Peru is a beautiful country with a diverse range of attractions. Home to lush Amazon rainforest, the ancient Incan empire, the awe-inspiring Andes mountains, and many other fantastic features, Peru is enchanting and exciting! If you love vacations full of adventure and culture, then you need to visit Peru.   When planning a trip to Peru, it is natural to start by looking for accommodations. Luckily, there...
A travel journal to South America would not be complete without a trip into Peru. From culture and cuisine to challenging, high altitude aha-moments, Peru embodies the history, culture, and abundance of all of South America. Family-friendly with tourist-ready infrastructure, Peru’s dry season from April to October easily welcomes multi-generational groups, nature lovers, and active adventurers ready to immerse...
Inca Trail Lodge to Lodge Hiking TourFind hospitality off the beaten path with this one-of-a-kind excursion from Southern Explorations. Combine an exclusive look at five distinct, remote ecosystems at high elevation in the Andes Mountains of Peru, paired with the comfort of intimate mountain lodges on this lodge-to-lodge trip along the Incan Trail. There’s no need to rough it to see the breathtaking...
Photo by Kyle Frost on UnsplashGive your loved one a gift that will endure time and distance with a trip to South America for the holidays. The memories of a visit to Central or South America will endure long past that new tablet or InstantPot (which, to be fair, is a handy kitchen tool), spurring smiles and great stories for years to come. Watch your partner or children’s eyes shine every time they remember...
We Are Back on the Inca Trail The Inca Trail has reopened and Peru has eased travel restrictions, giving you a rare chance to experience the Inca Trail with very few others on it.  We are thrilled to be back on the Trail and we've never seen it like this in all our years of operation. For now, the crowds are gone, overall traffic has been minimized, and the whole experience is incredibly freeing....
At Southern Explorations we’ve had a lot of time to reflect and take stock of the beautiful Latin American places, people, and adventures we’ve connected travelers with for nearly two decades. While we are at home, we’re still working hard planning new and exciting journeys and ensuring that those of you who have trips scheduled are able to take them when the time is right.  Our motto...
At Southern Explorations, we like to pull back the curtain every once and awhile to show you how we operate. As we take a look at reviews for some Trips of a Lifetime we also wanted to provide you with a look at the survey we send to guests after they’ve experienced South America and Central America on our trips. (We LOVE hearing your feedback on your travel experience!) The following example was from an...
Yes, it feels like 2018 just started, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start thinking about your 2019 South America and Central America travel plans! In fact, for some of our trips, if you don’t start planning now, you’ll miss out entirely, especially if you’re thinking of exploring South America in 2019 on a Southern Explorations luxury trip, particularly Luxury Patagonia....
The Inca Trail is a legendary hike that leads to Machu Picchu through the mountains and cloud forests of the Peruvian Andes. Only travelers with the Inca Trail travel permit are allowed on the trail. Permits for the Inca Trail have gone on sale a full three months early for 2018. Southern Explorations encourages travelers to book next year's trips to Peru now before the trail permits sell out.The Inca...
It was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America and some archaeologists speculate it might well have been the largest empire anywhere on the planet in the 16th century. It was also the last chapter of thousands of years of Andean civilization. From 1483 to 1533, across a large portion of western South America, from Colombia, down through Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina, centered largely around the...
 Trip Advisor is one of the best-known and trusted travel resources worldwide, and every year they turn to millions of travelers to vote on the best of the best for the Travelers’ Choice Awards. We weren’t surprised to see many of our favorite Latin American destinations grab the spotlight for must-see landmarks, destinations, beaches, restaurants, and destinations on the rise in the 2016 Award...
SOUTHERN EXPLORATIONS 10 YEARS OLD AND GROWING!2015 marks Southern Explorations’ 10th year in business. What started as a two-person operation in a garage has grown into a company with destination coordinators in several countries, customers from throughout the world and awards from the national travel media for our authentic trips and sustainability values. Southern Explorations has become one of the leaders...
Lake Titicaca - The SettingLake Titicaca is surrounded by the barren landscape of the Altiplano, a high plain that starts at the northern border of Peru and stretches south through the Andes, ending at the world's highest volcano, the Ojos del Salado. One of seventeen remaining ancient lakes in the world, Lake Titicaca is thought to be three million years old, a remnant of Lago Ballivian, an inland sea that...