Safest and most enjoyable South American country
hey guys our spanish class had to do presentation about each south american countries. and i noticed that most of them said it was a pretty dangerous country. i was wondering if there were any safe countries? plus. what is a really fun country to go to in south america?
18 Answers
From what are you hoping to be safe, precisely--drug traffickers, spicy food, pickpockets, perilous cliff hikes, chupacabras? I've always wanted to go to Argentina, and I get the impression it's pretty safe. According to the State Department, the main threat to visitors is traffic accidents. Sounds pretty tame to me. You can check out a report on going there and safety here. That same site probably has a similar informational page for other countries.
I also get the impression that Chile's pretty safe.
I live in Bolivia - often considered very dangerous - I have to say that apart from "losing" (gentle muggings) a few wallets I have had no problems. I suggest you carry 2 wallets - 1 with little money in it and another 1 well hidden.
Nor have I ever even seen any cocaine even though I live near where most of the coca leaf is grown.
I felt perfectly safe in Buenos Aires and also in Sao Paulo (but boy is it big!)
England can be dangerous if you are not careful.
Fun and enjoyment are relative - one person's fun is another's boredom, and vice-versa. Safety is also a relative thing. What, exactly, do you mean by safety, blblblbl?
In the Canadian city where we have lived for most of the past 30 years, we have had our house broken into twice. We also had a vehicle stolen from the street in front of our house. Does this make our city safe, or unsafe??
Over the years we have visited 4 of the South American nations - Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru. We have enjoyed our times in each of these countries, and have had relatively few problems with safety. One time in Ecuador someone slit a backpack that our daughter was wearing in the hope of having something of value fall out. On one trip to Bolivia (my country of birth) I was robbed of all the cash in my wallet by a couple of professional thieves (thankfully, they did not take any of my ID, nor did they take my credit / bank cards). These are the only 2 "safety" incidents that I can recall.
For the Central American / Caribbean region, we have also visited 4 countries: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Guatemala (where we have been living for the past couple of months). Our level of safety has felt the same as it did in South America. To date we have not personally experienced any "safety" issues in these countries - but we have heard of others who have had problems.
As for Marco's comments regarding Cuba, while there we met a fellow traveller who told us how she had been robbed twice in Havana during her Cuban holiday. In my mind, this puts Cuba on the same safety level as many of the other Latin American countries.
Possibly both things are mutually exclusive. Either it's fun, and dangerous, or safe, and duller.
CUba , Cuba and Cuba,,,is the safest os all . But yeah ,..I know its not in South America. Venezuela is in my opinion the worst of all , followed by Colombia. I dont think there are any real safe 100 % places in the world ,....( except Cuba of course ) ,....Ive traveled alone in Colombia for many months , with no problem ( except theft , travelers checks disappeared ),... but you make your own safety anywhere . Cartagena was really nice. Cheers. Ecuador beautiful and also no problems.
For some reason, South American countries really aren't that safe but can be a lot of fun if you like jungles and food poisoning 
. Especially if you are from the U.S. In my opinion, Mexico is the safest and can be a lot of fun. Enjoyable also.
hard question. I traveled in Latin America on a motorcycle this year and one thing I learned was not to listen to people 
Everyone tries to scare you of the next town, village or country because they have just heard bad stories and that's easier to accept than finding out for their own. But the truth is I've been to more dangerous places in the States. Every country has dangerous places in Latin America, in fact every city kind of does, and you gotta be smart about it which I know is kind of a vague thing to say.
I had great time in some countries and in some I didn't. For instance, I loved Peru, it was just amazing, the history, the scenery and the people, and not to mention the empty roads between cities. I feel the same about Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua and Guatemala for instance. Now I had some bad experiences in Panama which kind of ruined it for me (except the Kuna islands which were amazing), but I have friends that absolutely loved Panama. So it really depends on your experiences.
so to answer the question, I should say that every country is beautiful, e.g I never thought I would fall in love with Nicaragua, but I did. It all depends on what you experience there. And NEVER let people tell you a country is "dangerous", especially in Latin America, that's a load of crap, it's like saying don't go to NYC because it has some bad neighborhoods.
I have traveled pretty extensively and I have never been anywhere that compares to Mexico. In spite of the bad publicity we so often hear on the news here in the U.S., I have never experienced any real problems there. It would be very unfortunate for anyone to miss out on the incredible sights and experiences Mexico has to offer- ancient ruins, fantastic and varied scenery and wildlife, a rich and diverse culture, tasty food and incredibly friendly and open people. Plus, the bus system is excellent and affordable. I have felt more unsafe walking around in some U.S. cities, including my own which is pretty small (about 140,000 people), than I have in Mexico. (Just for context I am a young, white, blonde female). I think that no matter where you go you need to be confident and aware of your surroundings, that alone makes a big difference.
Also, Costa Rica is a beautiful country and it is considerably peaceful and safe. Nice folks, too.
Thanks for that info on Argentina. My friend's son and a friend want to backpack there for a month. They are not going with any group, just on their own. We are all a little worried.
Belize is in Central America but I've heard it's beautiful and pretty safe.
Every country is perfect. However, I would like to choose Venezuela.
I lived in Venezuela back in the '70's. It was a lot of fun, but not altogether safe then, but not too terribly dangerous. My friends who still live there say it is now extremely dangerous and no fun anymore.
My youngest daughter went to Argentina with her high school Spanish class. It's relatively safe, and the country is gorgeous. Both kids went to Costa Rica. It's also relatively safe and beautiful, despite not being in South America.
I went to Colombia for two months. Everyone in the USA says be careful there, but not once while I was there did I feel threatened in anyway. I went to Medellín, Pereira, and Montelibano. Beautiful cities. Beautiful people.
I think it really depends on where you as well - I don't think you can generalise a whole country's safety as it varies between regions, cities and even the barrios within cities.
I lived in Peru for 3.5 years and encountered some issues with safety in some places - mostly in Chimbote and in some areas of Lima (near and in the busy centre). However, I also spent time (sometimes multiple trips) in Cusco, Huaras, Yunguy, Arrequipa, Trujillo, Caraz and other small towns in the Andes, where I had no issues with safety at all.
If you stick to places which are more tourist-friendly and keep your wits about you then you're more likely to keep yourself safer.
Good luck! 
I live in Ecuador. There is some crime here, but I don't feel particularly unsafe. Before moving here, I lived in Los Angeles for many years, including 20 years in a "bad" neighborhood. I never felt particularly unsafe there either. I will admit that my neighbors and I have been robbed both in Ecuador and in LA, but far worse things have happened to me in my life.
