10 Best Places to Visit in South America (and Beyond): A Full-Time Traveler’s Honest List

The best places to visit in South America aren’t always the ones topping every generic travel roundup. Yes, Machu Picchu deserves its fame. But the region holds dozens of destinations that most itineraries skip entirely — places where the magic is quieter, the food is better, and the crowds are thinner. This guide covers ten of them, drawn from years of on-the-ground experience across the continent and into the Caribbean basin.

Whether you’re planning a first trip or adding stops to a longer journey, consider this a shortlist worth trusting. These aren’t paid placements or algorithm-driven picks. They’re places that earned their spot.

Quick Overview: What to Expect – Beach escape: Boipeba (Brazil), Las Terrenas (Dominican Republic), Paraty (Brazil) – Off-grid wilderness: Torres del Paine (Chile), Cabo Polonio (Uruguay) – Desert & altitude: San Pedro de Atacama (Chile), Villages around Salta (Argentina) – Colonial towns: Barichara (Colombia), Cusco (Peru) – Hidden gem: Baracoa (Cuba)

1. Boipeba, Brazil — The Definition of Unhurried

There’s a particular quality to Boipeba that’s hard to name without sounding like a travel cliché. The streets are made of sand. Locals walk barefoot like it’s the most natural thing in the world. The pace of life adjusts itself without effort.

The island sits south of Morro de São Paulo off the coast of Bahia, and it rewards visitors who arrive early and stay slow. The thing to do on a first morning is walk to Morere Beach before the tide comes in and before the day-trippers from neighboring islands arrive for lunch. After that, exploring the adjacent beaches, natural pools, and Ponta dos Castelhanos fills the hours nicely.

Getting back to town can be done by boat or, improbably, by tractor — a transport option unique to the island. Evenings at the local market tend to involve tapioca and a caipirinha, which is as good a combination as it sounds.

Accommodation is plentiful in the form of posadas (Brazil’s charming bed-and-breakfast equivalent). One worth knowing: O Ceu de Boipeba, a guesthouse with sweeping views and a spa-like calm — worth at least a breakfast stop even if not staying overnight.

Boipeba isn’t about checking things off a list. It’s the rare kind of place where doing very little feels like exactly enough.

2. San Pedro de Atacama, Chile — Where the Sky Puts on a Show

San Pedro sits in what’s considered the driest non-polar desert in the world, and the landscape reflects that. Volcanic formations, salt flats, and colored rock valleys surround the town on every side. A rental bike or car can handle many of the highlights independently — Valle de la Luna, Piedras Rojas, Valle de Arcoíris — though some experiences benefit from a local guide.

The activity that surprises most visitors, though, is stargazing. San Pedro has long been recognized as one of the world’s premier spots for it, thanks to its altitude, its distance from light pollution, and the almost total absence of cloud cover. The tours are tailored to all levels of astronomical knowledge — a layperson gets as much out of the experience as an enthusiast. The sheer volume of stars visible on a clear Atacama night is something most travelers are genuinely unprepared for.

A less-expected highlight: floating in the Lagunas Baltinache, seven lagoons with saline water dense enough to allow effortless flotation. Some operators offer breakfast in robes by the water afterward. It’s as absurdly pleasant as it sounds.

San Pedro is touristic — no point pretending otherwise. But the landscape is so vast and varied that the crowds dissolve into it. For a more private experience, agencies like Ayllu organize smaller-group alternatives to the main circuits.

3. Barichara, Colombia — The Prettiest Town You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Colombia’s adventure reputation tends to center on Medellín or Cartagena. Barichara is a different proposition entirely. A small colonial town in the Santander department, it’s built from pale sandstone, with cobblestoned streets, whitewashed walls, and terracotta rooftops that photograph absurdly well in afternoon light.

The culinary detour worth making: hormiga culonas, or roasted leafcutter ants — a regional specialty. It’s an acquired taste, but ordering it is half the point. More reliably crowd-pleasing are the cabrito (goat) and corn arepas that define local cooking in the area.

A popular walk leads 7 km downhill along a pre-Columbian stone path to the village of Guane, where the plaza’s local tiendas are ideal for watching the afternoon unfold. Buses run back to Barichara for anyone who prefers not to return on foot.

For those who want contrast after all the tranquility, the adventure town of San Gil is 30 minutes away and offers activities ranging from bungee jumping to Class 5 white-water rafting.

4. Torres del Paine, Chile — One of the Places to See in South America Before You Die

The W Trek through Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia is one of the most celebrated multi-day hikes on the continent, and the reputation is earned. The classic route passes glaciers, turquoise lakes (Lago Nordernskjöld is a standout), and culminates with the Torres themselves — three granite towers that appear, after days of walking, like something from a geography textbook brought to life.

Visitor numbers are now regulated with a reservation system, which helps, though the park remains busy through its main season (November to March). Going at the tail end of the season — late February into March — tends to yield smaller crowds at camps and on trails. High season reportedly pushes some camp populations past 500 people per night, which changes the experience considerably.

Weather in Patagonia is famously unpredictable, but the park is worth visiting in almost any conditions. Connectivity is limited along the route, which most trekkers consider a feature rather than a drawback.

The sunrise from the base of the Torres — reached after a steep final scramble — requires a pre-dawn start. It’s the kind of view that makes that effort feel reasonable.

5. The Villages Around Salta, Argentina — Wine, Color, and Altitude

Salta, in northwest Argentina, is a useful base but not necessarily the main attraction. The real draw is the surrounding region: a series of villages and landscapes that shift dramatically within short driving distances.

Purmamarca is known for the Cerro de los Siete Colores — the Hill of Seven Colors — a geological formation of layered mineral-rich rock that looks hand-painted from a distance. Tilcara and Humahuaca offer colonial streets and Andean culture. Cafayate, further south, is wine country: specifically Torrontés country, the aromatic white grape produced almost exclusively in this valley. The Patio de la Empanada market in Salta city sells, as the name suggests, empanadas and beer, and nothing else. It’s a good introduction to Salta’s claim to some of Argentina’s finest empanadas.

From Salta, two excursions stand out: the Salinas Grandes, a vast salt flat best visited around midday when the light bounces off the surface in every direction, and the Tren a las Nubes (Train to the Clouds), a scenic railway that climbs to over 4,000 meters via viaducts and switchbacks. A local peña — a folk music venue — is worth an evening for anyone curious about Argentine northwest culture.

6. Baracoa, Cuba — The Country’s Most Underrated Corner

Baracoa occupies Cuba’s easternmost tip, separated from the rest of the country by mountains and a long tradition of isolation. It was the island’s first colonial settlement, founded in 1511, and it carries a different feel from Havana or Trinidad — more compact, more rural, and noticeably less oriented toward mass tourism, at least for now. Construction of new hotels is changing that, so earlier visits may catch it closer to its current character.

Within a few days, Baracoa allows for river swimming, beach time, trekking into the surrounding jungle, and visits to museums covering the region’s indigenous Taíno history. The locally produced chocolate — grown in the Baracoa valley, which accounts for the majority of Cuba’s cacao — is available throughout town and worth buying directly from producers.

Evenings tend to center on Casa de la Trova, a live music venue where salsa runs until well past midnight. Locals tend to be generous about pulling visitors into the dancing, and the night typically continues at a second location afterward.

7. Cusco, Peru — More Than a Gateway to Machu Picchu

Cusco is well-established on the global travel map, almost entirely because it’s the standard departure point for Machu Picchu. That reputation is deserved — the Inca citadel is extraordinary — but it tends to overshadow everything else the city and region offer.

Cusco itself sits at 3,400 meters, and most visitors need a day or two to adjust before moving around comfortably. That time is well spent in the city’s markets, the streets around the Plaza de Armas, and the Inca temples visible within walking distance of the center — Sacsayhuamán, Qorikancha, and others. Further afield, the Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca) and the Sacred Valley town of Ollantaytambo are compelling half- and full-day excursions.

What’s harder to explain about Cusco is the atmosphere. Travelers who’ve spent time there frequently describe something difficult to pin down — a sense of accumulated history, perhaps, or the physical weight of being surrounded by Inca and colonial architecture layered on top of each other across centuries. It’s worth staying longer than a Machu Picchu visit technically requires.

8. Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic — Bachata, Beaches, and a Scooter

Las Terrenas sits on the Samaná Peninsula on the Dominican Republic’s northeastern coast, and locals there will tell you the peninsula is the most beautiful part of the country. It’s not an unreasonable argument. The beaches are exceptional, the pace is slower than the resort-heavy south coast, and the town itself has a relaxed international feel without feeling touristified.

Las Terrenas and the capital, Santo Domingo, are the country’s two main bachata scenes. The dancing here is social and accessible — a good starting point for anyone unfamiliar with the style.

Beyond the beaches — and there are still undiscovered stretches reachable by scooter — the peninsula offers kitesurfing, whale watching (humpback whales gather in Samaná Bay between January and March), canyoning, and horseback riding. The areas around El Limón and Las Galeras are less visited and particularly scenic.

9. Cabo Polonio, Uruguay — One of the Best Places to Travel in South America for a Full Detox

Some statistics about Cabo Polonio: 75 permanent residents. No paved roads. No grid electricity. No running water in most structures. Access is by 4×4 vehicle through sand dunes, then on foot.

It’s one of the more deliberate escapes available in South America. People come to Cabo Polonio specifically to disconnect, and the infrastructure makes that easy — there isn’t much choice in the matter. There’s one supermarket, a handful of restaurants, and a sea lion colony on the rocks. The natural scenery is genuinely dramatic: dunes, Atlantic waves, and a lighthouse that’s been operating since 1881.

The experience changes substantially depending on season. Uruguayan summer (December to February) brings crowds; the low season — particularly the austral winter months — returns the place to something closer to its permanent character. For city-oriented travelers, two or three nights tends to be ideal. For those comfortable with extended isolation, longer stays are possible in rented houses.

10. Paraty, Brazil — Colonial Architecture, Island Boats, and Carnival

Paraty sits on the Costa Verde between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, accessible in a few hours from either. Its historic center — a UNESCO-listed colonial town of whitewashed buildings and stone streets — floods at high tide, which is either charming or inconvenient depending on the weather and one’s footwear choices.

The town’s main practical draw is as a base for the surrounding bay. Boat trips through the islands are consistently rated among the region’s best experiences, passing beaches and coves that are inaccessible by land. The neighboring town of Trindade offers further beaches and natural pools worth the short trip.

Paraty’s carnival is a different animal from Rio’s. The town’s blocos (street parade groups) fill the entire historic center over several days, and more than 200 posadas in the area fill completely. If visiting during carnival, booking well in advance is non-negotiable. Outside of that period, Paraty remains lively on weekends and considerably quieter mid-week — a rhythm that suits most travelers.

Final Notes on Planning

The destinations above span six countries and cover wildly different landscapes, climates, and travel styles. A few practical threads connect most of them:

• Book Patagonia early. Torres del Paine requires reservations for camping and trekking. High-season spots sell out months in advance.
• Go off-season where possible. Cabo Polonio, Boipeba, and Paraty all change significantly with crowds. The low season often delivers the better experience.
• Combine regions efficiently. Barichara and San Gil pair naturally. Salta can anchor a wider northwest Argentina circuit. Paraty works as a stop between Rio and São Paulo.
• Verify opening hours and transport. Schedules in Latin America shift. Always check current conditions directly with accommodation or local operators before travel.

The list above could easily be twice as long. Latin America and South America hold more destinations worth visiting than any single trip can hold. These ten are a reasonable place to start.

Have a destination that belongs on this list? Share it in the comments below — the best travel recommendations still come from people who’ve actually been there.