Please could you send recommendations of where I can visit from now until the start of Jan

[Guest]

Hey guys. I am a bit stuck. I have a flight booked for tomorrow from Guayaquil to Lima. I spent £250 on it and I don’t think I can get a refund. My plan was to travel down Peru by bus to Cusco for Christmas and new year before flying home to London at the start of January (but I haven’t booked a flight for this). Everyone who is in Peru is telling me not to go so I am trying to decide what to do - say goodbye to the money and book a flight elsewhere but where?

I have been to Colombia and Ecuador and I am open to going anywhere to be honest which is good for backpackers and maybe where the flight back to London in January won’t be crazy expensive. Since I already have the flight to Lima I could fly from Lima or Guayaquil. Please could you send recommendations of where I can visit from now until the start of Jan.

I realise a bit of a complicated request - mucho gracias!

[Kristin]

I wouldn’t come to Peru right now. With all the protests and roads closed it’s not worth it. Airports in Cusco and Arequipa are closed.

[Anita]

EASY… Go an spend Christmas and New Years in Chile!! You can flight to Santiago and then go to Valparaiso, Viña Del Mar and keep going down south. When the time comes, you just take a flight back to Santiago and then a direct flight to London.

[Mikko]

Im in Cusco and going to stay here. Lets have a look for next couple of days or a week!

[Maurice]

Go to Bolivia. Visit the Uyuni salt flats, the best season now...you will have the moon and stars on your feet

[Liz]

If the airport is closed like some people said I would think they’d have to cancel the flight? In that case they’d refund you.

[Lois]

You could maybe go to Bolivia and then if it calms down you would be close enough to get back to Cusco for Christmas.

[Anke]

Most of us here are trying to get out and unable to, so even if you don't get a refund (I hope you do though) don't come here!

[Tracey]

Currently in Peru, happened to be in Lima the day the President was ousted. I am on route to Ecuador. One of my buses was held up for five hours because of protests, fires on the road.... I hear protests outside my hotels and police are everywhere... If you travel to Peru lots will be closed that you might want to visit, everything was closed in Lima....up to you...

[David]

Valparaíso / Viña del mar it's a cool place to visit I think, art and beaches... also the biggest fireworks spectacle in latin america as far as I know for new year's eve.. also Buenos Aires is a city full of life and art.. both are urban destinations certainly, but then in Chile you have many interesting places to visit in nature, specifically in the south.

[Mari]

Well, I would fly to Argentina if I were you! Spend the Christmas in Buenos Aires.

[Maria]

Everyone is recommending Chile, which is also nice but I loved Argentina more. In general Patagonian area is more expensive than rest of the country. Buenos Aires is nice, I really liked Mendoza wine region, you can visit Uruguay from BA by ferry (beaches for an example) And there is direct flights to London.

[Luis]

Looking for a similar alternative to Peru and much cheaper and just as gorgeous, you gotta do Bolivia. Been to both Chile and Argentina, and in the region of the salt falts, Bolivia is much much more reasonably priced and more authentic than both Chile and Argentina although northern Argentina is awesome including Iguazu Falls and the Jujuy Province near the Salt Flats. Remember that flying back to Mexico was very cheap for me from La Paz, Bolivia or Acsucion Paraguay so would check flights from there to London as they might be just as cheap rather than from Santiago or Buenos Aires, although wont deny BA is a lovely city to visit too.