Latin America is a land of unspoiled beauty, from the lush rainforests of the Amazon to the open grasslands of Paraguay to the tall mountain ranges of the Andes and Patagonia and the dry deserts of Chile.

Needless to say, there’s a lot of things that you can fit into in a trip into Latin America, which makes it a very appealing as well as popular tourist destination.

Here are four tips you should use when visiting Latin America for the first time:

Tip #1 – Become Conversational In The Local Language

Unless if you’re traveling to Brazil, then this language will be Spanish. Regardless, just knowing some basic words and phrases in the language of the country you’re traveling to will go along way to helping get yourself around. Plus, the locals will really appreciate that you’re at least making the effort to speak in their language as well.

Tip #2 – Have Local Currencies On Hand

Contrary to what some people think, South American countries do not all use the same currency (like each of the states in the United States do), and instead each country has its own currency.

The point here is that if you decide that you want to have cash of the local currency on hand (which is definitely a good idea for emergencies) you’ll need to have cash in the currency of each country that you’re traveling to.

This shouldn’t be difficult since you can use a third party service to transfer and send money to yourself, which Remitly notes can be done in a matter of minutes, though you will need to pay a different exchange rate margin for each currency.

Tip #3 – Have Important Documents On Your Person

As we just discussed, it’s important to have cash on your person at all times for emergencies.

However, cash isn’t the only thing you need to have on your person. You’re also going to need your passport, your travel insurance documentation, your identification information, and your emergency contact list.

Also make a copy of each of the above information as well that you can keep stored in a separate location.

Tip #4 – Create A List of the Things You Want To See

Spontaneous trips can be fun, but for places where there’s just so much to see like South America, it’s better to create an itinerary of the different attractions that you would like to see instead.

From Patagonia’s hiking trails to Machu Picchu in the Andes mountains to the Inca trail to any of the major cities, your best way to see South America in all its glory will be on a schedule so you don’t feel so overwhelmed.

Visiting Latin America For The First Time

If you want to visit Latin America for the first time, you want having fun and being safe to be your too biggest priorities, and if you agree, then you’ll want to remember each of these tips that we have just covered.

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