RTW - South America Tour Questions

zoey48

Hi

I am planning a RTW trip and am trying to get some plans for South America. I plan to spend 6 to 10 weeks (Is this enough time?) exploring and want to get as much in as possible. The main areas that kind of stick out include
Patagonia
Inca Trails (Machu Picchu)
The Igauaza Falls (Argentina and Brazil:rolleyes:)
And Galapogos Islands

I am therefore thiking of using Organize tours to cover as much ground as possbile. Is this a good and economically way of packing as mcuh thing in as possible?

Trailfinders gave me some brochures and two tours stand out
<Terra Del Fuego>
Down the South of Chile to tip and back up through Argentina, Paraguay to Rio in Brazil.
Days : 41
75% camping 25% hotels
Cost €2130 plus local payment of $900 dollars
Includes Excursions: Slato del Laja Falls
Lago Espejo
Torres del Paine & Lapataia National Parks
Valdes Peninsula
Trinidad Ruins
Iguazu Falls
Bird Park




<Altiplano>
From Rio to Lima through Brazil, Paraquay, Argentina, Chile and Peru
Days: 45
40% Camping 60% hotels
Costs €2000 plus local payment of $1,150 dollars
Includes excursions to: Ballesta Islands
Huacachina Oasis
Puerta Inca
Colca Canyon and Scared Valley
Most site entrance fees in Cuzco Area and Scared Valley
Inca Trail Trek,
Machu Picchu,
Uros/ Amantani / Taquile Islands,
Salar de Uyuni,
Manantial Park,
Itaipu Dam,
Iguaza Falls,
Bird Park



Operator Tucan Travel

And suggestions or alternative ideas welcomed

Neamhshuntasach

I wouldn't bother with tours. They work out more expensive than going at it alone because you have to pay them for the tour, tip the guides, eat at places they stop at so you can't always find the cheapest food options. the more you are on the move the more you spend and since you are on the move with a tour company almost daily you'll find eating and drinking costs soaring.

you also don't get to meet much locals or even other people who are traveling as you are stuck with your group. and you are in and out of places are quick as you got to them. Some people like the idea of tours organzing everything for them but they aren't for me. and from talking to people on them they have said they regretted doing them when held in comparison to going at it yourself.

6-10 weeks is a decent enough time to see some of south america but i would not be too ambitious and try to see everything. don't pack your itinerary too much before you go because i promise you once on the road your ideas will change and you will find that distances between places weren't the same as they looked on the map, you'll be sick of long bus journeys, you'll like a place and want to stay longer than you thought and all other sort of factors will come into play that you never anticipated. That's why i prefer going without a tour company and not sticking to a strict schedule.

and i just noticed that a fairly big percentage of the trips are camping. as much as i like camping i wouldn't be into that given that i know how much craic the hostels are over there.

zoey48

Thanks for the tips , so you reckon I should go I alone and see what happens as I move around.... Sounds good to me

This is actually a relief because tour options just seem to be endless and tie me down to long term plans that I am not sure I can stick too.

Any suggestions on moves about in South America then?
I assume public buses, trains and flying is the way to go but as I have 4 or 5 flight slots that I can use in my RTW package where do you suggest I use them

Neamhshuntasach

I didn't know that there was a RTW package that covered domestic flights in South America. You should look into that. Usually they are between continents or countries in a continuous direction.

As for traveling around, bus is the way to go. It can get very tiresome being on a bus for long journey's but you can always take an over night bus and the buses are very comfortable if you pay for that class. Usually cama class or something to that effect.

If you want to see Patagonia you should use either Santiago or Buenos Aires as your gateway. Chances are you'd probably be flying into either of those cities anyways. Buenos Aires isn't 'too' far from Iguazu falls. Well it's about 16 hours. Or an interesting way to get there is by getting a boat from B.A. to Montevideo and then up the Brazilian coast and over to Iguazu. I plan on doing that in reverse later this year. Been there before so want to take a different approach this time. From Iguazu you can go through Paraguay and into Bolivia and see some stuff there. Bolivia is a great country and is worth a visit. From Bolivia you can get to Peru and do the Inca trail. If you have the money you can then head up through Peru into Ecuador and go to the Galapagos Islands. It costs a couple of grand for that. A cheaper alternative is the Panatanal which is not to far from Iguazu. It's often referred to as the poor man's Galapagos.

if buses aren't your thing you can get cheap enough flights once you fly domestically within a country. once you cross a border they jack the price up.

and one final tip is to try learn some Spanish. Even just the very basics as it will help tremendously.

zoey48

One World have a RTW ticket that allows 16 stops and that includes 4 or 5 stops in each continent which can be back and forth in the same continent as long and you leave the continent in the same direction i.e. if you are heading east from Ireland you cannot go to Bangkok and then head west to Egypt...

For example I have the following stops for South America at the moment
1 Santiago
2 Rio
3 La Paz
4 Quito
5 Cartagena
6 Some USA City

Check out their web site

http://www.innovata-llc.com/onw/rtw/default.asp?show=RTW

The options are endless but be warned picking the stops is easy but trying to book flight can be impossible (I cannot be a flight from Rio to La Paz at all)

The Galapagos does sound amazing but everything looks so expensive, especially if you are a scuba diver! I think I am going to get to Quito and see what late deals I can get it sounds like it will be no dearer then booking from Ireland anyway.

Good point about the Spanish must try and brush up on that and pack my dictionary.:eek: