5 flavour-filled experiences across Latin America 

Tacos, tamales, tostadas and tlacoyo, street food in Mexico City is a way of life. Chaotic, cacophonous and crammed with colourful produce, the historic San Juan market is a good place to start your Mexican Street Food journey. As are its traditional neighbourhoods where you’ll taste typical street eats like squash flower burritos, carnitas and cemitas. A walking tour of the historic core of UNESCO-listed city of Puebla takes in more markets and street stalls where you’ll discover regional delicacies like mole poblano. Journey Latin America, the UK’s number one Latin America travel specialist, highlights Mexico’s culinary culture on its first stop at the beautiful city of Oaxaca with its distinct regional cuisine. A cooking class to master Oaxacan classic and visit to a mezcaleria (mezcal originated here) will have you hooked. Although you may choose to forego the local snack chapulines (grasshoppers).

Signature dish: Mole poblano, a rich and complex chilli and chocolate sauce that originated in Puebla in pre-Hispanic times.

Secret culinary hot spot: Capital of the Oaxaca state, Oaxaca is an all-round charmer, brimming with incredible food markets selling native ingredients and classic street snacks.

Discover Mexico’s food with Journey Latin America

Big juicy steaks and big juicy reds, Argentina is all about the bold flavours that match the scale and drama of its landscapes. Follow in the footsteps (or hooves) of its iconic cowboys, the gauchos, on Journey Latin America’s Gaucho: Vintage Argentina tour that takes in the wild west. Mendoza, famed for its Malbec, is here and a must-visit for wine lovers. It’s a beauty with lush vineyards backed by the snow-topped Andes. Edging up north to Salta, you’re in for more epic vistas and wine. Close to the Bolivian border, this region is rich in Andean traditions and home to the world’s highest vineyards. Don’t miss its light, sweet white wine torrontes, Argentina’s only unique grape variety. Continue your gastronomic journey in elegant Buenos Aires with a food tour around the San Telmo district, eating asado dishes (barbecued meats) from hole-in-the-wall parrillas and empanadas from street stalls.

Signature vineyard: Maipú is the oldest wine growing area in Mendoza – Antigal Winery & Estates, founded in 1897, is a great stop for tastings, tours and fine dining.

Secret culinary hot spot: Salta is said to be where the empanada was invented. Try its traditional empanadas salteñas and other local speciality locro, a corn and meat soup.

Eat your way around Argentina with Journey Latin America 

A long sliver of a country with fertile land and rich ocean resources, Chile has bountiful produce and a thriving wine scene. In the Central Valley, the lush countryside that encircles capital Santiago, vineyards grow Chile’s national carménère grape alongside merlot and cabernet sauvignon. Visit the Maipo Valley in the foothills of the Andes where traditional vineyards rub shoulders with ultra-modern wineries and offer tours and tastings. Many have smart restaurants too where you can dine on Chilean produce overlooking the vines. Circle back to Santiago to sip more stunning wines in bars and dine in the city’s restaurants where chefs are putting the spotlight on native ingredients once used by the indigenous Mapuche.

Signature vineyard: The historic Santa Rita Vineyard in the Maipo Valley has a superb setting and superlative wines – try them on one of its different tours then bed down – this is where you’ll stay on Journey Latin America’s tailormade Luxury Chile tour.

Secret culinary hot spot: The island of Chiloé in Chile’s Lake District, ancestral homelands of the Mapuche, has a rich culinary tradition and incredible seafood – don’t miss its black-lipped oysters.

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Peru’s food scene is riding a wave of popularity right now with some of the world’s best restaurants flying the flag for Peruvian ingredients. Capital Lima is leading the way and it’s the first stop on Journey Latin America’s A Taste of Peru holiday. It’s not all about fine dining, however – this city is home to relaxed cafés and vibrant food stalls that serve local favourites and on-the-go snacks too. You’ll visit Surquillo market and locals’ favourite haunts to eat typical dishes such as ceviche, causa limena (a cold, potato-based dish finished with avocado and crab) and lomo saltado (a beef stirfry). Refresh your palate with a chicha morada (a purple corn drink) or pisco sour. You’ll learn all about the country’s prized grape-based spirit at pisquera Bodega La Caravedo, founded in 1877.

Signature dish: Ceviche is a symbol of Peru with its endless cevicherias  serving their own version. The classic mixture of lime juice, salt and other flavourings used to marinade the raw fish is known as leche de tigre or “milk of the tiger”.

Secret culinary hot spot: Cusco might be better known as the hub of the Inca Empire but it’s also garnered a reputation for its restaurants with chefs taking a contemporary twist on traditional Peruvian cuisine.

Discover the food of Peru with Journey Latin America

Like the country itself, Brazil’s culinary map is as diverse as it is delicious. A tasty melting pot of traditions from Indigenous and African cultures mixed in with European influences, you’ll find plenty to tempt you. As with most Latin America countries, you’ll find the most authentic food around the streets of its towns and cities. Typical snacks include bolinho de aipim (deep-fried cassava dough stuffed with meat) and pão de queijo (cheese puffs) while barbecued meats, including chicken hearts and sought-after picanha cuts are mainstays found at churrascarias. It’s not all meat and refined carbs, however, beans are a staple and açaí fruit is native to the country. The super-nutritious berry was traditionally eaten by indigenous tribes for energy and is now a breakfast favourite. Another quintessential Brazilian experience is sipping a caipirinha, made with the local cachaça sugarcane spirit – preferably by the icing-sugar sands of Copacabana.

Signature dish: A hearty stew known as feijoada is the national dish. It’s typically made with black beans, sausages and cuts of pork.

Secret culinary hot spot: Salvador is renowned for its Afro-Brazilian cuisine in the state of Bahia and Brazil’s first capital, as well as the prawn or fish-infused coconut stew known as moqueca.

Uncover Brazil’s culinary secrets with Journey Latin America

While the flavours of Mexico and wines of Argentina and Chile are on most food lovers’ map, bitesize Belize probably isn’t. That’s a shame. Its food is delicious and gives a tantalising insight into the country’s rich blend of cultures that include Maya, Creole and Caribbean. Chocolate is sacrosanct here while its coastline is blessed with abundant seafood. Breezy beach bars serve up chilli-spiked conch fritters and zingy fish escabeche. Emerging from the shadow of neighbour Argentina, diminutive Uruguay has some fine parrilladas for smoky meats and produces superb wines, including its signature drop tannat. Take a trip to pretty Canelones, the country’s oldest and largest wine region close to the capital Montevideo, for a winery crawl to try it.