South America-3 weeks

Adrienne13

Hi there,
My husband and i are travelling to South America for 3 weeks in November. We know that we def want to do the inca trail which will be basically be one week’s out of our travel. Think they advise to stay in cuzco for a few days before the climb to get used to the altitude. Anyway apart from that we were thinking of Argentina but we also wanted to relax for a few days and check out some beaches and most people recommend Brazil for beaches.
I've been advised that Peru and Bolivia might be our best bet as they are close and we could travel down from cuzco to lake Titicaca. I’ve always wanted to go to Argentina but a girl from work is from there and she said Buenos Aires isn’t your traditional South American city, that it’s very European and this made me think that you wouldn't have the same kind of experience as in other South American cities.
At the moment we are thinking maybe Dublin peru, peru-brazil and brazil home or else Dublin to peru-then travel into Bolivia and go from there home but not sure!
We've heard there are some lovely beaches in Peru as well so maybe no need to go to Brazil.

Sorry for the rambled message. Any advice and opinions/experiences very much appreciated. As we are going for 3 weeks only we don't want to spend too much time travelling so perhaps just 2 countries is enough. Thanks in advance

MiloDublin

The sea is REALLY cold in Peru, the Humboldt Current moves up from Antartica. Brazil has great beaches but getting to them from Peru takes time. Another suggestion is Colombia which is not so out of the way. Cartagena de Indias is a beautiful walled colonial city (like a Latin American version of New Orleans) with Caribbean beaches and nearby is the Tairona National Park which is unspoilt and amazing. Colombia is now considered safe and is experiencing a tourist boom.

Narsil

We're going to Peru and Brazil for 3 weeks next May. Spending 12 days on GAdventures 'Amazon to Andes' tour, then flying to Iguassu Falls for 3 nights and on to Rio for 5 nights.
You should check if there are still places on the Inca Trail and book them first as they sell out really quickly.

silja

***** Moving thread out of the USA forum *****

Adrienne13

Thanks for all your tips. Good to consider the coldness of the water in Peru-hadn't thought about that. We will look up Colombia too and see what we think. Narsil, i checked out G Adventures and there are so many diff tours. I couldn't see a Peru and Brazilian one. Do you mind me asking how much it cost? Can you fly to iguassu falls? Are you flying to the brazilian side of it? How are you travelling onto Rio?
Moderator: Where is this thread being moved to? I didn't realise it was a USA forum i had put it in sorry.

pjproby

Iguassu falls is a must. I flew there from Buenos Aires which is a great city too.

Narsil

Adrienne13 wrote: »

Thanks for all your tips. Good to consider the coldness of the water in Peru-hadn't thought about that. We will look up Colombia too and see what we think. Narsil, i checked out G Adventures and there are so many diff tours. I couldn't see a Peru and Brazilian one. Do you mind me asking how much it cost? Can you fly to iguassu falls? Are you flying to the brazilian side of it? How are you travelling onto Rio?
Moderator: Where is this thread being moved to? I didn't realise it was a USA forum i had put it in sorry.

Pm sent

hibsman

Adrienne13 wrote: »

Hi there,
My husband and i are travelling to South America for 3 weeks in November. We know that we def want to do the inca trail which will be basically be one week’s out of our travel. Think they advise to stay in cuzco for a few days before the climb to get used to the altitude. Anyway apart from that we were thinking of Argentina but we also wanted to relax for a few days and check out some beaches and most people recommend Brazil for beaches.
I've been advised that Peru and Bolivia might be our best bet as they are close and we could travel down from cuzco to lake Titicaca. I’ve always wanted to go to Argentina but a girl from work is from there and she said Buenos Aires isn’t your traditional South American city, that it’s very European and this made me think that you wouldn't have the same kind of experience as in other South American cities.
At the moment we are thinking maybe Dublin peru, peru-brazil and brazil home or else Dublin to peru-then travel into Bolivia and go from there home but not sure!
We've heard there are some lovely beaches in Peru as well so maybe no need to go to Brazil.

Sorry for the rambled message. Any advice and opinions/experiences very much appreciated. As we are going for 3 weeks only we don't want to spend too much time travelling so perhaps just 2 countries is enough. Thanks in advance

Hi Adrienne13, we are planning a similar trip to South America in October. Check out the thread on "18 days in South America", some great suggestions there from posters and I have just put up roughly what we plan to do with our time, although we haven't fully decided. Also, G adventures have a sale on for July according to trailfinders, worth checking that out.

pfannkuchen

Hi Adrienne13,

I'm just home from a five week tour with G - I travelled from Lima to Buenos Aires - and I couldn't recommend them highly enough. Everything was so well organised, the guides were incredibly knowledgeable and professional and the group I travelled with were brilliant. I think three weeks probably isn't enough time to see more than one or two South American countries in some depth, but G are definitely a brilliant option when you want to make the most of a relatively short amount of time.

Our tour comprised two different tours - one from Lima to La Paz (the Andean Discovery, which lasted three weeks), and then La Paz to Buenos Aires (which lasted two weeks). It was really jam-packed and we saw and experienced an incredible amount in that time, without that feeling of being on an overbearing school tour!

The group I travelled with continued on from Buenos Aires with another G tour that took in Iguassu, Paraty, Ilha Grande and Rio over two weeks, so that could be another really good option if you'd rather do Argentina and Brazil. There are also some shorter Brazil trips that you could technically combine with a shorter Peru one - it just depends very much on being able to fly between cities and what you want to see!

You should also bear in mind that the Southern Cone countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile) are quite a bit more expensive than other South American countries. I spent quite a bit less than I had anticipated in Peru and Bolivia but got a serious shock when I got as far as Chile and Argentina, so that may influence your decision. You will have a wonderful time wherever you choose to go though

SenorCarlsberg

My 2 friends did slightly longer this year in South America (about 10 weeks) but crammed in alot in this time - 6 countries with the longest stretches being in Argentina and Peru. Take a look at our blog for a few ideas of what to and what not to do
See ThreeAmigosSouthAmericanAdventure on Blogspot

OkayWhatever

I'm just back a few weeks from a 3 week trip. I did São Paulo, Rio, Iguassu Falls (Brazilian and Argentinian sides) and Buenos Aires.

I would 100% skip São Paulo. I didn't like it a lot and got quite bad vibes. Rio on the other hand was amazing! I completely recommend staying in Ipanema, was great there. Iguassu Falls were breathtaking! The Brazilian side was much better than the Argentinian. The Argentinian side was SO expensive too. Think it worked out at like 25€ each which was insane compared to the price of the Brazilian side- which was at least half of that!


I then flew to Buenos Aires which was beautiful, but VERY European. A perfect place for a game of 'Buenos Aires or Paris?!' The food was amazing here, and the wine was too, of course!We stayed quite central, but visited Palermo Soho and wished we had stayed there- even considered moving accommodation but decided not to.

It is an amazing place! You're going to wish you had more time than 3 weeks- just like I did!

I hope you have an epic trip

Balmed Out

3 weeks isnt a lot of time so dont make the mistake of trying to do too much. Id probably skip iguazu and brazil.

If picking Brazil: 3 week trip to Brazil would mean something like a week in rio, 3 nights in paraty, a week in ihla grande, 3 nights in iguazu. Maybe not in that order.

3 weeks in Peru would mean maybe 2 nights in Lima, 2 nights and some sand boarding in the dunes near ica, a night in Nazca, 4 nights in cuzco with some white water rafting, onto walk to machu pichu 4 nights or 5 I cant remember, to puno the floating islands and a night on lake Titicaca before heading to copacabana in bolivia and trying to fly back via la paz fitting in the salt flats if possible. Its a lot of travelling for 3 weeks though.

If you were to try combining the two bear in mind you really do need to acclimatize for the walk with a few days in cuzco.