Best Countries to Visit in South America
We scored 11 South American countries on a regional blend led by safety, affordability, culture, and climate, with development and LGBTQ+ friendliness as smaller supporting factors.
| # | Country | Score | 🛡️ Safety | 💰 Affordability | ☀️ Climate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇦🇷ArgentinaSouth America | 92 | 49 | 67 | 78 |
| 2 | 🇧🇷BrazilSouth America | 91 | 26 | 67 | 89 |
| 3 | 🇨🇱ChileSouth America | 89 | 42 | 67 | 81 |
| 4 | 🇧🇴BoliviaSouth America | 89 | 46 | 78 | 74 |
| 5 | 🇵🇪PeruSouth America | 88 | 33 | 66 | 93 |
| 6 | 🇪🇨EcuadorSouth America | 83 | 26 | 69 | 56 |
| 7 | 🇺🇾UruguaySouth America | 83 | 38 | 48 | 77 |
| 8 | 🇸🇷SurinameSouth America | 83 | 26 | 81 | 74 |
| 9 | 🇵🇾ParaguaySouth America | 83 | 40 | 78 | 78 |
| 10 | 🇬🇫French GuianaSouth America | 68 | — | — | 65 |
| 11 | 🇫🇰Falkland IslandsSouth America | 65 | — | — | 57 |
Methodology
Rankings are computed from real-world open data sources including the Global Peace Index, World Bank (intentional homicides as a civilian-safety signal, WGI political stability, PPP-based price level affordability, protected areas, forest cover, international tourism receipts, and IUCN threatened species counts), US State Department travel advisory levels, UNDP (Human Development Index, Gender Development Index, Gender Inequality Index, and Planetary Pressures-adjusted HDI), ILGA-style legal protections plus TGEU/Transrespect anti-violence reporting for LGBTQ+ traveler scoring, Open-Meteo (climate normals), UNESCO (heritage sites and gastronomy-city recognitions), Wikidata (distinguished restaurant counts and winter-sports results), and OpenStreetMap (restaurant density, cuisine diversity, and luxury hotel counts). Countries with a Level 3+ US State Department travel advisory are excluded. Learn more about our methodology on the About page.
Data current as of May 2026 and may change. Rankings are generated algorithmically from publicly available datasets and are not a substitute for independent research. Do not rely solely on this information when making travel decisions. Always verify conditions with official government sources. Terms of Use · About our data
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