South America

What you need to pack will depend on when and where you plan on travelling and on the activities that you plan to include whilst on your South America tour. The following should act as a useful checklist of essential items: • Passport, photocopy of passport & spare passport photos • Travel Insurance documents • Air tickets and itinerary • Foreign Currency (US$) and/or debit/credit cards, traveller’s cheques • Money belt • Small daypack • Basic first aid kit • High UVA sun block • Sunglasses & sunhat • Mosquito spray & insect repellent • Comfortable walking shoes/boots • Sandals • Long sleeve tops and trousers • Light-weight clothing • Warm clothing (depending on itinerary and time of year) • Camera with spare battery and memory cards • Security code padlock • Adaptor • Small torch

South America is a large continent, stretching from 10 degrees north of the Equator in Colombia, to 55 degrees south of the the Equator in Patagonia. This means the equatorial regions of Peru and Ecuador have a wet and dry season with a consistent temperature year round. Peru's dry season ranges from April to October, the same time as the Patagonian winter where day time temperatures are freezing and the sun rises at 9am and sets at 5pm.
If you travel to Patagonia during Peru’s wet season (October – April), you can enjoy up to 16 hours of daylight each day with comfortable daytime temperatures to enjoy the beautiful outdoors. When planning your South American adventure, it's best to try and avoid traveling long distances from north to south to optimise local weather patterns.