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Seems like Europe is more attraction dense. There are actually quite a few areas I'd like to go to in SA. But if you travel to say, Santiago, it's not that easy to just hop on over to Buenos Aires and then Brazil or wherever. But going to Paris it just seems like you have much more that you can easily get to.
For one thing, the air fares are higher than Europe and Asia. And most people to to more-developed countries first, until they feel more confident on their own.
My order was Europe, South America, West Asia, Africa, East Asia, Australia.
I think this is probably it. I've only gone to Europe once and while there are many places there I want to see, it's not as high on my list. South America and Africa are at the top. I took the plunge and went to Ecuador and the Galapagos four years ago. After two trips to Costa Rica I felt confident in that part of the world.
Next year I hope to get my feet wet in Africa by visiting Botswana.
Australia and New Zealand look interesting but are very expensive. Asia holds no appeal to me.
"Why Do You Think So Many Travelers Leave South America To Last?"
just to make sure i understand the question: do you mean ONLY travelers from the USA?
if not, my apologies.
if so, my opinion:
South America is similar to Africa in the once-a-year-for-10-days USA tourist mind.
only Egypt places Africa before SA. please understand, Africa and South America
might as well be countries, not continents, when conversing with the
tourist dollar.
The order we have visited places is Europe followed by Nth America in a six month trip, before we had kids. We did have a stopover in Singapore on the way to Europe. Later, it was Asia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and China. Later the US again with the kids with a sidetrip to Mexico. I hated Mexico, to be honest, and it made me have a really negative attitude to visiting South America.
So then South Africa and Zimbabwe, and several trips to Europe while our kids were living there. Also more trips to Asia.
Eventually I got pretty much bullied into joining a group of friends on a trip to South America. We had a month there and really enjoyed it but it was a destination I will not probably not return to. The flights over and back were horrible and it was the most expensive holiday we have ever been on. Cost the two of us $ 30,000 for the month. Been there done that. We loved the Galapagos and Peru but the continent does not offer the wonderful food and variety you get in Asia.
Nobody has mentioned visas. Brazil has always required a consular visa before arrival, and several more have added the US to a list of countries requiring costly retaliatory visas.
Nobody has mentioned visas. Brazil has always required a consular visa before arrival, and several more have added the US to a list of countries requiring costly retaliatory visas.
I forget what I paid for my Brasilian visa back in 2004, it wasn't cheap but was good for 5 years though, although I only went to Brasil once over that time to visit a former co-worker/friend.
Recently Brasil has decided to drop the more expensive visa and require an e-visa for $44.24.
Remember, most visa prices are sort of reciprocal, so both countries get into a tissy and decide to charge each other crazy prices to enter each other's country.
Nobody has mentioned visas. Brazil has always required a consular visa before arrival, and several more have added the US to a list of countries requiring costly retaliatory visas.
The visas were a headache for us. The Brazilian visa could not be arranged online and it involved a trip to the Consulate here or posting our passports to Canberra. I do not have a problem with the concept of reciprocal visa but our arrival in Chile took the cake for inconvenience. We had to pay a reciprocity fee, fair enough. But it was unable to be paid in advance in any way (only three years ago) So on our arrival the bulk of the passengers from our Qantas flight were required to queue to pay and the fee to be in American dollars, cash only. Only two people were working and I think we waited about two hours.
I don't think Americans are connected to South America or know much about it in comparison with Europe or Asia. We've never fought a war there. Apart from ancestry connections, that's how we become acquainted with places. When I was in Peru or in the Caribbean there were a lot of Europeans there visiting. It was a shorter flight to Lima than to Rome.
Seems like Europe is more attraction dense. There are actually quite a few areas I'd like to go to in SA. But if you travel to say, Santiago, it's not that easy to just hop on over to Buenos Aires and then Brazil or wherever. But going to Paris it just seems like you have much more that you can easily get to.
I always flew around South America on LAN, it was very easy to fly over to Buenos Aires or Mendoza from Santiago on LAN. And, in the 7 trips I took to South America, I'd fly an overnight flight out of LAX and arrive there early morning.
You'd really have to love mountains for South America to be an attraction. Mt. Ancongua, straddling Argentina/Chile towers at 22, 600 feet, highest peak in both North and South America. When you get out of the Airport in Mendoza, there it is in all its naked beauty with snow on top. Can't be seen as well in Santiago due to the smog, but at the Airport you can see the snow capped top rising up from the smog.
There's no mountains in Europe that come close to that. The Alps are dimunitive in comparison, as well as the Rockies in the U.S.
I'm a mountain lover and that is what brought me down there 7X.
The Big South America destinations aside from Machu Picchu are way down the continent. Those are Argentina, Brazil and Chile. It’s a 10 hour flight to both Santiago and Buenos Aires from NY and 9 hours to Rio.
There aren’t many tourist attractions persay in these countries aside from Rio and Iguaza Falls. In Europe you have so many whether the Eiffel Tower, colosseum, Big Ben, Greece and nearby the pyramids and Dead Sea. Asia has something completely different and is accessible with direct flights from the big US cities.
Argentina and Chile have some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Argentina has economic issues with currency and Brazil with violence from the usual suspects (Chicago or Rio it is all the same circumstance and same people committing a disproportionate amount of violent crime) so they don’t have a reputation as tourist destinations like Europe, Asia or Australia. Hopefully that will change with Bolsonaro making security a focus and already last year Brazil went from $160 for a visa one had to go in person to get at a consulate to $40 E-visas online. This year with Bolsonaro there is no visa requirement for U.S. citizens anymore. There are a lot of cruise options during the South American summer which is an easy way to see some scenery. I do hope Argentina and Brazil get more U.S. tourist dollars as they offer something different to see.
Columbia is becoming a bigger tourist destination each year. Aside from that most of the countries up north aren’t tourist orientated to the degree of Europe or Asia. People just go to the Caribbean. Aruba technically sits on the South American continental shelf. Machu Picchu is popular with young travel blogger types and their followers but it is a pain to get to having to stop in Lima and take a plane Cusco and acclimatize to the altitude. Then a train.
Last edited by john620; 06-30-2019 at 04:05 AM..
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