About South America Backpacker

Flags at Salar de Uyuni

How did South America Backpacker begin? 

South America Backpacker is brought to you by the same people who created South East Asia Backpacker.

In 2008, a 23-year old English backpacker called Nikki travelled from the UK to Kathmandu, then onward to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and the rest of Southeast Asia. She fell in love with the spontaneity of backpacking life and decided there and then that she never wanted to go home.

Nikki-Book-One-girls-adventure
Nikki in the Philippines with South East Asia Backpacker Magazine.

Along her journey, she met hundreds of like-minded travellers who all had something to share. She wanted to create a ‘travel diary for everyone’ – a place where backpackers could share their ideas and tales of sweet life on the open road!

This was the beginning of South East Asia Backpacker Magazine, a printed magazine which was distributed to hostels and adventure centres all along the backpacker trail. The magazine became famous as it was picked up and lovingly kept in backpacks all across the region.

After publishing 30 print magazines over 5 years, Nikki decided to explore the South America backpacking scene and start the second magazine – South America Backpacker.

Nikki exploring Machu Picchu on the trip that launched South America Backpacker Magazine!
Nikki exploring Machu Picchu on the trip that launched South America Backpacker!

South America Backpacker Today!

Today, South America Backpacker is run by a small team of four people. Nikki, founder and editor, decided to put her relationship to the ultimate test by bringing boyfriend Dave on board as the resident website and SEO nerd. 

Nikki and Dave
Nikki and Dave working from one of their many bases whilst travelling!

Sheree and Tim, two enthusiastic backpackers from the UK, also started writing for South America Backpacker on a year-long backpacking trip around the continent in 2018, reviewing trips and penning destination guides and articles for the website.

Sheree and Tim travelling and writing in South America!
Sheree and Tim travelling and writing in South America!

The team are working to recreate the feeling of community within the backpacking sphere and built a supportive network online where travellers can share their knowledge with others. 

The South America Backpacker Team!

Write For Us!

South America Backpacker is and always will be, a collection of voices. Become a part of our community and submit your own articles, travel guides and photographs from your travels. We can’t wait to read about your adventures from the road! 

We know how important our community are and in return for their support and contribution, we are happy to share the perks of running a travel website.

We offer our readers the opportunity to try out trips (for free) for potential inclusion on our South America Backpacker booking system and review hostels… all for free! If you want to get involved, check out our collaborations page to find out how!

Couple sit on dune buggy
Two of our writers, Alisha and Harry reviewing a sandboarding trip in Huacachina, Peru!

5 Ways to Get Involved! 

  • Join the South America Backpacker Facebook community! This is THE place to find travel buddies and get your burning travel questions answered! 
  • Write an article for our website or update one of our existing travel guides. We love hearing from travellers on the road and always credit writers. 
  • Consider purchasing your accommodation, travel insurance and trips through our website. This won’t cost you any extra but it gives us a small commission which helps with the upkeep of the site.
  • Connect with us on social media! If you love what we do and have found it helpful, please share our content with your followers and tag us 🙂
  • Sign up for our newsletter to keep up to date with all things South America!

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