Most Popular

Some destinations start off the beaten track and then as word of mouth and media coverage grow end up getting on to the beaten track. The number of visitors who travel to the Galapagos Islands has tripled over the last decade. Who could have imagined ten years ago that islands 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador could be attracting some 200,000 visitors annually or that a million people a year would want to visit so difficult a destination to reach as Machu Picchu? Fortunately, governments of the countries where this has happened (or before) have set limits so that these destinations won’t be overrun. Some places will always remain popular. No matter how many fellow-tourists surround you, who doesn’t want to watch skyscraper-size slabs of the Perito Moreno Glacier come splashing down into a lake or witness a waterfall made up of 275 waterfalls at Iguazu? Our category of popular trips does not mean the most popular of all our trips but rather, the most frequently-booked trips in each country.

Popular attractions have a way of opening up new worlds for travelers. Say you’re in  Buenos Aires and decide to pop over the Rio de la Plata by ferry to check out Uruguay for a day. You experience the beaches, have lunch in Montevideo’s 19th century Mercado del Puerto, do some wine-tasting and end up saying, “Let’s come back here next time.” Or the end of your two-day scheduled stay in Buenos Aires that  you thought would be enough draws near. You suddenly realize that you must return because you’ve just scratched the surface, that you missed the houses on stilts out on the Tigre Delta, didn’t see a performance at the Teatro Colon, the world’s most beautiful opera house, and didn’t get over to the Feria de Mataderos, a folk market with costumed entertainers and gauchos on horseback.

Many of our travelers are active so they tend to book trips that get them outdoors experiencing the sights rather than driving around in cars. We do our best to minimize car travel, not just because it’s boring, but because it’s also part of our environmental philosophy. Because of the distance and inaccessibility, driving to some places is the only logical alternative. To get from the prime Patagonia hiking areas of Los Glaciares National Park down to the south end where the park’s other big attraction is located, Perito Moreno Glacier, is a four-hour car ride, albeit a scenic one. Our multisport trips that offer a little of everything and mostly active excursions along with some other active trips are most popular. Even among our Antarctica tours, it is the adventure class vessels that people book most, though price may enter into that decision.

As we look at what are the most frequent trips we book and try to figure out why, it appears our travelers want to pack in a lot of top sights in case they don’t travel this way again. See Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires plus Iguazu Falls or Patagonia. Even destinations like Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador and Uruguay, the most popular trips tend to be those that travel to the most regions.

The most popular way that passengers book a trip with Southern Explorations is as a custom departure. They start with an itinerary, add on tour extensions according to their particular interests and travel in groups as small as two passengers on days that fit their schedule. We love making that happen.

View our Most Popular trip and tour options below:
9 Days $3,695
Arenal Volcano , Monteverde , Manuel Antonio National Park, Snorkeling, Tabacon Hot Springs, Ziplining, Kayaking
Amazon Rainforest & Jungle, Amazon Wildlife, Sacred Valley of the Incas, Machu Picchu
7 days $3,495
Buenos Aires , Perito Moreno Glacier, Glacier National Park, Mt. Fitz Roy, Cerro Torre
Buenos Aires , Iguazu Falls, Rio De Janeiro
Buenos Aires, Four Balconies Tour, El Calafate, Perito Moreno Glacier, Estancia Cristina, Glacier Cruise
Anavilhanas Archipelago, Amazon Rainforest Excursion, Rainforest Wildlife, Lago Janauari Ecological Park
Los Glaciares National Park, Torres del Paine National Park, Perito Moreno Glacier, Classic Treks to Mt. Torre and to Mt. Fitz Roy
7 Days $2,695
Tortuguero National Park, Manuel Antonio National Park, Pacific Beaches, Caribbean Beaches, Ocean Kayaking, Snorkeling
Rio City & Beaches , Corcovado, Sugar Loaf , Paraty