Andres Serra

Peru gave me far more than the Machu Picchu trip I’d originally imagined.I found ancient Inca sites, colourful colonial cities, enormous Andean landscapes, desert scenery, deep canyons, and some of the best food I ate anywhere in South America. What struck me most was how different each part of the country felt from the last.If … Read more

Paraguay feels like one of South America’s best-kept secrets.I found Jesuit ruins, enormous rivers, red-earth landscapes, wildlife-filled wetlands, and cities where Guaraní culture remained part of everyday life. What I enjoyed most, though, was travelling somewhere that didn’t seem shaped around tourism. I rarely felt like I was following a well-worn itinerary.If you’re curious about one … Read more

Bolivia gave me some of the most dramatic scenery I experienced in South America.I found enormous salt flats, colorful lagoons, soaring Andean peaks, historic cities, and landscapes that seemed to change completely from one journey to the next.But what stayed with me just as much was the country’s strong Indigenous culture and how present it … Read more

Uruguay is easy to overlook when it sits between two of South America’s biggest travel destinations. I nearly made that mistake myself.What I found was a country that felt wonderfully easy to explore, with historic cities, laid-back beach towns, rolling wine country, and a beautiful coastline.I loved the slower pace too, whether I was eating … Read more

Brazil is so enormous that choosing where to go can feel like planning several countries at once.I found that the Brazil I experienced changed dramatically from one region to the next, from energetic cities and seemingly endless beaches to colonial towns, wetlands, rainforest, and landscapes I couldn’t have imagined before seeing them myself.This guide covers … Read more

Lithuania surprised me more than almost anywhere I’ve visited in northern Europe.I came expecting beautiful Vilnius and plenty of Baltic history, but found medieval castles, peaceful lakes, enormous sand dunes, colourful towns, and a coastline that looked nothing like I’d imagined.Better yet, many of my favourite places still felt wonderfully uncrowded.If you’re planning your first … Read more

Switzerland packs an incredible amount into a surprisingly small country, and I had the best time visiting.I found myself moving between snow-covered Alpine peaks, turquoise lakes, medieval old towns, vineyard-covered hillsides, and cities where the language could change within a few hours of travelling.The mountains were every bit as spectacular as I’d hoped, but some … Read more

Turkey was one of those countries where every stop seemed to show me a completely different side of it.I found ancient cities, enormous mosques, turquoise beaches, otherworldly landscapes, and some of the best food I’ve eaten while traveling. Istanbul deserved every bit of my attention, but many of my favorite experiences happened well beyond it.If … Read more

Chile is one of the most geographically extraordinary countries I’ve explored. Stretching more than 4,300 kilometres from the Atacama Desert to Patagonia, it packs an almost ridiculous variety of landscapes into one long, narrow country.I’ve found everything from volcanoes and ancient forests to glaciers, colorful cities, and remote Pacific islands here. These are the 10 places I … Read more

Argentina is a country where I quickly realized just how little a map prepares you for its scale.Stretching nearly 4,000 kilometres from the subtropical north toward Antarctica, it has rainforest, high desert, wine country, enormous grasslands, glaciers, and some of the wildest mountain scenery I’ve ever experienced.The distances are huge, but the payoff is worth … Read more