crellston

So, if you don’t want to visit the main tourist areas and you want to avoid the more dangerous areas, where exactLy do you want to go? You are not leaving a lot of options.

If you are going to be afraid every time you leave your hotel then just don’t go. Perhaps South America is not for you. Choose somewhere that you do feel safe. It really is that simple.

AirBalloon

What I meant by my post was that we don't want to be afraid to leave our hotels and explore the city or town we are in. We would be ok with visiting the main sites but we want our vacation to be more than that, so we have to consider this as we plan.

BDKR

"We just do not want to be afraid every time we leave our hotel and walk the cities or towns we are based in.'

Most of South/Latin America is not THAT dangerous that you have to be afraid leaving the hotel and walking around town.

My good friend spent a day by chance in San Pedro Sula, Honduras which is supposed to be one of the most dangerous cities in America and he said he wasn't afraid at all and it looked pretty normal.

What is meant by saying that you can't walk around like you would in Europe just means that you have to be more careful. Like using a moneybelt instead of/in addition to a wallet, never leaving your stuff unattended(for example sitting on a bus you don't throw your backpack casually on the next seat, but keep holding it), not walking around after nightfall, but taking a taxi(walking around by day is rarely a problem anywhere) and listening to your common sense(if an area looks sketchy just don't go there).

By the way I forgot to ask the most important question! You haven't been to South America, but have you been to Latin America, for example Mexico, Cuba, Costa Rica, etc?

Well, South America is pretty much like Mexico and Central America. If you have never been, than consider a short introductory trip for a couple of days to somwhere closer to the USA, where flights are not that expensive. A long weekend in Mexico City or a daytrip to Tijuana from San Diego,

kja

Many of us consider those normal travel precautions for Europe, too, with the possible exception of walking around after nightfall, which may or may not be safe anywhere. The extra precautions I think about when traveling to South America involve being much more alert and mindful than usual, doing enough research to have a very good sense of where I am relative to places where I can seek safety if necessary, learning more of the language than just civilities, learning about local scams and risks, etc.