Over the years, I've been asked many times if it is safe to travel to South America. I had one American guy who was planning a family multisport trip, but he had read that somebody was killed in Peru, so he decided that he didn't want to travel there or to Ecuador, Chile, Argentina or Brazil because they were too close to Peru and it wasn't safe.
I recently read an article in "Travel Weekly" where a travel consultant said:
I recently read an article in "Travel Weekly" where a travel consultant said:
"Advice about “what is safe” has to be accompanied by a follow-up question: “Compared to what?” The data often indicates that churches, supermarkets, gymnasiums and stadiums are, statistically, the most dangerous places to be in the U.S. Here in the U.S., we have one of the world’s largest per capita Covid rates, the highest percentage of anti-vaxxers and deniers, and, Covid aside, we rank No. 122 on 2021 rankings of the respected Global Peace Index. That would mean that there are 121 countries on this Earth that are considered statistically safer than the United States. I am not sure that staying in the States and flitting about from place to place ranks very high on the safety scale. The BBC reported that 56% of Americans believe there will be a second American Revolution."
As you can see from the map, South America is almost twice as big as the United States. Brazil by itself is almost the same size as the contiguous 48 states. People might decide to go to a national park in Utah because they think Chicago is too dangerous. By the same token, if someone thinks Sao Paulo is too dangerous, they could decide to go to the Amazon or the Pantanal or Patagonia or the Galapagos Islands. Those places are far away from urban areas and there is very little violence there. There are also quaint towns and small villages and rural areas that are very safe, where you don't have to worry about being shot at or attacked. Spending several days at one or more haciendas in various regions of Ecuador or Colombia is a unique and safe experience.
RSS Feed
