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We landed into Rio at 6am. After a night at the lodge when there was a blackout so there was no AC, then a night in a hammock in the jungle, and then this 1am flight from Manaus we were exhausted. It was also a very cloudy day in Rio so we couldn’t really do any of the main sites, so instead, once we had dropped our bags at Ipanema Beach Hostel, we got breakfast at P.OVO. The breakfast was actually very good, first eggs Benedict is had in forever! We then got some washing done, desperately needed as everything stank of the jungle, and then chilled at the hostel until we could check in. Thankfully our room was ready by 11:30am.

Our first impression of Ipanema Beach Hostel wasn’t great, it seemed to lack any character and the bar/chill out space is really small. We picked this hostel because we had been told to stay in the Ipanema area by nearly everyone we’d met – it’s the newer, nicer version of Copacabana – and this hostel is literally a 2 minute walk from the beach. The positives are they do put on a free activity each day, you have breakfast included and free caipirinhas every night at 8pm and our room had great AC and a small balcony. Negatives are the room and communal space was tiny. Overall I think it’s an alright place if you want to beach and party but it’s expensive! I think that might be true for all hostels in Rio though.

Once we had managed to get into the room and regroup, we tried to figure out what we were going to do as our plan had been to spend 2 nights on Ilha Grande, an island just south of Rio famous for gorgeous beaches, but the weather was looking to be awful and even the hostel receptionist said there would be no point going in the rain as there would be nothing to do. We flirted with a few ideas but instead decided we would book a hotel in the city centre, away from the beaches, for those 2 nights and use that as a time to explore that area of the city.

In the afternoon some of the clouds burnt off so we got some lunch at Bar Redentor, a classic Brazilian place. We both got Beef Milanese and it was decent and then went down to the beach. Our hostel gave us an umbrella and we rented chairs (only R$ 10 per chair for the day!). We bought caipirinhas off a street vendor and paid too much for them – they’re only supposed to be R$ 10-15 each and we paid R$20… oops! But to be fair they were massive and delicious.

As you can imagine we were pretty shattered by this point so for dinner we went to Zucos and got the mixed grill as recommended by the hostel. We weren’t that hungry and the portion was huge! We asked for a half portion and we couldn’t finish it between us. To be fair, we probably shouldn’t have got the fried fish as a starter but what can you do. After that is was straight to bed.

In the morning we went to Christ the Redeemer. We booked our tickets online ahead of time as we had heard the queues there can be massive – definitely do this! You can book them here and get to the Tram station (Estação Cosme Velho) at least half an hour before your dedicated time so that you have enough time to queue up to get your printed ticket before it departs. When you get there (just get an Uber everywhere in Rio, they are really cheap, cost us £5 for the 30 min drive), just ask one of the staff where you should go. It’s really confusing to figure out which queue you should be in and it’s so busy. We got someone to show us which kiosk to get tickets and they they said you can either stand in the super long line to wait for the next available tram, or go to the front 20 mins before your scheduled time. Obviously we chose the second option, but even then when you get to the front there are more queues and we had to ask another person who showed us through a barrier where we were supposed to stand! Eventually we got on the tram which takes 20 mins to get to the top.

At the top, along with the monument itself which is massive, the city views are really impressive. It was so busy when we were there, so trying to find space for a picture was a struggle! I reckon we only stayed around the statue itself for 15-20 mins, just enough to see it, the views and get some pictures, and then we retreated to the section below to cool down in the shade. After that, even more queuing to get back on the tram to get down. The whole experience took about 3 hours from the time we arrived to when we got in our Uber back to the hostel – so make sure you budget for this! There are little shops and restaurants but we didn’t go into any. After all this, we spent the afternoon chilling on the beach with a couple caipirinhas. It was perfect.

For dinner we stumbled upon an in Italian called Artigiano. It was actually in the Michelin guide for 2020 so we were surprised when the main courses were only £10! We shared a caprese salad to start and both had a pasta main which was delicious. Lewis even had a tiramisu for desert, I couldn’t even look at more food, I was bursting!

The next day we got one of the local mini buses to Copacabana beach. They’re really easy to get, they are little vans that drive along the coastal road, you just flag them down at any point and when you want to get off, just stand up at the front and tell the driver, it costs R$ 5 each. Copacabana was nice but seemed more hectic than Ipanema, with people flagging you down every 2 seconds. Also the beach, in my opinion, wasn’t as nice as Ipanema. The distance between the road and the sea was shorter, but this could have been the time of day, and there was seaweed in the water – not a lot but there is none on Ipanema! We walked all the way back along which seemed like a good idea but it was 40 degrees and I was boiling! We stopped along the way to see the beach gym, all made from concrete. It was very rustic and Lewis tried a few of the weights out but we didn’t stay long! We finally made it back to the section near our hostel and diving in the sea had never felt so good!

Later on, we got the cable car up Sugarloaf Mountain. We got there for 4:45pm as sunset was at 6pm, we made it just in time to watch the sun go down as the queue was long. I would advise getting there a bit earlier, even 4:15pm would have been better! Also, book your ticket online in advance. We didn’t and the queue was so long that we bought them while waiting and from the moment we booked the tickets and changed queues (they are separate), we were on the cable car in 20 mins. If you buy your ticket there, after waiting in the queue outside, you then have to wait in the ticket office queue and then the boarding queue. If you have your ticket already, the whole thing is a lot quicker. They cost R$ 185 each for a standard ticket, you can pay more for fast passes/VIP if you’d like.

We stopped after the first cable car to get photos of the city – the view is amazing and we had the sun setting right behind Christ the Redeemer. We then went up the second car and got to see all the city lights, it was really pretty. We had dinner up there at Clássico Sunset Club Urca. This restaurant has great views over Copacabana beach. They don’t take bookings so definitely get there before 6:30pm, we got one of the last tables and after that everyone else was waiting. It’s also a free-for-all so just go hunting for a table, no one will help you! The food and drinks were decent even if they were a little expensive, to be expected for the location and the view. There are other food options but they are mostly stalls rather than proper restaurants. Saying that, there is a restaurant after the fist cable car called Embaixada Carioca. We got home just before 9pm, it was a really nice evening and a must do when in Rio.

In the morning we moved to our next hotel, the Regency Royal Palace Hotel, in the city centre. The name makes it sound a lot nicer than it was but it was cheaper than the hostel we were just in! The hotel itself was absolutely fine, even if the staff were a little rude.

The weather was awful so we chilled most of the day and then went to Orla Sports Bar to watch Scotland-Holland. The bar was nice enough, quite a local place. The caipirinhas were SO strong, after 2 I was gone! We also had a couple of dishes that were supposed to be starter – a beef dish and fried fish dish. We asked for the half portions and they were massive, we didn’t need any dinner.

It was still raining the following day but a lot less, so we decided to do a walking tour in the city centre. It was good to actually learn a lot about Brazil’s colonial history – it’s quite different from the rest of South America because 1. It was invaded by the Portuguese and not the Spanish and 2. It was actually recognised as a country within the Portuguese kingdom before it gained its full independence as the king fled here during Napoleon’s time in the 1800s and made Rio the capital of the empire, moving it from Lisbon. The guide spoke great English and was happy to give all kind of recommendations so it’s worth doing on one of your first days here.

In the afternoon we went back to Orla’s Spots Bar to watch the Brazil-England game. Brazil won but we didn’t stay till the end to see everyone celebrate as we went to get me a quick tattoo of the Andes Mountains to represent my time in South America. For dinner we went to Fogo do Chao – a Brazilian institution! Couldn’t come to Rio and not go. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Fogo do Chao, there is an unlimited self service salad bar and then you have a coaster, red on one side, green on the other. When you want meat you turn it green, when you don’t you flip it to red. Waiters come out with a variety of meats and cuts on skewers and they cut a bit off for you – delicious!

The next day we checked into the final accommodation of our trip! We had booked the Sheraton, a 5-Star treat for the end and I was so excited. We got upgraded to a king size bed on the 25th floor which is a premium top floor for rooms. If I was being picky I would say the room was a little dated but honestly, this place felt like a palace after what we’d been in recently and the staff were lovely. The weather on the other hand was horrible. Torrential sideways rain battered the whole city so it was safe to say we couldn’t make use of the pool or private beach. We got a lot of admin done, had a big late lunch at one of the pool-side restaurants and then had a movie night. I wasn’t mad about it – I had a long shower, put on a bath rope and curled up in our king size bed.

Now, for those that don’t know me, there is nothing I love more than a good hotel buffet breakfast. Somehow I managed to go to the gym in the morning and then was rewarded by a brilliant patsies, fruit, salad bar, omelette stand, waffles, pancakes… I was in heaven! We spent the rest of the day by the pool, thankfully the weather had gotten a lot better and we actually ended up burnt, even though we were wearing 50.

That afternoon we got a little treat as the hotel sent us a bottle champagne and some fruit to congratulate us on our ‘honeymoon’ (got to milk it when you can!). But it was very sweet. We were still full from our club sandwiches at lunch so didn’t have dinner, instead we had a drink at the hotel bar and played some cards.

Unfortunately I started to feel quite ill and continued to feel this way all through the next day. I was sad to be bed bound but glad it was in this bed if it was going to be in any! The staff were really sweet and at Lewis’ request they brought me up breakfast from the buffet.I started to feel better in the afternoon so we went back to Artigiano for our final dinner of the trip! Pasta was just as good as the first time.

The next day we spent the morning chilling, packing our bags and headed to the airport. And just like that, our 3 month trip was done! Can’t believe it’s all over.

São Paulo

We only stayed in São Paulo for 1 night as it was cheaper to fly to Manaus from here compared to Rio. In hindsight, I wish we had at least 1 full day to explore the city but instead we booked a hotel near the restaurant we wanted to go to and that was all we did!

We stayed at Sooz Hotel which was actually really nice, but it was in the business district so not the best location if you’re looking to explore the city! We chose it though because it was a 5 minute walk to A Casa do Porco. A Casa do Porco is the 12th best restaurant in the world and we booked it 2 months in advance! The whole menu is centred around pork, it was tasty but probably a restaurant you’d only go to once in your life. After dinner we were full and tired and looking forward to sleeping in a hotel bed, so that’s what we did and left for the airport in the morning.

Manaus and The Amazon Rainforest

We flew into Manaus from São Paulo a day before our trip into the Amazon. As it was only 1 night, we weren’t very picky about accommodation, but was pleasantly surprised by Local Hostel Manaus – the room was clean, the AC strong and they sold cheap drinks and breakfast in the morning. They also let you store your bags for R$2 per bag, so basically nothing!

Once we had checked in we went to Tambaqui de Banda for dinner. This place was traditional Brazilian with meat, rice, beans etc. but it was delicious. The restaurant is right on the square next to the Opera House (one of their main attractions) and they had live music and a dance show on while we were there! One thing to mention though is that it was hot. Very hot and very humid. We were sweating non-stop, so wherever you are, find a good fan to sit in front of!

We were up early for our 9am pick up the next morning and our trip into the Amazon was very typical of South American tours, you never know what or who you’re going to get, and always go in with low expectations! Thankfully, we actually had a great time in the rainforest, much to my surprise!

We booked through Amazing Amazon Tours. They did pick us up bang on time which was was our first surprise and after a 15 min drive to the port we boarded a motor boat which took us to the other side of the river. Trying to get on the boat was confusing because the driver just dropped us off and we had to figure out where to go, a random guy called Carlos called to us and asked us if we were going to Ipanema lodge but we had booked one called Anaconda lodge. After a quick WhatsApp to the tour company who just said ‘go with him’, we got on the boat.

The next surprise was our tour explicitly said we wouldn’t see the meeting of the waters, i.e. where the Amazon river meets the Rio Negro, but that was the first thing we did! That was pretty cool to see as well as feel the temperature difference between the cool Amazon and warm Rio Negro.

Once at the next port, we got in a 100 year old VW camper and drove for an hour into the jungle, we did one random stop to look at some lily-pads and when we tried to get back in the van it was filled with humongous wasps with dangly legs… the driver got them out as I refused to get in. After a bumpy drive down a dirt track, we arrived at yet another boat! This one was a small motorised canoe to get you through the small streams and reeds, but we had to wait for the thunderstorm to pass before we could get on it. Finally, by 12:45pm, we made it to Ipanema lodge.

The lodge was better than we expected, they have a communal area, mostly covered with mosquito nets, and it had large fans which were a saviour. Lunch was ready when we arrived so we dumped our bags and tucked into the buffet. I should probably pause here to say that a giant spider crawled over Lewis’ foot before he had even picked up a plate, we were definitely in the jungle. Once we’d eaten, we checked out our room. I’ll admit we paid for the most expensive room – private, with a bathroom and AC, this was a non-negotiation-able for me agreeing to this tour. We had already been warned by others we met at lunch to check in your toilet before you went as they had frogs in theirs, thankfully we only had a small spider and otherwise the room was very clean and the bed had a large mosquito net.

In the afternoon we went piranha fishing, much to Lewis’ disappointment I caught one on my second try! In the panic I did throw it onto the dock and into other people but never mind. Lewis did also eventually get a couple, he loves fishing. They then took us to see the biggest tree I’d ever seen, which was around 200 years old,l and an anaconda. Unfortunately the snake was in a box so it was a bit sad but they had caught as it was eating their livestock and were planning to release it, they just haven’t yet. Throughout the day we also saw so many grey dolphins which was very cool.

We were supposed to sleep in the jungle that night but just as we were all dressed and with bags on, a full torrential downpour started so it was cancelled. I was kind of sad as I had geared myself up to going, but also not that sad as we had 2 more nights and I wasn’t sure I wanted to sleep in a hammock anyways. We did get to go Cayman alligator hunting though – being out on the black river in silence apart from the noisy jungle, looking out for reflective eyes staring back at us, was very cool. Our guide caught one on the second try and we brought it back to the lodge so he could show us the alligator in the light while he told us about them. It was only a little baby and we each got to hold her before she was put back into the river.

We had our alarm set for 5am for a sunrise boat tour down the river but when we woke up it was pouring down, so we went back to sleep. What we didn’t realise was that breakfast was at 7am so we were abruptly woken at quarter past this loud banging on our door! Communication of timings at the lodge was not their strong point.

Anyways, by 8am were were fed and ready to head off on a jungle trek. After a short boat ride, we reached the trail head and started walking through the dense jungle. There was a lot of mosquitos and what I didn’t know until this trip was that black clothing attracts them, guess who was dressed in all black! After around 30 mins of walking we came across a Tarzan-like vine. The guide told us to hang on and swing across, Lewis and another guy in the group did it successfully, unfortunately a girl in our group did not and this is when our trek took a turn for the worst. The poor girl had hit her face on a log and hurt her knee, she couldn’t walk and was in complete shock. The heavens also decided to open at this moment so we were all soaked, but by this point being wet wasn’t really something to worry about! Lewis and the guide managed to take turns in carrying her back to a shelter. I’ll admit the boy did well here.

We waited under the tarpaulin while the guide left to get a boat, leaving us with a machete and a whistle. This would have been fine if the mosquitos also hadn’t been hiding from the rain in this shelter. I was eaten alive, with large welts forming all over my face and hands – the only places not covered by clothing. It got so bad I went out and stood in the rain again, without my rain jacket as it was black and I didn’t need anything else attracting them to me, it was too hot and I was too wet already to have it on anyways. After 45 mins in mosquito hell, the guide came back with another staff member and got the girl down to the boat and eventually back to the lodge. Talk about an authentic Amazon experience.

There was a large changeover in guests after lunch so we had a couple of hours to chill while they settled in, I was thankful for the downtime after the eventual morning! As most of the group were new we went piranha fishing again, but after dropping everyone off they took me and Lewis to go look at more grey dolphins – we even saw one do a backflip out of the water! We also saw sloths and monkeys which was pretty special. After everyone was done fishing we all jumped in the river, despite knowing the piranhas were right below us….the sun even came out, it was a really fun afternoon.

After the afternoon I thought I’d relaxed into jungle living but at 12am the entire area had a blackout which lasted until 2pm the next day. That meant the AC, lights and none of the fans worked – this made sleeping in the room so much harder. This combined with another 5am wake up and back to bed because of the weather meant I was exhausted by the 7am breakfast call, the only thing that saved me was my portable fan. A frog did also jump onto my arm in the pitch black whip was terrifying, it was so sticky.

I think the guide was a bit shaken from the previous days jungle walk so instead we went for a boat trip through the swamp and then to a floating shop. There was a small local party going on so they gave us beer, played music and swam in the river – it was a really fun!

In the afternoon we trekked back into the jungle as we were spending the night there! Once the hammocks had been hung and the fire lit, we sat round and had a couple drinks while the meat and rice cooked on the open flames. One of the guides made us bowls and spoons from leaves and trees to eat with which was cute, and they made us fresh caipirinhas! After dinner we went for a night walk through the jungle, it was a long and sweaty walk but we did see a tarantula after the guide coaxed it out of its home with a stick! Lewis also had a go and getting it to come out, I did not.

Sleeping in a hammock in 30 degrees and in nearly 100% humidity is hard work. It isn’t helped by the fact you don’t want to have too much bare skin because of the mosquitos, despite being in a net! Thankfully I had my portable fan which I had on my face the entire time, others did not and had a much tougher time. Apart from the heat though, there really wasn’t anything to be scared of. I’m really glad I did it but I won’t be rushing back to do it again!

In the morning we had a very simple breakfast and went on a final jungle trek. We failed to find monkeys but we did see an armadillo which was very cool. It did rain quite heavily again though so after a couple of hours I was glad to be heading back to the lodge. And just like that (and another 4 hour trip back consisting of 2 boats and 2 drives), our Amazon rainforest experience was over! Now that it’s done I’m really glad we did it, when would we ever get to experience something like that again. However, I don’t think I’ll be sleeping in a jungle anytime soon! Also, we went for 3 nights and I probably would have been happy with 2, but if we did 2 we wouldn’t of got to sleep in the jungle. It’s a bit of a gamble as everything is weather dependent- people who arrived the day after us got to do everything in 2 nights but you can never be sure, so giving yourself some extra wiggle room isn’t a terrible idea.

Once finally back in Manaus, we chilled at Local Hostel (you can use their common areas for the day for R$ 10), had a pretty decent pizza for South America from Splash as well as an ice cream from Barbarella. This place was pretty cool as it’s self-serve and you just pay dependant on the weight and it was really cheap. Finally, at 10pm we headed to the airport for our 1am flight to Rio, can’t believe we’re on our final stop already.

The flight from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazú (pronounced Ig-wa-zu) was only 2 hours and we grabbed a cab from outside the front of the airport. The taxi company there charge you 12k to get into town, there is a local bus but it only leaves every hour! Before I go any further, if you’re going to Iguazú, make sure you have a lot of cash! Our hotel, taxi, the local buses to the park and to the Brazilian side only take cash and we didn’t have enough. A return bus trip to the Argentinian falls is 6k pesos and return to the Brazilian town is 4K.

Before I get into all of that, we did have a lovely first night in Puerto Iguazu before the cash issue! Once we had checked into our hotel, we walked to the main street to get some lunch. We stayed at Hotel Posada La Sorgente which was very run down if I’m honest, it’s only saving grace was that it did have a pool and the aircon was strong. The room was dark and a little bit mouldy but it only cost us £20 per night so what I can say apart from if I was to come again, I would definitely stay somewhere else!

We had been warned that there was nothing to do on the Argentinian side of the falls so we were worried that we had too long here. However, although it is a small town, there are loads of bars and restaurants and nice ones at that, so we were pretty happy! We got lunch and had a couple of beers at Bambu.

For dinner we had booked the ‘Argentine Experience’. There is one in Buenos Aires and one in Iguazu so we decided to do it where we thought there was apparently nothing to do! This evening was so much fun, it’s a 7 course interactive dining experience – we made our own Argentinian cocktails and empanadas, we tried 3 different wines (you could ask for as much as you want!) and a classic array or Argentinian specialities including mate, a traditional Argentinian energy tea. It was so much food! I was so full by the time we left but everything was delicious and I would highly recommend the whole experience. Just make sure to book in advance!

Now back to the cash drama. By the time we paid our hotel we only had 7k left between us. This meant when we were headed to the falls the next morning, instead of a relaxing breakfast before getting the bus, we got in a 45 minute queue for an ATM.

Thankfully, we bumped into a girl we had met in San Pedro and she gave us 20k to get us to the end of our trip! Don’t worry, we gave her our left over Bolivianos as she was headed there next in exchange! We immediately walked into the bus station and bought all the tickets we needed so that we knew we wouldn’t get stuck again!

Once that panic was over, we went to El Árbol by the bus station and got a selection of pastries, empanadas and sandwiches to eat for breakfast and take into the park as we had heard the food in the park is expensive and not that great. Our aim was to get to the park around 11am as we had the waterfall boat booked for 11:30am. Try and book this a couple days in advance as it can sell out.

The buses to the park leave every 15 minutes from the bus station and the journey is around 30 minutes. You can get a taxi to the park but that’s normally 30k for a return which seems crazy when the bus is 6k per person.

Inside the park there are 3 main circuits you can walk to see the falls – Circuito Superior (along the top), Circuito Inferior (along the bottom) and Garganta Del Diablo (around the top in the jungle) as well as one to a waterfall you can swim in (Sendero Macuco). We decided to do the Circuito Superior but more on this later.

Once we arrived and paid the entrance free (20k and you can pay by card, you can also pay online and the park has free wifi), we found our boat operator, Iguazu Jungle, which was just past the entrance next to the visitors centre. You have to make a reservation before they give you your ticket so if you haven’t booked online, go and speak to one of the staff hanging around before you get in the queue for the kiosk, you’ll just have to queue again if you do don’t do this! We booked the ‘Gran Adventura’ which is a ride on a 4×4 down to the river and then a boat through the falls, it is expensive (60k) but it was so much fun!

The trip starts by you boarding a truck-like vehicle and drive through the jungle for 20 mins till you get to the river. Your guide tells you about how your trip will go and a bit about the jungle and the wildlife you may see. Once you get to the river, you walk down about 300m to the boat. On your way down you’re given a dry bag and a life jacket – trust me when I say that you and everything you have with you will get soaked, like you’ve just been thrown in a pool, so make sure everything important to you is in the dry bag! You can also put your shoes in there once you’re onboard.

You’re on the boat for about half an hour and it’s so much fun! They drive really fast, you bounce off rapids and waves, you get unparalleled views of the falls and then you just dunked under them. Not only once but 3-4 times! It was 35 degrees with 70% humidity when we were there and it was SO nice. They take photos and videos that you can buy for 10k on your walk back to the truck. For me, this was a 10/10 experience – such a good laugh and a fun way to see the falls from the bottom.

As I’ve just mentioned, we’d now seen the falls from the bottom so decided to do the Circuito Superior which takes you around the top. It’s a super easy walk and it does not take 2 hours like the sign says, I would say closer to 1 and I imagine this would be the same for Circuito Inferior. Again, the views from here were stunning, the falls were so much prettier than I imagined! Unfortunately, we didn’t see any wildlife past butterflies, lizards and catfish, but you can see tapiers and lemur like animals called coatiese.

If you follow the exit signs from Circuito Superior you end up on the small train that takes you near the exit. It’s a small open-air train, more a novelty than anything else but still cute! Finally, on our way out we were given a free postcard and boarded the bus back to town. It was such a fun way to spend the day, I really enjoyed it.

In the evening we went to the Italian attached to the hotel called Ristorante La Toscana and was pleasantly surprised! We both had a combo meal which meant choosing a meat and a pasta, I had the ribeye and the mushroom tagliatelle and it was honestly delicious! We also shared a dulche de leche crepe for dessert, had to get a final one in Argentina before we head to Brazil tomorrow, adios Argentina!

In the morning we went back to El Árbol, we sat in this time and omg, if you’re in a rush don’t do this! Took over 45 mins to get a coffee, scrambled eggs and some croissants. We finally got the 11:30am bus to Foz do Igacu, you can get a bus straight to the falls but we got it to the bus terminal. The boarder crossing was straightforward, however a word of warning, our bus left us. There was only 6 of us getting our stamps at the border and when we came out it was gone and we were told to wait for the next bus which would be an hour! If you’re getting the bus to the falls instead of the town, they will wait for you as you don’t need to go through proper immigration. So either way, we did the right thing as we needed an entry stamp. We actually managed to get an Uber from the boarder straight to the falls which was only 15 mins away and cost R$25/£4.

It was actually a blessing in disguise as the falls are closer to the border (and the airport if you’re coming from there) than the town. Once at the falls a lovely lady helped us buy our park entrance tickets (R$100 per person) and lockers (R$30). There are loads of lockers and they are big enough for big rucksacks.

On your ticket it gives you a group number and boarding time for the bus, make sure you’re on time! If you’re not doing the boat tour, get off the bus at the second stop, it should take about half an hour.The Brazilian side is much simpler than the Argentinian and you only need 2-3 hours there. There is only one trail but you get really close to the water so it’s definitely worth a visit! You also see the falls from a completely new perspective as you’re now on the other side of the river. There is also a walkway you can walk along where you get soaked by the spray which is fun.

By 3:30pm we now felt as if we’d seen the falls from every possible angle so got an uber to our hostel, Hostel Bambu. We were not having any luck with our Iguazu accommodation! The reviews for the place looked so good but it was disappointing, our room was a bit gross (at least there was AC), and the whole thing was just a bit dark and sad. They did have an outside area where we sat for most the evening as there were fans which made the heat bearable. There is a pool but there was no way I was getting in that thing! They did have a bar to be fair and a kitchen, so after we got cash from Bradesco (no ATM withdrawal fees), we bought food from the supermarket to get us through until we flew to São Paulo in the morning. OK, I’m probably making the hostel sound worse that it was, if there was a group of you you probably could have made it fun, I think I’m just craving a bit of luxury.

Iguazú Falls Summary

• Length of stay: 2-3 nights maximum, you need 2 days. If you really wanted you could cram it all into one day but I’m glad we split ours. I do wish we had just flown out after our second day though and not stayed the night.
• Where to stay: From the state of our bookings, I can’t really recommend anywhere. However, no matter where you stay, try to make sure its near the centre of town and the bus station.
• Itinerary: Day 1 – Argentinian side of the falls, Day 2 – Brazilian side of the falls
• Top tip: Bring a lot of cash!

The flight down to Ushuaia was early but easy. Once we had arrived we jumped in a local taxi and headed to a cafe recommendation given to us by our AirBnB host as we couldn’t check in for another couple of hours. El Mercado had nice coffee and pastries, they also did larger plates but they weren’t being served until later in the day. It was only a 5 min walk up the road to our AirBnB and after we had checked in, we both had a nap! We’d had far too many 5am starts and long walks recently. It was also so nice being able to spread out in our own space. Even though the apartment was extremely basic (not even 1 picture on the bright white walls), it had a kitchen, a TV with Netflix and a massive bed, so it was enough for us. Once refreshed, we walked into town, bought our shuttle bus tickets for the national park, our boat tickets for both the penguin and Beagle Channel tours and went to the supermarket to buy food for dinner for our movie night.

In the morning we got the 10am shuttle bus to the ‘Post Office at the End of the World’ in Feugo National Park. Shuttle buses leave from the station every hour from 9am-12pm and you can buy your ticket on the day, just turn up 15-20 mins before and explain where you want to go and where you want picked up from. There are multiple bus stops in the park and they come at 3pm, 5pm and 7pm. It’s $18 for a return ticket and all very easy – you can also pick up a park map from the information centre.

We decided to do the costal walk (Senda Costera) from the Post Office to Alakush. Before setting off we went into the Post Office. This is a unique place, run by a man in his late 60s called Carlos who settled on Redonda, a small island about 2km from the shore. Funnily, Carlos is now fighting for Redondanian independence from Argentina as he is the only inhabitant.

After sending a couple of post cards we started walking. The route is only 8km and they say it takes 4 hours, it does not. It’s a flat route with only very small inclines, it took us 2.5 hours including 1 stop so you can comfortably do it in 3 hours. The trail is really pretty, weaving through forests and beaches which was a nice contrast from the mountains we’d been hiking in recently. There is a visitors centre at Alakush which has a restaurant and a small museum/information section on the national park (the signs are in English which was also a novelty!). We had brought a packed lunch so only had a coffee and a cake, but they do burgers and sandwiches that look decent and were reasonably priced ($8-13).

We got the 3pm bus back and it all ran like clockwork. We got lucky with the weather as it was supposed to rain but despite it being dry, it was really cold waiting for the bus so bring layers – we’re also here in the tail-end of summer so I can only imagine what it would be like in the winter! We only did 1 hike during our time in Ushuaia but there are so many more you can do, also your second bus ticket into the park is 50% off. If you’re even unsure of what to do/where to go, ask at the information centre, they’re really helpful.

For dinner we went out to Salitre, this was another recommendation from our host and the food was decent although we’d had nicer on our trip. Saying that, it was a cute restaurant with nice staff and a calming atmosphere, it was also only a 5 min walk from the Airbnb which was a plus.

On our final full day in Usuahia we did the boat trip to visit the penguins. Nearly all tour operators will take you close to the island but you can’t walk with the penguins, Piratour is the only one which allows you off the boat. We were close to booking this tour but it was really expensive ($160pp) and we’d heard from others that you don’t see any more of the penguins than just staying on the boat! After reading what felt like 100 blogs on the activity, we decided to just do the boat tour.

Luckily, a friend of ours had just done the tour a couple days prior and suggested to go with Paludine as the boat is small (20 people max) and they land on the beach with the penguins. This cost $75pp which is the standard price across all the operators. Also, if you also do the Beagle Channel boat with them you get 20% off the penguins so we booked it all at the same time, $140pp for both trips. If you’re unsure of what you’d like to do, just go down to the dock a day or so before and you will see loads of kiosks for different operators, so just go speak to some of them and see what you can get!

Most people do both boat trips in the same day, the Beagle Channel is 2.5 hours and the penguins 5 hours. However, when we were there strong winds had halted the Beagle channel tours so we split them across 2 days, squeezing in the Beagle channel the morning before our 1pm flight to Buenos Aires!

Our penguin tour was pushed back a couple hours because of the wind but we finally set off on the bus at 4pm. The bus to Puerto Almanza was 1.5 hours and we spent 2 hours on the boat including 1 hour at the island. There were so many penguins and because of the time of year we got to see 2 different types, Magellanic and Gentoo. The boat also takes you to points all around the island so you see as many penguins as possible, it was really cool. As we didn’t get home till 9:30pm, it was a quick dinner, pack our bags and headed to bed!

In the morning, we went down to the dock again and stored our bags in the operators kiosk before boarding the boat for the Beagle Channel tour. This boat was smaller than I was expecting but this turned out to be a blessing as we saw so many Sei whales and were able to get so close because of our size! It was really special, I’d never seen whales in the wild before and there was at least 6 of them, constantly coming up to the surface and blowing their blow holes. We also saw the famous lighthouse, sea lions, seals and a lot of sea birds including albatrosses. It was a really cool morning. Once we’d arrived back, it was a rush to grab our bags and jumped in a taxi to the airport, time for Buenos Aires!

Ushuaia Summary

• Length of stay: 2-4 nights, depending on how many hikes you want to do, 3 nights was enough for us
• Where to stay: As we stayed in an Airbnb I’m not really sure, but anywhere near the main street or dock will probably be fine
• Itinerary: Day 1 – explore town & book boats/buses, Day 2 – National park, Day 3 – Beagle channel and penguin boats
• Top tip: Book your boat trips when you arrive, just in case there are any issues due to weather etc. No need to book your bus tickets to the national park in advance, you can just arrive 15 mins before departure time

Grab a cup of tea for this one folks, its long!

Argentina – Bariloche

We flew from Mendoza to Bariloche, you can get a 20 hour bus but we thought the £40 flight was worth the money! We arrived in the afternoon and once we had checked into Hostel Achalay, we headed out to wander around the town. We were luckily enough to have stunning sunshine and the town is pretty with its Bavarian-style architecture and mountain-surrounded lake. There were people tanning on the pebble beach, drinking in the bars and eating in the cafes. In the evening we grabbed burgers at Belek and then bought food at the supermarket to make for our lunch the following day. Before bed, we drank some wine and played a couple rounds of monopoly deal, this was soon becoming our routine!

In the morning we were up early and got an Uber to the airport to pick up our car for the day, we were going to do the road trip named the ‘7 Lakes’. Funnily enough, the point is to see the 7 lakes next to Bariloche! We had tried to hire a car in town (only Hertz allow you to hire for less than 3 days) but they were charging $200 for the day! Luckily we got one at the airport for $70 and the taxi there is only $8. Our first stop on the trip was to the town of Villa La Angostura. This is about 1.5 hour from Bariloche and here we grabbed coffees and a sweet treat to keep us going for the rest of the drive. Our next stop was at Lago Espejo for a swim as it had a cute pebble beach. For lunch we decided to drive all the way up to Lago Traful but then couldn’t find the beach… There is no signal out there so make sure you pin everywhere you want to go on Maps.Me before you leave town! It didn’t matter too much though as we stopped at Lago Faulkner instead, had lunch on the beach, tanned and swam. We did forget half our lunch in the hostel fridge but thankfully we had enough snacks to tide us over! Throughout the whole day we stopped at many view points, they are really easy to spot along the roads. If you’re looking to do this trip we found this blog to be very helpful!

It was a long day (shout out to Nia for driving for 6 hours!) and once back at the hostel we gave ourselves a tight 30min turn around to be back out for dinner, I was starving after only having the salad half of our planned lunch. We went to Carnero for a steak and it was delicious, I would highly recommend. Another night of wine and Monopoly deal followed, with us even staying up past midnight – can you believe it!?

We had a longer lie the next morning, grabbed more cash and then jumped on the local bus to the bike hire shop for the Circuito Chico. The bus is easy to use, just buy and load a SUBE card at one of the connivence stores, you can use 1 card for multiple people and the same card can be used for all public transport throughout Argentina. Circuito Chico is a ~30km cycle circuit around Lago Perito Moreno, our hostel helped us reserve our bikes with Circuito Chico Adevnture when we arrived as it is high season and they can run out! You can pay extra for an e-bike but we wanted to make things harder for ourselves so didn’t bother. One thing I will say though is if you’re not into cycling, maybe get an e-bike as there are hills. A lot of hills. And they are steep. The first hill nearly made me turn around after 4km.

Luckily, about 6km in you stop at the Patagonia Brewery which felt like a well-earned break (even though we were only a fraction of the way into the loop). They have a picturesque beer garden overlooking the lake and serve cold beers and burgers. If you want, you can do tours there and there is a proper restaurant. In fact, you could spent the full day here and the thought did cross our minds but in the end, we had 1 pint and continued on our journey.

The next stop was only a couple of kilometres away and was a hot dog stand. Definitely stop here before continuing on as its the last place you can get food for about 15km! They are delicious hot dogs to be fair and when we were fuelled up, we pressed on. For some reason, the rest of the cycle didn’t feel as bad as the first hill.

Perhaps it was all psychological and the shock of the inclines had subsided, or we were getting stronger – either way, the remaining 20km flew by and, although sweaty and panting, we all made it to the end with a sense of achievement!

We jumped on the bus back into town and even though we had planned to go out for Mexican food, instead we grabbed a quick drink at Manush, a micro brewery in town and had a charcuterie board plus some fried chicken. This was supposed to be a snack but was huge so ended up being enough! It was an early night for all of us.

Bariloche Summary

• Length of stay: 3-5 nights, we only stayed 3 but could have stayed longer
• Where to stay: Hostel Achalay was lovely – great location, good rooms, free breakfast and decent kitchens.
• Itinerary: Day 1 – Explore town, Day 2 – Circuito Chico, Day 3 – 7 Lakes road trip, Day 4 – Hike to Refugio Fray (we didn’t have time to do this but was next on our list!)
• Top tip: You could easily spend a week here, the scenery is stunning and there is so much you can do. This isn’t a stop to miss! Also, getting cash here was a lot easier than Mendoza it Buenos Aires so stock up here if needed, there was a Western Union 2 minutes from our hostel.

Chile – Puerto Varas

So, we only really went to Peurto Varas as it was the easiest way to get Puerto Natales (the gateway to Torres del Paine). You can get a relatively inexpensive internal flight down Chile instead of flying back up to Buenos Aires or Santiago and back down again. The bus from Bariloche is only £30 and is easy enough, we got the 10am bus and had no issues.

We arrived into Puetro Varas around 4pm and walked to MaPatagonia Hostel. This was one of the nicest hostels we had stayed at so I would highly recommend! It was a converted house so had lovely chill-out spaces with tables, sofas, log burners and tons of games you could borrow. It also had 2 large and well stocked kitchens which is a dream in Chile as its so expensive. Once we had checked in we grabbed dinner and breakfast food from the supermarket, made dinner, drank wine and played some games. It was nice to have a chilled evening!

After breakfast the next morning, we walked into town. It was raining so already we weren’t in the mood to be outside too long, but also after Barlioche and knowing how much we’d be doing the next couple of days once we got to Torres del Paine, we wanted to be outside even less!

Puerto Varas as a town is fine, we preferred Bariloche but that’s just personal opinion (also probably swayed by the weather). There is loads you can do here if you want to, there are hikes, bike rides, hot springs, you can visit Volcán Osorno (normally you can see this from the town but it was too cloudy when we were there), I think you can also do boat trips on the lake. In the end though, we had a look at some local markets, went to the Puntilla view point and got an ice cream from Francois (10/10 and massive) before slinking back to the hostel for some down time. In the evening we made a huge lasanage, drank wine and played more games – are you starting to see a pattern here?

Puerto Varas Summary

• Length of stay: 1-2 nights, if you are short on time you can probably skip here
• Where to stay: MaPatagonia Hostel, it’s won best hostel in South America on Hostelworld twice! We loved it here
• Itinerary: Day 1 – Explore town & Hot Springs, Day 2 – a hike/bike ride/Volcán Orsono
• Top tip: You can skip Puetro Varas if you’re going to Bariloche or other parts of Patagonia, but it is a useful stepping stone to Torres del Paine as you’re already in Chile

Chile – Peutro Natales and Torres Del Paine

Our flight to Puetro Natales the next day wasn’t until 2pm so we whipped up a shashuka for breakfast before grabbing an Uber to the airport. The flight was only 2 hours so by 7pm we had landed, picked up the hire car, hired camping equipment, checked into the hostel, done the food shop for the next 3 days, bought our national park tickets and were in the kitchen making garlic bread and heating up our leftover lasanage.

We stayed at Lili-Patagónicos partly because they offered camping equipment hire. The hostel was lovely, with good sized rooms, hot showers and a good kitchen, but they had run out of hire equipment! It wasn’t a problem though as Yagan House down the road had plenty so we picked up walking poles and sleeping bags from them.

As we weren’t doing the main treks (the W or the O), we hired a car so that we could do parts of it. Our plan was to do the first and half of the second day, as well as the last day of the W trek, which included the Grey Glacier and the famous Towers (Las Torres). Honestly, this was enough walking for me, I was knackered after both days!

In the morning we packed up the car slightly later than planned and raced to Estancia Pudeto to get the 9am ferry to the start of the Grey Glacier trek. We made it just in time which was needed as our plan had been to hike to the Refugio Grey (where people doing the W stay on their first or last night, depending on which direction you go) and then back to catch the last ferry at 6:30pm. The hike would have been 24km in a total which is hard to do in 8 hours if you actually want to enjoy any of it! We managed to get about 1km away from the Refugio before we had to turn back, I think that’s pretty good going!

Once back at the car we drove for 30 mins to our accommodation for the evening, Cabanas Lago Tyndall set against the Serrano river. This place was amazing! We had booked the Canabanas as it was one of the cheapest options in the area and it was perfect, 2 twin rooms with a bathroom, kitchen and small living room. Our own little house in the middle of the valley, surrounded by stunning views of the national park. We were all pretty tired so made a very basic egg fried rice for dinner, had long hot showers and relaxed for the evening.

After breakfast we drove to the visitors centre at the start of the Las Torres hike, stopping at view points along the way. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. The whole drive through the park, let alone the hikes, were insane, I didn’t really know what to expect but it wasn’t scenery like this. You see blue glacier filled lagoons, rolling green hills against sharp black and white mountains separated by winding rivers glistening in the sun. No way I can describe it or any pictures I have taken will do it justice, it’s just one of those things you have to see for yourself.

We had booked the Las Torres Refugio Chileno which is half way up the hike to the towers. We had done this so that we could split the way up up into 2 x 2 hour stints. I know it may sound lazy but otherwise to do the full hike in a day would take 10 hours and honestly, we weren’t in that much of a rush. We parked the car at the visitors centre, repacked our bags to fit our sleeping bags (we had booked basic camping which doesn’t supply them) and set off up the hill. Although the hike up to Chileno was quite steep, the time passed quickly and before we knew it we were there.

The Chileno Refugio was lovely, its next a river and as we were so lucky with the weather, we could sit out in the sun, have a cold beer and relax for the afternoon. We had also been upgraded which was good (really cool elevated tents with a foam base and storage pockets) and bad (they provided sleeping bags so we had hired and carried them for no reason!). No but really we were very happy to have been upgraded and not just in a basic tent on a wooden platform. After impressively hot showers, we sat down for dinner. We had booked half-board here (dinner & breakfast) as we didn’t know what would be available and had heard stories that the food can run out by 5pm as they bring everything up on horses, so once its done, its done! We were served soup, salmon and lemon pie so can’t complain. If you have the chance, stay at this refugio, its stunning.

We set off just after 4am the next morning for a sun-rise towers hike. The hike takes around 2 hours but we gave ourselves nearly 3 to beat the sun there, we should have stuck to 2! The hike is only 4.5km and the first 3km are relavtively easy, the last 1.5km will take you an hour. It’s steep and there are lots of big rocks you need to clamber over. Saying that, on the way back down, in the light, it didn’t seem half as bad as it did at 5am in the pitch black! It didn’t help that both mine and Nia’s torches died so we only had 2 between the 4 of us. Either way, we made it up just after 6am, put on all the clothes we had (it was freezing at the top), and waited for the sun. The towers themselves were spectacular but when the sun came up and they glowed red, that was really special.

We stayed at the towers for an hour before heading back down in order to grab breakfast before it shut at 9am. We got there with 15mins to spare and were glad for it, we were starving! It felt good having 3/4 of the days hike done by 9am but the pause for breakfast caused us all to seize up and blisters to grow! The final walk back to the car felt like a long slog, even though it was 90% downhill and only took an hour and a half! It felt so good to take off our boots once we had got back to the visitors centre. We bought a couple souvenirs and then drove back to Puerto Natales. It was a quick operation of checking back into Lilli-Patagónicos, dropping the car and camping hire stuff off and repacking our bags to leave for El Calafate in the morning. Once clean and ready, we went for a pizza at Pizzeria Napoli which was decent, even if it was a bit too cheesy. After that, we basically went to bed, it was 7pm.

Puerto Natales & Torres del Paine Summary

• Length of stay: How long you stay really depends on how you want to do Torres Del Paine, the W takes 5 days, the O 8-10 days and you only need 1 night in Puerto Natales either side of this. Many day trips also leave from Puerto Natales so you could only do a couple of hikes if that’s your preference and come back to your hostel each night.
• Where to stay: In Peutro Natalas, Lilli-Patigonicos has everything you need. If you can, stay at the Chileno Refugio do – its a really cool spot and everyone on the hike stops here for a drink as a minimum. I would also recommend the Cabanas Tyndall we stayed in. It’s only a 40 min drive from the Grey Glacier ferry (only 5 minutes once you leave the park), so it’s a good base for that side of the park. They also have a hotel and camping options.
• Itinerary: Go to TDP, any which way you prefer. If you only want to do 1 hike, do the The Towers Hike.
• Top tip: If you only want to hike parts, hiring a car is the best way to see TDP. We only really did 2 full days of hiking but having the ability to drive and stop off at any point for the views and pictures, plus being able to spend a couple nights in the park itself were amazing.

Argentina – El Calafate

The bus from Puerto Natales to El Calafate was easy, we booked Bus-Sur through BusBud and it took 6 hours including the border crossing – we were finally leaving Chile behind!

We arrived at America del Sur hostel in the afternoon and spent the rest of the evening at the hostel, it was nice having time to do nothing! They had a BBQ on at the hostel which included unlimited meat, chips, salad and a glass of wine for £20. More than we were paying in Mendoza but is as to be expected in Patagonia. The hostel was lovely, big open chill space, a garden with hammocks, a bar/restaurant and they can help you book tours. It was a bit expensive so we stayed in a dorm but the beds were comfy and each bed has a charging port and shelf to put your phone etc. We definitely ended up drinking more than we had planned that evening but when the wine is £7 a bottle from the bar, it’s hard not to!

The 7am wake up the next morning for the Mini-Trekking was a hard one. This was one of the most expensive things we had booked ($250pp) but its worth it. First of all, the tour company Hielo y Adventura were so good, the trip ran like clockwork! The transfer picked us up ontime at 8am and took us to the coach, we then drove 1.5 hours to the Moreno Glacier view point. Here you can do walks of varying lengths or just chill out on the viewing platform to see the glacier. This glacier is massive! It’s the second largest in the world, spanning 250 square km. It’s hard to describe its vastness.

After a couple of hours at the viewpoint we were taken down to the boat which you spend 20-30 mins on to get to the other side of the lake, again, amazing views of the glacier and if you’re lucky you can see carvings fall off into the lake. Up until 2020 the glacier was at a steady-state – ie. Enough snow/ice was being produced to allow for parts to fall off at the front without it affecting the size of the glacier. Unfortunately, since 2020 its been retreating – 3 guesses as to why! Therefore, although the carvings are cool to see, you feel a bit guilty and don’t really want to see too many.

Once on the other side of the lake you move onto the main event, which is walking on the ice. The tour give you helmets and crampons (I’d never worn these before!) and you spend 1.5 hours on the ice, ending with a glass of whisky (or water) with a glacier ice cube. It was a very cool experience, they show you different features of the ice, such as rivers, sink holes, lagoons and cracks. The intense blue colour takes you by surprise, it just doesn’t feel real. After the walk we were back on the boat, bus and back at the hostel by 6:30pm. It was a long but fantastic day. By the time we were home we were starving so had the hostel BBQ again which didn’t disappoint.

Lewis had a 5:40am wake up the next morning as he was doing a day trip to hike Mt. Fitz Roy (the mountain the Patagonia logo is based off). I had bruised my ankle in Torres Del Paine so couldn’t walk another 20km, this was a blessing in disguise as there was only 1 space left on the transfer! Most people do this trek (and others) from El Chalten but it didn’t fit in with our plan so a 2 hour bus from El Calafate was the next best opinion. This hike is supposed to be one of the most beautiful in Patagonia and Lewis confirmed as much, saying it rivals Las Torres! I was sad to have missed it but it wasn’t meant to be.

Nia, Charlie and I had a lie in, grabbed breakfast and then went into town for a coffee. We stopped at Calafate Coffee Roasters which actually did have fantastic coffee and juices. Just to rub my relaxed day into Lewis more, I went and got a massage at Masajes Terapéuticos Harmony. I just messaged them on Google and they fit me in an hour later. I had a 60 min full body massage and it was only £21, absolute bargain. I spent the rest of the day catching up on admin, including booking an airport transfer through the hostel (only £5pp so would recommend) and planning our time in Rio.

Sadly, Nia and Charlie left in the afternoon for their flight to Buenos Aires so I had to keep myself busy until Lewis got back at 9pm. Then it was a quick turn around to repack bags and get ourselves ready for our 5am airport transfer for our flight to Ushuaia.

And just like that, our time in Patagonia was over. We did so much but there is so much more we could have done, I will definitely be back.

One big tip I have for anyone planning their trip to Patagonia is book everything months in advance. Things get booked up so early, especially in the summer months (Nov-March). As a bare minimum, book your Torres del Paine accommodation (particularly if you’re doing the W or the O) and the Mini-Trekking/Big Ice for the Moreno Glacier. Nearly all hikes can be done without a guide so just make sure you know where you’re staying!

El Calafate Summary

• Length of stay: Similar to Torres Del Paine, how long you stay really depends on what hikes you want to do. There is loads you can do here but the main attraction is the Moreno Glacier, so at a minimum, 2 nights.
• Where to stay: America Del Sur hostel is the best hostel you’ll find here!
• Itinerary: Day 1 – Explore town, Day 2 – Moreno Glacier (the view point, the Mini-Trekking or the Big Ice trek are the 3 main options for this), if you have extra time you can loads of other trips and treks, the hostel can help you book all of them
• Top tip: The Mini-Trekking is expensive but worth it, remember to bring warm clothes, especially gloves as they are mandatory on the ice! If you want to spend longer on the ice and want an overall longer hike, go with the Big Ice.

We loved Mendoza. We found it such a sharp contrast from Santiago which was a bit rough around the edges and where you wouldn’t to walk alone at night. Instead Mendoza has tree-lined streets, beautiful weather, lovely parks and is filled with cheap restaurants and bars. That was another reason to love it, it’s in the heart of the Malbec wine region and a 250ml glass of good quality wine will cost you £1.50 and an amazing steak £6.

We got the bus from Santiago to Mendoza with AndesMar. Our bus left on time, the boarder was a bit bizarre but easy enough (you don’t get a stamp which we found weird) and we even arrived early. One thing to note is we got stuck at Mendoza bus station with no way to figure out where we were or get an uber to our hotel as there is no Wi-Fi and neither of us had a sim that worked! We managed to buy a Claro sim at the bus station and while we waiting for that to be activated we found a McDonalds that had fast Wi-Fi. I was pretty excited to get here because as we were half way through our trip we decided to treat ourselves to a hotel (!) The Fuente Mayor Hotel Centro is a bog-standard 3 star hotel but it was in a great location next to Independence Plaza and even just having AC after Rapa Nui felt like a luxury.

Once we had checked in and freshened up, we went for a Valentines meal. We went to El Asadito for steak and wine and it did not disappoint! I was so happy to finally have a glass of decent white wine (yes I know Mendoza is famous for red but the heart wants what the heart wants). On the hunt for more wine we went to Aristides Villanuava which is lined with loads of bars. We sat at Aristopia and had 4 larges glass of wine for £5 – as you can see, I’m still not over the prices.

The next day was exciting as Nia and Charlie were arriving! We did some admin during the day, including getting our nails done, Lewis loves a pedicure. The main thing we had to figure out was how to get cash. As the Argentinean economy is in turmoil and the exchange rate changes every day, nearly everything is done in cash and the ATMs don’t really work. The easiest way to do it is to open a Westen Union account (you can do it on the app) and then move money into this account. The first time you move money in they dont charge you so get A LOT, like £400-500. We only got £300 and it wasn’t enough, we had pretty much run out by the time we left Mendoza as the hostel wanted paid in cash. Once you have money in the account, go to the many Western Union places in the city (they can be in small shops, big banks, literally anywhere), queue up (there will be a queue) and then hope the one you chose has enough cash to give you! We got it relatively easy and are very thankful to the girl who told us how to do this when we were in San Pedro! My other tip is to bring a backpack with you, the notes are small in value so you will have ton of cash, it may not fit in a bumbag. We tanned by the pool once we’d done all our chores and in the evening we met Nia and Charlie for dinner at La Rosadita for, you guessed it, steak and wine. It was a really nice evening with more drinks on Aristides Villanuava – great to have someone else to talk to after 6 weeks of it being just us!

In the morning we checked out of our hotel and moved into Gorilla Hostel with the other two. Gorilla is a bit more expensive than your average hostel but was worth it. We chilled most of the day, grabbing a coffee and a salad from Gomet for lunch. In the evening we did the ‘Gaucho Experience’ which consists of horse riding and asado (Argentinean BBQ). When you’re in Mendoza you need to do this, it was so much fun! We booked through the hostel so i’m not sure what operator it was but they were amazing. I’m not really a horse person but they take you out for about an hour and a half into the beautiful countryside in the Andes and then bring you back for a mountain of food and red wine. The food was incredible, I can’t even describe how tasty the meat was and they had bread with Chimichurri which was to die for. They then created a campfire and we all sat around drinking wine and they sang traditional Argentinian songs (in Spanish) as well as a couple of English ones (Hey Jude). We got back to the hostel at 11:30pm, had a nightcap and headed to bed. It was a really fun evening, I would highly recommend.

On our final day in Mendoza we did the famous cycling vineyard tour. This is an absolutely must do when in Mendoza. All you need to go is grab some friends, jump in an uber to Maipu Bikes and they will explain everything. They will give you a map of all the vineyards in the area which details the price of each wine tasting and what it includes. My only advice would be to go to the furthest vineyard away first and make your way back because the first bike ride feels long! The wine tastings only cost about £3-4 on average and the bike hire £6 for the day. Also, they have happy hour at the bike rental from 5-6pm with free wine! Our favourite place was MEVI as the wine tasting felt the most extensive and they have a lovely outdoor terrace looking over the vineyards, the olive oil tasting at Entre Olivos was really tasty and we did the vineyard tour at Domiciano which is only about half an hour and definitely worth doing, just keep an eye on the time as the last tour in English is at 4:30pm. We actually ran out of time and had to skip one of the wineries, so make sure you start early! I would advise getting to the bike shop before 11am.

By the time we got home we were starving, you can buy food at the vineyards but we didn’t have enough time to have more than nibbles. We quickly dropped our bags and went our for a fat steak at Estancia La Pasión. Nia and Charlie shared a 800g one and I’ve never seen anything so large in my life. I even surprised myself for eating a 500g rib eye on my own! Even though we were stuffed we went next door to Famiglia Perin for an ice cream. This place is supposed to be the best ice cream in Mendoza and it did not disappoint, their mint choc chip was delicious. Just as we were ready to head back to the hostel a storm hit and the whole road became flooded in an instant. Somehow, we managed to call in uber and waded through knee deep water and torrential rain into the car! Despite the insane weather, it was a fantastic day, probably one of my favourites so far.

Mendoza Summary

• Length of stay: 4-6 nights
• Where to stay: Gorilla hostel was really good with beds with curtains, lights and plug sockets. But anywhere near Independence Plaza or Aristides Villanuava will be good.
• Itinerary: Day 1 – Explore town, Day 2 – horse riding, Day 3 – Vineyard cycling tour, Day 4/5/6 – chill days (hostel has a pool), there are also loads of other vineyard tours you can do with big lunches, paragliding etc.
• Top tip: Drink and eat as much as you can, its so good and so cheap.

I would like to start by saying us going to Rapa Nui was a very last minute decision and because its so expensive, plus that fact we had to to be in Mendoza on a specific date, we only went for 2 nights. Looking back, it may seem mad for somewhere a 4.5 hour flight away but honestly, although most people we spoke to were spending 4-5 days, 2 was all we needed to see the main sites. Also, there is only 1 flight there a day (from Santiago with LATAM) and it arrives before lunch, and the flight out leaves in the afternoon so you will always have a couple extra half days.

Due to the crazy price of the flights, we went super budget for the accommodation, staying at a campsite (Mohevia Camping) a 30 min walk from the town (we did stay in the dorm room and not a tent, thank god). The accommodation itself was fine, although the humidity is crazy and there was no fan or AC in the room. If I was to go again I definitely wouldn’t stay more than a 10/15 min walk from the main town, Hanga Roa, as we were 30 mins away and there are basically no taxi’s on the island so your only option is to walk or hire a bike or a car.

As I mentioned in my Santiago post, we also brought a lot of food from Santiago to cook as it’s much more expensive on the island and we didn’t have any problems, although some people were getting randomly searched on their way in so make sure you don’t have any fresh fruit & veg with you!

After we had arrived and checked into the hostel, we got our swimmers on and walked into town to a small bay/large rock pool near the centre of town. To our amazement, there were 3 huge turtles just chilling in the water and you could just swim around them! Once I could feel myself getting sunburnt (even factor 50 couldn’t protect me here), we grabbed coffee at Nena’s Speciality Coffee and then walked up to see where the festival stage was.

The Tapati festival was the other reason we just couldn’t turn down the opportunity of going to Rapa Nui. This festival is on for 2 weeks in February each year and is a celebration of local talents and traditions, all shows being completely free. There is a stage with seating, food stalls and shops. There are events on throughout the day but we went for the evening show which was supposed to be an accordion competition and then dancing. We didn’t even make it to the dancing, after 6 bad accordion players we gave up…Saying that, the sunset from the festival was beautiful although its crazy that the sun doesn’t set till 9pm. I felt as if I was putting on sun cream to go to bed!

The next day was the main event, we had booked a full day tour with Hahave to see the Moai (the big heads!). If you’re on a tight schedule I would recommend a 1-day tour, we saw everything we wanted to see and they took us to what is supposed to be the most beautiful beach on the island for a couple of hours at the end (Anakena). I really enjoyed learning about the history of these huge figures. They were representations of strong/important men in a village once they had died, with their bones being buried near them. They were built to act as protectors – that’s why they always face into the island towards the village they are protecting and not out to sea. Once we understood the ‘why’, the tour took us to the mine/factory to show us the ‘how’. It’s a really interesting part of the island, probably my favourite place on the tour. There were so many Moai in different stages of development and you can see the process they used to carve them out of the rock and transport them around the island. That evening we went out for a delicious meal at Le Frits – I had a ceviche empanada and a couple of margaritas. It was a great day!

On our final morning in Rapa Nui, we got up early before to beat the heat and hiked up the Rano Kau crater. The hike up only takes about an hour and the view of the crater is well worth it, created when a volcano exploded and now hosts a rainfall fresh water lake. After our hike back down we made the rest of our food and got ready for our flight back to Santiago. As I mentioned, it was a flying visit and there is so much more you can do on the island but we didn’t have time – also I needed out the sun for a couple of days!

Rapa Nui Summary

• Length of stay: 2-4 nights
• Where to stay: anywhere near Hanga Roa so you can walk easily to places. Hostal Vi’eroto looked good and was in a central location.
• Itinerary: Day 1 – Explore town, Day 2 – day tour round the Maoi, Day 3 – beach/diving day, Day 4 – walk/hike to the crater or hire a bike and visit more Moai
• Top tip: If you are there in the summer it is really hot, wear factor 50 and carry a mini fan with you wherever you go! If you are staying out of town, hire a bike for the duration of your stay, there are lots of places near Hanga Roa. Also, bring food from Santiago so you can cook here for cheap. The restaurants are quite expensive, just be careful with fresh fruit and veg as Chile is really strict.

San Pedro de Atacama

The contrast in temperature between the Bolivian side of the desert and the Chilean side was insane. When we got dropped off at the bus terminal it was boiling and stayed that way the entire time we were in San Pedro – it didn’t even really get cool at night!

From the bus station it was a 10 minute walk to our hostel, Backpackers San Pedro. We ended up really liking this hostel, it was small and rustic but the staff were so lovely and its really easy to meet people. The check in process was extensive with them explaining every tour and you get to try all their traditional Chilean herbs and sauces. As a lot of the tours involve going out into the desert (which we had just done) so we didn’t book any apart from the hot springs. The prices ($30 for a 30 min transfer!) were also a shock to the system after Bolivia! On our first day we had lunch at La Troja, which was actually lovely, had delicious fresh lemonade and was relatively inexpensive for Chile. Then as the hostel had 4 kitchens we went to the supermarket to grab stuff for dinner, breakfasts and lunches.

That evening the hostel put on some Pisco lessons and then we all went out to a club called Lolas. This was actually a really fun night and we would have stayed longer but we were so tired from the 4am wake up that we bailed at 1am.

The next morning we had a long lie and then went to a sports bar (ChelaCabur) to watch the Scotland-Wales six nations game. This bar played heavy rock music but actually had a great selection of beers and ciders – I found an Argentinian cider I really liked! In the afternoon we got cash and a SIM card and then had more piscos in the hostel. I got a 30 day, 40GB Movistar SIM for £5, it was very easy. Everyone was a bit tired from the previous night so we just chilled in the hostel that evening and got fried chicken and an empanada from Girasol Food Truck round the corner, delicious!

On our second full day in San Pedro, we went to a French backey called La Franchuteria. They had fantastic coffee, croissants and sandwiches – one place you 100% need to go to. We made some packed lunches with a baguette back at the hostel as we were heading to the hot springs in the afternoon. Now, these are more ‘warm springs’ around 30 degrees, but as it’s so hot you’re thankful for some coolness! We went to the proper paid for springs (Puritama) but you can go to free ones. We decided to go to these as they have a picnic zone, changing rooms and there are 8 different pools you can go in connected by small waterfalls – its really pretty! We had heard the free one is quite a walk from the car park and is much smaller. The tour was expensive (30 for the transfer and 35 for entrance) but as we weren’t doing loads of tours we thought it was worth it.

That evening the wind was insane and there was dust and sand everywhere so a lot of restaurants shut really early. Thankfully we had bought food from the supermarket to cook! We were supposed to go star gazing but it was cancelled because of the cloud cover – this was the one thing we really wanted to do and it had been cancelled every night since we got to San Pedro.

The next morning we got up early, hired bikes and cycled to the Devil’s throat (Cartarpe Valley). This is a stunning canyon and you can cycle all the way through it until you get to a view point. It’s about a 20 min hike uphill to the viewpoint but it was so worth it! The whole trip took about 3 hours and only cost us $15 each ($7 for the biked and $5 for entry to the park).

It was getting hot by the time we were back in town so made a bee-line to Babalu ice cream shop. The ice cream there is banging, I got a Menta chip and Chanar Chip (a local fruit) and Lewis got a fresh lemon juice.

In the afternoon we ended up booking a trip to Easter Island! We weren’t planning to go because its quite a way out the way (a 4 hour flight from Santiago) and expensive, but there were forest fires in Valparaiso where we were planning to go after Santiago so had to have a change of plan. Also, its a once in a lifetime trip right?

After a small empanada dinner at Empiro Andino (they have the best empanada and milkshakes!), the hostel had a beer night – basically free tinnies in a bucket but we’ll take it! The star gazing was also finally went ahead! They pushed it back later in the evening to 10:30pm as the sky seemed to be clearing later on than usual. We went with the proper star gazing tour by the Meteor museum even though it was quite expensive ($30), it was worth the money. They take you out into the desert where they have a small observatory centre. There were comfy pallets you could lay down on while they explained the constellations with lasers, they then take your picture with long exposure to get the stars, you get a coffee/hot chocolate and a snack and then you look through 2 different telescopes. One of the telescopes was insane – we looked at one of the ‘stars’ in Orion (actually a nebula) and you could see all the gas in different colours, it almost seemed fake! You also get a picture of this nebula on the night you were there to take home. You get back just after 1am and it was straight to bed for us.

On our final full day in San Pedro, we went back to the french bakery for a coffee and a croissant and then spent the rest of the day at Hostel Lomas Sanchez where you can use their pool for $6. In the evening it actually rained which is insane for somewhere that gets less than 1cm of a rain a year! We got a take away pizza from Pizzeria El Charrua, a bottle of wine and watched a film. We spent the next morning getting ready to head to the airport. The best way to get there is the airport transfer which costs $15pp, your hostel can help you book it or you can do it directly online here. If you are getting the transfer, my advice would be to book it quite early as it can get full and if it is full, you’ll be paying $70-$100 for a private taxi!

San Pedro de Atacama Summary

• Length of stay: 2-4 Nights
• Where to stay: We really enjoyed our time at Backpackers because it was really social and easy to meet people but it is basic. The are other hostels closer to town and some with pools but I didn’t hear of any being better than others.
• Itinerary: Day 1 – Explore the town, try out bars and restaurants, Day 2 – Desert trip (Moon Vally, Vallecito Magic Bus or Catarpe), Day 3 – Water trip (Balitanche Lagoon or the Puritama Hot Springs.). Try to do the stargazing every night in case its cancelled!
• Top tip: There are so many more tours you can do, but if you are doing the Bolivian slat flats a lot of it is very similar (the desert landscape, lagoons (although you can’t swim in them) and the geysers) so pick wisely. Also, if you have a group of you, it’s a lot cheaper to hire a car and pay entrance fees instead of individual tours, West Rent A Car seemed to be the best one in town.

Santiago

We arrived late into Santiago so jumped in an uber to our hostel. Top tip: If you’re getting an Uber from Santiago airport, go to Expreso 1, Floor 2 and message your driver in app – otherwise you will be looking for them for ages!

We stayed at Hostel Providencia which was great, it’s a huge hostel but they have events on every night and 2 kitchens. On the night we arrived they had a man making crepes in the courtyard and were just about to go out to a club – I got a crepe for my dinner but passed on the club.

The next morning we went on the walking tour with ‘Tours 4 Tips’. They run a ‘off-the-beaten track’ one at 10am and a ‘Highlights’ one at 3pm, as we were up early we went to the 10am one. Both tours start at the Art Museum and they are really easy to spot as they are wearing ‘Where’s Wally’ tops.

Our tour included exploring the Esmeralda Neighbourhood (the poorer side of the city), local markets (Tiso de Molina and Le Vega) and the cemetery which we went to via metro. The cemetery was really cool as it’s like a city within a city with these crazy graves. It was also really helpful that they took us on the metro as they showed us how to buy and load a ‘Bip!’ travel card and getting round on the metro is super easy. Overall the tour was good but I do wish it had included more of the main sites, we know we could have also gone to the 3pm tour but one walking tour per city was enough! The guides were good though and everyone tipped 10,000-20,000 Pesos per person.

After the tour we got the metro to the Museum of Memory and Human Rights but before heading in, we needed to find food. We ended up at Fuente Mardoqueo which was an apparently classic lunch spot, it gave weirdly German vibes and what we didn’t realise was the size of the sandwiches. If you go, get one to share and dont get mayonnaise – the chicken & avo sandwich was smothered and it was very ofputting, I only managed a quarter of it.

Now solidly in a food coma, we walked into the museum. I would recommend going to this museum as it discusses the military coup, the dictatorship and forced disappearances. It’s quite a somber experience and a lot of it is in Spanish (I just used a translate app on my phone), but its a really important part of Chile’s history. That evening, we had a couple of Piscos at the hostel bar and went to bed when it shut, I was still so full from lunch I couldn’t stomach any dinner (or going out!).

As our previous day involved a lot of walking in baking heat, we wanted to do something that wasn’t so sweaty. We decided to get the funicular up San Cristobal hill – you can see the figure towering over Santiago. There is actiuallly loads you can do here, we only got a return journey on the funicular which was nice enough in itself, boasting great views fo the city, but you can also get a cable car, there are pools and a zoo… you could spend the whole day here is you wanted!

We had planned to go to Santa Lucia hill afterwards but seeming as we felt there wasn’t much more we’d be able to see from there, we instead stopped in the cool bar area of Bellavista for a drink. We went to El Palacio de la Chorrillana which do delicious frozen lemonade, they really hit the spot. That evening we finally went out with the hostel! They had a bar crawl on which was free drinks for an hour and then a free shot in each of the 4 bars/clubs you went to. There was a huge crowd as lots of other hostels comes to Providencia for the bar crawl – it was actually a lot of fun! My only advice would be to get an uber back after dark, Santiago isn’t the safest of cities.

As you can imagine, our final day in Santiago was a chilled one. We mainly spent the day getting ready for our flight to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) which included going to the supermarket as we had been warned that food on the island was expensive and we were trying to do this on the cheap! We were supposed to go our for a nice dinner in the Barrio Lastarria area which is supposed to be really nice, but ended up getting a McDonalds instead.. sorry!

Santiago Summary

• Length of stay: 2-3 Nights
• Where to stay: I would recommend Hostal Providencia – good location and vibes.
• Itinerary: Day 1 – Historical walking tour & Memory Museum, Day 2 – Cemetery, Barrio Lastarria & Santa Lucia hill, Day 3 – San Cristobal hill & Bellavista
• Top tip: Get a Bip! Card if you’re going to be using the Metro, its only about £1.50 and if you load it with £5 that should cover you for your time there! (Each trip one way is about 75p).

La Paz

Now, on the drive into La Paz I was getting a bit worried. The outskirts of the city look like a war zone… decrepit buildings, hardly any street lights and there was even a couple of tires on fire at the side of the road. However, on our first day we went on a walking tour and it was the best thing we could have done!

We booked our tour through the hostel which use a company called Altitude. Unlike all the other walking tours, this one wasn’t free (35 Bolvianos) but it was by far the best we’ve been on! Our guide, Berni, spoke fantastic English and the focus of his tour was to get us to understand what its like to be a Bolivian living in La Paz. He, of course, took us to all the main spots – Murillo Square, San Francisco church the Witches market, Rodriguez market and San Pedro prison, but the stories he told about their history, their culture and some of the more taboo subjects (human sacrifices that apparently still go on in rural towns) was incredibly interesting. He told us about the human scarifies which are an offering to Pachamama (Mother Nature), while we were in the Witches Market with dried lama foetuses hanging by our heads, take that as you will. He also gave us local phrases to use when bartering for prices and how to flip off drivers if they’re being aggressive, which apparently happens quite often (you call them lamas).

Also, in January they have a huge fair in town (Alasitas Fair). Part of it is to buy offerings for the gods – this is called the market of tiny tings – you can literally get anything in miniature version e.g. a car, money, a specific job (acted by ants) and even a specific degree you’re looking to obtain. The second part of the fair is full of games, shops and places to eat. We tried a couple of the games and then our guide took us to get an Api, a cheese filled pastry, and their traditional drink Tojori. The Api was delicious, the Tojori less so – it was made from purple corn and a custard like substance and was warm!

The tour ended with a cocktail class back in the hostel making a traditional Bolivian cocktail called Chuflay. This is their national spirit (Singani) with smashed strawberry and lime, ice and ginger ale – they were really refreshing, I was a fan. The hostel had a BBQ on so we grabbed food there and then headed out to a bar – it was a really great first day in La Paz.

The next morning we had a long lie and then did some fun bits (like book tours and do laundry) before going to the Cholitas Wrestling show – traditional Bolivian woman wrestling! If you’re in La Paz, you have to go to this show. It’s so funny and gets so aggressive, I didn’t know what was going on most of the time but it was very entertaining. The locals get very involved which adds to the hilarity. We had an early night that night as we were up early for Death Road the next day.

Death Road

Now Death Road is an experience but one thing it is not, is scary. It’s called Death Road because it used to be the main road connecting La Paz to the Bolivian Amazon and its a pretty sketchy road if you’re in a car or a bus and lots of people died driving it, but, you’re on a bike which is significantly smaller! As long as you don’t get cocky, it’s pretty safe.

We booked through South Treks by sending them a WhatsApp but as with most things in South America, we didn’t actually end up going with this operator and instead Red Line picked us up from the hostel in the morning.

To be honest, the tour was very well run. They picked us up from the hostel, we had a short stop on the way up the mountain to grab water and snacks and then made it to the top at around 9:30am.

It was absolutely freezing at the top so make sure to bring warm clothes! Here they gave us elbow and knee pads, full protective outfits, gloves and helmets before we jumped on the bikes. The first part of the cycling is probably the scariest because you’re not on Death Road yet, you’re on the new highway, so although the road is mostly lovely tarmac and smooth, there are cars and trucks flying past you – just keep to the side and you’ll be fine!

After about 15-20 minutes you turn off onto Death Road which is now not open to the general public. We had a snack at the top and got some photos before heading down. This road is not tarmac so is very bumpy – this is the most uncomfortable thing about the cycling and your hands will hurt but they stop every 15 mins or so to give you a break and regroup. The whole experience lasts around 5 hours and the scenery is stunning!

At the end they take you to a hotel (very random) where they give you lunch and you can swim in the pool for an hour or so, before the 3 hour drive back to La Paz. If I’m honest, I’m glad I did the trip just for the experience and the scenery but I wouldn’t be rushing back to to do it again! Lewis loved it though, I just don’t think I like mountain biking. That evening we were knackered so just got food in the hostel and went to bed.

The next day was a very admin filled day – as I mentioned, Bolivia is a fully cash economy, so we had to go get out so much money to pay our hostel bill. After check-out we went down back to San Pedro prison to listen to the talk by ‘Crazy Dave’. If you have read Marching Power, although Dave isn’t mentioned, he was in the prison at the same time as Rusty and has some crazy stories. He tells his story at 1pm in San Pedro square, just turn up and he will find you. He is an American drug addict that got done for drug smuggling but just go along and listen to his story, he’s a real showman. We then went grabbed a Pizza at Philly’s and went on the cable cars. We did a 45 min loop which gives great views of the city, each ride is 3 Bolivianos.

Once all of that was done it was time to head to our overnight bus to Uyuni where we were doing our salt flat tour from. We just booked our tour through the hostel but booked our bus separately as they didn’t use the bus company (Todo Turismo) we wanted to use. This was probably the best bus we’d been on in South America – the seats were comfy and reclined, they give you a meal, tea and chocolate. If you book this bus pay extra for the downstairs seats, its worth it. The only hiccup in our night was that there were protests on (Bolivians protest every other day against their corrupt government) so we had to change buses at 2am to avoid them, but it was fine as the buses pulled up next to each other and the staff moved all our bags. We heard from people who had got the bus the previous night that they had to walk for 20 minutes through the protests with their bags to get to the other bus, so we clearly lucked out.

La Paz Summary

• Length of stay: 3-4 Nights
• Where to stay: Wild Rover is a good place if you want to party, otherwise I heard that The Adventure Brew Hostel and The Rooftop were nice
• Itinerary: Day 1 – Walking tour, Day 2 – Cholita wrestling, Day 3 – Death Road, Day 4 – Crazy Dave and the cable cars
• Top tip: Get as much cash as you can at every opportunity, you’ll need it! Also doing the walking tour on the first day is a great way to get your bearings in this huge city.

The Salt Flats

We arrived early into Uyuni and our guide from the tour operator (Perla de Bolivia) was already there waiting for us. She walked us to a cafe where we could get breakfast and chill before the office opened. Once we made it to the office they gave us a briefing and we had half an hour to buy water etc. before setting off in the cars.

The first stop on the tour is the ‘Train Cemetery’ and it’s exactly as you imagine it to be. Basically, there used to be a huge amount of silver mining in Bolivia and during this time the British built trains to help move the cargo – once the silver ran out and tin was found to be more useful during the world wars, they abandoned the mines and the trains, leaving them to rot in the salty desert.

After lunch we headed onto the slat flats themselves. I’ve never seen a landscape like it – so white, so barren, so hot. We got all the classic perspective photos and drove through the flats until sunset. We didn’t get to our accommodation until 8pm, we were all tired, cold and hungry so it was dinner and then straight to bed! Side note, the food in Bolivia is not great – the food on this tour can’t even be compared to the Inka trail so bring some snacks!

On the second day you move from the salt flats into the desert. Again, such a cool landscape – it looks like you’re on another planet. You get to see loads of volcanoes, lagoons and flamingos! You spend a lot of the day in the car but the scenery makes it bearable.

It was a 5am wake up for the third and final day but it’s worth it. First you head to the geysers which are really cool, seeing the steam bellow up out from the ground was a first for me and then we went to the hot springs. It’s only 6 Bolivianos and such a lovely way to start the morning so definitely get in! We were also treated by flamingos in the pool next to us which was pretty special.

After that we headed to the Chilean boarder. If you’re not going to Chile the rest of your final day is an 8 hour drive back to Uyuni and most get the overnight bus back to La Paz, lucky we were going to San Pedro de Atacama!

Salt Flat Tour Summary

• Length of tour: You can do day trips, 2 days and 3 day tours. If you’re planning to go down into Chile or up into Bolivia, do the 3 day tour as its the easiest way to get across the border.
• Tour operators: We did ours through Perla de Bolivia and they were as expected, the accommodation was OK but the food was meh. I’m sure there are nicer operators out there but these guys were organised and our driver and guide were incredibly friendly.
• Top tip: Bring a lot of sun cream and your hat, but also a beanie and a jacket! The desert is wild.