion quesadillas. Again, I had a lovely experience but the price comes from it being touristy, rather than exceptional food.
• Ckunna – lovely spot slightly out of the main touristy bit. Pasta was delicious and my friends raved about their steaks. Great outdoor patio to enjoy dinner.
• Roots Cafe Pizza – Went here for brunch/lunch & some monopoly deal with my new friends. Very cute outdoor space in the back. Really enjoyed it.
• Astro Burger – A great burger in a kinda funky space. You don’t go for the ambiance

WHAT TO DO:

There are sooooo many tours & activities in San Pedro! Your accommodation will likely have a booklet or packet for you to peruse with all the options. Also it felt like almost every other business in town was a travel agency who are happy to book you onto one of their tours.

Because the landscape is quite similar to that of Southern Bolivia, I opted to skip some of the (sometimes) pricy tours. The two I chose to do:

• Valle de la Luna – was declared a Nature Sanctuary in 1982 for its natural environment and strange lunar landscape, from which its name is derived. It definitely has a Mars-like feel to it. It has various stone and sand formations which have been carved by wind and water. This tour usually includes a sunset stop + a little picnic which is fun. Pro tip: Make sure your tour will have an English speaking guide. I forgot to ask and my tour was in Spanish – whoops!

• Astronomy Tour (Stargazing) – The Atacama Desert is one of the few locations on the globe with over 300 days of clear skies per year. When you add no light pollution and its high altitude, you have might have the best place for stargazing in the world. Do not skip this tour. We had a blast! It included a short film about astrology, naked eye stargazing, snacks + warm drinks, & stargazing through incredible telescopes! Pro tip: Pay attention how big/bright the moon will be and try to time your tour when it will be less obstructive.

There are many, many other tours like floating in a salty lagoon, hot springs, geysers and more. See here for a comprehensive overview of your options or just ask your hostel/hotel when you arrive

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Atacama is a very cute, but touristy spot in the north of Chile. It’s fairly expensive, but I really enjoyed it. It was a fabulous spot to spend 5 days, soaking up the warmth & sun after the cold mountains in Bolivia. I met fun travelers and loved my hostel. Highly recommend this on any Chile itinerary as the nature is stunning!

CITY: Santiago

HOW LONG: 6 Nights

ACCOMMODATION:

We cannot recommend Ventana Sur more if you stay in Santiago! It’s basically a home converted into a hostel, which makes it so cozy and incredibly easy to meet people. Free breakfast is yummy and everyone sits at one of two large tables so you get to know everyone. Each night people are hanging out, drinking socially and playing games. The neighborhood is wonderful and incredibly safe (huge perk). We loved being here and Ivan is a wonderful host!

WHERE TO EAT:

• Auténtiko French Takos – weird fusion but it was pretty dang delicious. I had a cordon blue with avocado and there are French fries inside all wrapped up in a grilled tortilla. My friends didn’t love theirs but I quite enjoyed mine haha.
• Bemvindo Cafe – cute cozy spot to work with a hot drink 
• In Pasta – Fabulous Italian restaurant. We had yummy mushroom pasta and fun drinks. 
• La Tranquera Pastelería – yummy empanadas with seating in front to watch the world go by 
• Ciudadano – delicious pizza. We ate here twice. It was great for eating 1/2 for dinner and then taking 1/2 for the bus ride the next day.
• Mala Mia – vegetarian brunch spots. Lots of plants and colorful, creative plants 
• La Panadera – fabulous croissants for the morning or a long bus ride to your next destination
• Doña Empanada – quick, cheap, great empanada spot.
• Cafe de La Candelaria – cute indoor and outdoor seating. Fairly affordable cute brunch vibes

WHAT TO DO:

I had been to Santiago before so I honestly didn’t do much. Last time I was here I did a day trip to Valparaíso (Sonja did this while we were here), which is popular. We did do a walking tour with two women from our hostel, which is always a great option while in a big city to efficiently get a bit of history.

The highlight was accidentally stumbling upon Santa Lucia Hills. It’s a beautiful park with a peak offering 360 degree views of the city and surrounding mountains. Highly recommend visiting here.

Other friends from the hostel went on a wine tasting here that they raved about so might be worth checking out if that’s your thing.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Santiago was not my favorite place the first time I came here 6 years ago. This time I had a blast, mostly because of the peaceful, cafe filled neighborhood we stayed in & because the hostel was perfect! We met so many wonderful humans here.

BUDGET FOR 11 DAYS IN CHILE:

Chile is definitely not a cheap country in South America.

Accommodation: $240 ($21.8 per night)

Food: $251

Groceries: $15

Activities: $86

Local Transportation: $98

Miscellaneous: $77 (includes some gifts)

Total: $767 (Daily average: $70)

Transportation to next destination: $35 (bus to Mendoza)

• Bolivia makes US citizens get a visa so be prepared. Everything online about US citizens getting visas made it seem complicated but it ended up not being too big of a deal. I had to stand in a different line and literally got a physical visa printed and put into my passport. It looks 20 min (but there was no one else in line at the Santa Cruz airport). They only asked me for my first accommodation and my proof of onward travel. I paid the (exorbitant) $160 visa fee by credit card (but 2 of my 3 credit cards were declined so bring crisp USD as a backup) and then I was stamped into the country. Please be prepared with the list of items that they list as requirements on official govt websites, but just know I expereinced a very smooth, relatively quick process that was very less intense than I was prepared for.
• Be prepared for the altitude. The elevation is this country is no joke, so take excessive precautions with either building in rest days for when you arrive to acclimatize or bring medication with you. Some people are fine, but most feel some effects. I felt like I was hungover for 3 days when I arrived and was very happy that I was planning to stay over a week here so I had no rush to get things done.
• Bring USD to exchange. This is by far the best way to get local currency. As of Oct 2024, officially exchange rates were $1 USD = 7 Bolivianos, but on the main street, there were people offering up to 10.5 Bolivianos for $1 USD, which means I got a 50% better rate using my USD vs taking money from an ATM. Don’t be fooled by people offering a 10% discount if you use cash to pay for things, go straight to the local folks exchanging on the street as you’ll get a way better rate. Folks did warn about counterfeit money being exchanged, but I exchanged money 8-10 times and never once had an issue. One trick is to exchange $20 (you’ll get the best rate by exchanging $100 bills FYI) and then testing it by buying breakfast to ensure it’s legitimate. Then you can go back to the same person and exchange more.

CITY: La Paz

HOW LONG: 9 NIGHTS

Side note: My friend, Sonja & I reunited in La Paz to begin our 2 month South America adventure together! A quick reminder: we met in a hostel in Thailand 8 months ago (Jan 2024) and realized we are both doing big around the world trips and coincidentally would be overlapping a few times throughout 2024. We began with a reunion in Laos in February, and then a meetup in Japan in March, where she met my cousin and Dad! Next up Sonja did a 3 month camper van trip around the US, Canada, & Alaska so I convinced her to come visit me in Lake Tahoe since I spent the summer there. Our final meetup is our most exciting: 2 months in South America through Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and ANTARCTICA!!

Accommodation:

I stayed at Wild Rover La Paz, an Irish owned hostel in the heart of La Paz. It’s definitely a party hostel, but we actually didn’t mind it. There were tons of other backpackers and it was easy to make friends. We requested a room away from the bar so noise wasn’t an issue. There are shared coed bathrooms as a heads up, but it was fine for us. The beds were very comfy & had curtains and personal plugs. They were built in bunk beds so no wobbly movements when your bunkmate gets into bed!

The location was great as it’s close to a supermarket, some cute restaurants and the gondolas. The cute walking street filled with tons of restaurants was only a 15 min away.

Where to Eat:

Well Sonja and I are obsessed with breakfast food & a cute cafe (you can see why we travel well with each other!) so we became creatures of habit and ate at the same 4 places over and over again

• Cafe del Mundo – this is a staple backpacker spot with breakfast all day and plenty of other great options as menu items range from all around the world. It was started by a Swedish backpacker who fell in love with La Paz and started the cafe. Each room is decorated/inspired by a different continent (and her travels there).

• Devotos Typica – This is two blocks from the hostel and quickly became a favorite. Great coffee (according to Sonja) & their few breakfast menu offerings deliver. I loved their breakfast plate that included toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, croissant and hot drink. All for ~$3.5usd. Unreal! Also I became obsessed with their croissants. I felt like I was in France.

• La Grosería – This is across the way from Cafe Del Mundo and we ate here just as often. Located on the second floor, their balcony tables offered a romantic view down the street of La Paz. They had an expansive menu and also breakfast all day. They had an incredible assortment of fancy, extravagant milkshake options, with some including brownies or donuts on top haha.

• Café Restaurante Bañáis – we actually never ate anything here, but came here almost daily in the afternoon to enjoy a hot coca tea (to help with the altitude) and play some cards or do some admin. The cafe is lovely and we generally found it to be quiet. The service was excellent. If you need some down time to just be still in a tranquil environment with a hot drink, this is the place to be. Wifi was decent as well.

What to Do:

There is a TON to do in La Paz. There are mountains to climb, cable cars to traverse, Death Roads to bike down, & rock landscapes to check out. Walk into any agency (there are hundreds) and they will happily tell you what all your options are. Pro tip: Ask for a discount if you book a few tours through one agency, and don’t book through your accommodation as it will always be more expensive. Wild Rover offered tours that were 50-100% more expensive than the agency down the street

We spent a lot of time acclimatizing to the elevation (don’t underestimate the effects), but we enjoyed conquering the Death Road. The Death Road near La Paz in Bolivia is one gigantic winding snake of a road (specifically ~69 km/40 miles long) named Yungas Road. It was built in the 1930’s to connect the Amazonian jungle to La Paz. Before it was shut to cars, around 300 people died annually driving the road, thus its name as Death Road. At one point you can look down and see a bus that is still visible half way down the cliff. Very sad to see the remnants of all that the Death Road has taken from Bolivian families. At times, it’s only about 3 meters wide, and protective barriers are nonexistent. With the rain, fog, and landscapes, it is easy to see how it lives up to its name. Now, the only use is for tourists to mountain bike down as a group (and while there’s far fewer deaths for bikers than drivers, people do still die on this road so take precautions). You start at 15,230 ft (4600 m) and end at around 3870ft (1200m). This is like going from the base of Breckenridge Ski Resort all the way down to sea level & then add 2000 more feet. We had a blast, but it was definitely hard biking down steep gravel. I heard from lots of backpackers that we met that either they themselves or others on their group had fallen and gotten hurt. Luckily neither of us fell, and no one from our group fell either. I biked very, very slowly haha. I did not want to injure myself before our trip to Patagonia or Antarctica! It was wild going from the chilly, barren mountain tops all the way down to the hot and humid jungle in one day. It also definitely took a toll on our body – neither of us felt 100% the next day due to the extreme changes in elevation we put our body through. I’d still recommend it though!

I also did a day hike to Charquini with a tour since I didn’t feel up to attempting Pico Austria (one full day hike) or Huayna Potosi (3 day tour/hike). It was high up (started at 15,560 ft & at the lagoon we were at 16,340 ft) but I surprisingly felt fine. It’s a short 1.5 hour hike (roundtrip) and while it was pretty, I think it would be better during the winter when there is a blanket of snow! I wouldn’t say it’s a can’t miss experience. Pico Austria & Huayna Potosi are more worthy of the bucket list if you are feeling up for it.

Another highlight was the spending an afternoon riding the Cable Car system around La Paz. Like Medellin, they use cable cars as a form of their public transit since the city is nestled within a valley. It cost me around $2usd to ride 4-5 different lines and I just made a huge circle around the city. It was such a fabulous way to see La Paz from a different perspective!

I had a self care day as well where I had my hair washed (such a backpacker luxury) and I had a massage at Spa Bolivia Home con Altura. The massage was $20 with tip and while it wasn’t the BEST massage i’ve had, for $20usd I can’t complain

Overall Thoughts:

I really enjoyed spending 9 days in La Paz, but you certainly don’t NEED that long here. The city is chaotic, more run down than Buenos Aires, but charming and the people are so friendly. I never felt unsafe here. I think 4-5 days would be a good amount (since you’ll need some time to acclimatize before jumping into all the fun activities).

CITY: 3D/2N Uyuni Salt Flat Tour

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

Accommodation:

The first night we stayed in a hotel made from salt, which was pretty cool! It was still quite basic, but we slept well after the first day of activities. Showers cost around $2USD. Wifi also cost extra. I enjoyed being unplugged and playing cards with one of the women from my group.

The second night we slept way high up (~14,500 ft), and it was COLD. I think I wore 3 layers to bed and I was still chilly. VERY basic accommodation, no heating (obviously), no shower, and paid wifi. We had dinner and breakfast here and it wasn’t executed as well as the first night, but we were in the middle of nowhere, so we just tried to embraced the experience

Where to Eat:

Obviously the tour provides all the food so not many choices to be made. Overall the food was decent and we didn’t go hungry. I would recommend bringing a few snacks in the car in case you need a chocolate pick me up (as I always do )

What to Do:

You cover a lot of ground over the 3 day tour:

Day 1 is focused on the Salt Flats. You do start with the train graveyard where there are a lot of old trains. We also visited a town where they process a lot of the salt. Then we were off the to the Salt Flats itself. This was the highlight for me for sure! Such an incredible landscape that I’ve never experienced before. You could spin 360 degrees and all you could see was salt & the blue skies. Remarkable! We also visited the Isla Incahuasi – an island that used to be an underwater volcano. There’s volcanic rock and coral remaining and now a bunch of cacti live there. They are huge!

You get a chance to take lots of fun, silly photos that mess with perspective! The guides are usually pros at this (but ours was only alright, unfortunately).

Day 2 is focused on lagoons and the desert. This was still pretty cool, but I definitely preferred day 1. We saw lots of flamingos, llamas and even a desert fox! We had a picnic lunch where all the Viscacha, while technically a part of the chinchilla family, they resemble rabbits, joined us. They were happy to take any of the carrots we dropped. We reached over 16,000 feet (which I think is the highest elevation I’ve ever been to!). We visited some geysers before arriving to our accommodation. The thermal hot springs were an option but I was honestly too cold to think about getting wet without access to a hot shower afterwards

Day 3 was actually not a full day at all. The folks who were heading to Chile were dropped off at the border crossing around 9:30am after seeing some more lagoons. The rest had a very long drive back to Uyuni where the tour began. They then would hop onto another night bus back to La Paz. I was very grateful I only had an hour drive to Atacama ahead of me. The border crossing was very smooth and the tour guide got me settled onto the bus to Atacama. Now time to sleep

Overall Thoughts:

I always get so tired/burned out from these types of tours but they are incredibly efficient and you sorta just have to do it haha. Usually you meet some great people and see some cool sights. I didn’t love my group except one German girl. Also, it’s very hit or miss whether you get a good guide, so if you are lucky you’ll get one who takes awesome/creative photos/videos in the flats, or you’ll get one like mine who was just alright. Not much you can do about it. Overall, I’d highly recommend doing a tour of the Salt Flats. Also it was great because it got me to my next destination: the Atacama Desert in Chile.

BUDGET FOR 12 DAYS IN BOLIVIA:

WOW was Bolivia affordable

Accommodation: $80 ($8.90 per night) – This is slightly skewed because I had one overnight bus (aka $0 for accommodation) + my 2 nights on the Salt flat tour were accounted for in my activity cost.

Food: $105

Groceries: $9

Activities: $260 – includes Hike tour ($15), Death road ($45), & 3 days Uyuni Tour ($148)

Health: $60 – includes Massage ($20), doctor visit ($38), & hair wash ($15)

Local Transportation: $17

Visa- $160

Total: $691 (Daily average: $57) (without visa, daily spend was $44)

Transportation to next destination: $0 (bus to Chile was included in my Salt Flat tour!!!)

• No visa needed from Americans (as of writing this). I wasn’t even asked for proof of onward travel. Also sadly no stamp
• Bring US dollar bills as you will get a much better rate exchanging dollars (or euros/pounds) than taking money out of a ATM. This rate is known as the Blue Dollar rate & you can check what it’s currently at here. While I was here, I received around 15% more pesos for my USD while exchanging at a Western Union.
• The public transit is super easy to use (google maps works great), but you need to buy a Sube card (which sometimes can be hard to find, so just ask the front desk of wherever you are staying to help you find a store or station that sells them).
• In general I felt very safe, even walking home at night, but I was in the Palermo neighborhood which is particularly busy and full of tourists. Take care of your belongings and pay attention to your surroundings, but I never felt unsafe.
• Consider adding a day trip or a few days to Uruguay since it’s just a ferry away!

CITY: BUENOS AIRES

HOW LONG: 15 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I spent a total of 2 nights at a hostel when I first arrived to Buenos Aires (then I went to Uruguay for a week) and then spend 13 nights at an airbnb solo while I took Spanish language classes for 2 weeks I stayed America del Sur Hostel which was in a cool neighborhood for walking around. The hostel had a nice common area + kitchen. The front desk was super helpful! Beds were comfy & had curtains/personal light/socket. The only complaint was that the sink in my room was outside the bathroom which meant when people arrived late or left earlier, you pretty were guaranteed to wake up since someone was using the sink 2 feet from your sleeping face Very odd design haha

For my airbnb stay I chose an apartment within a 15 min walk from my school in the Palermo neighborhood. I loved this area! Highly recommend. The airbnb itself was cute, and was perfect for a two week stay. Kitchen was sufficient, laundry & gym in the building, and grocery stores nearby. I felt completely safe walking around solo day or night as well, which is such a treat while traveling! If I were to come back to Buenos Aires I would aim to stay as close to Plaza Immigrantes as possible as I loved eating it that area.

WHAT TO EAT:

• Fruto cafe – Cozy coffee/hot chocolate spot.
• Le Ble – Had a bagel sandwich for breakfast near my hostel.
• Casa Telma – I didn’t eat here, but it looked very cute. Had a line so it must be good!
• bBlue. Deli & Natural Bar – My first lunch in Palermo was here. Cute, quiet spot with good food.
• Las Petunias – Right on the main square in Palermo. Delicious (but slightly more expensive) Argentinian restaurant.  
• Ubu cafe – I ate here twice. Loved the Chicken Cesar wrap. It’s located right on the main square in Palermo.
• NYC cookies – Always happy to find a yummy cookie spot!
• La paniglia – cute cafe with cozy vibes + hot chocolate 
• Arte focaccia – Delicious sandwiches! Felt like I was in Italy We took the sandwiches and headed to the park to enjoy them
• The Burger Company – Wow what a delicious burger. I expected a more fast-food level burger, but we all raved about the food. Great spot for lunch.
• Casa Dingo – Aussie cafe right on the main square. Cute drinks & yummy lunch food.
• Lardito – incredible, elevated club sandwich. Adorable vibes and every plate was delicious and interesting. Great for trying a bunch of different dishes. Highly recommend for dinner. You could go to the wine shop and pick out a bottle for the table. This was my favorite restaurant I ate at.

WHAT TO DO:

Weirdly because I was using this two week as a break before heading into a bust two month stretch, I actually didn’t do much while here. Instead, I got into a routine where I worked out at the tiny gym in my airbnb, walked to Spanish class which was 4 hours long, and then headed to lunch with my classmates. In the late afternoons, I would catch up on admin work before cooking at home & watching some netflix. Honestly, I absolutely loved my chill time.

Given I have very little recommendations, here is a very comprehensive, well respected blog on a complete guide to Buenos Aires

We did go to some language exchanges which were fun! They are a great way to meet people and also practice some Spanish

I also managed to get fairly sick my one weekend here However, I did go to the La Recoleta Cemetery and the Sunday market outside it. It was pretty cool to walk around the first public cemetery in Buenos Aires. Lots of old graves to check out.

Other than that, I just loved eating my way through all the fun & cute restaurants in Palermo with my friends.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I always felt like I would love Buenos Aires and I was not wrong! It was such a beautiful city. It felt like a mixture of Paris, Barcelona & a hint of NYC, but overall a very European vibe. I was obsessed with the tree lined streets. I took a thousand photos but none did them justice. I was quite happy to be here for two weeks and would’ve loved to be here longer, but if you are just playing tourist, 3-5 days is probably plenty (but keep a minimum of one day for a day trip to Uruguay).

BUDGET FOR 17 DAYS IN BUENOS AIRES:

Accommodation: $440 ($30 per night)

Food: $155

Groceries: $78

Activities: $380 (This includes $370 for two weeks of Spanish classes; $9.25 per hour of class)

Local Transportation: $40

Total: $109 (Daily average: $72)

Transportation to next destination: $58 ferry to Uruguay + $226 flight to Bolivia

Pro Tips:

• Most commonly, Uruguay is visited in conjunction with traveling to Buenos Aires. It’s very easy to get between one another via flight, bus or usually by ferry (which is what I did).
• No visa needed for US citizens (2024). I went through immigration in Buenos Aires as I boarded the ferry (out of Argentina & stamped into Uruguay) so once I arrived in Colonia there was no immigration to be done
• You can even do just a day trip to Uruguay (to Colonia) from Buenos Aires, but I would recommend giving the country at least a few days. I was quite happy to spend a week here!
• The best way to get cash is by exchanging dollars or euros (not by using an ATM). This will give you the best exchange rate.
• Uruguay is known for its stunning beaches, but I went in the shoulder season (Spring) so I enjoyed fairly quiet version of the country. It also meant I could book my accommodation as I went (rather than booking ahead). It was nice to be able to get to a place and feel it out before committing to timeframe of how long I’d stay.
• Uruguay is one of the safest & most stable countries in South America – I absolutely loved it and not a single concern of safety. What a treat!
• However, it is definitely not the cheapest country, in fact it’s probably one of the most expensive. The good news is that I still found it fairly reasonable so don’t let the cost put you off it.

CITY: Montevideo

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at a very cozy hostel a little out of the historic part of the capital called Mediomundo. I loved its location as it was safe, quiet, but there were tons of restaurants. Also it was 5 min away from the water front promenade that goes on for 20km+ so I went for a run each morning!! Such a dream. There were curtains on the beds + a personal light/socket. The breakfast offered was pretty cheap & included eggs. Overall I would highly recommend!

WHERE TO EAT:

I ate breakfast at the hostel of 2 days, but tried Americo Cafe for some delicious French Toast.

With the family I met on the walking tour, we also found a cafe so they could try Mate, a traditional South American caffeine-rich infused herbal drink. It is such an important drink for everyone here. Everyday when I went on my sunset walks, everyone was carrying around a little holder for their thermos of hot water + cup for their mate. It was very cool to see.

Mercado Ferrando was a fun food market spot with lots of great options for dinner! I had a delicious burger and some gelato for dessert. I just love a food hall

WHAT TO DO:

I loved just walking along the promenade and people watching. As per usual, I also went on a walking tour where I met a lovely family from California. We ended up spending the rest of the day together, including heading a pickleball spot I found as I walked around. The dad was thrilled to get out on the court on his vacation. It’s very difficult to find pickleball outside of the US so it was so much fun to play in Uruguay. In fact these courts (having been built 8 months prior) are the first in the capital city!

While walking around make sure to check out the Mercado del Puerto, Plaza Independencia, & the Montevideo sign (this is a little further away).

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I totally fell in love with Montevideo. It felt safe, the architecture was charming, people were lovely, and it was so, so relaxed. I almost decided to do my 2 weeks of Spanish classes here instead of Buenos Aires. I hope to return to Montevideo/Uruguay again in my life!

CITY: Punta del Este

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I treated myself to a hotel stay since it was only $40 per night (gotta love shoulder season)! It was in the center of town & included breakfast. There was a pool (but it was too cold to use it while I was there) & nice common area to sit in. Overall simple but nice.

WHERE TO EAT:

Because it was shoulder season, it definitely felt like a lot of restaurants were closed or doing renovations, but I enjoyed dinner at Capi Bar & Rey de La Pizza. I also tried a doughnut from Donut City that was decadent.

WHAT TO DO:

If you were visiting during the summer, the thing to do would be hang at the beach, but it was pretty windy & chilly while I was here. I still really enjoyed it though. Like Montevideo, there was a promenade along the water all around the city so I walked or ran along it each day! I also stopped to check out the cool sculpture of “La Mano.”

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

This beach town is likely best enjoyed during the summer (rather than spring), but it was kinda nice to feel like I had the town all to myself. It was very peaceful, calm, & cozy. Definitely worth a visit!

CITY: Colonia

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Viajero Colonia Hostel. This is a chain hostel (which I tend to try to avoid), but this one was actually great! The room was clean & quiet. There were curtains on the bed as well as a personal light, a lockable storage area for small valuables and a plug. Bathroom was attached to the room. Huge common area & the hostel was located in the center of town! I also did a free yoga class on the rooftop terrace. Definitely would stay here again.

WHERE TO EAT:

Breakfast at Charco Bistro was delightful. You sit with views right out on the water and restaurant is gorgeously decorated. Very light & area & green with plants. Food was yummy too!

Colonia Sandwich Shop offered delicious sandwiches and they are also famous for their cinnamon rolls, so I obviously tried one! Lived up to its reputation. I paired it with a hot chocolate as well on a chilly, but sunny afternoon.

Don’t miss Helados Dienzzo for a gelato treat!

WHAT TO DO:

I honestly just enjoyed meandering around the small town center. Sunsets on the ocean were stunning and it was fun to see everyone gather on the waterfront. The architecture is charming & has a European feel. I took wayyyy too many photos haha.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Colonia is small so it really only needs a day, but I was happy enough to spend a full, lazy day walking around. I don’t like being rushed and constantly packing up so these days I try to spend a minimum of 2 nights in a place. So like I said, I didn’t find that there was much to do here, but just being here was a treat.

BUDGET FOR 7 DAYS IN URUGUAY:

Accommodation: $180 ($26 per night)

Food: $110

Groceries: $20

Activities: $33

Local Transportation: $50

Miscellaneous: $20

Total: $413 (Daily average: $59)

Transportation to next destination: $56 ferry back to Buenos Aires. I love an easy, cheap travel day to the next country

• Make sure to fill out your Check Mig before you arrive and before you leave (within 72 hrs before/after). This is required for entry into Colombia.
• In general, I found it pretty reliable to use my credit card to pay everything (especially in Bogota & Medellin), but in smaller towns it’s a good idea to have some Colombian Pesos on hand.
• Uber is incredibly reliable, cheap & useful in the big cities.
• Didi is a great resource (& very cheap) for getting groceries & food delivered.
• In Medellin, tourists tend to stay in El Poblado or in Laureles (which are the most expensive & nicest parts of Medellin). While yes they can be quite “gringo” I admittedly really liked them. What can I say, I’m a sucker for tons of cute cafes. Also, they are pretty safe so that’s an attractive feature.
• There is some crime in the form of robberies (I luckily didn’t experience this), the main tips are to not walk at night, not wear flashy jewelry or clothes, & not get super drunk. Another phenomenon I heard about is that the dating apps target men where they get drugged & then robbed- so be aware of that.
• Medellin can be known for prostitution & drugs, but if you’re not looking for it, you won’t really run into it or notice it (at least I didn’t!).
• Food in El Poblado isn’t actually that cheap because it’s mostly tourists that hang out there.
• Public transit is very cheap & it’s safe/reliable in Medellin!
• There is a rainy season in Colombia so account for that in your trip planning.

CITY: Bogota

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Botanico Hostel Bogota and overall liked it! Good safe location. The hostel had lots of cute areas to sit and hang out. Fairly easy to meet people. Small kitchen to cook. There was yoga & salsa classes, as well as a hostel dinner you could join. It could be loud at night, but I had no problems sleeping since I use a bluetooth enabled eye mask to blast white noise.

The staff were overall helpful & available 24 hrs per day, which was incredible helpful given I got super sick during my time here. Not sure if I picked something up in Mexico City before flying here or whether I got something that hit very quickly in Bogota, but regardless I was miserable. It was very nice that the staff were always around to help if I needed it.

The only downside (which really isn’t the hostel’s fault), but there are lots of water outages in Bogota. Each district gets assigned 24 hr periods of no running water. Normally that would be fine, but when you are sick and need to use the restroom (a lot) & showers to feel better, this was less than ideal. They did have basins of water to manually flush the toilets, but still not what you want when very sick.

Where to Eat:

As I mentioned, I got pretty sick so I didn’t eat much of anything while here but I would highly recommend Orígenes Café, where I got a smoothie bowl and a delicious breakfast sandwich & La Chopperia, where I got an awesome chicken burger.

Definitely try Ajiaco Soup while here!

What to do:

Not sure I should mention this again, but my best advice for what to do in Bogota is NOT GET SICK! Unfortunately all I really was able to do was sleep & try not to die When you travel this long, you are bound to get sick along the way, but it always sucks.

My last day I started to feel a little better so I managed to go on a walking tour to start to learn about the history of Colombia, but there is definitely other cool things here that I had to miss because I was sick

Overall Thoughts:

No major thoughts, however if you only are going to be in Colombia for a week, you can probably skip Bogota & head straight to Medellin or the northern coast like Cartagena, Santa Marta & Tayrona National Park.

CITY: Medellin

HOW LONG: 38 NIGHTS

The goal of my time in Medellin (& really in Colombia all together) was to slow down, rest & catch up on life things before taking off again on my grand adventure. But to make it productive & give some structure I used my time here to take some Spanish classes! I took classes here. My daily routine included getting up for my 8:15am F45 class, then getting a yogurt bowl at Cafe Campesino, then going to my Spanish class from 10am-1pm. I loved my teacher so much that we’re going to continue classes over zoom while I’m back in California summer 2024. In the afternoons I spent my time at the airbnb catching up on never ending to-do list. When traveling life stuff falls to the wayside quite easily. It was so lovely having 6 weeks to knock out it all out! Figure out health insurance for the back half of the year: done! Execute a Roth conversion: check! Call my Grandpa: yep! Life is good in Medellin. I also met some fun people at the language school and it was so cool getting to be friends for a few weeks instead of the usual 48 hr friendships that happen at hostels. Also my good friend Sabrina from growing up (known each other since elementary school) joined me for my last two weeks (one week in Medellin + one week up North in Colombia). We genuinely spend more time abroad than in the US since she lives in LA and I’m in San Francisco (usually). Colombia was our 11th country & 5th continent together

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at an Airbnb for my 6 weeks in Medellin. I knew I wanted a break from hostels and it was such a treat to have my own room & bathroom. I also loved being able to cook 90% of my meals in a lovely, beautiful kitchen! This place was a 10 min walk to Provenza (my favorite part of El Poblado). There are tons of cute cafes, restaurants and shops. There are gyms nearby & I always felt safe walking around (although at night I tended to Uber). Overall it was a good place, but I probably wouldn’t stay here again. I would get a place in either Laureles (another cute neighborhood) or find a smaller, cheaper spot. I had hoped the big co-living situation would bring a social element, but the roommates were a little weird (and both American) so that was a bummer. I did love the views from my window, especially during the crazy rainstorms

Where to Eat:

I spent 6 weeks here and ate at many fun restaurants. The food scene here is overwhelmingly great. Come hungry! Here are some favorites:

Breakfast/brunch

• Campesino Café – I had a little routine where I would have breakfast here every morning between my workout class at F45 and the start of my Spanish classes. I LOVED their yogurt bowl – yum!!
• Pergamino – I had brunch with my friend Lucy here (fun fact: we met on the Salkantay Trek in Peru 5 years ago and she now lives in Medellin). Very trendy & great coffee (according to others).
• Café urbania – cute, but small coffee shop with some small bites. Great spot to park yourself with a computer.
• Hijamia – Popular, upscale brunch spot with a few locations in El Poblado. I went to the Manila location & it was buzzing with people on a Sunday morning.
• Breggs Provenza – cheap, quick egg breakfast spot (or lunch!)
• Crepes & Waffles – another great local brunch chain. It’s very popular so expect a line. Also the menu is robust so you’ll definitely struggle to pick just one meal!
• Época – Another great brunch spot on one of the main walking streets in Provenza
• Ely Cafe – Upscale, snazzy brunch spot located in a cool building Very cool spot with yummy Limonada de Coco’s – my favorite new drink!!
• Café Macanas PROVENZA – a cute, small cafe with a couple of good breakfast options

Lunch or Dinner

• Ajiacos y Mondongos – I had a fun lunch with my Spanish teacher here. Ajiacos is a popular Colombian soup (mostly from Bogota) and it was great to mix some cultural experiences into the Spanish class. Excellent food here!
• Chef Burger Provenza – a great burger spot right in Provenza. Food was yummy & service was great.
• German Street Food – casual, but delicious german sausages!
• Lucio Carbon y Vino – I had a fancy dinner with Sabrina in Envigado – incredible Caesar salad and caldron de champignons 
• 37 Park – I walked past this place a billion times before actually eating here. Loved the decor. Food was not what I expected but everything was delicious. Deconstructed spring salad and deconstructed grilled cheese fries were delicious too! 
• Pizzaiolo – really good pizza in the heart of Provenza
• Arepa Rellenas – Tammy & I loved this place. Very casual, cheap spot for lunch or a quick dinner. It was around the corner from our language school so it was toooo convenient.

Dessert

• Amor Acuya – my favorite ice cream in Medellin!! So many great flavors that rotate all the time! Pro-tip: ask for the hard chocolate shell sauce

What to do:

• Parque Arvi – huge park that you need to take the gondolas to (fun fact: Medellin was the first city in the world to use gondolas as part of their public transportation system). We went to a butterfly sanctuary, hiked and paddled around in a boat.

• Comuna 13 – what used to be considered the most dangerous neighborhood in the most dangerous city, is now a thriving cultural center of Medellin. Very cool to take a walking tour and learn about its rich history.

• Pueblito Paisa – fun spot to check out in the city. It’s a tourist attraction that embodies the spirit of all things Paisa (the term for people from Antioquia). “This is a replica of a typical turn of the century Antioquia town comes complete with its own traditional stone fountain in the middle of the town square, and is surrounded by a church and rectory, the mayor’s office, a barber shop, and a one-room school house.” Read more about it here.

• Guatapé – a must day trip from Medellin (we did this one). This colorful city is ripe for plenty of Instagram shots and you’ll get a chance to hike to the top of the Peñol Rock. You’ll finish the day tour with a boat ride where you’ll see one of Pablo Escobar’s abandoned mansions.

• Go to language exchanges to meet other travelers & locals. I primarily went to practice my Spanish with locals, but there were plenty of English speaking travelers who couldn’t speak Spanish at all which provided an opportunity for locals to practice their English! Pro Tip: Try Gringo Tuesdays or DanceFree if you are staying in El Poblado.
• Get a massage at Azkara Spa & Wellness. They were fabulous and massages were very reasonably priced.
• Go dance some Salsa or Bachata! So many opportunities in Medellin to dance

Overall Thoughts:

I don’t even know where to begin. I just loved everything about Medellin (except having to be cautious about walking alone at night – that was annoying). Medellin is so green, it basically feels like you are living in nature, but you are also in a major city. Even though I was there in rainy season, the sun still came out plenty. The people are SO kind & generous. They were so patient with my Spanish & genuinely so excited that I was doing my best to learn their language – I loved it! It really opens up the travel experience to be able to communicate in someone’s native language.

Medellin has a great work/life balance and everything is just so chilled (sometimes hard for my American brain, but I eventually settled in). For example, every time I was checking out at the grocery store, it took a minimum of 10 min even if there was only one person ahead of me in line. I just had to learn to embrace it haha.

Also, if you have ever wanted to learn Spanish, the best way to do it is to go live in a Spanish speaking country & take classes. Medellin/Colombia is known as a great option because they have a very neutral/easy accent & they talk slower than other Spanish speaking countries. Guatemala is also known as another good option!

Medellin is a great spot to just come hang for a few days, weeks or even months! Bring your laptop & work remotely. It’s just awesome! I can’t wait to go back

CITY: Minca

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at Masaya Casas Viejas Hostel. It’s actually not technically in Minca, as you have to take a 4×4 vehicle for about 30 min up into the mountains/jungle to get to the actual hostel. But let me tell you – it’s worth it! It’s a little oasis nestled high up in the clouds. There’s an infinity pool, hammocks, chaise lounges, co-working areas, yoga in the morning, and delicious food. Beds are comfy & wifi works most of the time It was very easy to meet people since you don’t leave the property much, unless you head out to a waterfall hike! Would absolutely recommend this place 9/10 (just wish the showers had warmer water, but hey you can’t complain being this remote!)

Where to Eat:

At the hostel restaurant Not too many options. Some folks headed into Minca for lunch (3 hr hike away) but generally people ate at the hostel. Luckily the food was very good!! Each meal had tons of great options to choose from.

What to do:

Relax & enjoy the views You can do some waterfall hikes, but Sabrina & I chose to just chill our time here. We did some yoga, lots of reading, played Monopoly Deal & President with all our new friends, and enjoyed the gorgeous sunset over the jungle.

This is a perfect spot to spend a few days (3 nights max I would say), to just recharge amidst your backpacking trip & make some friends who are likely heading in the same direction as you!

Overall Thoughts:

I really enjoyed it here. After 6 weeks in Medellin I was slightly worried about the jarring nature of jumping back into backpacking, but this was a perfect way to ease back into it. We met so many fun, interesting people & I loved my lazy days. Finally finished a book I had started 3 weeks prior!

CITY: Tayrona National Park

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

Holy moly this was paradise on earth. Senda Watapuy is a dream. DO NOT HESITATE to book here!!! We loved every part of our stay. The room was incredible (they installed mosquito nets to address bugs). The private pool was amazing (love being able to skinny dip in the morning). The food at the restaurant was great. The grounds were fabulous. A true jungle oasis.

Where to Eat:

Once again, you are mostly stuck at the hotel in terms of food but the good news is that I loved the food here. Very expansive menu, but in classic form, I fell in love with their caesar salad and ate that most meals. One cool thing they offered was that you could order food from the menu on your phone and specify if you wanted to eat it in the room, at the pool or at the restaurant – very convenient.

What to do:

The main thing to do in this region is hike in Tayrona National Park through the jungle to the beautiful beaches. However, our hotel was right at the edge of the park so while we did go into the park for a short hike, we decided we preferred to spend our time reading by the pool, with views of the gorgeous jungle.

We also got some massages.

You can literally walk to the park entrance from the hotel, which is nice though! Bring sunscreen, bug repellent and water!!

Overall Thoughts:

This was such a treat! 10/10 would absolutely recommend this place (mostly talking about the hotel) to anyone. I felt like I was on a true vacation.

CITY: Cartagena

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Los Patios and wouldn’t recommend it. It’s in a good location, but they have a lot to improve. The AC barely worked, so we asked to lower the temp 1-2 degrees and it turned to an ice box. The dorm room floor stayed dirty the entire time. Very hard to meet people. When I asked the front desk about where the start of the walking tour was she said there are no walking tours in Cartagena other than theirs, which is just a straight lie. Very bizarre as there are like 10 free walking tours I found online. The hostel is so loud that you really can’t sleep at night or morning. I’ve stayed at 100+ hostels and this isn’t it. 5/10

Where to Eat:

• Brioche bistro Moderno – service wasn’t great but the food was fabulous! Delicious brunch food in the center of the walled in city.
• Nía Bakery – I had an iced chocolate with 100% cacao. Very light, not too sweet & yummy on a hot day (aka every day in Cartagena). Very cute cafe with a swanky vibe.
• Pascal – Another great cafe/breakfast spot just outside the walled in city. Cute decor & strong AC. Had a great breakfast sandwich.
• Munchy cream – fun ice cream spot with tons of toppings, which is my favorite!!

What to do:

I only had one full day here so I optimized with a morning walking tour to hit the highlights and one last cheap massage before heading back to the US. Would highly recommend Relax Spa Cartagena de las indias for a spa treatment while visiting Cartagena. If you have more time here, I hear the island day trips or overnight trips can be quite fun!

Overall Thoughts:

Cartagena was so colorful and beautiful!! I would’ve happily stayed here another day but not another week because it was so HOT, & I am not really a beach or party person, which Cartagena is known for. Overall it was a cool spot though!

BUDGET FOR 12 DAYS of traveling IN Colombia:

Fun to have two different types of budgets in this post, but admittedly my type of fun might different than most haha.

Accommodation: $532 ($44 per night) Our stay at Senda Watapuy drove the average up, but it was worth it!!

Food: $199

Groceries: $0

Activities: $167 (massages + walking tours)

Local Transportation: $172

Miscellaneous: $83

Total: $1153 (Daily average: $96)

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BUDGET FOR 38 DAYS living IN Colombia:

Accommodation: $1157 ($30.44 per night)

Food: $335

Groceries: $327

Activities: $859 (includes $665 for 6 weeks of Spanish Class)

Local Transportation: $250

Gym: $234

Miscellaneous: $91

Total: $3253 (Daily average: $85)

Transportation to next destination: $0 (I booked my flight home to California with points – yay!)

4 days, 3 nights

While you can find tours that are cheaper than booking with Salkantay Trekking, you won’t be sorry to spend the extra money. You get to sleep under the stars in glass domes, in tents, and in a hotel, as opposed to sleeping outside in the cold or on the ground, like other tours. Additionally, you will be served some of the most amazing food by a chef who is dedicated to your tour group (up to 12 people). I can’t recommend booking with this company enough!

WHERE WE STAYED:

The first night was my favorite accommodation. We stayed in glass domes with views of the stars above. Despite the cold outside, the sleeping bags and blankets were more than enough to create a cozy, warm environment inside. The second night we spent in a tent under a thatched roof. Unfortunately it rained a decent amount before and while we were there so the tent was slightly damp, which tainted the experience a bit. However, it was still better than sleeping on the ground- which is what many other tours offer. Our last night we stayed in Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of the mountain which Maccu Picchu is perched upon.

WHAT WE ATE:

One of the main reasons to chose Salkantay Trekking over the many other tour companies is the food quality. IT IS JUST SO GOOD (and I am a very picky eater). We also had one vegetarian, one one nut allergy, and someone who was gluten-free. Despite all the diets to balance, each meal was a full spread filled with delicious options. A personal chef travels with our group the first 3 days and prepare hot, fresh food for each meal. For the amount of money we spent on the tour, this was an incredible feature. I can’t explain enough how this really made the trip so special.

WHAT WE DID:

Each of the four days on the trek was unique. Day 1 was fairly easy. After being picked up around 4am from each our hostels, we drove for a few hours before we stopped for a delicious breakfast at a local restaurant somewhere in the countryside outside of Cusco. After fueling up we walked about 2 hours to the location of our first campsite. Such a magical spot. It would become my favorite spot of the whole trip. After eating lunch, we set off up a mountain up to Humantay Lake. It was surreal walking around the huge valley completed surrounded by nature. This is one of my parts about backpacking- escaping the human world and immersing myself in the natural world. Overall we walked around 7.5 miles (12km) and gained 5,000 feet (1,250m) of elevation.

Day 2 was the hardest day. We would reach our highest elevation (aka no oxygen) and walk the farthest. After an early wakeup call (~5am) we got our day started with a delicious breakfast spread including coca tea. Unfortunately it was drizzling the entire morning, which was when we had the most difficult hiking of the day. The morning would entail a 4 mile hike straight up to the Salkantay Pass. It would be a 3,000 foot elevation gain and would take 3 hours to complete. Despite the mist and rain that we faced, I couldn’t help but not care as the views definitely made up for it. As we left our glass domed campsite nestled in the beautiful valley, we slowly traded green, grassy mountainsides for snow-capped peaks. By the time we reached the pass, snow was all you could see- under my feet and all the mountains surrounding us.

Early morning start with rain

Almost at the summit

We made it!

15,255 feet

After pausing for a snack at the peak, we began our descent to our next campsite. The further we got away from the peak, the warmer it became. Immediately our group began to peel off our many layers, including our rain gear. 3 miles later we stopped for lunch and a quick rest. After lunch, we quickly entered what is known as the “cloud forrest”, the upper part of the Amazon jungle. We finished the last 6 miles in this climate. We were rewarded with many birds and beautiful plants and trees during this part of the trek. Finally we arrived at the Chauflay Village, where we camped for the night. There was wifi and electricity at this camp, so the peak of luxury

On the other side of the pass

Entering the high jungle

Unbelievable scenery

We were offered two options for day 3: either hike 16.1 miles to Aguas Calientes (the town at the base of Machu Picchu or visit a coffee plantation and natural hot springs and finish with about a 5 mile hike to Aguas Calientes. Naturally I convinced our group to choose the latter. It was interesting to see how coffee was made at a local plantation and it was glorious to sooth our aching muscles in the hot springs. After the morning activities and lunch at the hot springs, we drove a bit towards Aguas Calientes. However, since there are no cars allowed, tourists have two options of getting there: walking or taking the famous train. Given we had already skipped the morning part of the trek, we threw on our hiking gear and began our walk along the train tracks. Luckily it was fairly flat so it wasn’t too tough on our already sore bodies. 3 hours later we arrived in Aguas Calientes. Aguas Calientes is the town where everyone stays the night before they go to Machu Picchu. As I mentioned there are no cars, but the train runs right through town. That night we were put up in a (very basic) hotel room and went to dinner at a local restaurant. Fairly quickly after dinner we rushed home to get into bed because tomorrow would bring an early 4am wake up call in order to be first in line to take the bus up to the entrance of Machu Picchu.

Day 4: Machu Picchu. You can either hike 90 min up the mountain or take a 45 min bus (and after all the walking we did, we happily voted for the bus). By 4:30am we were standing in line for the bus. Once the busses start running around 5:30am, we were on the second bus up. It is so worth it to be on the first couple of busses up. In the first hour or so, it feels like you have Machu Picchu all to yourself.

We made it

Early morning

Up in the clouds

I spent the rest of the day wandering on my own, taking many breaks to just sit and take it all in. Pictures don’t do it justice- I highly recommend going and seeing it for yourself!

Many hours later, I met up with the rest of our group and we made our way to the train station. Our magical journey to Machu Picchu had come to an end.

Our ride out of Aguas Calientes and back to Cusco