Great Local Tour Guides

I'm typically not a fan of overly structured travel, but one thing I always appreciate is a great, personalized, guided tour. Sophia Dembling's recent article, Guidebooks Get You Going, But a Guide Helps You Learn, couldn't have been more spot on. As Sophia writes: Guidebooks can introduce you to the big stuff while walking tours not only provide peeks between the lines, but also are chances to hang with a local and ask questions you've wondered in your wandering.

Local guides are very important to us at On The Road Travel. In each of our cities we have tried to highlight a local, personal guide who we feel does a great job explaining the less obvious highlights of their city, town or country.

Daniel Concha, in Cusco, grew up in the Peruvian jungle and is a great teacher of the spiritual aspects of Peru. The women of Santiago Zamora, near Antigua, Guatemala, can give you a  unique perspective of the indigenous culture of Guatemala with a tour of their village. In Buenos Aires, Robert Wright, a former tour guide for Rick Steves, can show you the hidden nooks and crannies of this incredible city. Lastly, when in Rio de Janeiro, you will get a unique perspective of the Brazilian social situation with Marcelo Armstrong's tour of the favelas (slums). Marcelo, who grew up near a favela in Rio, is one of the pioneers of the favela tour. Check out the OTR website for more great tour guides in Latin America.

Travel Advice & Recommendations from Local Experts