Avoid tourist traps in Latin America
Gringo Disneyland isn't for everyone
The plane lands in Cusco. As you head towards the exit of the airport, you’re thrilled. It’s time to get away from all the gringos and be absorbed by Peruvian culture.
As you ride in your taxi, getting closer to your destination in Centro, you notice something. Gringos, a lot of gringos. Many of them wearing ponchos and dressing like the natives. Within a matter of days they have adopted the Inca identity.
Several of them are breathing hard and sucking canned oxygen as they struggle to fight through the altitude.
While this is funny, it’s not exactly what you had in mind for your trip to Peru. You’re looking for an authentic experience, not a gringo Disneyland.
This scenario happens all over Latin America in places like Medellin, Cusco, Mexican beach cities, etc
While it can be fun to chill with some other foreigners, it feels like a lot of the good spots in Latin America are already oversaturated.
Certain spots definitely have too many foreigners, but overall I would say this is somewhat overblown.
While some locals are understandably frustrated in neighborhoods like Poblado (Medellin) or Roma (Mexico City) where many have been priced out, the majority of neighborhoods and cities in Latin America don’t have many gringos at all.
There are some strategies that can be used if you want to avoid tourist traps in Latin America.
Stay in a different neighborhood
If you’re in a city that attracts people from all the over the world, don’t stay in the most popular neighborhood of said city. Examples would be Medellin (Poblado), Cusco (Centro/San Blas), Mexico City (Roma/Condesa), etc
While I enjoy all of these neighborhoods, on some trips I just want something lowkey and local. I don’t want to stay in the hood but I want to feel like I’m in another country.
Staying in the 3rd or 4th most popular zone of the city is usually enough. I see some other foreigners but nothing in comparison to the 1st zone.
The last time I was in Medellin, I stayed in Envigado (near the park) for a couple months. In my opinion, it’s the 3rd most popular zone for gringos after Poblado and Laureles. It’s a very Colombian neighborhood that is pretty much all small local businesses (juice shops, empanadas, bodegas, barber shops, etc.)
It obviously had less gringo amenities (fancy coffee shops, cool bars, expensive restaurants) but in return I got the local experience. I saw maybe 5 gringos in that neighborhood the entire time. So everyone I interacted with was Colombian.
What I found amusing was that nobody ever tried to scam me in Envigado. There are some sketchy ass people in Poblado that go to hustle gringos. But they don’t waste their time in other parts of the city.
Colombia can definitely be a country where certain individuals try to hustle the gringo. So whenever I find a chill neighborhood I really appreciate it. Most Colombians are good people.
Whenever I got the craving for gringo shit, I took a 20 minute uber to Poblado to get my fix. Then I would go back to my Colombian neighborhood to chill.
In most Latin American cities, the majority of gringo traffic is concentrated in 1-2 main neighborhoods, while the others are pretty much gringo free.
This strategy works pretty much every time if your goal is to be around more locals.
Stay outside the city
Let’s say that you’re in a place like Cusco where being in a neighborhood like Centro or San Blas just kind of makes sense logistics wise.
While there are some other zones to stay in, I don’t feel like there’s an obvious 3rd or 4th popular zone in another part of the city. The majority of the action is in these neighborhoods.
The last time I was in Cusco, I stayed about 15 minutes (walking) east of San Blas. There were a few gringos but it was pretty much all Peruvian locals. I was close to all the action in the city without all the tourist traps.
While this was cool for a base in Cusco, I discovered something I dug more.
After traveling around the Sacred Valley for several weeks by collectivo (white vans), the small towns impressed me.
While Cusco as a city is not very big, the surrounding area called the Sacred Valley gives you many options. These are essentially the 3rd and 4th zones you could find in a bigger city.
Cusco is very well connected by collectivos that go all day between these different towns. From Cusco you can spend a couple bucks and hop in one to Pisac. And from there continue on through the Sacred Valley.
I hopped in these collectivos in each town and paid a couple bucks to get to the next one. It was as simple as waving at a white van whenever it passed by.
Towns like Pisac, Calca, and Urabamba were pretty interesting and had enough wifi to base up in. Pisac had some foreigners but mostly hippies into taking shrooms. I didn’t see many foreigners in Urubamba or Calca.
Places like Chinchero and Maras were interesting and extremely Peruvian, but to the point where it would be almost impossible to get consistent wifi or access to ATMs. They were both dead around 5PM. This could be a good thing for you depending on what your goals are.
The next time I’m in Cusco I’ll probably stay in the pueblos again. I really enjoyed the local experience in these places. This is a good strategy for cities with some cool nearby towns.
Stay in another city
If you really just want something completely local, don’t go to the famous cities. Go to the less popular ones.
Bogota, Medellin, and Cartagena get all the love in Colombia. But Barranquilla and Cali don’t get much love. That makes them interesting places to visit if you want a more Colombian experience.
After spending a month in Cali the last time I was in Colombia, I honestly feel it’s the most authentic Colombian city.
Everywhere you go you hear Salsa music. Uber, restaurants, gym, barber shop, coffee shop, etc. You literally here salsa music everywhere in Cali.
The streets are filled with typical Colombian shops selling empanadas, bandeja paisa, and juices.
And you barely see any gringos.
Since it’s not a tourist destination, people were cool and relaxed. Nobody was trying to scam me or cause any other issue. This is common in cities where tourism isn’t the focus.
Cities like Cali are great to visit for this reason. It’s basically all locals.
While I’m cracking gringo jokes and sharing my strategies for avoiding tourists, I’m not really talking shit. I’m a gringo and love to grab drinks and have some foreign friends I can relate with in my travels. Everyone should travel how they want.
However, I also enjoy some adventure outside of the gringo safe space from time to time. Getting away from all the tourism spam can be relaxing. And I enjoy interacting with some of the locals.
If you’re looking for a similar vibe, try some of these strategies and I promise you’ll avoid most of the gringos.