Frommer's South America (Frommer's Complete Guides)

You'll never fall into the tourist traps when you travel with Frommer's. It's like having a friend show you around, taking you to the places locals like best. Our expert authors have already gone everywhere you might go-they've done the legwork for you, and they're not afraid to tell it like it is, saving you time and money. No other series offers candid reviews of so many hotels and restaurants in all price ranges. Every Frommer's Travel Guide is up-to-date, with exact prices for everything, dozens of color maps, and exciting coverage of sports, shopping, and nightlife. You'd be lost without us!

Frommer's South America is the premier guide to the continent, with complete coverage of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. You'll get details on Carnaval, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, Galápagos, the hang gliding in Rio, the ice cream in Mérida, and much more. Whether you're an archaeology buff, an outdoor adventurer, or a partier in search of a good time, South America presents so many diverse travel options that it'll make your head spin. Frommer's South America will help you plan a memorable trip, starting with our highly opinionated lists of the best experiences the continent has to offer.

A native of California, Shawn Blore (Brazil) has lived and worked in a half dozen countries and traveled in 40 more (but who’s counting?). Now a resident of Vancouver, Shawn is an award-winning magazine writer and the author of Vancouver: Secrets of the City and co-author of Frommer’s Brazil and Frommer’s Portable Rio de Janeiro.

To do Argentina right, Shane Christensen (Argentina, Uruguay) moved in with a Porteño family, committed himself to a rigorous steak-only diet, searched Buenos Aires for the perfect tango partner, and added a rich Argentine accent to his Mexican-learned Spanish. With his nascent Argentine credentials, he roamed the country’s far corners, finding that no place in South America offers such geographic diversity and cultural distinction. A California native, Shane has written extensively in South America, Western Europe, and the United States for the Berkeley Guides, Fodor’s, and The Wall Street Journal.

Alexandra de Vries (Brazil) made her first journey to Brazil at the ripe old age of 1 month. (Alas, few of her food reviews from that trip survive.) In the years since, Alexandra has returned many times to travel, explore, and live in this amazing country. Alexandra cowrites Frommer’s Brazil and Frommer’s Portable Rio de Janeiro about her all-time favorite place to visit.

Eliot Greenspan (Venezuela) is a poet, journalist, and travel writer who took his backpack and typewriter the length of Mesoamerica before settling in Costa Rica in 1992. Since then, he has traveled almost ceaselessly around Latin America, writing articles and guidebooks to feed his travel habit. He feels particularly at home in the neotropics—in its rain and cloud forests, on its rivers, and under its seas. Eliot is the author of Frommer’s Costa Rica and Frommer’s Belize and co-author of Frommer’s Cuba.

Haas Mroue (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador) is a freelance travel writer based in the United States. His short stories, poems, and travel pieces have appeared in a variety of publications, including Interiors Magazine, the Michigan Quarterly Review, the Literary Review, National Geographic guides, Fodor’s, Berlitz, and Britannica.com. He’s the author of Frommer’s Memorable Walks in Paris and Frommer’s Paris from $90 a Day, and is a contributor to Frommer’s Argentina & Chile, Frommer’s Gay & Lesbian Europe, and Frommer’s Europe from $70 a Day.

Neil E. Schlecht (Peru) first trekked to Machu Picchu in 1983 as a college student spending his junior year abroad in Quito, Ecuador. The author of a dozen travel guides (including Frommer’s Peru and Spain For Dummies), as well as articles on art and culture and art catalogue essays, and a photographer, he has lived for extensive periods in Brazil and Spain. He now resides in northwestern Connecticut.

Kristina Schreck (Antarctica, Chile, Colombia) has traveled extensively throughout Latin America and has lived and worked in Argentina and Chile for 8 years. She is the former managing editor of Adventure Journal magazine and is co-author of the first edition of Frommer’s Argentina & Chile. Kristina currently resides in Santiago and the Andes, where she works year-round for Ski Portillo (and although she thinks it is the greatest ski resort in the world, to be fair, she asked an independent, impartial source to edit the Chile skiing coverage in this guide).