South America

Boipeba – quick travel guide

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Small beautiful beach island with a peaceful nature vibe (even during high season).

The main reason for going here is because you want something chill, peace and quiet. It’s the exact contrast to Morro de Sao Paulo, the larger much more popular island just north next door to Boipeba. Morro is known for being a massively popular touristic town with lots of restaurants, bars, nightlife, AND NOISE!

Boipeba is the opposite. Lots of nature! As enticing as it sounds…it doesn’t mean perfect for you. The “nature” I speak of means much less infrastructure. The only roads accessible by car are the very city center. And the rest of the island is reachable by ATV (“quadriciclo”) or tractor (yes, a farm tractor pulls a long wagon with many bench seats…treated like a bus on sand) or boat. Making getting around slightly less convenient. You can’t just walk to all the beautiful beaches the way you can on Morro de Sao Paulo.

Food options are much less abundant. I was disappointed in the food, actually. There are some great restaurants, like maybe 3-5 tops. At Morro de Sao Paulo, felt like I had great food every night and still had 30 more restaurants to try. Nightlife is almost non-existent. And I kind of liked it. The center square of Boipeba is very quiet, very low-level music if any. It’s not a dueling set of bars vying to see who was loudest. It’s also true that while Morro de Sao Paulo is for everybody, but most popular with young sexy party people…Boipeba is more for couples, older folks, locals trying to save money, or families. Boipeba is cheaper in general.

As with most Brazilian beach vacation towns, most people stay 5-7 days. But you can see everything within 3 days.

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Belo Horizonte – quick travel guide

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A big friendly friendly city in Inland Brazil. Known for good food from Minas Gerais region, modern architecture and art.

You could easily pop in and out of this city in 2 days and felt you saw all the highlights. But if you stayed longer, there’d be plenty of everyday niceties and nearby towns and attractions to make it worthwhile.

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Curitiba – quick travel guide

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A smaller Sao Paulo. Modern, techie, safe, hip, arts, parks, eco-friendly, LGBT-friendly, and has capybaras.

Curitiba is probably Brazil’s hippest city…although labelled as the “world’s smartest city” (IMO nowhere near that but I appreciate the effort). Take the cool parts of Sao Paulo and compact it down to a smaller, more manageable version, making it overall cleaner and more modern, and you have Curitiba. It’s very green. Even things that are not a park, will have lots of trees and water and will look like a park. The weather here is among the nicest in Brazil, not too hot or too cold. Curitiba is also a good size for a city…not too big, not too small.

Curitiba is famous for parks and museums, and events…music, arts, theater, film. From what I see, it looks like your typical non-destination city (because it doesn’t have beaches or touristy things) that got gentrified and reinvested for tourism and quality of life. Many people say it’s boring in terms of tourism, and it’s a fair point. It seems tourists stop in Curitiba mainly for the capybaras, and as a stop between Florianopolis and Foz do Iguazu.

Curitiba’s strongest point is that it’s a nice place to live. Good quality of life due to the aforementioned qualities above. But from a tourist standpoint, it will definitely pale in comparison to a more majestic beach destination like Rio, big city metropolis of Sao Paulo, or a small charmy colonial town. Even within the southern states, Curitiba would probably rank lower to Florianopolis…a more picturesque beach city with lots of beautiful people and seemingly “fun vacation vibes” everywhere.

3 days is enough to see tourist highlights.

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Goiania – quick travel guide

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Interior posh city, nice to live but not much in terms of tourism. Good food and bar scene, friendly sexy locals.

Goiania was historically known as Brazil’s city with the highest socioeconomic disparity, having the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor. Today, it seems like a very safe and well-off city. Everybody dressed up well and nice restaurants and bars everywhere. Very lively, very posh. Tons of nice apartment buildings to live in, trendy gyms, shops, etc. It’s known as a popular city for bachelor parties to mingle.

Stay for a couple days, a week, forever. Again…it’s not a touristy city. It’s always good weather.

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Ilhabela – quick travel guide

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Beautiful island of beaches on the Sao Paulo coast, with mostly only Brazilians.

A family-friendly beach destination, developed infrastructure with city comforts (shopping, stores, etc), nice beach boardwalk, many levels of accommodations to choose from, nature and trekking. If you want to hit a full island instead of just mainland coastal beach area like Ubatuba, then Ilhabela is for you.

3 days minimum considering that there are many areas to check out, and also for the effort you spend getting there. As with many Brazilian beach destinations…5-7 days is more what people spend. Soak in the vibe and feel like you have time to enjoy more different beaches.

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Jalapao State Park – quick travel guide

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Big state park in Brazil’s interior countryside, full of many beautiful natural attractions and activities.

Jalapao is a huge park with at least 50 activities, some more popular than others. So your experience varies depending on how many days you stay, without or without a tour guide, and of course which attractions you pick.

I’d recommend a minimum of at least 4 days (3 nights) to get enough variety. This makes sense since getting there already takes so much time, and then traveling between different parts also takes lots of drive time.

I had local friends who knew it well and took me around, and I loved that the most since we spent as long as we wanted and never felt rushed. I’m sure other people going with a professional tour probably enjoyed it as well but didn’t have the freedom and flexibility we did. Flexibility is absolutely key if you have time, and/or want to alternate plans based on how you feel (e. g. wanting more X and less Y), or based on the weather.

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Morro de Sao Paulo – quick travel guide

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Popular party beach town in northeast Brazil. Many nice beaches, shops, restaurants, and party vibe.

Most Brazilian towns tend to lean towards more posh or more chill. Morro de Sao Paulo (or “Morro” for short) gives you a mix of both. It’s also nice that everything all conveniently located next to each other. You can easily choose what vibe you want to have. And if you wish for something more remote, just go a little further out and you’ll easily find your peace.

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Bogota – quick travel guide

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My favorite big city in Colombia (its biggest), with many areas to explore.

While many travelers claim Medellin as their favorite city in Colombia, I personally found Bogota to be better in every way. Medellin is small and hip, with a convenient pretty and foreigner-friendly party area in El Poblado, and many beautiful people all congregated into this area. But IMO, it’s boring if you’re looking to do anything other than partying and going to restaurants, bars, cafes.

Bogota actually has lots more to do. A charmy colorful old town area, big squares and corners where people hang out, museums, much bigger and fancier party districts, much more shopping options, and multiple foreigner-friendly neighborhoods. I personally think Medellin is attractive for being small, cute, and cheap…and perhaps with a certain lifestyle vibe. But comparing every metric, Bogota feels superior in every way.

4 days is enough to cover the old town Candeleria area and Monserrate mountain, key museums, and also party/explore in the Zona Rosa area. Stay couple days longer if you want to enjoy the life, and perhaps visit the Zipaquira salt mine.

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Sacred Valley (Peru) – quick travel guide

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Southern region of Peru, with great historical significance to Peruvian history due to it being the center of the Incan empire.

Many beautiful and historically significant sights and tourist destinations to see here. Pretty much the #1 tourist destination in Peru and also #1 expat haven. Fun, charmy, lots to do and see. The Sacred Valley is also home to many medicinal and (alternative) healing centers, hippies, and spiritual retreat type of places.

Of course, it all depends on what cities/towns you’re visiting, and what sights you see. But regardless, there’s lots to do for everyone.

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Florianopolis – quick travel guide

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Beautiful beach town with slow chill vibe. Nice beaches with rocks, solid nightlife options.

Florianopolis is a cool beach town that most people spend 1 week when visiting. Sure, you could dip in and out within 3 days but feel like you’re missing the slowdown vibe as everyone else is settling for longer and building closer friendships.

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Peru – quick travel guide

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Mountainous, safe, more evolved country in South America.

Parts of Peru and parts of Brazil, along with Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador, and modern-day Colombia…were all part of the Gran Colombia (“Greater Colombia”). Since they were broken up, each country evolved (culturally and politically) in a different way. Compared to Colombia and Ecuador, Peru seems much safer and perhaps more civilized. Peru is also one of the 6 original civilizations on earth, and you can see its technological and cultural advancements in museums. If you’re searching for a country with rich and more advanced cultural history, rich diversity of food, and interesting mountain or jungle landscapes (instead of the usual beach destinations)…Peru would be a perfect choice.

I really like Peru’s vibe. I think due to the country’s geographic placement (being far out to the side), and not known as a beach or summer party destination, it’s often overlooked for more iconic touristy destinations like Colombia or Brazil. But this being overlooked means the type of people you meet there are very different. Instead of so many casual weekend tourists or party-backpackers, you get more hardcore adventure trekkers, those seeking spiritual healing, and expats living far off-the-beaten path. The travelers you meet tend to be nicer, more respectful of the culture, speak Spanish. A more immersed travel experience, rather than foreigners who want to stay “foreign”.

The main highlights of Peru (Lima, Cusco, and some treks like Machu Picchu) could be done in 2 weeks. But those who really enjoy the vibe and mountainous landscapes will spend extra weeks…more commonly in the south. The more curious travelers will venture (and stay) to the less popular destinations up north. I’d say a month could comprehensively cover far more areas.

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Cusco – quick travel guide

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Iconic mountain city with lots of trekking tours, historical sites, and other outdoor adventures.

Cusco is Peru’s favorite spot for backpackers and expats. It’s got lots of unique Peruvian cultural destinations and doesn’t feel like another typical big city the way Lima does. A fun spot to be and explore the many picturesque treks. Come here prepared to trek and hike your way up mountains. This is the place for adventure! (Or you can be like the laidback expats who are just here to relax and chill.)

Reminds me of something between San Cristobal de las Casas and San Miguel de Allende. Hills and boutiques, local mountain people living amongst city tourists.

5 days is a good amount of time to explore the city and at least do 1 popular trek. Just about everybody comes here for Machu Picchu. But you could also skip that if it’s too expensive and touristy for you. There tons of other great ones like Rainbow Mountain, Lake Humantay, Sacred Valley, and on and on. Look up photos online to see what I mean. If you wanted to do every trek to the fullest…could easily be a month (maybe more).

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Lima – quick travel guide

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Big metropolitan city of Peru. Kind of like any other major city.

Welcome to Peru’s “big city”. A modern, beautiful city with beaches (although not the prettiest), wind sports, and parks. The vibe ranges from chill to chaotic, bougie to bohemian. Although Lima doesn’t offer the classic Peruvian tourist destinations (like Cusco), it’s still a very nice stopping point for food and living good.

You can see it all in 3 days. But I’d recommend prioritizing other destinations first.

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Cali – quick travel guide

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The Salsa capital of the world, “city of rhythm” in south Colombia.

Cali is a fun place with warm vibes and easy-going atmosphere. Of all the places I’ve been in Colombia, it’s the one I felt I could spend the most time in. Mainly because of yes, I want to learn how to dance salsa…but also because of the nice restaurant area. It reminds me a bit of the El Poblado and Provenza neighborhood in Medellin.

2-3 days is enough to enjoy the vibe, but you’d probably want to stay longer. For whatever reason, many people really hang out here. It’s just a nice chill vibe, and also cheap. Most people I ran into were living life and not even doing tourist stuff.

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Santa Marta – quick travel guide

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Small beach town, relaxed and quiet.

Cartagena and Santa Marta are 2 opposite beach towns. Those who like Cartagena may find Santa Marta to be boring (like I did). Those who hate Cartagena’s crowded touristy-ness will like Santa Marta’s peace. I’d guess you have to come see for yourself if it’s your vibe or not.

The town has very little to do. And by little, I mean nothing in terms of touristic value. The beaches nearby are also not so pretty…you’d have to drive to get anywhere nice. It does have some nice cafes and restaurants. The center park is controlled by the local drug mafia. And you’ll be propositioned often for drugs. Also, they’ll stop you from recording any videos.

Most of your time will probably be hanging out at your resorty hotel or hostel pool with the rooftop terrace overlooking the hills and sea. Which basically means Santa Marta has nothing going on. How many days of nothing would you like? You choose.

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Guatape – quick travel guide

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Colorful small town with lush green landscape reaching across the water like many fingers.

Very touristic and beautiful, definitely worth a visit! The whole town looks like it was designed by kids. Then you go up the famous Piedra del Penon rock and see beautiful views of the landscape from above. Believe me when I tell you, I’ve been to many places and seen many beautiful views…but Guatape has its unique views with the green lands extending out all over the water. It’s very cool.

Day trip would be enough to see its main points if you don’t have time. Staying 1 or 2 nights if you have a fun AirBnB would be a great way to chill with friends. Depending on what you book, you’ll have a very different experience of Guatape.

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Medellin – quick travel guide

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Colombia’s coolest hippest city, built in the mountains and infamous as Pablo Escobar’s former territory.

In what used to be a dangerous narco city is now a rapidly transforming hilly city providing beautiful panoramic views, massive nightlife, and expat-friendly scene. Is it as expat-friendly as say Mexico? NO! But it’s getting there and many foreigners do love it. Medellin is great for parties, and also if you just want to live in a cool place in Colombia and don’t mind that there’s no beaches nearby here.

2-3 days is enough to see everything. Stay longer only if you want to party.

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Cartagena – quick travel guide

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Vibrant touristy colonial beach city of northern Colombia.

Cartagena reminds me an awful lot of Salvador, Brazil. Big northern beach city with colorful touristy old town, and then “ok” beaches full of really aggressive vendors. Most people spend a day in the touristy old town part (enjoying the busy life and restaurants/bars), and then another day at the beach and then hop off to other northern coastal towns and islands. But despite everybody saying the other towns are better, the same people will still insist on you stopping by Cartagena.

Usually just a 2 day stop, as people come for the tourist stuff and quickly move onto elsewhere for better (more peaceful) beach vibes.

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Colombia – quick travel guide

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South American caribbean beach country with many different vibes.

Colombian is an interesting mix of many things. Most people know it as Caribbean beach destination with parties and beautiful people…but it has much more landscapes and personalities than just that. It also has the Pacific Ocean, San Andres island near Nicaragua, Amazon river like Brazil, also jungles, deserts and mountains. Colombia’s hippest city (Medellin) is actually a mountain town.

Culturally and economically…Colombians are also very distinct. Generally, they are poor and things are cheap. You will feel a much bigger cultural divide between them and the visiting gringo/foreigner. Whereas in Mexico or Brazil, where locals seem to bond better with foreigners or at least can vibe with them…in Colombia, it’s a bigger gap. You’re just too different and won’t be accepted into their circles like you would elsewhere. (This isn’t to say that they aren’t friendly!)

Which means you’re likely in Colombia to party cheap with foreigners. Or you want to explore more local and off-the-beaten-path destinations where there are zero foreigners. There’s no in-between.

Major destinations can be done within 3-4 weeks, but you’d need 2 or 3 months to really see everything. See if you like the vibe before you stay longer. Many people would easily camp out here 3-6 months enjoying the beach, party life, or just Colombian vibes.

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Buenos Aires tango scene is not my favorite

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Yes, I think you should go dance tango in Buenos Aires. But I personally won’t.

Hardcore tango dancers are always looking for the “best place” in the world to dance tango. And quite often, Buenos Aires is often referred to as THE best place for tango. People romanticize it, dream about it, save up their money for it, and return home from it full of bliss and life-changing memories.

And I agree with all their thoughts about it. But I just don’t like it for myself.

Why?

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