Category: All News

Why Travel On a Group Tour?

June 16, 2021
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All News, Latin America

Group tour holidays are constantly evolving – long gone is the stigma of coaches full of irritable tourists traversing between tourist traps and full days spent travelling between destinations. Today, group tours are surprisingly flexible, affordable and experience led and Latin Routes group tours have a maximum group size of 16, meaning closer connections can be made as you share the wonderful memories you create. Below we look at five reasons why you should consider a group tour for your next Latin America holiday… Travel with Like-Minded Individuals As exciting as travel is – seeing new places, engaging with new cultures, trying new experiences, we also understand that for some, it can be daunting and a step outside of your comfort zone. Travelling in groups, allows you to share amazing, often life-changing experiences with like-minded people, people with shared interests who are taking the time to explore the same part…

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Feel the rhythm! Our favourite carnivals across Latin America

February 25, 2020
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All News, Rio Carnival

Latin America hosts some of the most vibrant, colourful and exciting carnivals in the world, showcasing amazing costumes, delicious food, traditional dance and of course, Latin America’s famously lively and infectious enjoyment of life, so it’s no wonder the festivities draw visitors from all around the world, every year. Rio’s incredible carnival, which is drawing to a close this week, is undoubtedly the most famous, but in a continent as lively as this you can rest assured there are plenty of other opportunities to experience the unparalleled buzz of a Latin America fiesta! Here a few of our favourite carnivals across Latin America… Rio Carnival, Brazil Considered the biggest carnival in the world, this is the ultimate way to party in Rio! Ready to join in the fun next year? Speak to our Travel Specialists to feel the rhythm in Rio for yourself in 2021, with one of our Tailor-Made Holidays…

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Chile is pure wonderment in a myriad of ways

December 27, 2017
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All News, Brazil, Chile, News

I had been living in Rio for just about 6 months when I landed in Santiago and it was like a breath of fresh air. Having become accustomed to a very Brazilian way of life where there was noise and bronzing bodies everywhere I turned, Chile’s capital is by comparison calming and modern with wide open streets and the easy atmosphere of a place that is entirely comfortable in its own skin. With a cosmopolitan make up, I had amazing Asian food and just spent a few days wandering around the old colonial squares and travelling up the funicular to the top of San Cristobal hill to catch a glimpse of the snow-capped Andes in the distance.     After a few days of finding my Chilean feet I jumped on a bus to Valparaiso, a beaten-up port town about an hour and a half away. Rough around the edges,…

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South America – Brazil

November 22, 2017
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All News, Brazil, News

Rosy Lee is one of our travel specialists. In her latest blog, she shares some of her experiences from her time in Brazil. Frantically waving my parents goodbye, I stood clutching a tattered pillow. I gripped tightly my one-way to Rio, the dream about to come true. I was terrified. Finding solace in this piece of upholstery, I vowed we’d cross continents together. Tear filled eyes welcomed the kind words of a stranger, “It will be your biggest adventure”. I couldn’t have picked a better place to start. A metropolis, brimming with energy and bursting with colour. A city with rhythm and vibrancy from dusk to dawn. I was drained of fear upon arrival, the explorer in me ignited. Before long, I joined locals each evening on Ipanema to marvel at the sky. A shimmering orange descended on gaping rocks, it signalled the time for fiesta. Swarming into town, cariocas…

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Guide to the Andes

July 7, 2017
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All News, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru

The Andes Mountains. The longest continual mountain range in the world, and neighbour to rainforests, deserts, glaciers and volcanoes, ancient civilisations and modern capital cities. It stretches across seven South American nations and offers visitors unrivalled landscapes, world-class trekking, award-winning vineyards, glistening salt flats, and a chance to experience true Andean culture. Covering an astonishing 3.371 million km², it can be overwhelming trying to narrow down a specific destination or area of the Andes to explore. So, we’ve put together a guide to the Andes, broken down into some of our favourite destinations. Where will you explore next? Where to go in the Andes? Peru Home to Machu Picchu, Peru has arguably the most popular and well-known tourist attraction in the Andes. Whether trekking the Inca Trail, or travelling by train from the stunning capital of Cusco, this is one destination you definitely won’t want to miss. While Machu Picchu…

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Latin Routes Scoops Best Small Holiday Company to Central & South America at the British Travel Awards

November 24, 2016
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All News, News

Latin Routes has been announced as the winner of the Best Small Holiday Company to Central & South America in the prestigious 2016 British Travel Awards. The awards, held on 23 November at a glitzy venue in London, celebrate the best in the travel industry as voted by the general public. Co-founder and Head of Trade Relations Jessica Bain says: “We are thrilled to win this fantastic award, it means so much to us knowing that it was our customers who made it happen. It was the first time we had been nominated for a British Travel Award so we are delighted to have fought off tough competition to take home the gold. We look forward to another successful year and thank you to everyone who voted, it really does mean so much to us.” The British Travel Awards is the largest awards programme in the UK and is a proudly independent organisation,…

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New Direct Flight from UK to Chile Announced

May 19, 2016
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All News, Chile

Great news for UK travellers heading to Chile: British Airways has announced a new direct service from Heathrow to Santiago starting from January 2017. The first ever direct flight between the two countries will take off on January 3rd and run four times a week. It will become British Airways’ longest ever route, travelling approximately 7,300 miles with a scheduled flight time of 14 hours 40 minutes. This route will be among the longest in the world, being beaten only by the current Dubai – Auckland flight by Emirates (7,700 miles), and proposed Doha – Auckland flight by Qatar Airways (7,800 miles), beginning in December 2016. It is part of a British Airways’ expansion into Latin America which has seen the carrier begin flights to both Peru and Costa Rica in the last month. In addition to this trio of new routes, and the existing flight to the Argentinian capital of Buenos…

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My experience of exploring Machu Picchu

December 3, 2015
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All News, Peru

Machu Picchu is one of the most iconic places in South America. It is a mystical place full of history, hidden deep in the Andean Mountains. The high quality of the stonework and the mystery surrounding it makes it a must-see for many people. For this same reason, some may choose to skip Machu Picchu as they feel it is too full of tourists. Nevertheless, I think that most people will find a connection with the citadel, whether that is due to its rich history, the beautiful scenery or for spiritual reasons. For me, Machu Picchu was incredible. It hadn’t always been on the top of my ‘bucket list’. In fact, the first time I thought about visiting Machu Picchu was five years ago. I was sitting in my room listening to the song ‘Machu Picchu’ by The Strokes and I thought to myself, ‘imagine if you could listen to…

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Cruising the End of the World with Cruceros Australis

April 21, 2015
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All News, Argentina, Chile

I was lucky enough to take another fantastic trip to my favourite continent. This time I travelled 8314 miles from Heathrow to the ‘end of the world’, landing in Ushuaia, Argentina, to experience one of the much sought after Cruceros Australis Patagonian cruises. After a wonderfully hot and sunny two day stopover in Buenos Aires we made the journey down south to Tierra del Fuego, a large land mass split between Chile and Argentina. The view from the plane when we were coming in to land has to be up there with one of the most impressive I’ve ever experienced. The aeroplane gets so close to the tops of the snow-capped mountains you feel as though you could touch them. Stepping into Ushuaia airport is already a huge contrast to the large, bustling hub of Buenos Aires domestic airport; it almost feels cosy, being built out of wood and less…

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The Atacama Desert Will Blow Your Mind

December 16, 2014
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All News, Chile

I recently came back from the trip of a lifetime in my beloved South America and while I am full of renewed enthusiasm for this wonderful continent I want to share my experiences with you! As part of my trip I was lucky enough to visit the incredible Atacama Desert high up in the north of Chile, nestled between two mountain chains. I started my journey in Northwest Argentina where, bright and early in the morning, I boarded the top deck of a very comfortable coach. I realise that the idea of spending a day on a bus does not sound like fun to many, however, there are two very good reasons for doing so! Firstly, from Argentina the cost of a bus journey is much less compared to booking flights via Santiago, and your money not only buys you a comfortable reclining seat, but meals, snacks and coffee are served…

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