Mexico-Argentina

GretchenWieners

Thinking of getting away next Summer, was wondering if anyone has tried backpacking from Mexico City down to Buenos Aires? I should have about €3500-€4500 to spend or am I just fooling myself? Would love to get started on this now so that I can get things into perspective.

Neamhshuntasach

Well it depends on how long you plan on the trip lasting. If you are just planning on doing it for 3 months during the summer you may well manage for the 90 days on €4500. That would work out €50 a day (excluding flights) which would be plenty in most countries. But it's always good to have extra cash as backup in case of emergencies. If you were planning on going longer than a few months then you would need a lot more money that you plan on having.

If you are only talking about the summer then you are faced with the problem of having a huge amount of ground to cover in such a short space of time. You'd be only in a place and then have to leave it. The distance from Mexico City to B.A is massive and a lot longer than it looks on a map. And you'd need to fly from Panama to Colombia as it's too dangerous to cross by land and that flight isn't the cheapest.

If you say how long you are planning on going for and where you want to see you'll get more helpful replies. Your question is a bit too vague at the moment.

GretchenWieners

Thanks. It would be from May until Mid-July but I'd have about 6 weeks. I have a job in BA but my only time to travel is before it which is a bit annoying. Main places I want to see are Mexico Costa Rica and most of Central America Panama Peru Ecuador Bolivia and Chile. I have to leave Argentina after a while for visa renewal so I plan on seeing Brazil (Rio) then. I'm open to suggestions though. I won't have any set dates until the end of the year but I'd like to get some idea of what I can do. Money doesn't bother me too much as I have no problem getting out a loan.

Neamhshuntasach

Okay if money isn't that much of an issue then that is one less thing you have to worry about. The only other thing is the time. 6 weeks is a really short time to see all that you want to see unless you are prepared for whisle stop visits to the places. You'll be sick and tired of buses and planes if traveling at that pace. For Mexico i'd recommend you stick to the South. Oaxaca, Chiapas and the Yucatan. You can see a bit in a week but you will be on the move daily. You could then spend 2 weeks going down through Guatemala, Honduras, Nicargua and into Costa Rica. Or fly from Mexico to costa Rica to save time. Head into Panama and then catch a flight there to Quito in Ecuador. Then onwards through Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. Chile is a place you should be able to see when in Argentina. I really think your trip is too ambitious.

But maybe try

Mexico - 9 days
Central America - 9 days
Ecuador - 5 days
Peru - 9 days
Bolivia - 7 days
Chile - 3 days

The above still doesn't do the countries justice but if you don't mind the pace then i think the above might be the most workable.

keithoconnork

ah im looking to do a very similar travel route but its gonna take me in the region of 6 months. I dont think youre fooling yourself on the money side of things as the above post says, but the distance is ma-husive!! mexico is a pretty big country all by itself, I have a few friends that have travelled it and said the distances are far bigger than you can imagine...
My gf did the ecuador preu columbia argentina route last summer in about 6 weeks and she felt pushed for time even there, so unless there is a lot of plane work, which will push up the price a lot (no ryanair!), you could be in trouble. Maybe you could pick and choose where you ABsolutely have to go??

GretchenWieners

Thanks a million for all the replies. 6 weeks is a guide at the moment, I'm hoping that I can stretch it a bit more. If it comes to it I'll def try and cut down the distance in order to see things properly. It's just a balls because I can't travel after the placement. Does anyone know any good sites or books that could be of any use?