Meny
Round trips in South America

Our suggested itineraries

A good itinerary is not about collecting as many places as possible. It should allow time to appreciate the differences between them, account for realistic journey times and leave room for days and evenings that need no organised activities.

SambaTravel’s suggested itineraries are carefully designed starting points for travellers who want to explore Latin America with a clear sense of direction, without being tied to a fixed package. Each route balances cities, landscapes, history and local life differently. Distances can be considerable, altitude sometimes requires acclimatisation, and some places simply deserve more time than others.

Essential brings together some of a country’s defining places and experiences in a focused itinerary, with fewer regions and more time in each. Classic covers more ground and adds geographical or cultural breadth. Extended suits travellers who have time for a longer and more wide-ranging journey. Grand Tour is our most comprehensive format, combining several regions to provide a broader view of a country or of South America.

Signature does not indicate the length of a journey. We reserve the label for selected specialist itineraries whose combination of destinations, wildlife or nature experiences, accommodation and style of travel gives them a particularly distinctive character.

Every itinerary can be tailored. We adjust the hotels, duration, excursions and order of destinations to the travellers, their interests and the flight connections available on their chosen dates. These are detailed proposals to build on, not fixed packages that must be followed day by day.

Round trips in South America

ESSENTIAL

South America Essential

13-day round trip
Buenos Aires · Iguazú Falls · Rio de Janeiro

Buenos Aires, Iguazú Falls and Rio de Janeiro in thirteen days. Two major cities with subtropical rainforest and waterfalls between them.

South America Essential
CLASSIC

South America Classic

21-day round trip
Lima · Sacred Valley · Machu Picchu · Cusco · Buenos Aires · Iguazú Falls · Rio de Janeiro

Lima, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and Cusco followed by Buenos Aires, Iguazú and Rio. Three weeks between the Pacific, the Andes and the Atlantic coast.

South America Classic

Brazil

ESSENTIAL

Rio & Amazon Essential

11-day round trip
Rio de Janeiro · Manaus and the Amazon

A focused Brazil itinerary combining Rio de Janeiro’s city life, beaches and viewpoints with the rivers, rainforest and lodge experience of the Amazon.

Rio & Amazon Essential
ESSENTIAL

Brazil Essential

15-day round trip
Rio de Janeiro · Ilha Grande · Manaus and the Amazon

Rio de Janeiro, Ilha Grande and the Amazon. Five nights in Rio, three on the car-free island and four in Manaus and the rainforest combine city life, Atlantic coast and Amazonia in one journey.

Brazil Essential
CLASSIC

Brazil Classic

18-day round trip
Rio de Janeiro · Manaus and the Amazon · Salvador · Praia do Forte

Rio, the Amazon and Bahia over eighteen days, with five nights in Rio and a relaxed finish by the sea in Praia do Forte.

Brazil Classic
EXTENDED

Brazil Extended

21-day round trip
Rio de Janeiro · Foz do Iguaçu and Iguazú Falls · Manaus and the Amazon · Salvador · Praia do Forte

Rio, Iguaçu Falls, the Amazon and Bahia over three weeks, with several nights in each region and a finish on the Atlantic coast.

Brazil Extended
GRAND TOUR
SIGNATURE

Brazil Grand Nature

22-day round trip
Foz do Iguaçu and Iguazú Falls · Northern Pantanal and Jaguar Day · Cristalino Lodge and the southern Amazon · Rio de Janeiro · Ilha Grande

Iguaçu Falls, the Northern Pantanal with a dedicated Jaguar Day, Cristalino Lodge, Rio de Janeiro and Ilha Grande. A Signature journey with nature and wildlife as its central theme.

Brazil Grand Nature

Argentina

ESSENTIAL

Argentina Essential

13-day round trip
Buenos Aires · Iguazú Falls · El Calafate and Perito Moreno

Buenos Aires, Iguazú Falls and southern Patagonia in one journey, with plenty of time for both city life and vast landscapes.

Argentina Essential
CLASSIC

Argentina Classic

17-day round trip
Buenos Aires · Iguazú Falls · Mendoza · El Calafate and Perito Moreno

Buenos Aires, Iguazú, Mendoza and Patagonia over a little more than two weeks. City life, rainforest, wine country and glaciers without allowing the great distances to dominate the journey.

Argentina Classic

Peru

ESSENTIAL

Peru Essential

14-day round trip
Lima · Sacred Valley · Machu Picchu · Cusco · Lake Titicaca and Puno

Lima, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Cusco and Lake Titicaca over two weeks. The first nights in the Andes are spent in the Sacred Valley before the route climbs towards Cusco and the Altiplano.

Peru Essential
CLASSIC

Peru Classic

18-day round trip
Lima · Sacred Valley · Machu Picchu · Cusco · Lake Titicaca and Puno · Amazon and Puerto Maldonado

Lima, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Cusco, Lake Titicaca and five days in the Tambopata rainforest. Peru from the Pacific coast to the highlands and Amazon in just under three weeks.

Peru Classic

Chile

ESSENTIAL

Chile Essential

14-day round trip
Santiago and Valparaíso · Atacama Desert · Patagonia and Torres del Paine

Santiago and Valparaíso, five days in Atacama and four nights in Chilean Patagonia. A first journey through Chile that gives both north and south enough time.

Chile Essential
CLASSIC

Chile Classic

18-day round trip
Santiago and Valparaíso · Atacama Desert · Puerto Varas and Chile’s Lake District · Patagonia and Torres del Paine

Santiago and Valparaíso, Atacama, the Lake District and Torres del Paine over just under three weeks. The distances between regions are substantial, but each part receives several nights.

Chile Classic

Colombia

ESSENTIAL

Colombia Essential

13-day round trip
Bogotá · Coffee Region · Cartagena de Indias

Bogotá, the green mountains of the Coffee Region and Cartagena on the Caribbean. Highlands, coffee valleys and the coast, with extra time in both the capital and the final destination by the sea.

Colombia Essential
CLASSIC

Colombia Classic

18-day round trip
Bogotá · Medellín · The Coffee Region · Cartagena de Indias · Santa Marta and Tayrona

Bogotá, Medellín, the Coffee Region, Cartagena and Tayrona. A broad journey through Colombia in which the cities, mountain landscapes and Caribbean coast each play a different role.

Colombia Classic

Ecuador

ESSENTIAL

Ecuador Essential

14-day round trip
Quito · Otavalo and the northern Andes · The Ecuadorian Amazon · The Galápagos

Quito, Otavalo, the Amazon and six days in the Galápagos. Four of Ecuador’s major environments in one journey, with more time devoted to rainforest and islands.

Ecuador Essential
CLASSIC

Ecuador Classic

18-day round trip
Quito · Cotopaxi and the volcanic highlands · Baños and the Waterfall Route · Cuenca · The Galápagos

Quito, Cotopaxi, Baños and Cuenca are followed by a week of island hopping in the Galápagos. The first part travels steadily south through the Andes before heading out into the Pacific.

Ecuador Classic

Bolivia

ESSENTIAL

Bolivia Essential

13-day round trip
Santa Cruz and Samaipata · Sucre · Uyuni and the south-western Altiplano · La Paz

Santa Cruz and Samaipata, Sucre, Uyuni and La Paz on a route that climbs gradually from the lowlands towards the Altiplano.

Bolivia Essential
CLASSIC

Bolivia Classic

17-day round trip
Santa Cruz and Samaipata · Sucre · Potosí · Uyuni and the south-western Altiplano · La Paz · Lake Titicaca and Copacabana

From Santa Cruz and Samaipata via Sucre and Potosí to Uyuni, La Paz and Lake Titicaca. The journey climbs gradually from tropical lowlands towards the great elevations of the Altiplano.

Bolivia Classic

Costa Rica

ESSENTIAL

Costa Rica Essential

12-day round trip
San José · Arenal and La Fortuna · Monteverde · Manuel Antonio

Arenal, Monteverde’s cloud forest and Manuel Antonio with a first night in San José. A focused nature journey with manageable distances and varied ecosystems.

Costa Rica Essential
CLASSIC

Costa Rica Classic

15-day round trip
San José · Tortuguero · Arenal and La Fortuna · Monteverde · Manuel Antonio

Tortuguero’s canals, Arenal, Monteverde and Manuel Antonio. A nature journey from the Caribbean to the Pacific, with four nights at Arenal and a calmer section in the middle.

Costa Rica Classic

Panama

ESSENTIAL

Panama Essential

10-day round trip
Panama City and the Panama Canal · Gamboa and Soberanía · Bocas del Toro

Panama City and the canal, rainforest around Gamboa and the Caribbean islands of Bocas del Toro in ten days, with manageable distances between stops.

Panama Essential
CLASSIC

Panama Classic

15-day round trip
Panama City and the Panama Canal · Gamboa and Soberanía · El Valle de Antón · Boquete and the Chiriquí highlands · Bocas del Toro

Panama City, Gamboa rainforest, El Valle, the Boquete highlands and Bocas del Toro. From the Canal Zone to coffee country and the Caribbean through five very different environments.

Panama Classic

Uruguay

ESSENTIAL

Uruguay Essential

11-day round trip
Montevideo · Colonia del Sacramento · Punta del Este and José Ignacio · Cabo Polonio

Montevideo, Colonia and the Atlantic coast with Punta del Este and Cabo Polonio. A slower South American journey centred on food, coast and smaller towns.

Uruguay Essential
CLASSIC

Uruguay Classic

16-day round trip
Colonia del Sacramento · Carmelo and the wine region · Montevideo · Punta del Este and José Ignacio · La Paloma and Laguna de Rocha · Cabo Polonio

Colonia and Carmelo wine country followed by Montevideo, Punta del Este, Rocha and Cabo Polonio. The route first turns west to Carmelo, then east along the Río de la Plata and Atlantic coast.

Uruguay Classic