South America - Favourite Country

kraggy

Hi folks,

Part curiosity, part research for a trip to the continent, was wondering what is your favourite country in S. America?

Only people who have actually been to S.America need reply!

I presume a poll has not been done before as i couldn't find one when i did a search but if one has been done, no harm in having an up-to-date one...

semifinalist

interesting poll. heading there myself in few months.

bolivia here i come!

kraggy

thanks for the answers so far guys.

was wondering what countries did those who selected "Other" have in mind.

didn't include all countries in S.America as didn't want the poll be too long.

thanks

k.

MiCr0

it has to be argentina
it has everything - amazing cities, countryside, spectacular scenery, waterfalls, whales, penguins, food, wine, football, outdoor activities....

the list goes on and on

kraggy

hey micro.

thanks for that.

take it you were down in patagonia and the glaciers and perhaps Ushuaia?

was intending to fly into B.A and head north to Bolivia via Iguazu Falls but now like the look and sound of southern Argentina.

is it a must?

Takeshi_Kovacs

Was never there, but i'd love to visit Argentina and Chile, especially Cerro Torre region.

kraggy

yeah have been reading up on that myself. looks interesting.

so many places, so little time!

Aura

Bolivia FTW

abakan

interesting poll alrite

Im heading there aswell
Rough way would be

Chile - Bolivia - Peru - Equador and maybe columbia(if you listened to the reports on the home and US news -people would never go to columbia but the ive bumped into some people who have been there and they had wonderful reports so if i can make it i will)

Id like to find out what the best bits would be tp take in -like the SE mage tread - might get around the starting it some day

Gaz

Currently in the middle of a 6 month trip around SA.

Started in Rio , headed as far south as you can go (ushuaia) .... worked way back up through Chile and Argentina , through Peru and Ecuador and into Colombia ... few weeks here then its back to Peru for Inca trail ... then onto Boliva.

Loved Patigonia , treking , glaciars , wildlife etc ... oh and the big steaks !

Chile is more expensive than i expected , Colombia is fantastic ....

Things not to be missed would include ...

Penguin Colony (2 million of em in Peurto Madryn, Argentina)
Torres del Paine , Chile
Moreno Glacier , Argentina,
Pucon , Chile (adventure sports, volcano climbing)
Nazca lines , peru
Machu Pichu ....

The list goes on and on ....

kraggy

thanks d.h.

great info.

tell me, is ushuaia worth the long trip south?

Gaz

Its a tough one to call , its nice to say you are in the world most southern city (but your not really ... port williams is furhter south and has a population of 2000 or so !!!)
It is a nice place, over-run with rich americans though, they flood of the big cruise ships on their way to Anartica , also it can be a pain to get out of there .... im a cheap backpacker , so flying is out of my budget .... took me over a week to get a seat on a bus !!! Id say go for it , its a nice place , espeically if you have been travelling hard for awhile , plus the trip there isnt taht bad ... tis about 13 hours from Rio Gallegos , and you get to cross the magellin straits.

If you have a lot of time like i do ... then go , if your tight on time then give it a miss and head to El Calafate instead.

Hope that helped !

kraggy

That's great D.H.

Thanks alot.

can you get some night buses down there from B.A? what are they like for comfort, food etc.?

thanks again.

Gaz

The buses are fantastic , aircon , movies (usually in english) food , large arm chair style seats .... ive even played bus bingo on a few !!! And if you pay a little more its possible to get a fully reclining bed seat ...


Learn some spanish !!! That would be my main advice

kraggy

thanks dh

kraggy

Just wondering if those of you who've been to a game in B.Aires would recommend it and if so is it difficult to get tickets?

thanks.

shakeydude

Bolivia is brilliant

La Paz, the worlds highest city
Rurrenabaques, the Pampas tour was brilliant and the flight from La Paz was an experience in itself. Flying just over the Andes in a 20 seater plane which was so small you could hear the pilots in the cockpit when they are telling you to buckle your seat belts
Cycle the worlds most dangerous road....go for the full suspension bikes, I didnt trying to save a few bucks and my backside paid for it after
The Salt Plains, amazing

We misssed Potosi but going to see the mines is supposed to be class

The people are so friendly and nice as well

If you are in SA dont miss Bolivia:D

kraggy

Hey Shakey,

Headin over soon enough and decided long ago that Bolivia would be where i'd spend most of my time.

Probably gonna fly into B.Aires and work my way up to Bolivia but not sure where to fly out of. Heard from some people that there isn't much in Peru besides Machu Picchu.

Also, would like to see Patagonia, particularly Perito Moreno but this is kinda out of the way considering i want to spend most time in Bolivia.

What route did you take? Any suggestions?

scaramanga

kraggy wrote:

Just wondering if those of you who've been to a game in B.Aires would recommend it and if so is it difficult to get tickets?

thanks.

ya its class def go. the hostel i stayed in brought us to it , its dirt cheap anyway.

pickarooney

Bolivia, for all the reasons Shakeydude mentioned. The mines were quite an experience - strangest, most intense piss-up I've ever been on!

Argentina, for the food, the wine, the women and the countryside. I went to a Libertadores Cup match my first night in Bs As, River Plate v Corinthians - easily the best match I've ever been at (Tevez in his last season there and a 3-2 bicycle kick winner for the home team, sendings off, 70,000 crowd going mad). Tickets were about a tenner for the best seats, no hassle buying them at the ground an hour and a half before. Hostels will charge you four times that for the same tickets.

Peru has much much more than Machu Picchu, especially in the barely-visited north, but you need to go a little of the gringo trail to get the best of it. The Colca Canyon (back down south, near Arequipa)is amazing.

Ecuador is so-so. A beautiful country in its own right, but pales in comparison to its neighbours.

I didn't like Brazil at all, but that's probably just me. Others adore it.

Paraguay - weird-ass country with some bad memories, but worth a visit if you're in the area (around Iguazu).

Didn't bother with Chile - too expensive and not much there I wanted to see.

kraggy

Thanks for that Roo, great help.

kraggy

Also, could those of you who voted "Other" mention what country it was that you particularly liked?

Thanks

Bosco84

Just wondering if anybody has been in S.America during the months of August and September? what is the weather like at that time of year? Asit is winter i'm guessing that it maybe chilly enough but i was wondering whether it would vary from country to country?

empirix

I am actually thinking of doing a stint here for a month or three!!! My main concern is the lingo - i suck at speaking anything but the foreign language we speak here