12 Best Places to Visit in Central and South America in January

If you wish to spend white Christmas with your family, but still indulge yourself with a nice and affordable vacation, we’re giving you the list of 12 best places to visit in Central and South America in January!

Christmas and New Year — these are absolute most favorite and joyful holidays all over the world. Everything is beautifully decorated wherever you look. Even if it isn’t snowing yet, the trees, streets, houses and town squares are covered with sparkling ornaments. The lights are shining brightly, and here and there you see a Santa climbing people’s balconies (not the real one, of course). And the shopping! Gift giving is the inevitable part of the celebrations. As the holidays are getting nearer, people are becoming more nervous and running around in a frenzy, looking for the perfect gift (original, most appropriate and most affordable, if possible). At work, the situation isn’t much better either. Managers are anxious about the yearly reports they have to hand in, while the workers are impatiently waiting for their Christmas bonuses and the traditional end of the year party. To summarize, December is one stressful month with carols echoing wherever you go. Not only is everyone around you tense, and (un)successfully hiding it behind a smile, but once the holidays actually arrive, they don’t bring the expected pure joy. Surely Christmas is a wonderful holiday when the whole family gathers around to celebrate the birth of little Jesus. “Christmas ain’t Christmas till someone cries,” as the Donkey put it. As much as we love our dearest, once the holidays are officially over, it is no wonder you feel drained both emotionally and physically.

Therefore, you must admit you deserve a little vacation, don’t you? In that case, here are 15 best places to travel in January in Europe, Asia and tropical destinations! However, if the money is a bit tight after all that gift giving, don’t worry. Our list of best places to visit in Central America and South America will bring you holidays that are more than affordable!

Reasonably priced holidays are what we had in mind after that money-consuming December, so we checked the cheapest holidays in Latin America at Price of Travel. We found lots of places of tourist interest in South America that are perfectly affordable considering the price of decent accommodation, good food, and transport. Which countries are safe to visit in Central America, and down south as well, was the logical question, so we had to exclude Venezuela from our list. Safety first, right? The next step was to check the weather in those cities and places in January, so we consulted with our primary source Holiday Weather, and with Weather and Climates to Travel, too. Naturally, checking the average temperature in January is what you expect to be our criteria, but you’ll be happy to know that we also checked the situation with the precipitation and sunny days. You’d be pretty disappointed if you arrived in central or South America only to see the same gray clouds like back home, no matter how warm the air temperature is. If you want some additional information regarding the best time to visit South America Lonely Planet website provides essential and much needed information, as well.

If you have already splurged on vacation after reading 12 Best Places to Visit in Central and South America in December and are looking for best places to visit in South America in February, we would suggest going to Mexico or Argentina. In case you are wondering where to spend Christmas in South America, the list mentioned above will be of great help.

Without further ado, here are the best places to visit in Central and South America in January. They are given in random order due to the fact that it would be biased to rank them according to what kind of sightseeing you can do there. Some are best countries to visit in South America with lovely beaches, while there are also places with breath taking nature and lively cities. There are no temperatures listed since the weather is great everywhere, but rather some fun facts and information to help you make up your mind more easily. Whatever appeals to you, we’re sure you’ll find it in our list of 12 best places to visit in Central and South America in January!

12. Quito, Ecuador

If you have ever wished for eternal spring, this is the perfect city for you! Believe it or not, but Quito has the spring temperature all year round. The bad sides of it are that it is usually loaded with tourists. Another fun fact — Quito was the first city in the world to be proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has the best-preserved and largest Old Quarter in all of Latin America.

11. Mexico City, Mexico

Which is the best country to visit in Central America? It’s a tough choice, but Mexico is the place to be in January. Culture vultures will surely indulge the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary, or the Blue House (the Frida Kahlo Museum).

And now, we are continuing our list with top ten best places to visit in Central and South America in January.

10. Cartagena, Colombia

This is a charming Colombian fishing village with gorgeous beaches. If you like to roam the cobbled streets, you’ll find the colonial architecture very appealing.

9. Lima, Peru

The capital city of Peru ranks 9th on our list of best places to visit in Central and South America in January. It has an amazing view of the Pacific, but it has nothing to do with Adriana Lima. For all those rain haters out there, this is the perfect city for you. There’s only the occasional drizzle here. Did you know Lima is the second largest desert capital city in the world?

8. Santiago, Chile

Presidential Palace, museums and the house of Pablo Neruda are all located in this capital. Another reason why you must have it in your tourist map of South America is because this is a city of striking differences. The place where traditional architecture meets modern buildings, and high end shops are no competition to the local markets. What is the safest country in South America? You guessed it. It’s Chile, according to the Global Peace Index ranking system.

7. Buenos Aires, Argentina

Which are the best countries to visit in South America? Well, it’s hard to tell, but the list of 12 best places to visit in Central and South America in January just couldn’t exist without the good old Buenos Aires. This second largest country in South America has a lovely capital which is a melting pot of different cultures.

6. Roatan Islands, Honduras

Finding a taxi here should be no problem since there are around 400 of them. The place is very busy due to the fact there are two big ports in Roatan Islands. While in Argentina you expect to hear tango, it is actually country music that is popular in Honduras.

5. San Jose, Costa Rica

If you feel like having beans and rice together for breakfast, head this way. Gallo Pinto is the official dish of Costa Rica and every restaurant has it on its menu. If you adore rain-forests and wish to explore them (after all, you are in tropical areas), this is the city for you because it is basically surrounded by it. A quick getaway can take you into the lush nature. Also, San Jose is one of the safest cities in Latin America, so you needn’t worry about crime.

4. Antigua, Guatemala

We are continuing our list of best places to visit in Central and South America in January with Antigua Guatemala which is the UNESCO Heritage site and one of top Central America’s tourist destinations. You have already read about one here, but here is what really makes Antigua stand out. This city is surrounded by four volcanoes: Agua, Fuego, Acatenango and Pacaya! You are very welcome to climb them if you are permitted to do so. Instead of swimming and sunbathing, why don’t you go volcano climbing for a change?

And now, let’s see the top three best places to visit in Central and South America in January.

3. Montevideo, Uruguay

Another capital, Montevideo, has the population of over 1.2 million. As usual, you will find a mixture of office blocks and old town buildings, but Palacio Salvo is a building you mustn’t miss if you choose this destination. Also, Uruguay is the only country in Latin America that doesn’t belong to the tropics.

2. Panama City, Panama

Which is the best country to visit in Central America? We’re not sure which would be the best of the best, but this is the ultimate country to buy a Panama hat. You just can’t do without it. Everyone is going to ask you about it, so you better get it over with and purchase the famous hat. Among other the top ten things to do in Panama we would also recommend visiting the Panama Canal, Panama Viejo and Parque Natural Metropolitano, which is a national park just outside the city borders.

1. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

 Our final recommendation as the one of 12 best places to visit in Central and South America in January is Rio de Janeiro. You all know Adriana Lima, so you can imagine what beauties come from this country. Rio has been the favorite tourist destination for ages, and you’d better make reservations on time if you are to enjoy its beaches and check out the world renowned Jesus Christ statue. Period between December and March is the time of year which is best for visits, so go ahead and call your travel agent before the arrangements are sold out!