8 dream trips to take in South America in 2025

At Lonely Planet, we love a dream trip. We are always looking for destinations that you can’t find anywhere else. And South America has countless opportunities for adventures that check an item off your bucket list. This year, head south and find towering glaciers, multi-night cruises along the Amazon and otherworldly deserts.

Still, craving more? That is why we have gathered eight of the dreamiest trips to take through this expansive continent. 

1. Trek into the Wilds of Patagonia in Chile and Argentina

When you’re on the road to nowhere at South America’s southern tip, keep going. There’s no reaching Patagonia in a hurry, whether you arrive bleary-eyed by plane, on a rumbling overnight bus or by choppy ferry. But it’s instantly worth it when you first see its toothy granite peaks, piercing blue lakes, booming glaciers and buff-colored steppe veined with silver rivers. Topping every Patagonia must-trek list is Torres del Paine and its much-raved-about, four-day, 50-mile (80km) ‘W’ hike. The masterstroke is the vast, iceberg-calving, crushed-meringue-like expanse of the Grey Glacier. These days, you can choose your level of comfort, from wind-pounded tent to refugio dorm bed to luxe lodge where you can round out a day’s hike over steaks and pisco sours.

For fewer crowds, sidestep peak season (November to February) or tackle the tougher, remoter, less-hyped eight- to 10-day ‘O’ circuit. Argentina lures intrepid folk to Parque Nacional Los Glaciares for challenging treks like the four-day, 40-mile (65km) Huemul Circuit, or you can embark on the long-distance Huella Andina, a 372-mile (600km) stomp across Northern Patagonia from Neuquén to Chubut, rounding up five national parks. Trek in Patagonia and you’ll curse the wicked winds and cruel climbs. But you’ll be back, bearing muddy boots, as there’s no place on Earth quite like it.

2. Journey down the Amazon in Brazil

In the roadless tracts of the Amazon, highways are made of water and oversized ferries are floating buses carrying people and produce from place to place. Begin in Manaus the epicenter for adventures into the jungle. Dozens of lodges lie within a half-day boat journey from the city, including riverside spots where the days are spent tracking monkeys, macaws and pink river dolphins, and the nights offer immersion in the wondrous cacophony of the rainforest’s nocturnal wildlife. It’s a slow, four-day journey to Belém aboard a triple-decked wooden vessel strung with hammocks. Along the way, there are several worthwhile places to break up the trip, including Santarém, which has a pleasant riverside promenade, leafy parks and open-sided restaurants serving up fresh fish from the Amazon. Just west of Santarém is Alter do Chão, a village fronting an astonishing lagoon complete with white-sand beaches and limpid waters ideal for snorkeling. The boat journey ends at Belém, a captivating city near the mouth of the river. By day, shoppers crowd into the vast belle epoque Ver-o-Peso Market, the stalls heaving with exotic Amazonian fruits, medicinal plants and the fresh catch of the day. In the evening, friends and couples gather at the open-air bars and eateries of shore-hugging Estação das Docas, the perfect spot to watch the sunset over Guajará Bay.

3. Live it up in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janiero has an idyllic setting for a metropolis. Wedged between forest-covered mountains and golden beaches, human life mixes with marmosets skittering through leafy parks and capybaras grazing along the shores of Lagoa, while street markets heave with exotic fruits. The wonders of the tropics seem deeply woven into the urban fabric here. When the sun is high overhead, there’s no better place to be than Ipanema Beach. Surfers jockey for space off rocky Arpoador as vendors wind through the bikini- and sunga (Speedo)-clad crowds proffering agua de coco (coconut water), cerveja (beer) and other cold drinks. Bronzed bodies are everywhere – kicking footballs, jogging along the water’s edge and cycling the promenade. In the evening, life takes a different form. Samba’s rapid rhythms draw revelers to Lapa’s dancehalls and a bohemian crowd heads for Santa Teresa’s hilltop cocktail lounges. With so much on offer, it’s no wonder Cariocas (locals) joke that "Deus é Brasileiro" (God is Brazilian) and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

4. Visit other worlds in the Atacama Desert in Chile

Steam spills from gurgling mud pools as a geyser blasts superheated water into the frosty air. The sun peaks over the mountains, bathing the geothermal field of El Tatio in golden light. Walking amid these sputtering features high in the Andes, it’s easy to feel like you’ve left Earth behind and landed on another planet. To the west, the wind creates artful, undulating patterns in the red-gold sand dunes of the aptly named Valle de Marte (Mars Valley). Nearby lie the dramatic multihued rock formations of the Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) and shimmering salt lakes that seem as lifeless as the surrounding desert – until a flock of brilliant pink flamingos arrives to feed on brine shrimp and other microorganisms. These are just a few of the many astonishing landscapes of the Atacama, one of the oldest and driest deserts in the world – and the otherworldly wonders don’t end at sundown. With clear skies and little light pollution, the region is also renowned for stargazing.

5. Venture from the desert to the jungle in Colombia

Colombia's 1000-mile Caribbean coastline is way more than just a string of palm-fringed beaches. Behind the strips of sand lies a mix of strident cultures, diverse ecosystems and molded-in-stone history. Flush up against the border with Venezuela, La Guajira stands at the northern tip of the South American continent. The scrubby landscapes, best navigated in an off-road vehicle, are inhabited by the Indigenous Wayuu people, known for their intricate weaving and forthright resistance to colonization. The coast’s biggest lure for first-time visitors is the well-preserved walled city of Cartagena, 249 miles to the west, its basic structure unaltered for centuries, and its charm and mystique unrivaled anywhere in the country. With intimate plazas and sturdy fortifications, the former trade port is an evocative place for lovers of history, romance and good food. You’ll find grittier and less crowded urban action in Santa Marta. The coast around Santa Marta is lush and humid, culminating in the small, forested swathe of Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona, a paradise of meandering coastal trails leading to idyllic swimming spots. The city is used as a base for excursions into the misty mountains of Minca and the isolated trek-in ruins of Ciudad Perdida, a one-time citadel of the pre-Columbian Tayrona civilization. West again, past Cartagena, the coast is less touristy until you reach the Gulf of Urabá, beyond which lies the thin jungle-covered Darien Gap isthmus, where North and South America meet. 

6. See evolution in action on the Galápagos

The world has a lot to thank the Galápagos Islands for. Famously connected to Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution, these islands were never part of the South American mainland, meaning plants and animals here followed their own extraordinary paths. Tortoises, free of predators, became huge. Finches, lacking competition, sub-specialized into tool users (woodpecker finch), seed eaters (ground finch) and bloodsuckers (vampire finch), among others. Flightless cormorants dive like porpoises, and iguanas feed in the sea. The landscapes are just as unusual, varying from island to island. Younger islands like Isabela burst with volcanic activity, while central Santa Cruz features endangered scalesia forests. Older islands to the east include Española, whose flat-topped cliffs are home to colonies of waved albatross – a bird so massive it needs a runway to get aloft. While it’s impossible to see everything in one trip, on even a short cruise, the days are packed with once-in-a-lifetime experiences, from spotting blue-footed boobies in a mating dance to snorkeling over lava formations. 

Pro tip: Small (typically 16-passenger) cruise ships offer the best way to see the islands. Peruse a range of itineraries with Elsewhere.

7. Marvel at surreal Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia

Driving across the blinding white landscape, it’s easy to lose all sense of proportion. The horizon vanishes, and mirages form and then melt away on Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni – the largest salt flats on the planet. The surreal perspective only intensifies after a rainstorm, when a thin layer of water creates a mirror-like surface reflecting the sky overhead. Stepping out of the 4WD and across this otherworldly terrain is like walking on the clouds. Tours from the lofty town of Uyuni (elevation: a whopping 12,140ft/3700m) rumble out to the great sunbaked plains. Along the way, you’ll stop at a mountaintop emerging from a snow-white sea – or at least that’s what Isla Incahuasi resembles. This cactus-covered "island" is all that remains of an ancient volcano that was once surrounded by a prehistoric lake. By late afternoon, the blustery desert cold arrives along with a legendary sunset, as the sky and glass-like earth below light up in fiery colors.

Pro tip: Numerous companies offer tours (typically three-day circuits) from Uyuni. It’s worth paying extra for a reputable outfit.

8. Encounter ancient civilizations and Mythical Ruins in Peru

Peru’s incredible ruins showcase a rich tapestry of pre-Columbian cultures spread over five millennia. From fortified ridgelines in the Andes to mysterious geoglyphs in the Nazca Desert, the country is scattered with archaeological sites. The misty terraces that embellish the slopes of Machu Picchu are merely a gateway to less heralded but equally fascinating places. While none are quite as spectacular as the fabled "Lost City of the Incas", many are significantly older, and most are a lot less crowded. The South is a good place to start. With Cuzco as your base, pitch northwest to the ruins and museums of the Sacred Valley. A special ticket, the boleto turístico, covers a dozen sites here, including magnificently terraced Pisac, megalithic Sacsayhuamán and geometrically aligned Ollantaytambo, famed for its aqueducts and fountains. Save time for the Lost City’s smaller sibling, Choquequirao. Sometimes referred to as a mini Machu Picchu, it’s more tranquil thanks to its relative isolation (it’s a four-day round-trip hike). Several sites are easily visited from Peru’s big cities. Pachacamac, 20 miles (31km) southeast of the capital, Lima, is an ancient citadel with adobe and stone palaces and temple pyramids. Chan Chan, on the coast just outside handsome Trujillo, is the Americas’ largest pre-Columbian town and the largest adobe city in the world. Branching off into remote valleys in the snowcapped Cordillera Blanca, you’ll have to endure long bus rides and thin air to feast your eyes upon Chavín de Huántar – it’s worth the effort, though.