are you able to travel with the wii u console and be able to play it without traveling with wii u gamepad? and does the wii u work out of America?

hi, i am going out of the country to South America. does the wii u work out of the united states? and i want to take my wii u console and the regualr type remotes. will the wii u work if i do not bring the game pad with me, or does it only work if the game pad is within a certain distance of the console?