The cities we already have groups in, and how many students are inside.
0+Students in groups
0Cities with groups
0Countries
Americas
1,555students
8 countries
Region guide
The South America playbook.
South America is the big-swing exchange: a continent where your euro stretches further, the landscapes are absurd, and you come home actually fluent instead of merely conversational. It is for students who want more adventure than comfort, who will trade long bus rides, flipped seasons and slow paperwork for Patagonia and Machu Picchu on their weekends. If you want to grow up fast and party hard while doing it, this is your semester.
low budgetslearning Spanish or Portugueseepic weekend tripsbig-city energyadventurous types
Monthly budget
€600–1,400 / mo depending on country
Languages
Spanish almost everywhere, Portuguese in Brazil; English gets you through uni but barely through daily life, so land with basics and leave fluent-ish.
When to go
Seasons are flipped below the equator — the March–July semester lands you summer-into-autumn, so arrive early and travel before classes ramp up.
Getting around
Long-distance buses are the backbone — comfy, cheap and overnight — while budget airlines cover the big hops; city metros and ride apps handle the rest.
🌍
Why go on exchange in South America
Europe's exchange scene is polished and predictable; South America is neither, and that is the point. For the price of a room in Lyon you get a semester in Buenos Aires or Bogota, with Patagonia, the Amazon and Machu Picchu as your weekend options. You will leave genuinely fluent, not just able to order a beer, and with a friend group scattered across a continent.
The trade-offs are real. Flights home are long and pricey, bureaucracy moves at its own pace, and you need functional Spanish or Portuguese to thrive, because English-only students struggle. Seasons are flipped, so you are skiing in July. It suits people who are flexible, a little brave, and happier chasing experiences than ticking off a comfortable checklist.
🎉
Student life & the social scene
Days start slow and end late. Lunch is the big meal, dinner rarely happens before 9pm (Argentines push past 10), and a night out does not get going until 1am, with pre-drinks ('previa') at someone's flat and clubs ('boliches') running until sunrise. Students are warm and curious, and being the foreigner is a social cheat code.
ESN exists in a few cities, but the real network is your host uni's international office and the WhatsApp groups you get dumped into on day one. Make the effort to befriend locals, not just other exchange kids: mate gets passed around, you will be invited to family asados, and that is where the semester actually happens.
💸
Money & cost of living
Your money goes dramatically further than in Europe, but 'South America is cheap' hides a big spread. Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador are genuinely budget, and you can live well on 450-600 euros a month. Uruguay and Chile are the priciest, closer to European mid-tier at 800-1,100.
Argentina is the wildcard: chronic inflation means prices in euros swing month to month, but if you bring dollars and change money smartly, Buenos Aires is one of the best-value cities on Earth. Rent is your biggest lever, with a shared room ('pieza compartida') running 100-150 euros in La Paz and 250-400 in Santiago or Montevideo. Cook, take the bus, and you will bank real savings.
Bolivia: €400-600/mo, rooms €100-180
Peru / Ecuador / Colombia: €500-700/mo, rooms €150-300
Argentina: €500-750/mo (volatile), rooms €200-350
Brazil: €600-950/mo, pricier in Rio & Sao Paulo
Chile / Uruguay: €800-1,100/mo, rooms €300-450
🚆
Getting around the region
Forget trains: South America barely has passenger rail. The backbone is long-distance buses, and they are excellent, with overnight 'cama' seats that recline almost flat, cost a fraction of flying and connect everything. Cities run on cheap metros (Santiago, Medellin), colectivos and buses; grab a rechargeable transit card (SUBE in Argentina, Bip! in Chile) on day one, and use Uber or Cabify over street taxis.
For distance, budget airlines like JetSmart, Sky, Flybondi, Gol and Azul run sales if you book weeks ahead. But the continent is vast: Buenos Aires to Santiago is a 2-hour flight or a 20-hour bus, so real weekend hops only work within a cluster like Argentina-Chile-Uruguay or Peru-Bolivia.
Buenos Aires ↔ Montevideo: 2.5h ferry (Buquebus) or 1h flight
Buenos Aires ↔ Santiago: 2h flight / ~20h bus
Lima ↔ Cusco: 1.5h flight / ~21h bus
Cheap carriers: JetSmart, Sky, Flybondi, Gol, Azul, plus LATAM sales
🎓
Universities & academics
Teaching leans traditional: lectures, heavy reading, oral exams and continuous assessment rather than one make-or-break final. Contact hours can be higher than you are used to, and professors are approachable but formal. Almost everything is in Spanish (Portuguese in Brazil), so beyond a handful of English-taught courses at private universities, real language skills are non-negotiable.
Credits do not map one-to-one; your coordinator converts local hours into ECTS, and grading scales catch people out (Chile marks from 1.0 to 7.0 with 4.0 a pass; Peru uses 0-20). Also mind the flipped calendar: in the south the year runs March-July then August-December. Standout student cities include Buenos Aires (UBA, enormous and free), Santiago (Catolica and Universidad de Chile), Sao Paulo (USP), Bogota (Los Andes) and Lima (PUCP).
🛂
Visas & the paperwork
This depends entirely on your passport, so treat the below as orientation and confirm with each consulate. Most EU, UK and US students get visa-free tourist entry (usually 90 days) to Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay, but a full semester of five to six months almost always needs a proper student visa, which you start before you fly. Note that Brazil now requires visas for US, Canadian and Australian citizens, though EU passports stay visa-free for tourism.
Expect to register with immigration or the police once you arrive, prove enrolment and funds, and carry health insurance, which is non-negotiable and often checked. Start the paperwork early, because consulate queues are slow.
Full semester (5-6 months) usually means a student visa, arranged before departure
Tourist visa-free entry does not equal permission to study long-term
Brazil: EU visa-free; US/Canada/Australia now need an e-visa (2025)
Bring proof of enrolment, funds and valid health insurance
Register with local immigration after arrival where required
🍽️
Food, culture & everyday life
You will eat well and cheaply. Expect Argentine asado and milanesa, Brazilian rice-beans-and-feijoada, Peruvian ceviche and lomo saltado (the best food on the continent, fight me), Colombian arepas and Bolivian salteñas. Lunch is the main event and dinner is late. Mate, the shared herbal gourd, gets passed around constantly in Argentina and Uruguay, and refusing feels rude, so learn the etiquette.
Greet with a cheek kiss, run on 'la hora latina' where everything starts late, and do not drink the tap water in Bolivia, Peru or much of Brazil. Time your semester around Brazilian Carnival (February/March), Cusco's Inti Raymi (24 June) or Chile's Fiestas Patrias (18 September) and the whole country becomes your classroom.
✈️
Travel & weekend adventures
This is the real reason you came. Within a single cluster you can knock out world-wonder trips on a student budget if you take night buses and stay in hostels. From Buenos Aires, ferry to Uruguay or bus to Iguazu and Mendoza; from Lima, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu; from La Paz, the Uyuni salt flats and Lake Titicaca.
Patagonia (Bariloche, El Chalten, Torres del Paine) is the crown jewel but eats time and money, so plan one big trip rather than five little ones. Save the Galapagos and the deep Amazon for a proper break, not a weekend, because they are pricey and slow to reach.
Iguazu Falls, on the Argentina/Brazil border, bus up from Buenos Aires
Machu Picchu & the Sacred Valley, base yourself in Cusco
Uyuni salt flats (Bolivia): 3-day tour from Uyuni or Tupiza
Patagonia, El Chalten trekking and El Calafate's Perito Moreno glacier
Rio de Janeiro or Florianopolis for beaches; Atacama for desert
🧭
Which country is right for you
No country wins outright, so pick for what you actually want out of the semester. Here is the quick match.
On a tight budget, Bolivia, then Peru or Ecuador
Best nightlife, Buenos Aires and Brazil (Rio, Sao Paulo)
Nature & outdoors, Chile and Argentina for Patagonia; Ecuador for volcanoes
Most English-taught courses, private unis in Chile and Colombia
Beaches & warmth, Brazil and Colombia's Caribbean coast
History, culture & the clearest Spanish, Peru, Bolivia and Colombia
💡
Insider tips & rookie mistakes
The stuff that separates a smooth semester from a stressful one is rarely in the welcome pack. A few hard-won lessons.
Seasons are flipped, June to August is winter, so pack accordingly
In Argentina, change money via Western Union or the 'blue'/MEP rate, not your card
Acclimatise to altitude in La Paz (3,600m), Cusco and Quito before you hike
Book Machu Picchu, Uyuni and Patagonia weeks ahead; permits and buses sell out
Keep your phone out of sight in big cities, where petty theft is the main risk
Start visa and enrolment paperwork early, because bureaucracy is gloriously slow
Exchange tools
Plan it before you fly.
Free tools to budget, pick a city and sort your paperwork.
