Overlooked Vacation Destinations

When people hear the word “vacation” they often think of the poshest, most expensive cities in Europe such as Paris, Barcelona, and Rome. Even when thinking domestically, many people assume the only places worth visiting are beaches with overpriced cabanas. It seems people have completely overlooked the continent of South America.

South America may not be as tightly packed with famous cities as Euope, but it certainly has some destinations worth seeing and, more importantly, it’s incredibly cheap and easy to find great travel deals.

Bus travel in South America is very common and not that expensive. You can book multi-city trips online through various companies. Every big city has a large bus depot full of several different bus companies so if you are feeling a little spontaneous you can walk in, scope out the deals and buy a ticket right there.

Tips:

• If you are going to book online, try to find a company that speaks English. Language barriers are not as easy to overcome via email and your reservations may not be exactly what you wanted
• If you go to a bus depot, make sure you shop around. Different companies will have different specials depending on the day, so don’t just go for the first one you see. Walk through and see what each company has to offer.
• Book multiple cities at once. A lot of bus companies will give you discounts if you book several trips with them. Just make sure you get a clear print out of your itinerary and double check it. If they make a mistake on departure dates/times, you could get stuck in another city without being able to contact the agent who handled the reservation.
• Be economical without being uncomfortable. Buses offer a few different levels of comfort–make sure you choose wisely. You can get as fancy as to have a seat that fully reclines into a bed or as cheap as a completely stationary, cushion-less seat. While saving money is great, back pains are not. For long trips try not to go below “semi-cama”, which involves a small but comfortable seat that reclines a little and has a leg/foot rest so your legs don’t fall asleep and go numb during your trip.

-Rease Kirchner–Travelated Staff Writer