6 weeks in south america

aoife13

Hey everyone,

So I am travelling with 2 other girls we were supposed to be spending three months in south America but has been cut to 6 weeks due to funding!!we arrive in santiago and are wondering with such a short length of time is it better to book a tour with a company or how to plan our trip?we no it is much shorter time and we will be missing out on some places which we will get back to in the future but for now it would be great if anyone new of any tour companies or has done something similar.....our flight out is from Lima! Appreciate all the help I can get

Snowbride 2011

Hey Aoife,

I think 6 weeks is enough time to travel up from Chile to Bolivia and then onto Peru without being too rushed. You wont see everything but many of the highlights

I've just finished a 3 1/2 month trip which also included Argentina. Here is the route we followed from Lima through Bolivia, oppostite direction but you get the drift (It took us 7 weeks, at a leisurly enough pace, so you could absolutely do more than this in your 6 weeks) From Bolivia we then went to Argentina but I know you can cross Chile/ Bolivia border instead as part of the salt flats tour.

I did not do an organised tour so cannot comment on this but it is very very easy to travel around with little or no spanish (you just tend to look and feel stupid alot )

I would also recommend planning a few days lag into your intinerary to allow for strikes, roads blocks etc which are common enough.

Also, lonely planet guide 'on a shoestring', if published in 2010, its useless! I believe the latest version was just recently published so check you have the most up to date version


Peru

Lima: It’s a crazy,busy, noisy city. Its extremely loud and you almost take your life in your hands crossing the road or taking a taxi. I didn't love this city personally and only stayed for a couple of days to getover jet lag

Huacachina: It’s this weird oasis in the desert surrounded by anything from 3* hotels to rundown buildings, and not much else to be honest. There we did a dune buggy ride and sand boarding - brilliant fun. A day, maybe 2 at a maximum here

Arequipa/ColcaCanyon: really nice colonial town, happily spent a few days here. We also did a 3 day trek to Colca Canyon. Its physically demanding, the heat is possibly the most difficult aspect. If doing the trek, would advise staying in Arequipa before and after the trek. Most hostels can organise this trip for you

Cusco: I didn’t loveCusco, it’s a pretty town but just overloaded with thousands of tourists (likemyself!!)). Many of the Machu Picchu treks start from here. If you want to do the official trek, it can book up 6 months in advance so start looking now.There are also alternative trails you can do. The treks can be tough, mainly due to altitude. One thing I would strongly recommend is going up to the higheraltitude towns gradually; anyone we spoke to who flew from Lima to Cusco sufferedwith altitude sickness.

Aguas Calientas: Thistown is not nice but it’s was a necessary stop to get to Machu Picchu as we didn't trek. I could not wait to leave!

Machu Picchu: by far the most amazing thing I've ever seen...loved everything about this place. It’s awesome. It can be expensive to get to on the trains (cheaper ones book up fast) so look at alternatives like collectivos or sacred valley tour to ollantaytambo - should save you some money, a lesson we learned the hard way

Puno, last stop inPeru. This town sits beside one of the highest lakes in the world, Titicaca.The air is thin and you can get short of breath walking around. While there we visited the Uros people, they live on man-made islands. Everything is made out of reeds. Its not a great town in my opinion, so again, only a day or 2 here.


Bolivia
La Paz: big big city.High altitude. Numerous tours are available here

Rurrenbaque: We flew up to north to do a jungle trek from la paz. 5 days in all, 1 day before and after and 3 days in the jungle. Great trip! Lots of weird and wonderful bugs/animals. The pampas tour is meant tobe the best for seeing wildlife but we decided on a jungle tour so can’t say for sure.

Sucre: wonderfulsmall colonial town. You can go on quadbiking trips etc here.

Potosi: This is essentially a mining town. You can do a tour of a working mine but by all accounts its horrifically claustrophobic sowe gave it a miss

Uyuni: we did a 3 day tour around the salt flats/lagoons. Stunning place

Tupiza: Very popular place for horseback riding

If anything is unclear, just holler
Sue

Skuxx

Hi Guys,

Not meaning to hijack the thread, just curious what sort of a budget you reckon ye are going to need for a 6 wk to 2 month trip....excluding the flights!
I'd love to look at doing something similar myself next spring!

Snowbride 2011

Hi, it very much depends on the countries you plan to visit and how long you spend in each. Bolivia is very cheap, Peru is cheap, Argentina/Chile are expensive by comparison. I think the general consensus is an average of €1000 - €1500 per month depending on whether you stay in dorms vs private rooms, cook or eat out, level of alcohol consumption etc.

In Bolivia/Peru: We spent under €50 per day per person, staying in private rooms in nice hostels, eating out mostly and having drinks from time to time, going on various tours but it can be done much cheaper.

In Arg/Chile, it was maybe €60 pp per day but we cooked in most nights and drank mainly in the hostels as opposed to a pub/restaurant.

sarkozy

Snowbride gives a good overview of the general trail I also did, but I don't share all the same impressions.

Lima isn't the prettiest city in Perú, but I didn't find it crazy/hectic. Some older city centre parts are very pleasant to walk around, and the 'posher' part - Miraflores - is very westernised and safe (if a little anaemic). There are many places to get truly excellent ceviche - Peru's national dish of the freshest uncooked fish.

Also not mentioned in Perú is Arequipa, which is splendid and has some Inca mummies (though less-well preserved than those in Salta, Argentina) and lots of ruins.

Potosí is not 'just a mining town'. It was once one of the richest cities in the world because of the silver mine the Conquistadors discovered. This led to the rapid building of a lustrous Spanish colonial centre, which is a UNESCO heritage site. But it's also mining town (now mostly tin) and poverty is everywhere. I chose not to do a mine tour - I think it's decrepit and dangerous. About 1.5 hours away is Oruro, another formerly wealthy city, but really an ugly dustbowl of a mining town.

Also not mentioned is a visit to Bolivia's Yungas region, a sub-tropical region only 1.5 hours from La Paz and 3000 metres below it. The drive is spectacular, it's a great place for walks and chilling out.

One tip for the altitude in Bolivia, northern Argentina and southern Peru - chew coca or drink coca tea. It's legal there - no, it doesn't get you high - it acts to help the body circulate more oxygen.

Don't forget Argentina. Salta's excellent for outdoor pursuits in the vicinity of southern Bolivia, and, well, Buenos Aires is one of the greatest cities on earth.

Enjoy!