South American Travels

Planning a trip to an unknown country is never easy but if you are equipped with Footprint's The South American Handbook, you will soon be on your way. All thirteen South American countries are covered in this neat package but for the first time visitor where do you start?

South America is a magnificently varied part of the world and tremendously hospitable. It is a tantalizing mixture of enticing images and ambiguous press reports, inspiring an air of mystery and a certain amount of trepidation. In common with many other parts of the world, South America suffers from meteorological, geological and social uncertainties. Within that context you will find some of the most dramatic landscapes on earth, biological diversity in a range of habitats, historical monuments of strength and elegance and a deep cultural resilience.

South America is a big place, so it's important not to be too ambitious on a first visit. Decide what type of holiday you want and research which countries offer what you are interested in. Then work out an itinerary in which the places you want to see and the distance between them coincides with the amount of time you have available. Over the years a Gringo Trail became firmly established, a network of places to which foreigners tended to gravitate for reasons of shared interests, lower prices, safety in numbers and so on. Some of these places have passed into legend, others are still going strong. New places are added as fashions change, or transport links are opened.

Reproduced by kind permission of Footprint Books.