My top 10 travel tips (from South America)

Sporting an accidental matchy look in our zip-off pants

1.Bring snacks from home. 

Muesli/granola bars are a good option because they last forever and because they are processed you won't have problems at any customs. I found a lot of the snack food you can buy at bus stops and things are horrible, flavourless potato chips. However, if you see some peanuts that are coated in a chocolate flavoured crispy coating being sold by a street vendor, they are awesome. Buy some. If you're a chocolate lover like me, Sublime (pronounced sub-lem-mey) in Bolvia are pretty nice.

2.Learn some of the language. 

The Lonely Planet phrase book was the only one that was Latin America specific

If you are travelling independently from a tour company, I can't stress how important it is to teach yourself at least the basics of the local language before you leave. We used the app Duolingo for most of our language learning. We both found it really well made, and the fact that one lesson can be completed in just a few minutes is really handy.
 Started on Spanishdict but it got too hard and took too long to complete each lesson. Although we had some trouble with language barriers (actually a lot), it would have been so much harder and more stressful if we hadn't known some Spanish. We couldn't believe it when we came across quite a few people who knew little or no Spanish. One couple hadn't even bought a phrase book. Please at least buy yourself a phrasebook! I don't pretend to be great at Spanish, there were plenty of times I frantically flipped through my Lonely Planet phrasebook (I recommend it by the way). Give yourself at least 6months to learn in, there's no point knowing how to ask directions but not having learnt how to understand the answer.

3.You NEED a good day pack. 

The back ventilation on our day packs is a huge benefit in hot weather!

It's funny when I think back to how naive we were before we left for South America. We both had bottom of the line day packs that were not at all equipped for 10weeks of solid travel, let alone for full days hiking. We have recently upgraded to middle of the range packs that we hope will hold up to rough wear and tear. The problem with the cheapies is they aren't designed to be worn non-stop for months on end. Speaking from experience, the seams rip and the padding degrades, and they become uncomfortable.
The things I recommend looking for in a good day pack are: a mesh back support to give good ventilation, an internal pocket that is difficult to access where you can keep your valuables, a raincover, the ability to compress the bag smaller, and easy access for your desired water source (for us we like to use water bottles so we look for exterior pockets that are big enough to fit our bottles in them). If you have a good day back you don't need to worry too much about your main luggage. We tended to leave our large bags in a hotel when we went on side trips, so it wouldn't even matter if you had a suitcase rather than a backpack as your main luggage.

4.Pack light and pack smart. 

I think this goes without saying, but the lighter you pack the easier it is to get around. We really wished we hadn't taken our sleeping bags, because they were really easy to hire everywhere and we only used them for our trek. Don't skimp on underwear though. I can't think of anything worse than having to wash undies every couple of nights (they don't take up much room, throw a couple extras in). A lot of people tell you to leave your jeans behind. Personally I have the comfiest pair of jeans ever, to the point where I can sleep on a long haul flight wearing them (and did!). So they definitely follow me on any trip (except to the tropics) because they are so versatile. I can fit a pair of thermal pants under them to make them warm, and they can be dressed up or casual depending on what you pair them with. Brandon wore his a lot too, until he lost 5kgs and they didn't fit him anymore. We only took one heavy jacket with us each, our ski jackets, and they were used heaps! I would have to say that for both of us, our convertible zip off pants were the most useful and the most often used item in our bags. I read someone's blog that said avoid them because they make you look like a tourist. But, um, pretty sure your pasty white skin is going to give you away. They were just so useful, especially when we might have started the day on a cold morning that turned into a hot day (for example Machu Pichu). In the jungle it was great to have the ability to have them as long pants to avoid the bugs, and zip them off when it got unbearably hot. I don't love my The North Face ones, there's not enough room for my bum and thighs in them but the waist is huge, and I've already put 2 darts in to make it smaller! My Columbia ones are great though, they are adjustable at the waist which is awesome!

5.Wash your own bras 

If you value them! This one is just for the ladies (hopefully). I buy Berli bras and they are not cheap, so I was scared of putting them in the wash and hand washed them from the start. Right when I was getting sick of it and about to just put them in the next load, one of my cheap sports bras came back from a wash completely mangled. Not only was an underwire hanging out but it had somehow been bent into a weird S shape. I was super glad I hadn't risked the life of the 2 "good" bras I took and was completely happy to keep hand washing after that happened.

6.Try the local food 

Unless it consists of hot dogs with mayo on them (thanks Chile), trying local food is totally a must do. I love adding new foods to my list of things that I have eaten, and the getting home and trying to cook them. The weirdest things I have eaten include a grass hopper in Mexico and a coconut palm grub in Bolivia. The grass hopper was also the grossest thing I have ever eaten. And yes, fried grass hopper was actually a popular snack in that part of Mexico!

7.Take at least 2 banks cards for separate accounts. 

We have a joint account and we each also have our own separate bank accounts. It just works out easier for managing money. You often read about how you should take more than one card with you when you travel. We took 2 copies of the same credit card and 2 cards for the same debit account. When we were having trouble accessing our money I was really wishing I had brought at least one of our separate account cards. I will definitely be doing this in the future and, if you have more than one, take at least two. It is more useful than two for the same account because if you lose your card you will want to freeze that account. Meaning you can't use it either, so unless you have another way to access money you can't freeze your account. Two of our accounts are with the same bank, so this means if we were to lose the card to one we could transfer most of the money into the other and start using it straight away or within one business day.

8.Take some kind of smart phone, tablet or laptop with you. 

Although most hostels have computers available for internet use, it is so much easier and nicer to be able to check your emails on your own device in your own time. We used a couple of sim cards while we were in South America too so we could contact people within the country. Next time we do a major trip we will be taking a laptop with us so we can backup our photos on our own device in our own time too!

9.Make an in-flight/in bus baggy.

This time around I got a small zippered case and packed it will all the things we would definitely need on any flight or bus trip. It included my new favourite item, saline nasal spray! It's amazing. I have been on flights before where I have had to cower under a jacket trying to breath in my own humid breath because my sinuses were painfully dry. I also recommend it just for the altitude, the air is so dry at altitude, we used it sporadically the whole trip.
We also had our own ear phones with a connector for planes, a stick of lip balm, a set of ear plugs each, an eye mask for me and an inflatable neck pillow each. It definitely saved me from the normal digging around in the backpack until I come across what I want. I would add a small tube of moituriser next time because my hands were so dry they almost bled when we got to Quito!

10.Jumbo clip lock bags are great. 

I bought zippered containers to pack toiletries and medications in but I really think zip lock bags would do a better job, and pack smaller. We did use them for so many other things - keeping the camera safe in wet environments was particularly handy. Get the ones with the double clip lock for added safety if you're going to use them to keep your electronics dry.

11. Bonus tip.

Be aware of the scams that are active in the area you are travelling to, and behave safely. When I was orinigally planning our trip I contacted a few travel agencies because I didn't know where to start. While recommending I do an organised tour for the whole trip, one woman said to me "It's not like Australia over there you know." Which is true, but a kind of dumb things to proclaim, because that's the reason you travel! Anyway, you need to be aware that scams are active. Things like people putting paint or smelly stuff on your bag, then someone else will offer to help you and nick off with your things. I am always super vigilant about our passports and our bank cards, because that's two things you need to get home. We kept our passports and bank cards in money belts worn under our clothes any time we were travelling between places. People who snatch bags will target your backpack because they know that's where most tourists keep their valuables. Don't stress about your main luggage, mostly people will ignore it and if you only have clothes in it who cares.

When we were leaving the hotel for the day we locked our valuables in our suitcases with combination locks (so much better than carting around keys by the way).