Have any housesitters found any opportunities in South America? On THS or another platform?
We have completed many international housesits. Would be interested to spend time in South America. Unclear if possible to execute via housesitting or conventional methods.
Ideas welcomed.
P.S. warning … unexpectedly responses to this thread may encourage readers to travel adventurously; see fewer pets; and/or elevate budget 
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Currently on a 5 week sit for three very easy dogs just outside Cuenca in Ecuador
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@GotYourBack I’m on the mailing list of House Sit Mexico. They send me weekly listings- but I have not formally joined the platform so cannot say how useful they are. Worth checking out if you are including Mexico in your South America list! THS does not have much of a presence in SA. Currently no sits at all on the whole SA continent and just 2 in Mexico! And with the 5 App limit any that do pop up are gone in a flash. I’ve also see Facebook groups for housesitting in Mexico at least.
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It seems there aren’t many sits. My impression is that outside of Europe and North America it is not many that are actually locals that use such sites - but mostly expats living in those countries. Which limits availability a lot.
When doing a search for South America it seems that there are several sits in the reviewing phase, so there are sits, and that several of them are long sits which are popular in general. So if I was interested in the area, I would read listings and favorite those that I found interesting to get notifications quicker. You might already have done that.
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@Garfield, great advice. We’ve successfully used that technique for specific geographic areas in Europe that were, for one reason or another, of elevated interest to us. Early days in our exploration of South America - didn’t see many listings - was curious if missed something (e.g. seasonal). But suspect that you’re right - beyond THS target market.
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@Lokstar, thanks for insight. Some time ago, we explored two single-country housesitting sites - ultimately discarded in favour of THS. We were primarily seeking south of Mexico opportunities. But idea of exploring niche, complementary housesitting platforms seems smart. Thank you.
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@JackieX, kudos on the adventure 
. Was the sit originated through THS? How’s it going in Ecuador?
We have sat in Panama, Ecuador and Costa Rico.
Hopefully we are looking at Argentina and Brazil for next winter. As others have advised set up a search for notifications as they are very few and are usually on the longer side. Do your research. These countries are huge and transport costs are significant. We ended up on a 12 seater plane to get to our sit in Costa Rico. And last hint, check the place name carefully. There are many places with the same name. Make sure you know exactly where you are going. Even one letter spelt wrong can mean hundreds of miles different.
Good luck
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Hey there
I have been a member of the site for a decade and from what I have observed, sits in South America are not particularly common, though you will see them.
It seems Ecuador is probably the most common–there are a few areas there that are popular spots for American retirees in particular.
Like someone else said, in areas like this, the people most likely to use the site are foreign residents, and I am not sure these countries have as big an ‘expat’ population as certain other pockets of the world . ‘Favoriting’ sits not currently looking for applications is good advice.
Sits in Mexico and Central America are more common, with the bulk of the latter usually being in Costa Rica and Panama. I have done multiple sits in both countries–lots of great spots to visit in both.
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@ElsieDownie, wow that sounds wonderful. Argentina and Peru are of high interest but have open-mindedness. Smart suggestions. Can only imagine that due diligence efforts become elevated. Love the 12 seater plane story 
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We sat on a remote island in Bocco del Torro, Panama. The only way there was water taxi or the owners private boat. It was a 20 minute journey. They refused to let us use their boat which we found rather strange. We are sailors, living on a yacht for five years, have all the certifications. My husband is a master mariner having worked in the merchant navy putting huge oil tankers into berths (amongst other things). Each to their own! We spent the two month sit isolated on our own private island surrounded by jungle going to the mainland town once a week for supplies. I loved it, being a rather introverted person who enjoys her own company but I could see how it would have driven a lot of people insane. Moral of the story, ask lots of questions and make sure the fit is exceptional. Some of these sits are very remote.
In Costo Rico we had to deal with packs of street dogs every time we took our dogs out walking. It was best to take them to the beach early morning. And in Ecuador the altitude was the problem for the first week, feeling dizzy and sick but their hot chocolate cures all things.
It is a fasanating continent but not for the faint hearted. And the side trips we took made up for any inconvenience. 10 days in the Galapagos, striding the equator, foothills of the Andes and surviving at more than 13000 feet.
Forgot the flight from Galapagos to Quito which had to avoid the erupting volcano. An incredible sight.
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Yes it’s a THS sit which we secured in August. We’d started working on our vague plan for our 6 month travel, so it was a case of finding something for Christmas, when we like to stop and have some RnR. It was the first possible that came up as no, there aren’t many. We were the 5th application for a first time owner and got the impression she really wanted us (members for 12 years with 50+ 5* reviews)
The dogs aren’t taken out as 2 of them are rescues and have never been on leads. They however get loads of exercise running up and down barking at cars, people, and yes, the local dogs who get let out to exercise themselves.
We are a 20 minute walk downhill to the supermarket which means it’s a stiff uphill walk with the shopping, so we are doing that little and often, the other option being a taxi, but the exercise is good for us!
We are at an altitude of 2300m (which isn’t an issue as we’ve been at altitude pretty much since we arrived in SA beginning of November) which makes the temperature very pleasant, just as well, as all three dogs sleep on the bed which I’d never cope with if it was hot. It has also been very wet, so we haven’t been out as much as we expected, but have been doing lots and lots of planning. The rain is very welcome however as power production here is mainly hydro. Between applying for the sit and arriving planned power blackouts varied between 2 and 14 hours per day! We did have a chat with the HO about this in November but decided that it was all part of the adventure. Amazingly we only had 3 days of restrictions when we arrived and have been fine ever since.
We did have another problem with the power, on New Year’s Eve when the company decided to change a pole at the top of the road. The electricity came back, but the fibre for the internet didn’t. With the help of the HO and their next door neighbour we had a new fibre run in on the 2nd. This made for a quiet New year as we only had the small amount of data on my husband’s esim, or connectivity to next doors WiFi if standing very still in specific places!
We have 10 days left and I’ll be really sad to leave. If the weather had been different and/or we wanted to explore more we would have spent quite a bit of money on taxis, but for us, it’s been fab (getting into Cuenca and back by taxi will probably cost about $15).
Just a few things to think about. Good luck
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Well, I got an invitation for a one night sit in Cuenca, Ecuador yesterday… 
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We have been traveling in South America for 7 months now. We have applied to 4 sits and got 2. We lost one because they wanted someone already in the country and the other because they interviewed someone else before us and clicked with them (this one was on the Galapagos Island in Ecuador!). We also had an invitation to a sit we didn’t take as the dates and location didnt work for us. As we change countries we change our location to a big central city in that country.
There arent a lot of sits. People tend to post them with short notice. And they go into reviewing fast. Although sometimes people post well in advance. There was one for Santa Marta in Colombia for May this morning (but its already gone).
Our first sit was in Cuenca, Ecuador for 3 1/2 weeks. There are lots of expats in Cuenca and lots of sits. We are currently on a 5 week sit in Lima.
I have searches for all the countries that have sits (there are none in Bolivia and Paraguay, I believe). Many of the sits are for expats, but in countries like Argentina and Chili i see more nationals.
When we are not sitting, we stay at Airbnbs, hostels and homestays. We are averaging about $900 US for accommodations. So its already not expensive - but sitting makes it even cheaper.
There is a Facebook page for South America sits and Nomador has some. But i havent used those.
Your best bet is if you have the time, come to South America and be available to apply at short notice. Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina are you best bets.
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We had a sit in Cuenca in October at the hieght of the power outages. We were good at first because we were close to medical centers and they werent cutting our power. But then they figured out how to isolate us. I love Cuenca but was so glad to hit the road again and get to Peru where we didnt have to worry about whether the elevator would work or whether we’d be locked out of our Airbnb because the building had a digital lock and the batteries were dead.
Cuenca is a lovely city. I loved it there.
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I’m planning to go to Argentina and Chile, with Patagonia being a highlight, in November/December. I was planning to do the trip last November/December but went to New York on the QM2 instead. I had a saved listing for Buenos Aires here but nothing came up for that period. I’ve also joined a Facebook group for Housesitting there.
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Probably the same time frame for us although we are adding on Brazil in February 2026, Carnival Time! Flying into Chile then onto Argentina. We are sitting for an Argentinian lass at the moment and we have asked for places we cannot miss on our journey through her native land.
I haven’t even looked at sits yet, still trying to get summer sorted. My grandchildren join us on school holidays and it’s always slightly harder to get good sits with them.
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We’ve had our feelers up for sits in S America as well and there just are not many members from that region. Central America has many more - Costa Rica, Panama in particular. We just did a month long sit in Panama but would also like to get down farther south.
The more listings are areas with expats - so, much less in S America than Central.
@carpediem16, great name btw - speaks volumes 
. how was your sit, and experience more broadly, in Panama? We’d prefer more southerly locations but pragmatically we may have to consider Central American locations, at least as a start.
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@ElsieDownie, damn you’re a rockstar! Casual commentary for inspirational travel pursuits.
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