Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro on a hazy golden afternoon — a sea of colourful umbrellas and swimmers, the Dois Irmãos (Two Brothers) peaks rising behind the bay.
Machu Picchu at dawn — Inca terraces, ruins, mist lifting off the Andes.
Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia — cactus island in the foreground, the salt flats stretching to the horizon.
Rio de Janeiro from above — Christ the Redeemer on the ridge, Botafogo bay below.
Latin American sunset over silhouetted mountains — the moment every long traveller remembers.
Medellin from above — Comuna 13 in the foreground, the city spilling up the valley.
Mexico City's Zocalo — the Metropolitan Cathedral, the giant flag, the energy that earned CDMX the GOAT spot.
All destinations
LATIN AMERICA GUIDE

Latin America.

4.8| 29 reviews|Updated June 2026 · Live data refreshed quarterly
65+ places mapped
12 regions
4 itineraries
Lifetime access
7-day money back

So you're heading to LATAM? Let's get it right.

READ BRAZIL FREE
WHAT'S INSIDE
How to not get robbed
The stuff that keeps you safe without making you paranoid. The one rule that stops 90% of pickpocketing before it starts. Exactly where your bag goes on a night bus (never the overhead rack). Which neighbourhoods to avoid after dark in every city. The drug to watch out for in Colombia at night (not what you think). Written like a mate would explain it, not a scaremonger.
What a day actually costs, country by country
12 countries, three tiers each: bed, food, beers, buses. What Argentina really costs once you know the money trick. Which countries are half the price of Bali. Where A$25 gets you a dorm bed, three proper meals and a night out. And which countries are worth splurging in (spoiler: not the ones you'd think).
Where to go and what to skip
Which countries get a month, which get a week, which get a day. The Andes and Patagonia spine vs the Central America loop. How the countries actually connect. And the famous spots we tell you to skip (one of them is on every influencer's list). What to do with the days you get back.
Getting around without losing sleep or your bag
Night buses done the way the locals do them. When the bus beats the flight and when it doesn't. Which bus lines are worth the extra twenty bucks. The booking trick that saves 80% on internal flights. Plus the legendary boat route between two continents most Aussies don't know exists.
The money setup that saves you thousands
The card stack that won't get you stranded at a broken ATM in a village. Which ATMs to avoid (some charge A$17 a withdrawal). And the Argentina money trick that pays for this guide 20 times over on a two-week trip. Set it up in an afternoon before you fly and it just works.
Learning Spanish
The best Spanish schools across Latin America (two of them turned into the highlight of the whole trip). What an hour of one-on-one actually costs, and how many days it takes to go from zero to holding a conversation. The three towns worth basing yourself in, and the ones that just default to English at you.
How to actually get into a stadium
Boca. Flamengo. The whole calendar. What a ticket really costs (a fraction of what the tour companies want). How to get in as a foreigner without waking up robbed. The two match-day rules that keep you inside the drum circle rather than at the bar next door listening to it.
FREE SAMPLE, AS MEMBERS SEE IT

Brazil, on us.

Tap any pin to open it in Google Maps on your phone. This is one section of 12 in the guide.

Chaos in the best way. Rio is the heart-stopper — beaches, football, samba, favelas — easily 5-7 days. Sao Paulo has the better food scene. Paraty is the colonial chill-out. Iguazu is the showstopper waterfall (see BOTH sides). Currency: Brazilian Reais (BRL). Daily budget: A$30-45 (budget) → A$140-240 (comfortable). Wise works at Banco24Horas ATMs. Visa: eVisa required, A$80, 5-day processing.
BRAZIL · CITIES
BRAZIL · ICONIC
Rio de Janeiro

Chaos, beaches, football, nightlife. Christ the Redeemer + Sugarloaf + Lapa nightlife + the Two Brothers hike (start at 3:30am for sunrise). Books Hostel in Lapa — talk to Andre on WhatsApp (+5521983646798), legend, sorts everything. Ipanema Airbnbs are great value (A$25-35/night private room).

Tip: Watch football at the Maracana — Flamengo or Fluminense. Electric. Tickets through your hostel.

OPEN IN GOOGLE MAPS
BRAZIL · CITY
Sao Paulo

Massive, sprawling, better food than Rio. Worth 2-3 days. Fogo de Chao for churrasco. Beco do Batman for street art photos.

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BRAZIL · CHILL
Paraty

Colonial cobblestone town, 4 hours from Rio by bus. Perfect for a few days between the big cities — quiet, charming, the antidote to Rio's pace.

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BRAZIL · BUCKET LIST
Foz do Iguacu

Mind-blowing waterfalls on the Argentina border. See BOTH the Brazilian and Argentine sides — they're completely different experiences. Walk across the Friendship Bridge to Paraguay while you're there (three countries in one day).

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BRAZIL · SOUTH
Florianópolis (Floripa)

Island city in the south, 40+ beaches, Brazil's summer-party capital for the young crowd. Base by the Lagoa da Conceição, middle of everything. Geckos is our Floripa pick (geckoshostel.com), social hostel right on the Lagoa with pool + backyard BBQs + caipirinhas. Southern-summer thing (Dec to Mar). Full breakdown in the Brazil guide.

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SAVE THE FULL LIST TO YOUR PHONE
STILL LOCKED

The rest of Latin America.

Argentina4 places
Chile3 places
Bolivia4 places
Peru5 places
Colombia5 places
Galapagos3 places
Mexico7 places
Guatemala3 places
Nicaragua4 places
El Salvador5 places
Belize4 places
Top 5 cities in LATAMTop 5
Top 5 bucket-list experiencesTop 5
Top 5 food experiencesTop 5
4 weeks — South America Highlights itinerary7 stops
6-8 weeks — Central America Loop itinerary10 stops
3-4 months — The Full South America itinerary7 stops
6+ months — The Full LATAM Run itinerary4 stops
NOT READY YET?
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This chapter, the pre-departure checklist, the budget tool and the Latin America chat, sent to your inbox.

FROM THE CHATS | REAL MESSAGES

5,600+ members, already there.

The guide gets you planned. The chats answer the rest, usually in minutes.

Peru chat
22 May 2026
Mid-trek, no tickets, sorted in a minute
Member
Hello! Has anyone recently had to line up for Macchu Picchu tickets? I am about to do day 4 of salkantay trek and don’t have tickets for MP.
12:53 PM
Member
People lined up from 10pm when I was there (start of the month), but we were told by our guides no later than 4am if we wanted to guarantee tickets we wanted
12:54 PM
Member
Thank you! As in 10pm from the night before? Do you know when the ticket booth opens in the morning?
12:57 PM
Member
10pm the night before yes. Opens at 6am
12:58 PM
Member
I got there at 4:30am about 3nights ago and got tickets for 2days after
1:34 PM
Brazil chat
6 Mar 2026
Travelling solo, found a mate in the same suburb
Member
Any Aussies in Salvador today/tomorrow? Currently solo so would be great to meet up 🙂
2:24 AM
Member
Arriving from Rio tonight staying in Barra. There for a few days if you’re near 🤙
2:27 AM
Member
Sweet, Im also in Barra 🙂
2:28 AM
Peru chat
9 May 2026
Real prices from someone who was just there
Member
Hey guys, anyone got tips for Chicama (worlds longest left hand surf break)? Forecast says it might fire up in a couple of days.
9:50 AM
Member
Was just there, we stayed in Chicama in an Airbnb, was really cheap. The boat cost $30 AUD for a 3hr session.
9:52 AM
Member
We hired wetties and board through surf house Chicama, think it was around 50 PEN for board and wettie for the day
9:53 AM
Member
If you’re up this way Huanchaco is a nicer place to stay then Trujillo. It’s got good surf too and trujillo is a bit dodgy.
9:59 AM
FROM PEOPLE WHO BOUGHT

What buyers told us.

VERIFIED BUYER

It's given me a lot more confidence to travel and also saved me heaps of time with research. Couldn't be happier with the guide. I specifically liked the section where you talk about common scams and basic language. Will definitely help me on my trip and enjoy it more. Thanks heaps mate!

Brycen M.
MELBOURNE

Bought this two days before flying to Buenos Aires. The Blue Dollar section alone paid the bundle back forty times over — we walked into Western Union with the exact steps from the guide and walked out with almost 3× the exchange rate the ATMs were giving. For A$29.99 we saved around A$800 across a month in Argentina. Genuinely insane value.

Sarah M.
MELBOURNE

The maths on this is ridiculous. A$29.99 and you get the Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico AND Peru single-guides included plus the LATAM regional playbook. I was about to buy Argentina + Peru separately for A$30 and realised for the same money I got five guides. Wish I'd found this a week earlier when I was still trawling Reddit.

James D.
SYDNEY

We would have hit Galapagos completely unprepared. The guide specifically flagged the $220 USD CASH ONLY entry fee — we had a card and one $50 note between us. Sorted it in Quito the day before we flew. Also booked our Isabela tours in person like the guide said — saved about 40% vs the online prices we were about to lock in. Los Tuneles was the best day of the entire trip.

Emma K.
PERTH

Chose Salkantay over the Inca Trail based on this guide, best call of the trip. Booked Machu Picchu Team like it said, and the crystal dome at Soraypampa on night one was mad, sleeping under the stars with the mountain right there. Circuit 2 at Machu Picchu, saved USD 15 mentioning Aussies In. Five days, minimal crowds, cheaper than the Inca Trail. Would have paid double with my original plan for a worse experience.

Liam P.
BRISBANE

The San Blas Islands boat trip from Colombia to Panama is somehow BOTH the cheapest way to get north AND the most beautiful thing we did. Was not on our radar at all until we read the LATAM guide. Four days, uninhabited islands, snorkelling, sunsets, around $450 USD. Would've flown right over it otherwise. This one hack was worth the price of the whole bundle.

Chloe T.
PERTH
Built from the Aussies In community. 4,000+ Aussies and Kiwis in our WhatsApp groups on the ground right now feeding updates back in.
THE COST OF NOT HAVING THIS

Mistakes the guide saves you from.

A$600

Using ATMs in Argentina instead of Western Union (Blue Dollar)

Anyone who doesn't know about the Blue Dollar

A$200

Booking the wrong Salar de Uyuni tour (cheapest = miserable 3 days)

Most first-timers who book at the cheapest agency

A$50

ATM withdrawal in San Pedro de Atacama (A$17 fee/withdrawal)

Anyone who doesn't get cash in Santiago or Calama first

A$2000

Brazil airport without an eVisa (since April 2025)

Anyone who hasn't checked the recent rule change

A$800

Cancun hotel zone over Tulum Pueblo for a week

Most first-time LATAM travellers

A$0

Galapagos $220 USD entry fee but no cash at the airport

Surprisingly common — the ATM at Quito airport doesn't always work

A$5000

Skipping travel insurance + getting hospitalised

Anyone who tries to save A$300 on insurance — true budget killer if it goes wrong

A$400

Booking Galapagos tours online instead of in person (30-50% markup)

Anyone who books before arriving

A$1500

Accepting a drink from a stranger on Tinder in Medellin

Tourists who don't know about scopolamine

Total potential loss across these mistakes: ~A$10550 · the guide is A$39.99.
WHAT YOU ACTUALLY GET

Instant. Yours forever.

Instant access the moment you pay. Guide opens in your browser, no app to install.
Built for your phone. Tap through by country, by section, or by worry.
Lifetime access. Buy once, keep forever, sign in from anywhere.
Updated every quarter. Prices, hostels, ATM fees, visa rules kept current.
Argentina + Brazil + Colombia + Mexico + Peru single-country guides bundled in free.
STILL WONDERING

Common questions.

Is this worth it if I'm only going for 3 weeks?
Yes. The 4-week itinerary in the guide is designed for exactly this. Pick the highlights spine, skip the padding, and you've got 21 days you won't want to change. The money and safety and transport playbook applies to any trip length. If anything the shorter the trip the more expensive it is to plan it wrong.
Is it a PDF?
No. It's a private page on this site, laid out mobile-first, that unlocks the moment you pay. Log in from anywhere. Works offline for anything you've already opened. Every place in the guide is pinned to a single Google Maps list you save to your phone.
Do I get updates?
Yes. Every quarter we refresh prices, hostel contacts, ATM fees, visa rules, and anything else that's shifted. Latin America moves fast (Argentina and Brazil especially) so the updates land more often than for stable destinations. Lifetime access covers all of them.
What if I've already booked my flights?
Even better. Every dollar you spend from here on is one this guide is built to save you a chunk of. The money setup section alone typically pays back the whole guide in the first week on the ground.
What if it's not for me?
7-day money back, no forms, no questions. Reply to the receipt email and it's refunded. The guide stays in your library either way.
I'm only going to one country. Still worth it?
If it's Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico or Peru, the individual country guide is bundled in free, so you're paying about the same as buying that single guide alone with the whole 12-country LATAM overview thrown in. If you're heading somewhere the singles don't cover yet (Bolivia, Chile, Guatemala, etc), the LATAM bundle is the fastest way to get proper coverage.
UNLOCK THE FULL GUIDE

Your trip, planned.

Where to go. Where to stay. What to eat. How to get around. What to skip. Every answer in one place — researched by Aussies who've actually been.

PLUS — full single-country guides for Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru. A$74.95 in singles, included free in the bundle.
12 country overviews — Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Galapagos, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Belize
The regional money playbook — Wise + UP + ING stack, the Argentine Blue Dollar via Western Union step by step
Cross-border transport — the San Blas boat from Colombia to Panama, the cross-border-then-fly trick
Safety + scam patterns by country — scopolamine in Medellin, La Boca after dark, police bribes
ONE-TIME · LIFETIME ACCESS · INSTANT
RISK-FREE | 7-DAY MONEY BACK
If even one thing in this guide doesn't make your trip better, reply to the receipt — we'll refund every cent. No forms, no questions.