10 Reasons Why You Should NOT Travel to South America

People always ask me why they should travel to South America, and so instead of giving them reasons to go, I decided to create these 10 Reasons Why You Should NOT Travel to South America.

10 Reasons Why You Should NOT Travel to South America

1. The coffee isn’t imported

In most of the countries you’ll go to in south America; Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador etc – you’ll find that you can’t even get a good cup of imported coffee.  You’re limited to only having what grows locally.  It’s strange adapting to something so fresh – my taste buds never did know what to do.

(This amazing coffee farmer in Colombia showed us around his plantation before making us an awesome cup of coffee – you can see his tours HERE)

(Collecting coffee beans)

2. Too many potatoes

Peru alone has over 4,000 types of potatoes!! That’s ridiculous.  What could one country do with so many potatoes.  I think that as a means of getting rid of some of them, the country has people who make chips on the side of the streets.  As you walk up to them, they’re cutting the potato, frying it, and then selling it to you cheaper than the price of a single potato at home.

3. Too many ancient ruins

It’s true.  The place has so many ancient ruins AND they’re everywhere!! You can literally see ancient ruins in whichever country you go to.  Most people think it starts and stops with Machu Picchu, but nope, there’s more! So be prepared to be overwhelmed.

(Located on Bolivia’s Isla del Sol – Sun Island is a whole bunch of ancient ruins.  I wrote a blog about it HERE)

4. Too many mountains and waterfalls

It’s starting to tire me out thinking about it, but yes, the country is prodigiously packed with waterfalls and mountains that you’ll get sick of seeing them.  Foz do Iguaçu, which sits right on the border of Argentina and Brazil is barely even enjoyable due to the amount of noise created from the force of the millions of litres of water (per second) falling from a height of 82 meters.  And then we have the Andes.  This mountain range is EVERYWHERE.  It stretches from down south in Argentina and right up to Colombia (In the north).  So if you think you’ve seen it enough times, think again, because it’ll be there, waiting for you in some other country.

(An incredible view of Foz do Iguaçu from the Argentinian side)

5. It’s too bloody big

The continent is massive!! And seriously, how are you going to be able to travel it and see everything in a one or two week when the continent in almost twice the size of Europe! You’re going to need a LONG time if you want to see it all 😉

(Incredible view of the Andes Mountain Range in Peru)

6. The people make you feel bad

I have honestly never met so many nice people in my life.  The South American locals have got to be some of the most humble, sweetest and endearing people I’ve ever met.  How can they be so kind, altruistic and positive when they barely even drink imported coffee??  It’s honestly the worst – if you do go there, be prepared to leave feeling jealous of their dazzling charisma and wonderful charm.

7. Too many beautiful beaches to choose from

What’s wrong with this continent .. why can’t it just stick to having a couple of nice beaches?  It doesn’t make sense to have SO many beautiful beaches and then to scatter them ALL over the continent.  I mean seriously, they’ve decided to fill the east coast with the Atlantic Ocean.  The sunsets are perfect and the glare from the water hurts your eyes … and don’t even get me started on the West Coast.  The Pacific Ocean runs right up until Colombia, and then to add insult to injury, Colombia throws a Caribbean Coast into the mix!! What’s one to do?? The waters on the North part of Colombia are so clear that anyone with a phobia of fish wouldn’t even enter as you can see them everywhere!!

(Cabo Polonio – Located in Uruguay and home to a tiny beach village – see it HERE)

8. Weird Animals

The animals that I saw in South America were amongst some of the weirdest animals that I’ve ever seen.  Without even mentioning the amount of caiman, snakes, tapirs (look HERE if you don’t know what it is), monkeys, birds and dolphins (yes, dolphins) that infest the amazon, the Galapagos Islands are just swarmed with strange creatures.   Without fail you’ll see these crazy iguanas that resemble something from an Alien movie.  And don’t even get me started on the tortoises and turtles.  Honestly, why do they even have to be that big?? These things are crazy.

(Some aliens/iguanas on the Galapagos Islands)

9. You won’t want to return home

It’s true, once you’re there, you are trapped.  You will not want to leave.  You’ll discover what an amazing continent it is and you’ll never want to leave!! It’s ok though – because like all great things, everything has to come to an end … for now.  If you’re anything like me, and you’ve experienced these 10 reasons why you should NOT travel to South America, then more than likely the travel bug will have set in, and you’ll find any means possible to return to this truly incredible continent.  By the way … If you liked this blog, have a read of one I wrote on catching the travel bug, and if it’s curable or not.  You can read it HERE!

10. ALL THE ABOVE

And so that about wraps up my 10 reasons why you should NOT travel to South America.  I hope I’ve managed to demonstrate the absolute love that I have for this continent.  Also this list sits right at the tip of the ice-burg with the reasons why you should NOT travel to South America.  There are plenty more out there which I will be writing about 🙂

Safe Travels!