Camping

Southern Explorations offers camping trips in most of the South American countries where we travel. Many of what we call “camping trips” technically only camp some days. For instance, during our camping trips in the Andes, the 10-day Cordillera Blanca tour camps during the 5-day trek in Huascaran National Park. The other camping trips travel to Machu Picchu and camp during the days on the Inca Trail (or alternative route) to reach the citadel, but not at other destinations such as Lake Titicaca or Colca Canyon. A few trips camp all or most of the way, such as our 12-day Peru Raft, Bicycle and Hike trip. The same goes for our seven Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego camping trips.

BACK TO NATURE 2.0

How fortune to live in a time since the invention of glamping. Roughing it like the good old days still exists, but even at the most remote locations of South America, more and more indigenous and other local lodging providers are adding in creature comforts that appeal to those who thought their camping days were over. Freeze-dried meals and sleeping on the ground are so yesterday. We don’t think you’ll feel cheated of the old-fashioned camping experience. You’re still in the wilds after all. Adding tasty meals prepared from fresh, local ingredients for you, not by you, and a soft sleeping surface make the great outdoors that much more pleasant.

Take our Galapagos Safari Camp for instance, which is an opportunity to stay on the islands instead of on a boat. Your canvas tent rests on a platform that allows you to step outside for morning coffee overlooking the Pacific. There’s also an infinity pool on the grounds to enjoy after a day of hiking, bicycling or snorkeling in the Galapagos. Chile has perfected the Patagonia camping experience with refugios that provide shelter from the elements in stunning locations, with chef-prepared gourmet meals and premium Chilean wines to top off unforgettable days of whitewater rafting on the Futaleufu. If you are a kayaker, our 8-day Amazon kayaking trip is an exotic way to see experience the river and the rainforest. It travels through Yasuni National Park along the Shiripuno Amazon tributary, with tent accommodations and gourmet meals prepared by the indigenous Huaorani on their ethnic reserve. Until the 1950s, the tribe had no contact with the outside world. The Yasuni is Ecuador’s largest national park where the rainforest is believed to date back to the Ice Age and contains over half of Ecuador’s wildlife species, including over 500 birds.

ICONIC CAMPING

Camping on a multi-day hike along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu may come the closest to what campers are used to. It’s what you sign up for, knowing that the challenges of the hike, the elevation and the rudimentary accommodations are all part of the classic version of that experience. Most travelers choose an itinerary that puts them in hotel rooms for at least part of this journey. Once you arrive at Machu Picchu, everyone goes indoors for the night, either in nearby Aguas Calientes where hikers may soothe their aches and pains in the hot springs above the town, or for those on bigger budgets, lodgings on the edge of the citadel. Camping in Antarctica isn’t for everyone, yet for anyone who chooses it, nothing compares to a night of watching the Southern Hemisphere’s constellations and the experience of silence like nowhere else.

View our Camping trip and tour options below:
12 Days $4,295
Inca Trail Trek , Machu Picchu , Sacred Valley, Amazon Jungle Lodge
12 Days $2995
Uyuni Salt Flats, Tunupa Volcano Hike, Biking the Death Road, Siloli Desert, Trekking in the Cordillera Real
Torres Del Paine National Park, Classic 'W' Hike, Puerto Natales , Buenos Aires, Perito Moreno Glacier, Mt. Fitz Roy & Cerro Torre
Lima, Cusco, Choquequirao Trail, Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley, Off the beaten trek
Cusco, Ancient Inca Trail , Machu Picchu, Local Perspective , Off the beaten Trek
10 Days $3,995
Lima, Cusco , Inca Trail Trek, Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley
11 - 32 Days $8,050
Glaciers/Icebergs, Whales, Penguins, Hiking, Snowshoeing, Kayaking, Camping, Diving, Helicopter Touring, Photography, Mountaineering
10-23 Days $6,550
Camping, Kayaking, Hiking/Snowshoeing, Diving, Icebergs & Glaciers, Penguins, Whales
Lima, Cusco Lake Titicaca, Inca Trail Trek , Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca