South America Summer 2012

nettie1

Hi everyone,
I need advice on travelling in South America next summer. I've always wanted to go and I've just decided to do it with or without friends. Has anyone got information on tours I could take? Should I try to learn some bit of Spanish or Portuguese or would I be ok without it? I'd love to visit some area of the Amazon and Peru, beyond that I'm not too bothered, reckon I'll enjoy just being there!
How much money would I be expecting to spend for a 6 week trip? I know so little at the moment, I don't even know what questions to ask, but any little bit of information would be greatly appreciated.

solerina

I did two weeks that took in a decent amount of peru with Gap adventures (now called G Adventures)....the trip I did was called Peru Panoramic and it was amazing..it seemed expensive when I booked it but when I was finioshed I thought it was great value...they have many many tours and cover much more than you could ever cover alone in the same time period...and I made 10 great friends who I am still in reglar contact with !!

Wild Rover

Definately get some spanish, especially for Peru. If you only learn numbers at least you'll know what you're paying for stuff and can bargain a bit too

Bruz82

If you can do more than 6 weeks then i defo would do it. I done 5 months and still missed loads. Dont worry too much about travelling alone. You will meet loads of people travelling in the same direction. You will find yourself travelling with others from all over the world. You just meet them in the hostels. When I arrived the (Lima) in 2008 its was a real shock at the start ( poverty,different buildings, people) but after a while you get used to it. I wouldnt miss Puerta Iquazu (Brazil/Argentina Border) . It was the hightlight for me.
Rio is beautiful, Maccho Picchu is class. I found the poorer countries(Bolivia,Peru) more interesting simple because its so different to here.
It was the best experience of my life . After this I went to South Asia alone and Im off to Jordan/Israel/Palestine on the 26th so dont be surprised if you get addicted to travelling, when u come home , Enjoy!!

bungaro79

we did about 6 weeks in s america saw loads but that was with some serious travelling and unfortunately it meant we didn't stay too long in a lot of places. you should list the places or things you really want to do and work around that, everything else is a bonus! we flew into santiago in chile and from there went to cusco and did the inca trail and amazon from here. we also went over to la paz in bolivia for a few days before coming back. we then flew to buenos aires for a few days, did a day trip to uruguay, and then flew to iguazu. we then flew up to rio before coming home! pretty intense but had a ball! we flew with lan airlines and if you can fly early then you should get the flights a lot cheaper.
if you had basic spanish then it would help a lot, especially in the more rural areas. i think in the lonely planet guide they said to budget for at least $30 a day in places like peru and bolivia, maybe a bit more in argentina and brazil. if you're looking for a company for the inca trail then check out www.perutreks.com

themacman

Some basic Spanish will enhance your experience enormously!

I agree with all of the above. A big +1 on Perutreks, legends.

scoochJ

I'm also planning on travelling around a bit of south america solo this summer. Hope to volunteer for two months in peru and then spend a month taking in a bit of peru, bolivia and chili.

sineadsull

Hi, myself and my friend are also planning on travelling South America for 4-5 weeks in July/Aug? Is it true that the Inca trail is booked? Would you recommend flying internally with that sort of time frame? We would like some exploration and relaxation! What would you recommend? We really need some guidance! Also what sort of money should I expect to spend? Thanks so much!

themacman

sineadsull wrote: »

Hi, myself and my friend are also planning on travelling South America for 4-5 weeks in July/Aug? Is it true that the Inca trail is booked? Would you recommend flying internally with that sort of time frame? We would like some exploration and relaxation! What would you recommend? We really need some guidance! Also what sort of money should I expect to spend? Thanks so much!

Look at perutreks.com, their permits are sold out for july and august, I don't know if that means there are no more available elsewhere.

You'll have to be a bit more specific with your other questions. For a start - what country/countries do you plan to visit?

solerina

If the official permits are gone, then they are gone...there are a few unofficial Inca trails though so you will still be able to do one...can be booked in Cuzco when you arrive (allow a few days to get used to the altitude first. Cuzco is amazing anyway, so its a great place to spend a few days ).