Central/South America for a Romantic Getaway

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Re: Lima. DH and I adored it. We stayed at the Marriott in Miraflores and with the view of the beach and the prettiness of the area, it was romantic alright. I do think central Lima is a bit rundown (Miraflores did not appear rundown to me at all), but it's a picturesque sort of run-down. It all depends on what you consider romantic, OP. We like being alone in exotic (to us) places and if it's a bit shabby, we don't mind. If you need not just your accommodations but the surrounding area to be very polished, Lima is probably not for you. If you do choose this route, I also recommend going to Cuzco and Macchu Picchu from there. Cuzco is a tourist trap but a pretty one and Macchu Picchu is amazing. (I'd rec doing the Orient Express train from Cuzco to Macchu Picchu, if it's in your budget, it's well worth it).

I'd also rec Chile. Santiago is a nice town, even if I don't think there is much to do there for longer than a weekend, and you can take a train to Vina del Mar, which is pretty and picturesque and on the beach. You can also go to Valapraiso, which is pretty much one of the most inanely gorgeous cities I've ever seen. Built for romance, IMO (provided you are in good shape to hike those hills ) We also went to the Atacama desert, which is gorgeous and there are plenty of activities/tours etc. Not sure if that would be romantic, but certainly pretty.

If you just want a city trip, I don't think anything can beat the glamour and gorgeousness of Buenos Aires.

I've never felt unsafe at any of the above, though DH is super good with navigation so we stayed away from areas that were supposed to be dangerous (unless they were dangerous only at night so we went there during the day).

I would recommend the vineyards between Vina and Santiago. and maybe southern Chile (Patagonia). Any trip to Valparaiso I would keep to daylight hours. The Pablo Neruda house near Valaparaiso is a very nice side trip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Peru's economy is the best in Latin America and you can find Ritz and Marriot hotels and check out Larcomar. If Peru is so poor I wonder why there are so many Argentineans, Spaniards and Chileans immigrating to work and live there. You probably went to Lima 20 years ago when it was poor. Have you been there in the last 3 years? Central and Astrid & Gaston are on the top 50 restaurants in the world and if you go to Miraflores, the Mercedes, Range R overs and BMW's on the street don't signal poverty to me.

You MUST be Peruvian because to say that Peru's economy is the best in Latin America makes no sense. Brazil? Chile?

But Peru. No, sorry. Not true!

I dare you to read IMF, GS, and World Bank reports about economic forecasts in Latin America and come back and let us know what you learned. Economies in regions go up and down all the time, wasn't the US economy the strongest in the world a few years ago? Would you say that today? Likewise, Chile and Brazil were strong economies in the past and although they are not in the tank now they are not growing as much.

[Anonymous]

Cartagena, Colombia

[Anonymous]

Go to Cartagena, one of the most romantic cities in the world.