Planning my next backpacking trip to South America 💃🏻Research, Budget, Packing + more 

Been following you for YEARS and recently I've just been binging your vids, especially your packing ones, they're the BEST I've rewatched so many times I need your wardrobe! I'm planning an inter rail trip so seeing you plan this made my day! Getting the tea and chocolate prepared to watch 😍😍😍 thank you!

if you love travel and exploring i would recommend you start geocaching! it's just an app on your phone and it's basically like little containers filled with goodies that you look for and write your name in a log book! it's taken me to places i never knew existed and there's geocaches everywhere!

I really recommend the trek to Lost City in Colombia! I did the trek about 2 years ago while I was sailing around the world and this trek was one of the biggest highlights of that whole trip. It is challenging, but sooooo worth it!! Beautiful scenery, and I would say the trek to get there is almost as beautiful as the Lost City itself!

We spent two months last year doing Peru - Ecuador - Colombia and it was just amazing. Highlights for us in Colombia included Cali for the salsa (Viajero hostel was amazing and ran salsa lessons every day and is just an all round cool hostel!), Salento (for the Cocora valley and coffee plantations - we even had a coffee bean roasting lesson and got to bring our coffee beans back home as a souvenir, so cool!), Medellin was just an all round cool city with so much history (Los Patios hostel - highly recommend. Bit pricier, but worth it in my opinion) and if you're going to Bogota I highly recommend doing one of the history free walking tours - we got such an incredible insight into the history of Colombia and all the things that they have unfortunately gone through and it was really eye opening. In Ecuador, you absolutely have to go to Secret Garden in Cotopaxi - we hesitated about this initially about whether to do it or not and absolutely LOVED it in the end and was one of the main highlights of the trip. Such an awesome few days and the accommodation is just incredible, the people are super friendly and the activities and food are top notch! Climbing cotopaxi can be a bit tough (our weather conditions were awful!), especially with the altitude, but so worth it!! Definitely definitely definitely go there. Also Cuenca was really cool and we spent a few nights at El Cafecito hostel, where we met one of the coolest hostel owners yet and had such cool discussions and late night dinners with - really nice place. In Quito, check out Community Hostel - probably our fav hostel of the trip overall (and we def visited some good ones!) - just such a nice atmosphere, breakfasts incredible, really good social vibes and activities going on! Can't wait to follow your trip through SA, it will bring back so many good memories for me! Enjoy - you will absolutely love it!!

I'm heading to the Philippines landing on Christmas day and staying for 17 days, just been re-watching your videos for ideas, currently planing to do 5 days port barton, then head to mad monkey for new years followed by el nido for boat trips for a few days then up to Coron for just under a week. that's the best itinerary I could think of for a mix of chill exploration but also some partying for new years followed by relaxing in coron

for people watching this in 2020 she must be like it's a good thing i took this trip when i did

The Colombian Pacific is a must-visit!! Bahía Solano, El Valle, Nuquí and the surrounding area are all a stunning mix of wild beaches and tropical jungle. There's a small backpacker scene but it's not overcrowded, loads of incredible local business and eco-tourism to be explored. Mama Orbe in El Valle and Casa Colibri in Arusí are wonderful places to stay!

I’m currently in Australia with a working holiday visa and your videos inspired me soooo much to come! I have not had a single regretful thought about coming here and my adventure is only beginning! Can’t wait for more South-America videos, you have the best quality travel vlogs in my opinion🙌🏼

Just an update on the Ecuador advisory! I was there throughout everything happening the last couple weeks and everything is completely back to normal. Basically, the government stopped subsidizing diesel, which was going to drive the prices of everything up, so there was about a week of protesting (and, in some areas, straight up rioting) and on Sunday the government finally reached an accord with everyone and reinstated the subsidy. Literally the next morning, everything was back to normal. It's back to being one of the easiest and safest South American countries to travel!

I only recently got back from a 2 month Europe backpacking trip and I’m already planning my next trip to get me through the academic year. I’m planning on spending 2 months between Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines- seeing your videos on the Philippines is what has inspired me to go there 😁xxxx

100% go to Brazil. Amazing country 🇧🇷

I did three weeks in Colombia (Hand luggage only, which was amazing! I had to do laundry once a week if you‘re wondering) and I brought sandals which were a nicer pair of Tevas. They are comfortable and also look nice in the evening with a dress. Currently thinking about booking a trip to Jordan next spring!

Im currently planning a 4-6 month backpacking adventure around Europe for summer 2020! Extremely excited! Love your channel you have given me so much inspiration for my future travels!

This is sooo exciting! I'm currently planning a backpacking trip around the Balkans for 2 months and even though the destination is obviously not like yours, your video has been super helpful! Thank you a lot :)

Hey, coming from the future. I’m so glad you start before January 2020. You got the chance to stay longer.

I'm Colombian and I highly recommend visiting the amazon, Medellin, and the coffee zone. The festival in Cali is also highly recommended you are going to have a blast.

I’m heading to Italy soon and while it’s not South America this video helped heaps ☺️

I love how you budget your trip, nice websites recommendations ! thank you

You plan just like me! Well I’m not as flexible as far as return flights and accommodations but I would probably do the same if I backpacked for 3 months. The longest I’ve gone is one month. I plan way too much and create a daily itinerary. But then once I’m there I don’t even follow it. But your videos are the exact kind I would like to make someday. You deserve more subscribers!

I’m flying out to Thailand on Thursday! I’m going to be TEFL teaching there for 5 months 😁

Came back from Colombia with a group this year. Loved Guatape, especially the painted houses. One thing we were told is that its not practiclal to travel to different regions except by air because of the poor roads. We spent a lot of time in airports.

Low key been binge watching all of your videos in any of my free time. You literally are amazing, the videos you produce are stunning, so informative and fun to watch! You solo backpacking tips, helped me loads on my second solo adventure a few weeks ago to Copenhagen, Malmö and Ystad. Late January I'll be taking onboard my biggest solo backpacking adventure yet, I've book a one way flight to Australia, landing in Perth and setting myself a month to travel to hopefully Northen Territory for Uluru rock trip, Sydney then if I can afford fly to New Zealand for a few days before flying home to England😊

Leaving in more or less a month for the Philippines solo, and your series is what got me to actually do it! Really excited/nervous, but you pretty much gave me confidence so thank you! 😁

Exciting! I was in south America nearly two years and totally life changing. Viajero Hostel in cali is a good hostel with a pool good vibes and free dance class everyday :) Medellin is hand down one of my fav places. I know lots of backpackers stay in el poblado but for me i do not believe it is the true colombia. Suburbs like laureles are great for digital nomads :) I love the hostel the wandering paisa. Its also close to the street calle 70 where there is amazing partying and underground salsa bars :) Cafe Ondas is another good hostel :) There is lots of near by cute towns near to medellin such as Jardin which i enjoyed alot. You will love the Lost city hike, it was really muddy when I was there and soooo many mosquitos but incredible views and culture. Also take the short day walk through tropical nature to parque tyrona and stay the night on the beach in one of the hammocks. Good on you trying to travel with hand luggage i know i would had struggled. With the shoes for sure bring a pair of sneakers. Mine were great for dancing in salsa and also going on walks or just casual day walking in the city. Maybe a pair of sandels for a night out might be a good option too :) Also just be carefull with you clothing choices, I felt like in most city and towns I didn't feel like I wanted to where anything too revealing just because you will already have men staring and saying things to you :) Also just remember to stay strong and assertive with the men there and learn some ways of saying leave me alone in spanish such as "deja me sola". Im excited for you gal!!! You will see spectacular things and be apart of the beautiful latin culture!!!

I'm going to South America next year for 3 months. Thanks for the info. I'm not a young traveller , I'm a .....middle aged one but I'm hiking the PCT for 6 months straight after South America so don't mind the backpacking life.

hiii!!! so i went to ecuador last year for about a month travelling with my family, and though we were obviously not backpacking i have some really great tips i think for it!!! firstly, if you do want to go to the galapagos, i would say to try and go island hopping instead of booking a cruise that brings you around. that way you can really experience the true life and culture of the galapagos, and be more flexible, and also only go to the islands you want to go to. of course i would also say that a planned tour is great because i would imagine with that you have a ranger with you, and on the galapagos you can’t really go anywhere by yourself bc it’s so regulated, that a ranger can bring you many more places. ALSO! there are a lot of unexpected fees in the galapagos (maybe you know) but each island you go to usually has a fee in addition to whatever ticket you used to get there, and flights also are pretty expensive, especially if you want to do island hopping through that instead of by taxi boat. in the galapagos, absolutely go to the island of Isabela and Floreana, they are amazing and have incredible histories, floreana is particularly amazing and has one of the most intriguing stories ever. Then to talk more about Ecuador itself, the Amazon portion is really beautiful (though i don’t know if you’ll do the amazon in columbia) and quito and a city called cuenca were my two favorites!! there are also many beautiful places in the mountains going between those cities, such as baños, which is like an adventure capital, and the two big volcanoes/mountains of ecuador that have a lot to offer. if the situation in ecuador gets better in the next months, i would 100% say to go there it is absolutely my favorite country i’ve ever been too and is so beautiful! if you’ve actually read this and want some more tips, my mom wrote a blog post on her website about both the galapagos and ecuador (it’s not for backpackers but has a lot of information) so here it is: elisabettagirardi.org/ecuador

I'd highly recommend trail runners as a close toed shoe, they look stylish enough to wear on the plane and in cities, but are also sturdy enough to properly hike in and actually waterproof, not just water resistant for 2 minutes. I wouldn't recommend actual hiking boots, they are a bit heavy for everyday wear. If you don't want to buy trail runners, I'd opt for trainers over hiking boots.

I’m currently planning a 3 month trip to Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru so this was very helpful! Cheers from the US

How have I gone through life not knowing about the google maps star thing?!

We’re off to Australia this Friday (!!!!!) for a three week honeymoon! I’m genuinely freaking out - I’m so so so excited! I’ve been planning it for over a year and can’t believe it’s finally here! Have definitely been binge watching your Australia videos and getting so hyped up!

I used gym shoes for my month in Peru! I’m someone that always grabs for sneakers to hike in at home, and they worked great for me, even in the snow on mountain tops!

So happy you’re going to Colombia, you are going to love it! Make sure you try out as much food as possible. I hope you enjoy my beautiful country 💖

I’ve just come back from a month long trip round parts of Canada and east US - it was insane! Can’t wait to see your vlogs in South America, would love to go there one day! 💕

I did a month in Colombia and a month in Ecuador, didn't to Cali, but i've heard great things!

So looking forward to your next Adventures!!!!

Just have to say, I love your videos. I've commented before about how I can't travel any more and watching your channel gives me a bit of that old feeling about the travels I did before. Also, you are a delight to watch, you come across so sweet and genuine, not pretentious like some others I've seen on RU-vid. Thanks for sharing a part of your life. Keep up the great work.

I am leaving Germany in novembre for backpacking solo in Peru, Ecuador and Columbia until March. This Video made me feel like I am not the only crazy girl going to these destinationes. Enjoy your time! :)

I'm heading to South America in January. It's my first time solo travelling, starting in Colombia & I can't wait. I'll hopefully be there around 6 months and your video's given me a lot of decent tips! nice one

Planning an interrail trip around Europe with my best friend before we go off to uni :)

So happy to know you're coming to my country, Colombia 🇨🇴!!!!! Christianne I think It would be better for you to stay around San Antonio neighborhood in Cali, also search for Poblado as your location in Medellín and lastly Candelaria la vieja in Bogotá. Those are host spots for expats and backpackers traveling around South America, you will find lots of people in those areas to communicate in English with no difficulties whatsoever ;)

Ahh I'm soo excited about this trip! I hope you have an amazing time. Can't wait for the vlogs😊😊

I moved last year from Arizona to Maui, Hawaii. Next month I leave for my first ever backpacking adventure starting in new Zealand, then to Australia, Bali and wherever else the wind decides to take me 🍃💖💖💖 I'm so excited

The Spanish school would be great to immerse yourself into it fully. It's such a beautiful almost melodic language. Looking forward to the vlogs.....

Another excellent video, hope you have a great time. I only discovered your channel through the "cheap eats in London video" but now I watch them avidly. 20 years ago I went on an group holiday to Bolivia and Peru and loved it!

Hello! I’m travelling Ecuador right now, just came from Colombia. For the sandals I recommend you to take the ones that are not birkestocks mainly because of the lost city hike. They want you to bring water shoes for river crossings and the sandals you showed in the picture are perfect for that. (It’s possible to do the rive crossings barefoot, but it’s more difficult that way)

Have you tried Chacos (hiking sandals)? They’re great and come in styles from leather to webbing, (much like the Columbia ones you had shown). I personally don’t like the toe loop styles, but some people swear by them. Sounds like great fun, especially the salsa festival! Safe travels and keep the vids coming!!

I went to the Galapagos a few years back, regarding the sandals bring a good walking pair that can also get wet.

Always enjoy your videos, despite being about South America this video got me so excited for my trip to New Zealand soon. I've been binging your videos in preparation as I have no solo travelling experience and they've been so helpful.

I literally looked at your chanel two days ago for a south america video (before it was posted) and i am so happy you uploaded this! Literally leaving for Colombia in less than a week and unlike you, I am not the best with planing. Hahaha, I have a tendancy of just going with the flow and finding places on the way.

We are just finishing up our trip across South America, we started in Ecuador and made our way to Galapagos and slowly made our way South. If you have any questions let us know. Look forward to following your journey.

I’m currently planning my family trip to Greece and Eastern Europe!

I found your channel when researching scratch maps for my dad's birthday lol (LOVE your map, btw) and you're now my new favorite RU-vidr. You're really inspiring to watch/listen to and you're making me want to travel more!

Hi Christianne, sooo excited that you are going to Colombia! I have been there with my friend and it was awesome! You should definetly do the lost city trak, the sunrise views are so stunning! My friend used trekking shoes by adidas which have a very good sole for muddy and slippery grounds which is so useful for the hike! Also dont miss out on Isla Providencia! The diving is incredible and you will see lots of sharks :)

I was successful with finding a quality fun Galapagos trip while in country :) Hope you get to go. Thanks for the planning tips

Hugs from a J&L Legend! I am excited that you are going to venture over to The Americas. I don’t know nearly enough about South America, so it will fun to see what you get up to there.

This makes me so excited to travel the world

Can't wait for this video series. Your awesome. Great video Christie! Can't believe I saw you on secret eaters on weekend ha

Planning on going solo backpacking in south america in the fall of 2023. Will be doing a lot of research until then and have to find ways of generating more income in order to make this trip financially possible whilst keeping my appartment in Montreal ❤ also considering havinf remote gigs, but I would really like not to have to work too much. thanks for having such a rad channel miss Bananas🎉

It's actually a smart idea to narrow down the countries to just 2. I randomly decided to create an itinerary for backpacking south America and when I started discovering all the beautiful spots I was like ahhhh fuck theres too many beautiful places and I don't want to rush so I'll probably just do Brazil, Colombia and Peru for this first round hopefullyyyy.

South America is a good choice. Goodluck on your trip Christianne. I love your Mac desktop.. so pretty. 😃💙

Can't wait for your new business!!!! I want it all and I only can assume what it's going to be.

Im planning going to Peru and Bolivia and Im suuuuper excited. Go for the hiking sandals!

I recommend you research a little about what's going on in Ecuador. There's been a lot of protest from the people against the government. People have died in these protests, so just have that in mind for your own safety. I know about this since I live just next to Ecuador.

When are you coming to Brazil? I bet you'll love it

If you come to Bogotá y Will be charmed to show you my city, or if you need a couchsurfing too, have a good trip !!!

Going to Southeast Asia in 38 days. Sooo excited😍😍

I lovee this video! Please keep us updated

For your air travel, consider using two tickets to moderate air travel costs. Fly on a one way ticket to the USA, Miami or Orlando, spend a couple of days there and then go onward on a generally low priced ticket direct to Cali. You can do the same in reverse coming back home. Enjoy your trip, i'll be watching.

right behind you with my trips thailand /philipines for 30 days in each country next month . probably my next one will be in colombia

I've decided I'm finally going to go on my first solo trip around south east asia for 6 months. Would love to fit in India and Japan too but not sure my budget will stretch. So excited and nervous xx

I'm also planning to be in South America from late Dec through to the end of Feb! I'm keen to see what more you post in the lead up - I'd love to catch up with you at some leg of the journey. You've been a great inspiration for my solo travels so far, and I genuinely reckon we'd me great mates given the chance! disfruta tu planificación!

Good luck with your light weight packing. I just did 5 weeks in Berlin with carry-on only - (a standard Jansport school book bag!). And was able to do 4 weeks at a language school. 😁. Your trip is obviously longer and more in depth. But I was surprised I got by with SO LITTLE. I might say that one week at a language school is going to go by SO FAST. But it will add to the experience 😁.

I just went last summer to Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and a little of Panama! If you don’t end up going to Ecuador - peru would be amazing but also I did a sailing trip from Cartagena through the Islas de San Blas in Panama that was like the best week of my life! Would recommend! In Ecuador stay at Kamala in Montanita and Papachos in Banos! Baños is incredible so many fun adventure activities!!! Also definitely check out Guatape outside of Medellin!!!

I’m off to the Philippines because you inspired me to go from your vlogs!!

It's good that they have the warning up for Ecuador, the situation right now looks really bad, but hopefully it will get better soon.

I didn't see a star in the Catedral Lajas. You must return, also the river of colors Caño Cristales, zimpaquira Salt Cathedral 100 feet under ground. Villa de Leyva. Barranquilla backpacker dream

Hand luggage on many flights in Colombia is just an under the seat bag. They may have options to pay extra for a larger carry on but that’s definitely something to look into before hand since by far the easiest way to get around Colombia is flying

I love these types of videos! Planning trips are so fun! I am going to Iceland next week with my sister!

I just have been in Columbia for 3 months (1.5 months in Cali) I highly recommend the La Sucursal Hostel in Cali. They have professional Salsa and Batchata teachers in the Hostel. I am so excited for you and I need to hold back not to fill 1000 comments with recommendationes. Also in Ecuador I recommend the Community Hostels and for the Galapagos: it is not as expensive as you think. Bring a snorkel and do heaps of free snorkling and enjoy the sealions

You should go back to Margaret River again!!!🇦🇺😁🇦🇺

They aren't backpackers, but some van life channels I watched either just left Columbia or just arrived. They are the Mattneys and Trent and Allie. The Mattneys just left Ecuador during their current protests. So you may want to watch their videos first. Trent and Allie just made it there.

soothing tones again...currently exploring Rome then Tuscany.

I saw your top and thought oh that could be something and then read the bio!! Woo haha, looks great!

Besides the planning video i love that golden globe and scratch map. Must buy these for myself!

Hi Christie! Love your channel and all your videos. As someone who has never backpacked I'm sure you know more than I do and I'm sure you've probably checked this all out... But I work for the foreign office and we've just changed our travel advice over the weekend for Ecuador advising against all but essential travel there and against all travel for people crossing the border there and I immediately thought of you, thinking of your upcoming trip! Just wanting you to stay safe and whatever you choose I hope you have a wonderful time! EDIT: just continued to watch the video!! Haha and noticed you cover this. :)

Coffee break Spanish podcast is a good one to listen to x

You're amazing. As a complete beginner backpacker, this has been really helpful! Thank you!

I haven't even flown in 8 years and now I'm less then a month away from moving to the other side of the world - WH AUS.

Great video lovely Christie!!! ❤ Sounds like an amazing trip!!!! 😊👍 I am planning two trips next year one to South east Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia) in February and India in October! They are only for a few weeks each!

Planning 3 months in South East Asia going to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines in January! First ever solo backpack trip as well :)

Been waiting for you to announce a South America trip. Just finished mine and its amazing! 😍

Just got back from the Philippines a month ago. Heading to Lebanon for the first time in 3 months and starting to plan now. 💚

Definitely visit the Capital Bogota and then go to Cartagena on the Caribbean coast. I just left there to come to Perú. You’ll love it.

hi! love don`t forget carnaval in barranquilla

Fab video as always Christianne! In 3 weeks I'm off to solo travel SE Asia for (hopefully) six months and I'm so excited!!! Your videos are so helpful and I'm basically your biggest fan xxxx

I’m from the US and going to Australia for 3 months to do an internship in February! I’ve always wanted to go to Australia (and also New Zealand which I’ll def be visiting) so I’ll for sure be rewatching all your working holiday videos for ideas

Im planning for my 1 year working holiday in australia, never been away alone before so im very very excited! Just 4 months of grinding at work left and i will have the funds 😃

I'll be heading to Columbia in December as well. Perhaps I'll see you on the road or in Cali. Have a great time.

Ok when you said hand baggage only on your other video I HAD to click this & get to know your travel style. I can tell you are truly travel savvy and that is why I keep watching. Also good for you, it’s best for the environment to slow travel 💚

For our last 3 trips, we did carry on only. It's great! You just have to wash clothes every week or so.