Places to travel with kids in South America?

[Anonymous]

I know this is a very broad question, but I would love any ideas or personal experiences. We will be returning this summer from living in Europe for the past three years, with hopes of moving back in a few years. While we're back in the U.S. we'd like to explore South America. We're all history buffs, so places of cultural importance would be great. I do have some concerns about safety, so that is a consideration as well. I speak some Spanish (probably A2) and can handle basic transactions and interactions. Kids are 18, 14, and 9 for reference.

[Anonymous]

Peru -visit Macchu Picchu

[Anonymous]

Thank you! Will take a look at some itineraries!

[Anonymous]

We went to Bogota and Lima last summer. Bogota was ok, but didn’t feel as safe as Lima. Still we had some nice tours there. Montserrate was very cool We LOVED Lima. Great food, nice people, easy to walk around, lots of history and culture, and cheap. Temperature is around 70 all year. I would love to go back and explore Peru more.

[Anonymous]

Skip Argentina unless you like fascism!

[Anonymous]

Cartagena, Colombia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cartagena, Colombia.

I’m the Bogota/Lima poster. We had originally chosen Bogota/cartagena, but changed when we realized the weather in Cartagena in summer is super humid and hot. Maybe you don’t care about that, but just FYI

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you! Will take a look at some itineraries!

Ps None of us spoke Spanish and the guide at Macchu Picchu spoke very good English.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you! Will take a look at some itineraries!

Ps None of us spoke Spanish and the guide at Macchu Picchu spoke very good English.

Thank you! That's good to know!

Also, is there a better time of year to go or recommended amount of time to spend there? I'm wondering about summer break vs winter or spring break. I know the seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cartagena, Colombia.

I’m the Bogota/Lima poster. We had originally chosen Bogota/cartagena, but changed when we realized the weather in Cartagena in summer is super humid and hot. Maybe you don’t care about that, but just FYI

That is something to look at! I'm not a huge fan of hot weather. LOL . . . I'm actually somewhat dreading moving back to the DC area for that reason. While living in Europe, we've gone north in the summer and south in the winter. However, we'd really to experience other parts of the world too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went to Bogota and Lima last summer. Bogota was ok, but didn’t feel as safe as Lima. Still we had some nice tours there. Montserrate was very cool We LOVED Lima. Great food, nice people, easy to walk around, lots of history and culture, and cheap. Temperature is around 70 all year. I would love to go back and explore Peru more.

This sounds perfect! Thank you! Not a fan of heat but willing to endure it to experience unique places.

[Anonymous]

Another yes to Lima. Nice walking trail over the pacific with tons of playgrounds for younger kids. Great food.

More people spoke english in Lima than in Medellín Colombia

[Anonymous]

How do we have so many Lima lovers here just a few days after we had do many haters here? This is why I take this forum with a grain of salt

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1169544.page

[Anonymous]

Rio/Petropolis/Paraty/Ilha Grande in Brazil
Southern Brazil also has beaches/lots of European like towns/Jesuit ruins (you mentioned history).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do we have so many Lima lovers here just a few days after we had do many haters here? This is why I take this forum with a grain of salt

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1169544.page

I missed that post. For us, we had no expectations of Lima, but we were pleasantly surprised. Maybe because after Bogota it just seemed so safe and walkable. We did several walking tours and that helped us get a feel for the city and its history. In general, my family likes visiting cities more than smaller towns and “nature” so we enjoyed it.