Travel bug has bitten!

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

Hi all. Lately I've developed a keen interest in visiting south america. Particularly Argentina, Chile and Brazil and then heading north.

Ive not got plans set in stone yet so Im wondering if anyone's done this before and what way did you go about it?

1) would you be safe enough going alone?

2) if I was to travel for approx 12 weeks and stay in hostels, eat a reasonable standard of food but want to try excursions (national parks, diving) what budget would I be looking at?

3) Is it possible to supplement my income along the way? Not a big problem if not.

4) can visas be obtained easily at each border crossing?

5) I've considered both using public transport or buying a 4x4 when I arrive. I realise these are very different options which will greatly affect what budget I would require.

Basically Im at the initial stages of planning my trip, everythings on the table, and Im dying to hear about your experiences. Muchos gracias!

Meathlass

1) would you be safe enough going alone?

Yes - thousands of people do it every year. Look online here on boards and the lonely planet forum Thorn Tree is also invaluable.

2) if I was to travel for approx 12 weeks and stay in hostels, eat a reasonable standard of food but want to try excursions (national parks, diving) what budget would I be looking at?

Depends. Argentina, Brazil and Chile are the most expensive countries in South America. 12 weeks is a very short time to see 3 very big countries. If you go in the Irish Summer you won't be able to see much of south as weather will be inclement. Try not to backtrack on yourself. Maybe fly into Rio and travel south to Buenos Aires and out of Santiago. Excl flights and big ticket items like diving etc I would budget €40 a day.

3) Is it possible to supplement my income along the way? Not a big problem if not

Don't see how. Any company will want you for a least a month which means staying in the same place. I'd bring enough money with you instead.

4) can visas be obtained easily at each border crossing?

Yes, usually but things change so best to check the relevant sites for up to date information.

5) I've considered both using public transport or buying a 4x4 when I arrive. I realise these are very different options which will greatly affect what budget I would require.

Don't see any point in buying a 4x4. You'll meet lots of people on buses and hostels. You'll have the extra hassle of parking in a city, the driving. There's a well-worn track in South America and public transport is great.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

Thanks meathlass. You sound like your speaking from experience, what time of year did you go?

When you say those 3 countries are the most expensive, do you mean by south american standards? Ive searched cost of living and it's showing up meal for one budget restaurant €5-7 is this accurate?

Also, how best to carry your money, would you leave it in the bank and just withdraw say €100 or reais etc as required?

I have researched this and these are the ideas Im coming up with, Im just hoping to run them by people with prior experience. Really appreciate your help.

Meathlass

what time of year did you go?

I arrived in Venezuela in September so was in Chile in November, Argentina in December and January and Brazil in February and March.

When you say those 3 countries are the most expensive, do you mean by south american standards? Ive searched cost of living and it's showing up meal for one budget restaurant €5-7 is this accurate?

Yes by South American standards. I'm loath to give details of prices as it's 5 years since I've been but my budget in Bolivia a day was about €20 for a shared dorm, 2 decent meals, and either an excursion or a 4 hour bus trip. In Brazil/Argentina the same things cost €40. Also there's more stuff to spend your money on in the latter. I found a food court in Chile which sold Aisan food and I was ecstatic after all the stuff I'd eaten in Bolivia and Peru. There's more bars and nice restaurants, cinemas with English movies, bookshops with english language books etc.

Also, how best to carry your money, would you leave it in the bank and just withdraw say €100 or reais etc as required?

That's pretty much what I did. I brought my laser and credit card so if one was stolen or lost I'd have a back up and then just transfered money as I needed it. I tried to take a week's money out at a time as most accounts charge you per withdrawal. Obviously keep your two cards in seperate places and maybe an emergency stash of euros in your bag somewhere.

i have to return some video tapes

Hi ,
I'm going at the end of April and my route is flying
-Flying into Rio in Brazil
- traveling from there down to Argentina
-Up through Argentina into Bolivia and Peru
-then traveling back to Santiago in Chile to fly out .

I'm travelling for around ten weeks. This probably wont be enough time to see everything extensively but I will defo have enough time to see the main things . My brother did the same route in the same time and he seen pretty much everything he wanted to see. My flights were one way as I am flying out of Chile to Sydney to work in Australia for a year . Flights cost €1100. You need to factor in other costs like vaccinations which are around €300.

Another good tip for money is if you set up an online savings account then transfer into your main account your budget for each week. This also means that if you are robbed or someone tries to force you to take out all your money in your bank account that you will not be completely robbed of all your funds . When are you thinking about going ??

token101

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

Hi all. Lately I've developed a keen interest in visiting south america. Particularly Argentina, Chile and Brazil and then heading north.

Ive not got plans set in stone yet so Im wondering if anyone's done this before and what way did you go about it?

1) would you be safe enough going alone?

Yeah i went alone, speak almost no Spanish and was fine. I started in Santiago and went north into Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and then flew back down to Argentina went into Uruguay then made my way back to Santiago to fly to Oz.

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

2) if I was to travel for approx 12 weeks and stay in hostels, eat a reasonable standard of food but want to try excursions (national parks, diving) what budget would I be looking at?

I spent close to 4,000 euro in 10 weeks, and about 1,000 of that was in two weeks in Argentina. Bolivia and Peru are cheaper than Argentina and Chile, I've heard Brazil is expensive but I didn't go there.

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

3) Is it possible to supplement my income along the way? Not a big problem if not.

Not in 12 weeks, if you're willing to stay for a month in one place you could get free board if you're willing to work in a hostel but that's about as close as you're going to get.

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

4) can visas be obtained easily at each border crossing?

Assuming you're an Irish citizen, yeah.

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

5) I've considered both using public transport or buying a 4x4 when I arrive. I realise these are very different options which will greatly affect what budget I would require.

I have no idea why you would want to buy any sort of vehicle, it'd create more problems than you'd ever want. Aside from things like crossing borders, driving in South America is insane, their traffic laws are loose. Take public transport, it'll get you everywhere and cost a lot, lot less.

hmmm

Argentina has superb long range bus services run by various private companies. You can pick your level of comfort from simple seats to fully flat beds if you wish. For the really long range trips you'll probably want to fly, but the bus is great for the upto 24 hour trips.

Unfortunately Argentina has had massive inflation in recent years and is not as cheap as it once was. The economy is tottering - if it was me I'd wait 2/3 years as I suspect the Argentinian economy is going to collapse again - after the last collapse, prices were a steal for tourists.

Chile is an expensive country by South American standards.

One thing to bear in mind is that Argie, Chile & the big cities of Brazil are a bit like Spain in the 1970s, and are not what you may imagine South America to be. Peru is a place I spent some time in and loved, and is very ethnic - it's also very cheap.

I never had a problem with visas at the border.

If you want to fly, choose LAN if at all possible - the rest of the airlines I flew on can best be described as dodgy.

Meathlass

hmmm wrote: »

One thing to bear in mind is that Argie, Chile & the big cities of Brazil are a bit like Spain in the 1970s, and are not what you may imagine South America to be. Peru is a place I spent some time in and loved, and is very ethnic - it's also very cheap.

This is interesting and something I thought about a lot when I was in South America. It's a bit like people having a homogenus view of Europe - there's a big difference between say Ireland, Iceland, Croatia and Greece - all in Europe.

Chile and Argentina are very familiar to Europeans, similar style of architecture, culture, even landscapes. Parts of Chile, near the Andes, are so similar to Germany that it was strange walking around the resorts. I found Bolivia and Peru, Ecaudor to be more what people are imagining when they think of 'South America' with the colourful 'ethnic' garments. Venezuela and Colombia were more Carribbean orientated. It's all fantastic though.

Of course these are all part of South America and it's just our perception of what they should be like that may need altering.