south america solo?

breadhead

Hello,


I have the best part of three months free coming up in July and was considering traveling.
South America is somewhere I have wanted to go for awhile now but was wondering how a female(29) traveling alone might find it? I was thinking Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay but I dont speak a word of Spanish or Portuguese.
How difficult would I find it? I have traveled alone before but never without the language. Is this a good time of year to visit?

Would I be better to stick to solo European travels?

Appreciate any advice on this.

smileybee

Go for it Breadhead - South America is amazing. You'll never regret having gone there. I've been to both Brazil and Argentina and loved them both. As a single female, I felt safer in Argentina than in Brazil (well Rio specifically). Both are fairly close to Western standards in terms of travel, accommodation etc. I haven't been to Paraguay or Uruguay so I can't really comment there. Are you planning to stay in hostels? If so, you'll meet loads of solo travellers to spend time with.

I'd try to learn some Spanish before going if I were you - Brazil is the only place you'll need Portuguese and your Spanish will be understood *most* of the time. You wont find many locals who speak English, plus it's just good manners to speak the local language if you can. That said, the locals in both countries were very friendly and did try to help out as much as they could, even when they hadn't a clue what I was saying.

I'd go back in a minute if I could. Have you thought about doing a group trip with GAP Adventures or similar? It might be a good compromise if you're nervous travelling on your own....

Meathlass

I agree wholeheartedly op. Just do it!! I went solo when I was 27 for 9 months and it was great. I went to all the countries you mentioned. Brazil and Argentina are very western compared to the rest of South America. The rural parts of Uruguay and Paraguay are a lot less so. To be honest unless you have a special gra for Paraguay I'd suggest picking another country instead. I also didn't think much of Uruguay.

A possible iterinary would be to fly into Rio and out of Santiago in Chile. Because of the time of year you are going I'm not sure if southern argentina/chile will be viable for travel. I think a lot of the roads close because of snow. 3 months is a great amount of time to explore Southern Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Bear in mind these countries are huge, You don't want to have to spend a day sight seeing after a 24 overland journey only to get on a night bus again. Give yourself time to enjoy. If you've up in Northern Chile/Argentina you could also do the Salt Flats tour in Bolivia.

Try and learn some Spanish before you go. You will save yourself a fortune. Very few people speak English, even in touristy areas. My experience of Rio was that no one spoke Spanish and I was really at a loss there with no Portuguese.

Pisco Sour

Definetely go to Peru. My favourite country in South America.