South America - first time traveller

Dee101

Hi Guys

So myself and my boyfriend are thinking of heading to see some of South America hopefully within the next 12 months.

We have not done any long period travel before so have little or no idea of where to start.

I would really appreciate any guidance or advice you have to offer.

We were thinking of flying to Brazil, working our way down to Argentina (particularly interested in Argentina, sounds amazing) and if we have time maybe seeing some of Chile on the way to Peru (really want to do an amazon treks from there and Inca trails etc). I am open to other suggestions though.

We were gonna give ourselves a max of 3 months to cover this. I don't know if this is realistic or not.

Would love to get an idea of the itinerary of someone who has done something similar? i.e How long did you spend in each country?. How did you get around - I'm thinking we'll have to take some internal flights?. How much did it cost?.

Sorry for all the questions, this is our first time doing anything of the sort and would really appreciate some tips from more experienced travellers!.

Cheers:)

darrenh

http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Wanderly-Wagon/Trips/2613

The above is my blog and covers the same route you have talked about. We did all of it in 3.5 months but we did spend up to 10 days in the odd place. 3 months is do-able. You wouldn't need to take internal flights but if you can afford it, it wouldn't be a bad idea. We flew Buenos Aires to Ushuaia only.

My advice would be to go up the west of Argentina, into northern Chile, then Bolivia, Peru and back down through Chile. That way you get Argentina and Chile covered. Chile I would say is the least popular country to travel in South America, partly due to costs and Argentina is better! No Frontiers has a big feature on Chile nearly every week but in my opinion Argentina is better and has everything and more than Chile.

Buses in most South American countries are like first class on a plane. Full reclining seats with movies, games and meals. Some even have wi-fi. They are relatively inexpensive when you consider the distance you cover. Bus journeys average 13-24hrs, some even longer.

We spent 2 weeks in Brazil, 1 month in Argentina, 3 days in Uruguay, 2 weeks in Bolivia, 1 month in Peru and 3 weeks in Chile.

South America is amazing. The best place to travel in my opinion.

Enjoy!:D

CaptainCrunch

What has his got to do with time travel

Dee101

darrenh wrote: »

http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Wanderly-Wagon/Trips/2613

The above is my blog and covers the same route you have talked about. We did all of it in 3.5 months but we did spend up to 10 days in the odd place. 3 months is do-able. You wouldn't need to take internal flights but if you can afford it, it wouldn't be a bad idea. We flew Buenos Aires to Ushuaia only.

My advice would be to go up the west of Argentina, into northern Chile, then Bolivia, Peru and back down through Chile. That way you get Argentina and Chile covered. Chile I would say is the least popular country to travel in South America, partly due to costs and Argentina is better! No Frontiers has a big feature on Chile nearly every week but in my opinion Argentina is better and has everything and more than Chile.

Buses in most South American countries are like first class on a plane. Full reclining seats with movies, games and meals. Some even have wi-fi. They are relatively inexpensive when you consider the distance you cover. Bus journeys average 13-24hrs, some even longer.

We spent 2 weeks in Brazil, 1 month in Argentina, 3 days in Uruguay, 2 weeks in Bolivia, 1 month in Peru and 3 weeks in Chile.

South America is amazing. The best place to travel in my opinion.

Enjoy!:D

Sounds great, will have a good read of your blog later when I get home!.

I assume you just booked return flights here and then just go with the flow when you get there thing?

Another thing, how much spending money would you need to cover for say three months?.

Thanks a mill for your help!

darrenh

Dee101 wrote: »

Sounds great, will have a good read of your blog later when I get home!.

I assume you just booked return flights here and then just go with the flow when you get there thing?

Another thing, how much spending money would you need to cover for say three months?.

Thanks a mill for your help!

I had a round the world ticket as we went to NZ, Aus and SE Asia as well. You could try and book a flight into Rio and out of Lima or Santiago, depending on what route you take.

The general rule for money is €1000 a month per person. This will be more in some countries and a lot less in others.

We spent around
Brazil €100-€120 a day for two
Argentina, Uruguay & Chile €80 a day for two
Peru & Bolivia €50 per day for two

The travel site I use has an excellent travel forum and very rarely you get smart arse replies like some sites.

Dee101

Thanks Darren, you're very helpful. Will have a gander over there alright;). Cheers:)

If anyone else has anything helpful/of interest they would like to add here, feel free - it would be much appreciated!