The South America Journey

Hola! Fly into Quito and make your way to your starting accommodation. Meet your group tonight and visit a peña for some tasty local food, or hit a salsa club!

Take a truck ride deep into the Amazon to a Quichuan community. You'll go hiking, swim in waterfalls and cycle to another community where you'll watch a chocolate making demo, eat fresh local meals and stay in the community lodge overnight.

Baños is famous for its thermal spring and adrenaline activities. Spend the next couple of days pampering yourself in the springs or getting your adrenaline going with some mountain biking, white-water rafting or zip-lining!

Explore the cobbled streets and shady plazas of this lovely city or take a day trip to the Inca site of Ingapirc, the stunning Cajas National Park, or the Cuenca Mud Baths. On day 8, we'll take the overnight bus to Mancora, Peru!

The next few days are about sunshine, ceviche and surfing! Stretch out on the sands or hire a board and catch some waves. You can also explore the local area on horseback.

Explore this gorgeous colonial town or take an optional excursion to the Chan-Chan ruins or the seaside town of Huanchaco.

Check out the art shops, boutiques and colourful mansions of the city, before enjoying some free time exploring the palm-studded streets. The food here is to die for - ceviche all round!

Wander round the beautiful oasis settlement and then enjoy a dune buggy and sandboarding session before watching the sun go down from the top of the dunes.

Stop en route at a pisco winery for a tasting before continuing to Nazca where you'll enjoy a Pachamanca-style dinner. Take a flight over the Nazca Lines, or tour an ancient desert cemetery.

Explore the 'White City' with its colonial buildings, 'picanterias' and beautiful churches. Take an overnight excursion to Colca Canyon, hiking to stunning viewpoints and looking for Andean Condors.

Spend a few days exploring this incredible city before you set off on your epic Inca Trail trek. Optional activities include white-water rafting, a cooking class or a hike in the Rainbow Mountains.

Visit a women's weaving co-op in the Ccaccaccollo community (don't miss the resident llamas!) then stop at the Sacred Valley Brewery for a beer tasting before bedding down in Ollantaytambo.

Choose from three options for days 26 - 29 (depending on your physical fitness and preferences). You'll be supported by a guide, a team of porters and a chef.

• Option 1: Inca Trail. The most popular route from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu. 44km including 3 high passes. Trek through high plateaus and cloud forests, finishing with sunrise over Machu Picchu.
• Option 2: Lares Trek. Shorter and less touristed route from Lares to Aguas Calientes over 33km (bus to Machu Picchu after). Isolated mountain paths, lagoons, snow-capped mountains and rural communities.
• Option 3: Cusco Stay. Skip the hike and spend a couple of extra days in Cusco with excursions to the Maras Salt Mines, the terraces of Moray and Piuray Lagoon. Re-join the group at Machu Picchu.

Free day in Cusco recovering from your big trek! Take a city tour and visit some of the museums.

Spend 3 days on the shores of the largest lake in the world. Enjoy lunch and a weaving co-op stop, spend the night in a homestay with a local family and visit the floating islands of the Uros, made from reeds that grow in Lake Titicaca!

Spend 2 days in this bustling, modern city. Visit the 'Witches' Market' the Tiahuanaco ruins, or the world's highest ski resort at Chacaltaya.

Explore the sights of this charming colonial city. See some dinosaur footprints, visit the museums, or go mountain biking and hiking in the area.

Potosi is famous as a silver mining area used during Spanish colonisation. Learn all about the mines' (sometimes tragic) history on a tour of a working mine at the Mountain of Silver.

Take a memorable 3-day trip across the Uyuni Salt Flats into an unforgettable landscape of glittering white lakebeds, bubbling geysers, bright red lagoons and boiling mud pools. Spend a night in a community salt lodge.

Round off your Salt Flats excursion in the small desert oasis of San Pedro de Atacama. Try sand boarding, rent a bike, go horse riding, or take a tour of local ruins.

Make like a local in Salta with a horseback riding excursion and Argentinian barbecue, or grab some empanadas, watch a 'Peña' folklore show and take a tour of the wine-growing valleys nearby.

Fly into the cosmopolitan cool of Argentina's capital city. Visit colourful La Boca, scour the antiques markets, watch a football match or just kick back in a café with some parrilladas!

Take a ferry ride to Colonia, Uruguay and discover the delight of its cobbled streets, stunning architecture, history and culture.

Spend a couple of days in the lovely city before heading to a local 'estancia' (ranch). Spend 2 nights here, fishing, milking cows, riding horses and sitting round campfires.

One of the planet's most breath-taking sights, Iguazu spans nearly 3km between 3 countries and is surrounded by lush rainforest. On the way, you will visit Jasy Pora community with a local expert to learn more about the indigenous community and their relationship to the environment. Visit the Brazilian side, or Itaipu Dam and take a motorboat tour into the 'Devil's Throat'.

Please note: if you are travelling before the 30th January, you will not visit the Jasy Pora community. 

Fly into Sao Paulo, Brazil, then head to the quaint beach town of Paraty. Swim, dive and soak up the sun on the gorgeous beaches.

Travel to the white sands and lush rainforest of Ilha Grande. Chill out on the gorgeous beach, hike to Pico do Papagaio or take a snorkelling trip.

Say hello to one of the most beautiful cities on Earth. Bask on the sands of Copacabana, take the cable car to Sugar Loaf Mountain and don't miss the statue of Christ the Redeemer. You'll also visit a favela and sample some artisanal beer. On day 65 it's time to pack your bags and head home. See you again soon amigos!

Not got much time? We also have shorter versions of this trip...

• 15 day Ecuador & Peru Adventure
• 17 day Argentina & Brazil Adventure
• 21 day Andean Discovery in Peru
• 35 day Highlights of South America
• 51 day Lima to Rio Adventure

Everyone's dream trip looks a little different, and this group tour is your chance to explore South America on a budget. Whilst we take care of the accommodation, transport, guide and must-do activities, this trip is designed with maximum flexibility in mind to give you control over the itinerary. You'll have plenty of free time and freedom to shape your own adventures with a wide variety of optional activities available to book during your trip, so you can choose experiences around your preferences and budget.

Whether you're after an action-packed itinerary or want to explore at a relaxed pace, this trip is your chance to do so. This style of trips are some of the most budget-friendly options we offer, making them accessible to a wide range of different travellers.