The Great South America Trip through the South American continent begins in Cartagena, the legendary Caribbean port city, and ends on the dreamlike islands of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago in Brazil’s northeast.

In between, the scenic and cultural highlights of South America are lined up like pearls on a string: the heart of the Peruvian Andes with the ancient Inca capital of Cusco, the Sacred Valley of the Incas and finally the citadel of Machu Picchu, followed by Lake Titicaca with its magical panoramas and the island of Suasi. After visiting the metropolis of La Paz, which is breathtaking in two respects, you will cross the surreal landscapes of the Salar de Uyuni as part of a private tour, before the route leads past colorfully oscillating lagoons across the Chilean border to the oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama.

As a stop on the way south that is as picturesque as it is steeped in history, you will visit Valparaíso before the Patagonian Ice Sheet with the Perito Moreno Glacier and a three-day stay in the hiker’s paradise of El Chaltén at the foot of the Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre massifs in Los Glaciares National Park are on the agenda.

Here our Great South America Trip has reached its southernmost point, from now on we will head north again. In Buenos Aires, we will have the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the legendary nightlife of the world capital of tango.
The next and last Argentinean stop of the trip are the mighty waterfalls of Iguazú, from whose Brazilian part you will travel on to the Amazon Lodge in the Anavilhanas Archipelago near Manaus, but not without having paid a visit to Rio de Janeiro first.

The fascinating landscape and water world of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago will be the relaxing conclusion of this trip.

The selection of hotels for this trip is based on the criteria of location, style and price/performance ratio, ranging from lodges in privileged locations to stylish boutique hotels and small bed & breakfasts.

A detailed description of the individual destinations of the trip and the respective hotels can be found here (in German).

Note about the travel period: Due to the climatic conditions in Patagonia, this trip is only feasible between November and April. Other combinations of destinations, leaving out the extreme south of the continent, are possible all year round.

The Great South America Trip in brief:

6 countries, 17 stops, 43 days in the continent’s most fascinating places, including these 10 World Heritage Sites alone: Port, fortifications and monuments of the colonial period in Cartagena, Cusco, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, Tiahuanaco (optional), historic center of Valparaíso, Los Glaciares National Park, Iguazú National Park (Iguaçu), cultural landscape of Rio de Janeiro and the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha.

Itinerary as PDF (in German) and request offer – the trip in pictures

Itinerary of the Great South America Trip