Internal Flights - South America

Sin1981

Hi all,
I'm planning a round the world. Route as follows:
Central America all the way down to Argentina > New Zealand > Australia > South East Asia

In South America I intend taking in Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile. I will probably have 3.5/4 months in that area in total,and to help speed things up, I was planning on taking a couple of internal flights. eg. Buenos Aires to El Calafate (this one is probably a certainty, as don't want to bus it down there and back again). Rio to Buenos Aires, and perhaps either Bogota to Lima, or Quito to Lima, if I take in Equador. I spent a while in Trailfinders and Usit last Friday. Was told the BA/qantas Walkabout was the best ticket for me. When I asked about adding some internal flights in south America, the guy told me not to, as they're cheap when you buy them when you're out there. (contradicted stuff I had read on the odd forum about south american flights being really expensive, esp one way tickets). He stressed that this was not the case.

Then off I go to USIT, told same thing re. Walkabout ticket, only that my route was going to mean going over the mileage limit by a few hundred miles (guy Trailfinders never told me that, sorry that's another story and another dillemma...). The lady in USIT went on to tell me that internal flights in South America are expensive, and that getting an airpass with TAM might be better. she quoted me €880 for the 3 flights mentioned above. So, I'm a little confused now.

Has anyone had experience of using any of these South American airpasses?? or anyone bought oneway tickets while in South America in recent times? Any general advice??
Thanks a lot

RATM

Internal flights in Argentina used to be quite expensive (about 2000) but I was down there again in 2009 and they were quite reasonable, often not a huge amount more than taking a semi cama bus. Eg we paid €100 to fly Usuhaia to El Calafate, a bus was €65 and wouldve taken 16 hours, for us the extra €35 was well worth it.

Also another thing we noticed was that when booking Lan Chile / Lan Argentina flights if you used the english version of their website you got charged more, the 'foreigner rate'. If you denote your home country as Argentina and proceed to book the price was about 20% cheaper. Of course you'll have to decipher Spanish but with Google Translate its not all that difficult. Again I must say that this was in 2009 so things might have changed.

Finally ask your travel agent about the Mercosur pass, run by Aerolineas Argentinas. It gives you three internal flights for cheap, the main condition is that it must be bought outside the country before you arrive there.

Also this link explains all the passes in South America quite well
http://www.lastfrontiers.com/flights_airpasses.php

dory

Flights in SA are very expensive in general. They're not internal flights at all really, they're international flights that can be 4 -5 hours in duration. They don't have the cheap airlines we have here in Europe. €800 sounds about right. I remember with South America return flights we often the same or one even cheaper than one way. And you're presumably getting a few one way tickets.

token101

Im in the same boat. Wanted to book flights directly to Colombia, but the agent in USIT said this wasn't possible through them and through Expedia, RTW, etc they were insane prices.:( So I'm flying to Santiago, and from there I'm getting a series of buses from Santiago to Bogota (over a 3 week period) taking in various places along the way and spending 4 weeks in Colombia overall. Problem is my flight is back out of Santiago again a fortnight later, so I really don't want to do the same journey in reverse, so the agent suggested I fly from Bogota back to Santiago...which would only cost 850 quid one way :eek: She actually said only, because normally it's so much more expensive apparently!!!!! So I eventually managed to get it down to 600 by flying from Cartagena to Buenos Aires and then getting the bus back across again (which means I can get to BA aswell, which is a plus really in a way). But 600 quid is still crazy crazy money for a one way flight, I'm half thinking of just getting buses back down again and doing it over 6-7 days (which may end up killing me!!). I've been using Skyscanner, but does anyone know if there's any cheaper way of making this trip? I tried every permutation going!! Like going to Uruguay/Paraguay/Brazil and getting onward buses but it's looking like I'm going to have to just bite the bullet and shell out

Sin1981

thanks for the feedback guys.

Token101: To be honest I found Trailfinders and USIT unhelpful. Really was a "computer says no" attitude from both. there is the Star alliance who do round the world tickets. I think Air France and KLM are in it, and they fly to Bogota. But surely you can get an open jawed ticket? I think you should shop around. email Sayit.ie and gohop.ie. I've emailed them, so far they are more helpful....
in fairness south america is a massive continent so a one way 600 euro ticket for what might be 5/6 hours flying isn't that bad. USIT suggested a TAM airpass to me. would that work for you? or else bus it half way and fly the rest.
I'm leaning towards not getting any airpasses and just seeing how things go while I'm out there. One for two flights in the 150-250Euro region to skip 24 hours on a bus won't break the bank.
Good luck anyhow!!

token101

Sin1981 wrote: »

thanks for the feedback guys.

Token101: To be honest I found Trailfinders and USIT unhelpful. Really was a "computer says no" attitude from both. there is the Star alliance who do round the world tickets. I think Air France and KLM are in it, and they fly to Bogota. But surely you can get an open jawed ticket? I think you should shop around. email Sayit.ie and gohop.ie. I've emailed them, so far they are more helpful....
in fairness south america is a massive continent so a one way 600 euro ticket for what might be 5/6 hours flying isn't that bad. USIT suggested a TAM airpass to me. would that work for you? or else bus it half way and fly the rest.
I'm leaning towards not getting any airpasses and just seeing how things go while I'm out there. One for two flights in the 150-250Euro region to skip 24 hours on a bus won't break the bank.
Good luck anyhow!!

Yeah I checked through LAN directly rather than Skyscanner and I got it down to €505 which is a bit better but I'm going to ring LAN tomorrow and see if I can get it reduced further by using those passes.

Meathlass

Once you cross an international border the price shoots up in South America. Also somebody mentioned that from Cartagena to BA was €600 euros and that was crazy money but I bet the flight is 5 hours or so.

OP I was there in 2006 and paid €600 rtn from Quito to Santiago. I would just recommend bussing it tbh with the exception of the El Calafate to BA flight. If you fly between Rio and BA you'll miss Igazu and the missions sites. The sleeper buses are very comfortable and the scenary can be spectacular.

Sin1981

Thanks Meathlass!
I'm thinking of mostly bus-ing it now. I might come down from Bolivia to Salta than cross over to Iguazu if I can and onto Rio. This is why I wanted to fly to BA, as I didn't want any back tracking. Pluna airlines might work if I stop in Uraguay.... I'll see when I'm out there I guess. but definitely flying to Patagonia, and bus it back up towards Santiago.

thanks again

themacman

Meathlass is right. If you don't cross an international border, there are cheap flights to be found.

I've flown in Arg, Peru and Colombia for a price of not much more than the bus. (I think in Colombia it may have even worked out cheaper).

Trippie

I live in colombia and work in the tourism industry here and you are getting ripped off on those flights. A handy way to save coming in or out of colombia is to go to the amazon and either take a cheap boat to peru/brazil/colombia and then fly internally. Cuts down a huge amount.

Also LAN have their sale on the moment and most flights can be had for roughly 150 each depending on the time. If you need any help just let me know

RATM

Also for the DIY'ers amongst us don't forget flying to the hubs and then getting another onward flight can often work out cheaper, especially when booked a good bit in advance. For eg if you take a Ryanair to Madrid then go onwards to SA with Iberia you can often save money over buying a Dublin-SA return through USIT.

Another option is a flight to Miami and then further south into South America.
In South America Caracas, Rio, Lima & BA are the main hubs for flights to and from Europe / US.

Flights country to country in SA are always expensive, budget airlines have yet to really take off there. Sometimes you just gotta stump up. The alternative it to get an open jaw return, i.e. fly into Caracas but out of BA and then do your whole trip overland. it costs a bit extra but should work out cheaper than getting country to country flights when you're there IMO.

Finally I'll say that I've backpacked many a year at this stage and in my experience anyone using USIT /Trailfinders is typically going to pay a good deal more than someone who sorts it out themselves. If you have to use an agent then use STA in London (even if you're over 26) and start your trip from there- they are generally much better value than USIT & Trailfinders put together.

token101

Trippie wrote: »

I live in colombia and work in the tourism industry here and you are getting ripped off on those flights. A handy way to save coming in or out of colombia is to go to the amazon and either take a cheap boat to peru/brazil/colombia and then fly internally. Cuts down a huge amount.

Also LAN have their sale on the moment and most flights can be had for roughly 150 each depending on the time. If you need any help just let me know

Hey Trippie, I do need help! I'm looking to get from Cartagena (or reasonable nearby)to Buenos Aires as quickly and cheaply as possible! I'm very tempted to just go ahead and book with LAN, as things stand €505 for an 12 hour journey overall (3 separate flights) seems OK. Just looking at it....you were saying the internal flights would cost 150 odd anyway, so considering that I'd probably need to get more than one flight along with boats/buses and I'm looking to make this as fast a journey as possible. So to go from one end of the continent to the other in 11 hours for 500 quid doesn't seem too bad, but I would still like to save more money if I can!

nxbyveromdwjpg

Air France and KLM both do Dublin to Bogota via Paris and Amsterdam respectively, just did this in December. Then a connecting flight to Cartagena was about 150$.

token101 wrote: »

Im in the same boat. Wanted to book flights directly to Colombia, but the agent in USIT said this wasn't possible through them and through Expedia, RTW, etc they were insane prices.

SSK

nm wrote: »

Air France and KLM both do Dublin to Bogota via Paris and Amsterdam respectively, just did this in December. Then a connecting flight to Cartagena was about 150$.

I'm booked on the Lufthansa flight to Bogota via Frankfurt at the end of the month and then a connection to Cartagena (all booked on Kayak). Costing me €800 in total but I had to get there on a specific day so I could have gotten it for a bit cheaper if I went different days/operators. The Lufthansa flight doesn't require a nights stopover either like most of the Iberia flights via Madrid.

Everywhere I've checked has said that I do not need to arrange a visa prior to departure and that I will get one on arrival in Colombia. Is this definitely the case? And is the process straightforward one I arrive in Bogota (bearing in mind that I have very little Spanish)?

token101

nm wrote: »

Air France and KLM both do Dublin to Bogota via Paris and Amsterdam respectively, just did this in December. Then a connecting flight to Cartagena was about 150$.

Going onwards to Oz though was the problem. It was costing me 1300 alone to go Bogota-Sydney, and I checked everywhere imagineable to get one cheaper, even to Melbourne, etc, whereas I got the whole thing Dublin-Santiago-Sydney for 1200 with USIT, with changeable dates AFAIK. I'm actually happier flying into Chile and making my way up towards Colombia, I get to take in more places and that's good. But the problem is getting back down again, don't want to take buses again, it'd take me another week that I don't have. So tbh, I'm just going to pay the €500 and fly Cartagena-Buenos Aires. And just go out in BA for a week of partying rather than a week on buses :P Thanks for all the advice anyway though! Much appreciated!

bwcallaghan

Hi ,

I am trying to plan my route around also starting in Colombia at the start of July.

Planning to spend around 3 weeks between Bogota/Medellin/Cartagena (maybe Santa Marta) and Cali.

I will then have about 8/9 days to figure a way of going down from Cali to Santiago in Chile.

I was thinking maybe get from Cali to Quito and then a flight down but Quito to Santiago does seem to run around 800 euro at the moment , I need to do a bit more searching round though.

I need to get down to Santiago as I will be working my way back up from there probably in a tour from the beginning of August to be in La Paz about a week before going on the Inca Trail at the end of August.

Any advice on the best way to get down from Cali/Quito to Santiago and some help on finding the cheapest flight possible would also be much appreciated!!

By the way coming into SA to Bogota in July and back from Lima in Sept is working out around 1450 odd , that seem about right to people or could I be doing better than this?

Meathlass

bwcallaghan wrote: »

Hi ,

I am trying to plan my route around also starting in Colombia at the start of July.

Planning to spend around 3 weeks between Bogota/Medellin/Cartagena (maybe Santa Marta) and Cali.

I will then have about 8/9 days to figure a way of going down from Cali to Santiago in Chile.

I was thinking maybe get from Cali to Quito and then a flight down but Quito to Santiago does seem to run around 800 euro at the moment , I need to do a bit more searching round though.

I need to get down to Santiago as I will be working my way back up from there probably in a tour from the beginning of August to be in La Paz about a week before going on the Inca Trail at the end of August.

Any advice on the best way to get down from Cali/Quito to Santiago and some help on finding the cheapest flight possible would also be much appreciated!!

By the way coming into SA to Bogota in July and back from Lima in Sept is working out around 1450 odd , that seem about right to people or could I be doing better than this?

Apologies but I'm a bit confused. So you want to fly into Bogota in July and out of Lima in Sept. I'm presuming that you have the Inca Trail booked for the end of August. It seems like you also have a tour booked from Santiago to La Paz?? Your quoted flight is very expensive.

If you didn't have your tour booked would it not make more sense to fly into Bogota and work your way overland (taking in the Inca Trail) to fly out of Santiago thereby eliminating the need to backtrack. You could also then price flights out of Buenos Aires as well as it's a two day bus trip from Santiago to there and you might get much better flight deals.

token101

bwcallaghan wrote: »

Hi ,

I am trying to plan my route around also starting in Colombia at the start of July.

Planning to spend around 3 weeks between Bogota/Medellin/Cartagena (maybe Santa Marta) and Cali.

I will then have about 8/9 days to figure a way of going down from Cali to Santiago in Chile.

I was thinking maybe get from Cali to Quito and then a flight down but Quito to Santiago does seem to run around 800 euro at the moment , I need to do a bit more searching round though.

I need to get down to Santiago as I will be working my way back up from there probably in a tour from the beginning of August to be in La Paz about a week before going on the Inca Trail at the end of August.

Any advice on the best way to get down from Cali/Quito to Santiago and some help on finding the cheapest flight possible would also be much appreciated!!

By the way coming into SA to Bogota in July and back from Lima in Sept is working out around 1450 odd , that seem about right to people or could I be doing better than this?

Hi,

I got a LAN South American Airpass. If you Google it it's the first link, it doesn't actually appear anywhere on any of the menus on their website. Basically, if you're flying into SA with any Oneworld Airline, like BA, Qantas or Iberia you'll be eligible. You have to make three trips minimum, though, but what you could do is something like, Quito-Cuzco, Cuzco-Lima, Lima-Santiago, that'll save you at least half that I'd guess. I got 5 long flights for 550 quid, so they have some very good deals. But it seems to be ridiculously badly promoted and their website is a total f*** up, better off ringing their UK call centre.

USIT seem to be the best for Sa flights, which I found strange aswell. Came in way cheaper than anyone else