The World Travel Awards™ honor the world's best travel destinations in various categories every year. The "Oscars of tourism" so to speak. At this year's 24th award ceremony in Vietnam, four of our travel destinations in South America were able to receive the coveted award.

Best itineraries through South America

Colombia and Ecuador: Bogotá - San Gil - Cartagena - Tayrona National Park - Guayaquil - Galapagos Islands

Duration: 3 weeks

Best travel time: January to March

Bogotá is a real metropolis: fans of hot salsa rhythms can let off steam in countless bars and nightclubs. Meanwhile, in the middle of nowhere, San Gil attracts adrenaline seekers for rafting, abseiling, and caving.

The old town of Cartagena is just as passionately loved by literature fans as by many beach holidaymakers who did not even have the old colonial city on their radar. Both the narrow streets with their old cobblestones and the pulsating atmosphere have seduced many guests to stay longer than planned.

Santa Marta is also on the Caribbean coast and from there it is only a stone's throw to the Tayrona National Park, which probably has the most beautiful beaches on the entire continent - at least that's what they say in Colombia. The highest coastal mountain range in the world, the Sierra Nevada, extends almost to the beautiful shore and makes the hearts of all beach holidaymakers beat faster.

From Cartagena, it is best to fly back to Bogotá and on to Guayaquil, a large city in Ecuador on the Pacific Ocean. The city itself is not worth mentioning, but it is the last bit of mainland before the legendary Galapagos Islands. When I was visiting the city at the time, the flights, the hefty national park fees and the local tourist boats were too expensive for me. I decided not to detour and stayed in Guayaquil. And I regret it to this day. After all, you rarely come to Ecuador in life. And even more rarely in the immediate vicinity of countless wild animals such as sharks, turtles, penguins and sea lions. Due to the isolated location of the islands, the animals do not let us humans disturb them in the slightest.

The Galapagos Islands are one of the best places in the world for wildlife viewing. So don't make the same mistake as me!

Peru and Bolivia: Lima - Huacachina Oasis - Nasca Desert - Arequipa - Colca Canyon - Lake Titicaca - La Paz - Cusco - Machu Picchu

Duration: 3 – 4 weeks

Best travel time: May – September

This tour is one of the most popular on the South American continent and I first discovered the continent this way when I was in my early twenties.

Fifteen years ago, arriving in Peru came as a shock to me. With the bus I drove past dreary stone landscapes and even dreary dilapidated huts. It was my first time away from home on another continent and I had never seen so much poverty before. Lima overwhelmed me. So I booked myself into a nice hostel for the first few days and tried to make friends with the city. I roamed the trendy Barranco district and fell in love with ceviche – fresh fish in a lemon broth.

Five hours south of Lima is the town of Ica, best known for the nearby oasis of Huacachina. The spectacular scenery there reminded me a lot of the sand dunes of the Sahara, and dune walks, buggy tours and sandboarding are also available.

A few days of relaxation are enough, and then it's on to Paracas on the Pacific coast. The peninsula is also known as the "Poor Man's Galapagos Islands" due to its biodiversity. Penguins and sea lions can be observed on boat trips.

The Nazca Lines are world famous and flights over the famous shapes in the desert sand are an absolute must-do.

Hikes in the Andes have to be planned because of the altitude: Flying directly from the coastal town of Lima to Cusco can lead to real problems due to altitude sickness. Therefore, most tour operators recommend slowly getting used to the large difference in altitude and slowly ascending to higher altitudes.

With its 2,300 meters altitude, Arequipa is a good base camp: the city is surrounded by high volcanoes and a charming old town is waiting to be discovered. Chivay is not far away and is in the middle of the famous Valle de Colca, one of the deepest canyons in the world. The terraces were once created by the Incas and are still used for cultivation today.

A hike through the canyon is part of every round trip: from the 3,300 meter high Cabanaconde it is a good two-day hike down to the valley in Sangalle. A special highlight is a visit to the Mirador Cruz del Condor, where condors make their rounds in the morning.

From Arequipa we head to Puno on Lake Titicaca. Excursions to the floating islands can be taken in the world's highest lake, but otherwise there's not much to see apart from some nice panoramas for photos. The crossing in the direction of Bolivia to Copacabana is worthwhile. After all, on the Isla del Sol you can follow in the footsteps of the once powerful Inca culture and discover a lot of history.

From there it is only a short way to La Paz, the highest seat of government in the world. In addition to the usual sightseeing tour, the brave should venture on their mountain bikes on the Death Road from tropical Yungas to Coroico.

Return to Lima via Cusco Peru, the continent's oldest continuously inhabited city. It was the most important city of the Inca Empire and is a real pearl itself due to its numerous colonial buildings. However, many only use the city as a starting point for the Inca Trail, which takes them to the world-famous Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.

Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina: Rio de Janeiro - Manaus - Iguazu Falls - Punta del Diablo and Montevideo - Colonia del Sacramento - Buenos Aires

Duration: 3 weeks

Best travel time: February – March

Latinos love their carnivals and some of the hottest take place in Brazil's Salvador da Bahia and Colombia's Barranquilla. The most legendary and largest, however, is still the carnival in Rio de Janeiro. In addition, the whole city is out of control and for months in advance people have been training and dancing until they drop.

It takes about four hours to fly from Rio to Manaus. There, superlatives await on every corner: In the largest rainforest in the world, the river with the most water on earth - the Amazon - stretches across nine South American countries. Most people are drawn to Manaus to discover the Amazon on hikes or boat tours and to discover an incredible number of animals and plants in tropical and humid temperatures.

The distances in South America are simply huge. Therefore, during a three-week holiday you will not be able to avoid flying from Manaus to Foz do Iguazu to see the most powerful waterfalls in the world: The Iguacu Falls spread over an impressive total width of 2,700 meters and are rightly considered one of the seven natural wonder of the world. They stretch out on both the Argentine and Brazilian sides and can be admired from either side.

Then it's off to the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires, to dance the tango, eat steak and enjoy European flair. On the other side of the mighty Rio de la Plata, Uruguay's charming colonial town of Colonia del Sacramento can be reached in a few hours by ferry.

Uruguay surprised me positively. Internationally, the country is not often represented in the media and is considered the Switzerland of Latin America. Precisely because life there is a bit quieter and people would rather sip their mate tea than constantly have heated debates or be passionate. That suited my nature very well.

Places like Punta del Diablo are reminiscent of Salvador Allende's poems with their dreamy seaside village charm. Time seems to have stood still and only comes to life during the Argentinian holiday season.

We hope that our South America itineraries will help you plan your trip and that you will have as unforgettable a time as we have had on my many trips. Do you have any other tips for putting together an unforgettable trip? Then put it in the comments!