Our Advice
Slow down and enjoy the differences…. you’ll be back home with the familiar soon enough.
Enjoy being away
Here are some of our suggestions on how to get the most out of your trip to South America.
It makes a lot of sense to start enjoying your holiday even before you leave home. We suggest you do some reading and learning about where you are off to, by tapping into the many sources of information that are out there, books, blogs, travel web pages, maps and so on. If you spend some time learning about the places and cultures which you are going to come across – it can only enhance your experience.
If you don’t speak any Spanish why not sign up for a language course before you go. If you make the effort to meet and talk to the local people in their own language it will add to your understanding and enjoyment. If you are off to highland Peru then you could try learning a few words of Quechua – that will impress the locals.
We suggest you are sensitive to the behaviour, beliefs and customs of the local people.
If you want to take photographs of people, always ask first, they may not like it. It is worth remembering that you are just one of many visitors.
Laws of land ownership and access may be different from your home country, so don’t assume you can walk anywhere you like. Always ask.
Also of course we recommend that you respect the laws of the country you are travelling in.
Witches market, La Paz
We always try to support small local businesses and therefore to support the local economy, rather than large chains. If you buy local produce then you will be helping the local economy, drink locally made beer or fruit juice rather than imported brands and buy and eat locally grown food.
There may be some flexibility in prices when buying crafts, especially in local markets. Some haggling will be expected. But we recommend you haggle with humour and not aggressively.
You may encounter some begging. We suggest, rather than giving directly to individuals, donating through a charity, clothes, goods, money will always be welcome, and there are many worthwhile organisations that would welcome any help at all. Many kids do not have access to dentists so please don’t give out sweets.
Most South American countries do have a tipping culture, so bear that in mind. Some people rely on tips.
Environmental impact
Do try to minimise your environmental impact.
There is very little recycling in South America, so try to minimise use of plastic, single use batteries etc. Turn off lights, power, air conditioning etc when not in use. Resources are limited.
Follow guidelines at popular sites in order to help preserve local wildlife and habitats. Stick to footpaths and don’t buy products made from plants or animals.
Mountain streams are often drinking water so avoid using soap and washing in the water. Carry all rubbish out with you form the mountains,
Do not pollute or bathe in rivers. Often those streams will be someone’s drinking water source further down river.
Never leave rubbish, pack out what you bring in, leave no trace, and even better leave a campsite in as good or better state than you found it.
Huayhuash
Testimonials
M. Cook and D. Heyburn, UK. Jan 2025, Paine Circuit Self-Guided.
My friend & I recently did the 8 day O Trek self guided which was organized by Andean Trails. We are so pleased we paid the extra to have all the camps set up & food included rather than carrying all our camping equipment & food. The camps were run by two different companies. One company looked after Seron, Frances & Central where we had tents on stilts. These came with a very comfortable mattress that filled the whole tent, sleeping bags & pillows. The other company looked after Dickson, Los Perros, Gray & Paine Grande where the tents were on the ground with individual mattresses & sleeping bags. I was very impressed with the tents on stilts & found them to be more comfortable & spacious.
The included food was very good & sometimes excellent! We appreciated having a welcome drink which we had before our three course dinner, either a glass of wine or a pisco sour! Very civilized especially as we were in the mountains.
We received plenty of information from Kathy at Andean Trails before the trek began & we received all our vouchers for the transfers into & out of the park & the camps. It was all very well organized.
We also received a welcome pack at the bus station in Puerto Natales which included a sleeping sheet liner, a large travel towel & a water bottle. I had brought my own but I need not have done although it was handy having two water bottles. I filled one with water & one with a fruit tea.
I have wanted to go trekking in Torres del Paine for many years & choose to do it as part of my 60th birthday celebration whilst I'm still fit & able! We are very pleased we choose the O Trek rather than the W Trek as we explored the whole circuit & the first four days from Central to Gray were much quieter & we made friends with some lovely people from all around the world. It was very special. The trek from Gray to Paine Grande was the busiest day on the trail as many people doing the W Trek were doing a day walk there & back. We were also there during peak time. We started the trek on 26th January.
We were very lucky with the weather. We only had one day of rain although it was on the longest day when we trekked over the John Gardner Pass from Los Perros to Gray. We were able to dry our wet clothes by pegging them up in the back porch of our tent & they dried overnight thanks to the wind!
My friend & I enjoyed taking our time every day except on the longest day as we had to be at El Paso ranger hut by 14.00 plus it was raining! We took our time to enjoy the scenery, take photos & we made our packed lunches last most of the day!
We also appreciated having a hot shower every evening except at Los Perros camp which is the most basic camp. Originally we were advised there would be no food provided there but we were offered a simple dinner which consisted of rehydrated food. It was better than nothing!!
It would have been good to have had an extra night at Frances then we could have had a more leisurely trek up to the Mirador Britanico although it would have been backtracking but it was less than 2kms to the Valle del Frances.
The last trek up to Mirador Base Torres was quite emotional. We saw many of the friends we had made on the O Trek plus it was goodbye to an Amazing Memorable Adventure. Thank you Andean Trails for your organization. We have been recommending you to all our friends!
M. Cook and D. Heyburn. Jan 2025, Paine Circuit Self-Guided. UK
» Paine O Circuit Full Trek: Self-Guided
Deb O. and Lisa B., USA, Self-guided Tailormade Patagonia, Feb 2025. There were so many highlights! The summits and glacier excursions were magnificent. We were blessed with great weather most of the time. Having our own guide in Chalten was great and our guide was fantastic! There were a lot of details to this trip and they all came together nicely. The accommodations were very good. Very clean -no complaints. Guides were wonderful. Food was amazing -everything homemade. I think we benefited the local people. We acknowledged their services with appropriate tips and we patronized many local establishments while there. I can’t think of anything right now that I would do differently! Patagonia has been a “bucket list” trip for me. I will turn 60 and retire this year so it was my treat to myself. It was everything I hoped it would be. I hope it doesn’t change with the ever increasing tourism. It’s such a special place. They are very proud of their heritage and it deserves to be preserved. We found Andean Trails online and the e reviews were good and prices reasonable. It was a leap of faith that paid off. Thank you so much for bringing this experience to me.
» Patagonia Highlights Trekking Trip
View All 
