South America??

ManInTheMiddle

Thinking of going to South America for a few months..

Anyone got any advice in where to go and what would be the best track to take??


Cheers PEEPS!!

imme

It's a big place OP:p

There are so many places to go to and things to see. You've got history, beaches, cities, mountains, deserts, glaciers.....

How much do you want to see, how fast do you want to travel?


What time of the year were you thinking of, their seasons are the opposite of ours in the northern hemisphere.

Part of South America though is in the northern hemisphere, but is close to or on the equator so their weather is relative to that.

Do you want off the beaten track or to follow the road with others.

Argentina and Chile have among the best facilities because they've been doing it for longer.

Peru, Bolivia and Ecuadror are also on the tourist trail, offer good value and a lot to see and do.

Weather doesn't get too cold there in winter except at night, but even then not extreme.

Colombia is also a favourite on account of what there is to see and do in the country, including beaches and countryside.

Venezuela is a country that doesn't anything near the tourist numbers the countries around it gets. Corruption and personal safety are among the possible concerns here.

The country does though offer good tourist infrastructure and general good value for money.


Brazil can be tough to travel in as Portuguese is pretty much all they speak there. It does though offer wonderful sights, beaches and activities.

Costs there are higher than much of South America. Transport in particular is quite high.


Paraguay and The Guyanas are among the least visited countries on the continent. They have a lesser tourist infrastructure and arguably less spectacular sights.

ManInTheMiddle

Cheers man. Just having a wonder about it for now but will take in consideration some of your info..

Pleasant posting

worldtrip2012

Hi I'm new to this forum site but I am also thinking of going to travel south america next year in February and will be arriving just in time for the carnival anyone any ideas of where to stay ? good hostels that are not too expensive? want to go see the Iguazu falls as well anyone been?

imme

worldtrip2012 wrote: »

Hi I'm new to this forum site but I am also thinking of going to travel south america next year in February and will be arriving just in time for the carnival anyone any ideas of where to stay ? good hostels that are not too expensive? want to go see the Iguazu falls as well anyone been?

Tons of hostels in Copacabana, pretty decent and safe area to stay in the city, just on the famous beach of the same name as well.

They'll probably up their prices for Carnival season, maybe check them out now.

A Brazillian guy I met lately said that anyone he meets that's been to the country tells him that they visited Iguazu. Said he couldn't understand it.

He's never been, so couldn't understand why everyone goes there. It is though a great experience, the power and spectacle is awesome.
It probably is one of the most visited attractions in S America.

There's an airport in Iguazu so you can fly there from Rio but there's busses as well. Maybe too for you though, it'd take about 22 hours.

bungaro79

heard that room prices can triple in rio around carnival. we stayed in the mango tree hostel in ipenema which was lovely and great location.
iguazu was unreal too, well worth seeing.

we had about 6 weeks to do what we wanted in south america, we made a list of 3 or 4 things that we wanted to do and the rest would be a bonus. make sure you don't try and do too much as you won't enjoy the trip. would highly recommend the inca trail, the amazon (we did it from peru side), a match in buenos aires and the beaches in rio. we were able to do alot of other things aside from these which were a bonus. we found peru and bolivia to be the cheapest by far, followed by chile and argentina and thought brazil was by far the most expensive country.

FerrisBueller

I was in South America for just over 6 months, mainly in Argentina and I couldn't recommend it enough, I miss the place like crazy!

A very common trail is from Bogota down to Buenos Aires and back up to Rio, but then you're missing out completely on a lot of Argentina, I haven't been to Chile so I can't comment but I do think it'd be worth a visit.

I didn't have enough time to see Bolivia, but I think it's worth a fair bit of time, buses, toilets, etc are very very basic but I loved it, La Paz is a gorgeous city.

I saw Macchu Picchu in Peru and it's incredible, if you don't have a lot of patience for dodgy tour companies then book it in advance through a travel agent here, I didn't and took my chances doing a jungle trek which was much cheaper with a few problems along the way but I still got to see MP, etc.

Was in Iguazu as well, would highly recommend it, the Hostelling International hostel there is great. Don't know much about Brazil now but like that I've been told that it's very expensive. If Rio is overpriced might be an idea to check out the carnivale in Salvador, which is supposed to be amazing and probably a bit cheaper.

Must see places:

Argentina:
-Iguazu (and Brazilian side)
-Buenos Aires (BUT, don't spend too long there, or you may never get out)
-El Calafate (bit expensive but gorgeous)
-Ushuaia
-Mendoza
-Salta (could see it in a day when passing down into ARG from Bolivia)
-Córdoba and Rosario (not typically tourist cities but I would still recommend them especially if you want to do typically Argentine things it's much cheaper than in BA)
-Neuquén if you're into dinosaurs
-Puerto Madryn (only during whale season which ends in October I think)
-Bariloche (SAs equivalent to a ski resort, gorgeous scenery, a bit on the pricey side, but gorgeous, also from August-November the Argentine equivalent to Leaving Certs go here on their class trip, so beware of that!)

Bolivia:
-La Paz
-Uyuni
-Potosí
-Santa Cruz

There's a national park north of La Paz which goes into the Amazon which I heard is good too)

Peru:
-Cuzco (don't forget to see Cuzco Cathederal, it's incredible and highly underrated)
-Nazca
-Arequipa

Also another bit of advice I'd give you is start learning Spanish if you really want to experience it, a little goes a long way!
Another thing, I'd recommend getting buses after you cross a border, otherwise you'll be held up for hours trying to cross, I had a bad experience with that!

worldtrip2012

Hi all just have some questions about travelling South America in February2012. Our itinerary so far is to travel to Rio on the 15th of February for carnival (managed to get a studio apartment on airbnb will let you know how that goes) we are staying in Rio for a week and then travelling to Iguassu Falls for 3 days, then venture down to Buenos Aires, from here we would like to travel to Bolivia but are unsure of which route to take. From Bolivia we are thinking of going on the salt tour then over to Lake Titicaca and up to Cusco to do the Inca trail etc. We are unsure of a route down to Santiago from here but have to make it there by the 15th of April we would like to see the Atacama as well if possible . So I guess I have three questions
1. What would you recommend, travelling through Argentina to get to Bolivia or travelling into Paraguay and up?
2. Does anyone have any advice on what to do while travelling from Cusco to Santiago?
3. We allocated from the 15th of February to the 15 of April to South America, is this enough time and are we being too ambitious?

Literally any advice really would be very much appreciated

Thanks all

WilcoOut

worldtrip2012 wrote: »

1. What would you recommend, travelling through Argentina to get to Bolivia or travelling into Paraguay and up?

id be interested to hear advice on this too as ill be doing it in about 3 weeks or so!

my own research tells me that its easier to head from iguaza down to corrientes in argentina and then head north west to salta

you could also head over to asuncion and then head south to corrientes, in order to break up the travel

worldtrip2012 wrote: »

3. We allocated from the 15th of February to the 15 of April to South America, is this enough time and are we being too ambitious?

i have 3 months more or less to do what your doing and i feel we could do with more time

but everything is possible!

ck086

I'll be doing something similar early next year myself! Cant wait!
I'm thinking a bus from Buenos Aires to Salta mite be the easiest way. Prices seem in or around €110 for a cama suite bus (fully reclining seats etc..) It is a 19hr trip though..
Salta is meant to be a really beautiful town/city and seems worth a visit en route. From there you can cross into Chile - San pedro de Atacama and on up to do the salt lakes, La Paz, Lake Titicaca and Peru. I've taken ideas from various websites. Have a look at the map on this one to see the rout I mean.
http://www.gapadventures.com/trips/bolivia-crossing-lima-to-buenos-aires/SXMB/2011/
You might be able to price a cheap flight back to Santiago then and save on time but it depends on your budget..
I'm gonna have to try and get from Quito back to Santiago and haven't quite figured out how to do that one yet!
Happy travelling!

Tieko

I am just back from 3 months in South America and really loved it. We just went to Bolivia, Peru, Chile and Argentina. I really didn't think that much of Chile and if you are short on time, you can definitely skip it. My favourite country was Peru, really nice people. You should check out Arequipa, Huacachina, Lima, Cusco, Ollantaytambo and Puno. Definitely do not book the Inca trail before you get there or any tour for that matter, as they are all far cheaper when you arrive as there is huge competition.

In Bolivia, go to the Amazon Basin, best to fly there, I think it was about $120 return but the tour is actually very cheap. Also go to the mines in Potosi, and the Salt Flats and cycle death road in La Paz. There are lots of ways to almost kill yourself in Bolivia.

Argentina is gorgeous, accept Bueons Aires which I hated, very dodgy. Definitely go south in Argentina, Bariloche is stunning, do wine tasting in Mendoza, although the city itself was very disappointing. Cordoba and Salta are also nice places in the north. Seriously the best steak in the world is in Argentina.

For 3 months travel, you would need roughly $3,500 - $4,500.

Custardpi

I spent a few months in South America last year & can definitely recommend it. Did Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile & Argentina. If you're into nature, trekking, etc it's incredible. Two highlights (among many) would be the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu - tiring but well worth it & the Salaar de Uyuni, which straddles Bolivia & Chile - typically done in a 4x4.

Regarding Machu Picchu there are tons of companies in Cusco that can organise the trek, however permits are limited for the good trails so you should try & book before you go over if possible. As a western tourist one thing to consider is the welfare of the tour guides & porters. Many of the companies organising treks, including some well known & quite expensive firms, treat their employees appallingly, paying extremely low wages, no insurance, etc. Even if you don't have a social conscience this is likely to result in surly guides & staff, lax attention to safety, etc. The crowd I went with after much research were called Peru Treks, they can be found online & I can definitely recommend them - Lonely Planet also approves.

Surprised to hear Chile getting dissed here. I spent a few weeks there & although it's a major shock to the wallet after Bolivia (basically budget for Dublin prices in most areas) it's a lovely country with incredibly friendly people. There's a good few people with Irish ancestry there so they're often very interested to meet people from Ireland. Cycling in the Maipo wine valley near Santiago, chilling in Valpairaiso, whitewater rafting in Pucón are just a few of the things to do & if you can afford it definitely do it.

Argentina is also great, still can't decide whether the steak was better in Mendoza. They're big on their bbqs (known as asado) as well as meat feasts (as in huge meals consisting of nothing but meat) called parillas. One of the best areas in BA to stay in is San Telmo as it has one of the best markets I've ever seen at weekends - everything from movie posters & watches to antique phonographs & hand carved "mate" (pronounced mah-tay) gourds. Very cool.

That's a tiny portion of what the place has to offer, incredible continent & can't wait to go back some day.

WilcoOut

Custardpi wrote: »

IRegarding Machu Picchu there are tons of companies in Cusco that can organise the trek,The crowd I went with after much research were called Peru Treks, they can be found online & I can definitely recommend them - Lonely Planet also approves.

im booked to go with them

how long would you recommend in cusco to aclimatize?

any good hostels there that you would recommend?

markesmith

Went with my brother in Sep 2008. We flew into Buenos Aires, then went to Iguazu Falls, Rio, La Paz, Cuzco/Macchu Pichu, Arequipa, flew out of Santiago. Stopped off in a few villages. 6-week trip, would have killed for a bit longer.

+1 on Tieko and FerrisBueller's recommendation of Arequipa, my favourite place in the world. Found myself to be a great novelty for the ladies over there

I like Buenos Aires and La Paz, but I loved Cuzco and Rio de Janeiro.

Macchu Picchu and Iguazu Falls are must-visits if you're nearby.

I've heard Colombia and Patagonia are amazing, and the wine districts in Mendoza (Argentina) are highly recommended.

bamboozle

spent around 5 months in SA.
arrived into Buenos Aires, planning on staying 2 days but we ended up a few weeks there, brilliant city.

I loved argentina, we went to Brazil, Chile & Urugary but kept returning to argentina.

In Brazil did the Pantanal, Rio, Florianaplois and some of the islands south of Rio, never felt comfortable in Brazil as its just dodgy.
Chile - did Torres del Paine which was awesome but Chile is very expensive compared to the rest of SA.
Uruguary we went to Colonia del Sacramento which is a beautiful colonial town about an hour from buenos aires on the ferry
Montevideo is kinda like BA, nice & very big, we also spent a week chilling in punto del diablo which was stunning.

Highlights of SA for me were Patagonia, Igazu Falls, Buenos Aires and punto del diablo.

thebigb

Hi, I'll be travelling south America next year and ending up in rio with my girlfriend and we'd like to finish off the trip with a week or two in a nice resort. Does anybody know of any nice resorts where you can get the 5 star all inclusive type holidays near enough to rio?if not any other suggestions?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

bewhiched

Love to know this myself (sorry I'm not much help)