Calling all South America experts..

hot fuss

Just a very general query as I am in the thinking phase of travel planning at the moment!

At the moment I am planning on going to SA for 6-8 weeks at the end of the year or early next year.. Am currently considering Brazil, Argentina and Peru but would really like people's recommendations as I've also heard fab things about Columbia..

Obviously I want to see a lot but dont' want to rush through places so I don't want to be trying to squeeze too much in.

If anyone has gone for a similar length of trip I would much appreciate any tips.

Thanks

Meathlass

hot fuss wrote: »

Just a very general query as I am in the thinking phase of travel planning at the moment!

At the moment I am planning on going to SA for 6-8 weeks at the end of the year or early next year.. Am currently considering Brazil, Argentina and Peru but would really like people's recommendations as I've also heard fab things about Columbia..

Obviously I want to see a lot but dont' want to rush through places so I don't want to be trying to squeeze too much in.

If anyone has gone for a similar length of trip I would much appreciate any tips.

Thanks

Not exactly an expert but I spent 9 months there so will try to help Over the Christmas time is peak season particulary in Argentina and Chile so bear that in mind. YOu need to book transport in particular in advance as in the southern regions there are limited services. You've picked 4 countries there on opposite sides of the continent. I spent 2 months in Argentina and Brazil and didn't get any further north than Rio. I think you need to pick, you could comfortbably do Colombia and Peru in 2 months with a side trip into Boliva and maybe fly out of Santiago. You could also see alot of Arg and Br in 2 months but at that time of year you'd have to be careful about booking buses in advance, you don't want to get stranded for days in patagonia! Br and arg would probably cost you double what colombia/peru will so you have to bear that in mind.

Another option is to fly into Santiago, make your way south through Patagonia, Torres del Paine is an amazing National Park, one of the highlights of my trip, up into Argentina, go to Mendoza, the lake district along the andes, Salta, B.A., into Brazil (Igazu, Pantanal, Sao Paulo and Rio) and fly out of Rio. You can always do this vice versa as well.

Or you could do Peru, Boliva (salt flats into Northern Chile (Atacama desert), into Salta (northern Argentina), over to Ba and up to Rio. You wouldn't have time to go any further south than B.A. though. If you want to do things like the Inca Trail you need to be thinking about that soon as currently the trek is booked up till October.

The most important thing to remember is distances are huge and a 24 hour bus trip in Argentina or Brazil can cost 150 euros.

hot fuss

Thanks a mil for that meathlass. I'm thinking now it makes sense just to stick to Argentina and Brazil for the 8 weeks and be sensible about it. I'd love to do the Inca Trail but could always do that on a separate trip.

I guess I'll have to look in more detail into what I want to do and see but would you think this would be enough time to see some of the highlights of these countries and would you recommend anything particularly unmissable in Argentina or Brazil?

Thanks again

Meathlass

You could fly into BA and out of Rio or SP. That means you can cut down on the backtracking.

Sample itinary to get the ball rolling, imagining you're going in Dec and home at end of jan.

Dec - BA - 5 days. You can take trips to Uruguay from ba but I wasn't that impressed.

Peurto Madryn on east coast, whales, penguins, welsh tea in nearby villages, great dinosaur museum - 2/3 days

Peurto Madryn to Ushuaia - about 24 hours. The midway point is Rio Gallegos which is a dump. If you don't want to go to Ushuaia (some nice museums but not a lot going for it, it is the most southern town in the world though) you could stop here and get a bus to El Calafate about 4 hours away, there is a great glacier here. You'd spend a day in El Calafate or 3 days in Ushuaia just to break up the bus journeys. I'd book my ticket out of the town when you arrive just to be safe.

From El Calafate you can cross the border into Chile and go to Puerto Natales and here make arrangements to trek Torres del Paine - absolutely love this place and i'm not fit at all but it was great. The standard trek is the W and takes about 4 days in total. You can arrange hostels (refugios they're called) in the park. Glaciers, cyrstal blue and green lakes, llamas and supposedly pumas but didn't see any of those thank god! About 6 days for all of this.

Back to El Calafate. From here you can backtrek to Rio Galleagos, and onto Mendoza in the north or you can try and get transport up the spine of the andes from El Calafate to Barlioche and San Martin. Didn't too these towns as i'd been to the lake district on the more accessible chilean side. There is no regular transport on this route but there are buses that do it stopping off along the way, catering for tourists. You have to book for a week I think. Good for someone travelling on their own. Two people I met over there did it and highly recommended it. That area has lots of outdoor pursuits, rowing, rafting, mountain climbing and has a very alpine feel, also lots of chocolate shops!

Mendoza - 4 days, chill out in sun, do wine tours. Entire town closes between 12-5 and most people have dinner at 10pm - bit wierd.

Salta - 3 days, missed this place but really regret it (went to Cordoba instead, don't bother, not worth it). Great museums about Inca mummies found in the mountains.

BA again, then onto to San Iganico Mini - Jesuit ruins from the 17thC in the rainforest. Can't remember the name of the nearest town but the bus from BA to Igazu Falls stops here. You might also be able to get a bus straight from Salta up here to prevent you having to go back to BA.

Igazu Falls - 3 days, see it from the Arg and Br sides and go to the wildlife and avirary place - think it was on the Br side.

Pantanal - 4 days. Arrive in early morning and go on a tour straight away. Didn't get a chance to do this either as I'd seriously run out of money by then but it's advisible to choose your tour wisely as some are just charlitans.

SP - didn't really like this city - 2 days

Rio - I took the plane (45 mins), the bus takes 6 hours. From sp to rio though are lots of places where you can hang out at beaches eg. Ihle Grande. There's a thread on Brazil here for more info. 4 days at least in Rio - amazing city.

I didn't see anymore of Brazil I'm afraid, saving it for my next trip - places recommend are Salvador, Recifie, Manaus etc. There's other posters here who'll be able to help you with that end of it.

otron

Meathlass wrote: »

If you want to do things like the Inca Trail you need to be thinking about that soon as currently the trek is booked up till October.

And here's my cue to jump on the back of someone else's thread!

We are heading to South America for 3 months at the end of this year, landing in Lima on Dec 17th.

I guess the logical thing to do would be to spend a couple of days in/around Lima and then head straight for the Inca trail/Machu Pichu. Im obviously conscious that this part of the trip needs to be booked well in advance, possibly more so around Christmas.

So my question is:
- How long after landing should I make the Inca Trail booking? i.e. Should we give ourselves 3 days there before heading to Cusco? Obviously the booking will be actually made very soon.
- Are there big differences in the prices / quality offered by the various tours on offer?
- Can you recommend any tour operators / guides?

Any info appreciated!

TonyD79

r you could do Peru, Boliva (salt flats into Northern Chile (Atacama desert), into Salta (northern Argentina), over to Ba and up to Rio. You wouldn't have time to go any further south than B.A. though.

Im flying into Rio 13th October( flying back 13th December) and was looking to do Rio,Igazu Falls,BA, Peurto Madryn,Torres del Paine (If possible), Boliva( salt flats,Coroico & Isla Del Sol) Peru( Cuzco,Machu Piccho, Nazca Lines) before flying back from Lima to Rio for my return flight.

Anyone done this route before? I know the distances are huge but people I ask say its possible and you can take a internal flights .From reading up on the 4 countries these are the places of main interest

Anicrus

Hey just wondering if anyone can recommend a good hostel for single in Rio, SP, BA, Lima - Cheap, clean and fun?

shrapnel222

Meathlass wrote: »

Salta - 3 days, missed this place but really regret it (went to Cordoba instead, don't bother, not worth it). Great museums about Inca mummies found in the mountains.

3 days for this is very short for that part of Argentina. I was there for 4 days, we'd rented a car and were up at 7 every morning to go someplace else, and still managed to only do 1/4 of what we wanted. places like cafayate and its quebradas are a must, iruya is amazing, as are the salt flats, tilcara, etc... there is so much to do up there. I know it's always the case that you want to see and do loads more once you're there, but this part of the world is seriously breathtaking. this is the kind of scenery you get

http://flickr.com/photos/shrapnel1/2467304258/in/set-72157604447452053/

as for ushuaia, unless you're going to spend a bit of time there, and go trekking, you can certainly give it a miss, it's the aberdeen of south america. as for the museum in salta with the mommies, they will haunt you forever...seriously. everytime i think about them i get goose bumps.

otron wrote: »

And here's my cue to jump on the back of someone else's thread!

We are heading to South America for 3 months at the end of this year, landing in Lima on Dec 17th.

I guess the logical thing to do would be to spend a couple of days in/around Lima and then head straight for the Inca trail/Machu Pichu. Im obviously conscious that this part of the trip needs to be booked well in advance, possibly more so around Christmas.

So my question is:
- How long after landing should I make the Inca Trail booking? i.e. Should we give ourselves 3 days there before heading to Cusco? Obviously the booking will be actually made very soon.
- Are there big differences in the prices / quality offered by the various tours on offer?
- Can you recommend any tour operators / guides?

Any info appreciated!

i imagine you're heading south after cusco? if not then don't bother staying in lima, as you'll be back there eventually. it's a really cool city, i really enjoyed it, so definitely spend a few days there at some point. also don't forget that for the inca trail, you need to acclimatise to the altitude which means being in cusco or somewhere up that high for a good 2 or 3 days before the trek

kraggy

otron wrote: »

And here's my cue to jump on the back of someone else's thread!

We are heading to South America for 3 months at the end of this year, landing in Lima on Dec 17th.

I guess the logical thing to do would be to spend a couple of days in/around Lima and then head straight for the Inca trail/Machu Pichu. Im obviously conscious that this part of the trip needs to be booked well in advance, possibly more so around Christmas.

So my question is:
- How long after landing should I make the Inca Trail booking? i.e. Should we give ourselves 3 days there before heading to Cusco? Obviously the booking will be actually made very soon.
- Are there big differences in the prices / quality offered by the various tours on offer?
- Can you recommend any tour operators / guides?

Any info appreciated!

I think going to Cusco 3 days after Lima is madness personally.

The reason I say this is that many people have their trip ruined by heading into the altitude too soon. Altitude sickness can have you in hospital for weeks when it's really bad.

My advice would be to start in Lima, then go up a little e.g. Arequipa then up to Cusco.

Cusco is high and even with gradual acclimatisation, I found it tough at times.

Plus, in Arequipa, you can go down into Colca Canyon. Amazing trek (3 days) Lovely historical city with great night life.

kraggy

Anicrus wrote: »

Hey just wondering if anyone can recommend a good hostel for single in Rio, SP, BA, Lima - Cheap, clean and fun?

BA - Milhouse for partying (staff had attitudes though), Downtown Mate for small and friendly

Lima - Can't go wrong with The Point Hostel (They have one in Lima, Cusco and Arequipa).