South America for 3 months!

poozers

Im a female, 26, and im planning on going to South America next summer for 3 months. fly in to the east, and work my way across to the west.
so far, ill be going by myself. and i am a little scared.
basically, i have to go travelling. i have to see a part of the world totally different for here, i never have before, except on holidays in europe, new york and a zimbabwe trip with my parents when i was 13, and didnt appreciate it the way i should have. i know it will be good for me personally.

anyway, my questions, some are important, some seem unimportant..

is it safe for a girl to go to south america solo?
how much (approx) should i save to be comfortable? (im thinking about 5-6K)
would a travel agent be much good to get advice from?

(random unimportant Q) i have a cat, im thinking my sister could take her for the three months, but is it wrong to shift her around like that? (shes an old rescue cat and i only have her for about a year now, and has been shifted around a lot before! if its generally thought not to be fair, whats the right thing to do with her? so anyone who was in a similar situation, advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
*to mods, sorry if my cat question comes across as off topic of the board, please forgive me, but it is a concern i have in relation to my travelling plan!*
and i know it might sound mean, but im not going to let the fact that i have a cat stop me from going travelling. and you can say "well you should have thought of that before you got the cat" etc etc, but in fairness, this cat was going to be put down unless i took it (long story, for another time and another thread!!)

what kind of things would you recommend to do in South america? (like famous things like machu picchu, amazon etc) and are they expensive to get tours of?

my main question really is the safety aspect for a female solo traveller!! is it wise to go alone or should i convince someone to come too?

ive heard a lot about travellers hooking up during their trips, someone in a hostel your staying in might be heading the same way as you so you go together, that kind of thing. i know this is common in s.e asia, but i just want to sort of "make sure" that this happens, not only in S.E asia, but all over the world? id say it obviously does, but just want to hear it tbh! lol

should i plan my trip in advance, like an itinerary or just go with the flow??

what countries across South America would be worth the most to go to? Chile is a place i really want to see, and peru, but i also want to see argentina, and all these places are at the opposite ends of the continent! (not looking for details really, but just what would be feasible within a 3 month timeframe)

any advice, experiences, stories anyone has about travelling through South america. i have nothing booked, and i always said "ah ill go travelling when i have the money", but ive never made any solid plan, or bothered to save or had a goal on when to go. but i have decided it will be next summer for definite, and i have already started saving! sorry for long post, and thanks in advance for replies.

Batigol309

poozers wrote: »

Im a female, 26, and im planning on going to South America next summer for 3 months. fly in to the east, and work my way across to the west.
so far, ill be going by myself. and i am a little scared.
basically, i have to go travelling. i have to see a part of the world totally different for here, i never have before, except on holidays in europe, new york and a zimbabwe trip with my parents when i was 13, and didnt appreciate it the way i should have. i know it will be good for me personally.

anyway, my questions, some are important, some seem unimportant..

is it safe for a girl to go to south america solo?
how much (approx) should i save to be comfortable? (im thinking about 5-6K)
would a travel agent be much good to get advice from?

(random unimportant Q) i have a cat, im thinking my sister could take her for the three months, but is it wrong to shift her around like that? (shes an old rescue cat and i only have her for about a year now, and has been shifted around a lot before! if its generally thought not to be fair, whats the right thing to do with her? so anyone who was in a similar situation, advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
*to mods, sorry if my cat question comes across as off topic of the board, please forgive me, but it is a concern i have in relation to my travelling plan!*
and i know it might sound mean, but im not going to let the fact that i have a cat stop me from going travelling. and you can say "well you should have thought of that before you got the cat" etc etc, but in fairness, this cat was going to be put down unless i took it (long story, for another time and another thread!!)

what kind of things would you recommend to do in South america? (like famous things like machu picchu, amazon etc) and are they expensive to get tours of?

my main question really is the safety aspect for a female solo traveller!! is it wise to go alone or should i convince someone to come too?

ive heard a lot about travellers hooking up during their trips, someone in a hostel your staying in might be heading the same way as you so you go together, that kind of thing. i know this is common in s.e asia, but i just want to sort of "make sure" that this happens, not only in S.E asia, but all over the world? id say it obviously does, but just want to hear it tbh! lol

should i plan my trip in advance, like an itinerary or just go with the flow??

what countries across South America would be worth the most to go to? Chile is a place i really want to see, and peru, but i also want to see argentina, and all these places are at the opposite ends of the continent! (not looking for details really, but just what would be feasible within a 3 month timeframe)

any advice, experiences, stories anyone has about travelling through South america. i have nothing booked, and i always said "ah ill go travelling when i have the money", but ive never made any solid plan, or bothered to save or had a goal on when to go. but i have decided it will be next summer for definite, and i have already started saving! sorry for long post, and thanks in advance for replies.

Hey, just back from S.America..was there for 4.5 months as part of RTW trip.
Its awesome....you will have an amazing time.

First off just to let you know that summer here would be winter in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia. Just to keep in mind if you planning trekking or anything like that. 3 months is a good timeframe...I would advise take 3 countries, max 4, and just spend some time. You dont want to be on a bus every few days as the distances are long.

I was in just the North of Argentina for a month...and missed loads...Bolivia is great if you are on a budget. Really beautiful country and loads to do. If you want beaches and sun then head to Colombia...my favourite country. Dont listen to the scaremongerring or stereotypes...people there are so friendly and I felt really safe there too.

Hostels in S.A are great...really easy to meet people, I found much easier than S.E. Asia. You will be fine by yourself...just have a bit of cop on and you will be grand. Tours are great way to meet people too. Id def recommend Salt Flats, Iguazu and Machu Picchu as the best things Ive done.

Drop me a msg if you need any more info...happy to help



Not sure about the cat question

solerina

Hey OP
If you are not sure of an route then look at some of the tour companies even if your not going on a tour it will show you places that are of interest and routes that you can take, that would def help you with planning. www.gadventures.com or intrepid travel or similar do tours (some for as long as 60 days). I have only been to Peru and Brazil and I loved both. I met a good few solo females travelling about and each one of them said they had met other travellers along the way and met up with lots of them over and over again...they all said they were only alone when they wanted to be !!!

poozers

great stuff! thanks for the replies. do yee mind me askin how much avg it cost you over all???
im just having a very quick look at flights, and id say it might be 2000 on flights alone, getting there and back. doing a very rough draft of my itinerary and basically i have :

Brazil : (still need to investigate best cities to go to) sao paolo to rio, then on up towards the amazon around Manaus

then maybe briefly through columbia to get to Peru,

then over to bolivia and down to chile,

then down to argentina and fly home from buenos Aires.

am i being too ambitious?
i really want to see as much as i can in the 3 months. i know i have a good few countries there, but i have to plan it out better and research a lot more in regards to how long i spend in one place at a time, and how long train/bus journeys are, and whether its worth going to a certain place if it means spending days on a bus! im going to try go by train, or bus mostly while travelling around (preferably train). what is the transport like over there, and is it generally reasonably priced?

a lot of the flights from south america to dublin are really expensive too. i have only looked up Buenos Aires, and a few cities in brazil so far, but thats the general area id like to fly out of.

And forgot to ask about Visas! whats the situation with visas? is it easy enough to get them when your travelling through the different countries? and are they expensive too?
ugh, i just wish i could win the bloody lottery!

I also forgot to ask about accomodation in hostels etc? is it fairly reasonable too? i know in S.E asia its meant to be pretty cheap. kinda hoping S. America is the same!

PS. i actually dont plan on drinking too much, or maybe not at all! i dont drink now only the odd beer every few weeks. id be happier to go out with a group and not drink. im a pretty cautious person, so i dont see me spending much (if not any) of my money on booze !! id rather do this trip clear minded and with no hangovers or anything that will impair my experience!! i want it to be a trip where i "find myself" (without sounding too corny!!! lol)

Batigol309

I wouldnt think there is much point in going to Colombia from Brazil just for few days to get to Peru. You would then have to fly or bus it (3 days) through Ecuador. You can get into Peru from Brazil anyway.

In terms of transportation you wont find trains in really any of those countries so get ready for some long and interesting bus trips Hostels are really good in South America...you will find a dorm bed for under $10 in most places..Bolivia probably for $6 or $7. Food is pretty cheap everywhere depending on your tastes.

I never had a problem with VISAs. We are lucky being Irish that we dont have to pay any entry fees too. So you will just get stamped in at the borders..nothing to worry about there. And none of the dollar bribes you have in S.E.Asia.

Ye flights are really expensive in South America...might work out a bit cheaper to fly to States and then back to Ireland etc or through Madrid. I got cjeap flights from Colombia but then you are finishing up in B.A. Be prepared for expensive buses in Argentina too...was suprise to me.

Cheers