Craft for South America is visa, region, stay, slack — in that order.
Put the 8h flight into day one of the plan.
Steps
- Pick the window
Default to November, December, January, February & March; write a reason if you choose June & July.
Read the yellow months on the heatmap first.
- Check entry
Entry rules differ by country; check each passport pair.
Check the six-month passport rule in the same sitting.
- Pick regions
Two of Peru, Patagonia, Brazil is enough.
A transfer day is not a sightseeing day.
- Lock stays
Lock a Cusco colonial hotel style stay before peak.
For honeymoons, room position beats star count.
- Shape transport
Use Lima-Cusco-Machu Picchu as the spine; cut side quests.
Put the last night near the airport.
- Leave slack
Leave a weather/strike/tender day empty.
An empty afternoon is the actual honeymoon luxury.
Entry
- Passport — Entry rules differ by country; check each passport pair.
- Insurance — Match travel insurance to the dates, including medical evacuation.
- Connections — Do not cut LHR / JFK / LAX connections against a night arrival.
- Local rules — Drone, temple dress and smoking rules fine faster than a tip.
Packing
- layers — Pack for South America diurnal swing and indoor heating/cooling together.
- rain shell — Pack for South America diurnal swing and indoor heating/cooling together.
- walking shoes — Pack for South America diurnal swing and indoor heating/cooling together.
- adapter — Pack for South America diurnal swing and indoor heating/cooling together.
- copies — Pack for South America diurnal swing and indoor heating/cooling together.
Pitfalls
- Peak as default — Do not pick June & July just because the month is famous.
- Three cities a day — When transfers become the plot, places become a backdrop.
- Fake fares — Numbers here are bands, not today’s search-box fare.
- Ignoring jet lag — Do not put a dawn shoot the morning after a 8h flight.
Craft does not kill romance. It kills queues.
When to goPlacesHow to travelCultureCostHoneymoon notesToday