South America Itineary Advice Jan 2015

hakelly

I wonder would anyone be able to advise me on my travel itinery for South america.

I will be meeting friends in Buenos Aires 22nd Jan, and travelling with them to Igauaza Falls and Florinopolois, then on to Rio for Carnival 12th - 19th feb.

I am trying to make the best use of my time after this. I have the option of travelling with friends to Salvador until 5th March after which I will definitely be continuing my travels alone (helpless, 24yr old female!!!). Or I can leave them early, maybe 25th feb, if it would be a better use of my time to get the rest of my plans as follows done.

Things I would like to fit in between 19th feb to 15th April (my planned return date to dublin) -

I would love to see perito Moreno glacier however it seems a bit out of the way and costly to get to as a result. So I was thinking of flying to La Paz around 5th March from either Rio, Salvador or São Paulo.

I then want to fit in the following La Paz - lake titicacca - Amazon jungle- cusco - Macchu picchu

I would like to make my way up to equador solely to see Galapagos Islands. I think I need to get to Guayaquil so I can fly with lan airlines to the islands. I thought mancora beach would be a nice place to stop over for a few days to surf and this does not look too far then to travel to Guayaquil airport.

I need to figure out the in between of Macchu picchu to mancora....has anyone any suggestions on the best way to travel this? I don't really feel the need to see Lima (and mancora is still very far from Lima) so I was wondering would there be a good flight/ train route to get me maybe from Cusco to mancora swiftly?

After the Galapagos Islands I was thinking of travelling up the coast towards Colombia and organising my return home from bogota either directly home if I can get a good deal on flights into Buenos aires and out of bogota or else using a combo of spirit airline and jet blue to get me to Orlando or New York to fly home with aerlingus.

If I could fit all of the above in between 5th March- 15th April I would be pretty happy. Has anyone any recommendations? I wonder would I make better use of my time not travelling to Salvador after Rio but rather flying to la Paz around 25th feb as oppose to 5th March? Is Salvador worth seeing over gaining more time to do the rest of my itinery?

I have limited time between now and departing and am looking to have as much knowledge as possible before leaving as to what routes to take etc. I have been looking at lan.com multi city flight options which seem to reduce flight cost significantly but it requires serious organisation on my behalf to make it work. It would be great if I could figure out a multi city combo of Rio to la Paz and then a flight from Cisco to somewhere nearer to mancora...

Any advice at all on durations to stay in places starting post my Rio plans.....bus companies to use....potential trains....Useful travel apps other than travel guide apps which would give me relevant and useful info quickly, particularly about internal flight routes and cheap airlines or more info on these multi city flight options in South america (basically anything to cheat the system in terms of keeping costs down) ....all would be very much appreciated!!

I've already found a lot of stuff on the boards very helpful but there are quite the number of posts to trail through!!

Feel free to advise me if this itinery is ridiculously over ambitious!!

Thanks in advance!

Meathlass

Wow, that's an awful lot to see. So from 25th Feb to 5th April (6 weeks) you went to go from Rio-La Paz-Lake Titicaca-Amazon-Cusco-Machu Pichuu-Mancora-Galapagos-Colombia

Have you a budget in mind? Internal flights are very expensive. A cruise to the Galapagos will cost about $1000 and take a week (the shorter trips of 4 days are not worth it as days 1 and 4 are taken up with travelling).

I don't know what flights are between Rio and La Paz. It might be easier to go overland and take in the Pantanal in Brazil in lieu of the Amazon which will be awkward to get to in Peru. Then go to Salta, the salt flats in Bolivia and on to La paz (you pass through Atacama desert this way). You can do La Paz in 2 days and Lake Titicaca in one (a morning early).

Depending on your interest in history you could spend a few days in Cusco and overnight in Agua Calientes near MP. If you are doing the Inca Trail this needs to be booked in advance and restricts the flexibility of the rest of your itinerary.

Can't comment on Mancora. Most people book Galapagos packages from Quito though Guayaquil is nice for a few days. When I did it I had a package where I flew from Quito, plane stopped in Gauyaquil to pick up/drop off passengers and then on to Galapagos. On the way back I got off at Guayaqui.

You could certainly do it all in 6 weeks but it will be crazy and you will be rushing through places. I'd nail down where I'm flying home from first and then work backwords to either Rio or Salvador based on your budget.

Overnight buses are very comfortable and relatively inexpensive in Peru/Bolivia/Ecuador and Colombia. They can be a lot more expensive in Brazil and Argentina. There's no train network to speak of in South America

I'd try not to plan too much. You could meet people in Cusco who are travelling to the Nasca Lines and you'd be unable to go with them.

Sorry I've probably just confused things even more! First step get a good map and guide book (I like the LP brand). Work out your budget. Decide on your final destination.

I'd recommend going into a specialist travel agent like USIT or Trailfinders and seeing what they can do with your multi-city options.

sarkozy

It's too much, IMO. And if you did it, you'd be 'doing' more places than 'being' in them.

There are lots of itinerary discussions in this form. Search for those. It'll help. You need to prioritise.

Jesper

I'm traveling to Rio on the 6th Jan to spend 6 weeks n south america. Found this link useful.

http://leaveyourdailyhell.com/two-months-in-south-america/

But obviously doing the itinery in reverse.

hakelly wrote: »

I wonder would anyone be able to advise me on my travel itinery for South america.

I will be meeting friends in Buenos Aires 22nd Jan, and travelling with them to Igauaza Falls and Florinopolois, then on to Rio for Carnival 12th - 19th feb.

I am trying to make the best use of my time after this. I have the option of travelling with friends to Salvador until 5th March after which I will definitely be continuing my travels alone (helpless, 24yr old female!!!). Or I can leave them early, maybe 25th feb, if it would be a better use of my time to get the rest of my plans as follows done.

Things I would like to fit in between 19th feb to 15th April (my planned return date to dublin) -

I would love to see perito Moreno glacier however it seems a bit out of the way and costly to get to as a result. So I was thinking of flying to La Paz around 5th March from either Rio, Salvador or São Paulo.

I then want to fit in the following La Paz - lake titicacca - Amazon jungle- cusco - Macchu picchu

I would like to make my way up to equador solely to see Galapagos Islands. I think I need to get to Guayaquil so I can fly with lan airlines to the islands. I thought mancora beach would be a nice place to stop over for a few days to surf and this does not look too far then to travel to Guayaquil airport.

I need to figure out the in between of Macchu picchu to mancora....has anyone any suggestions on the best way to travel this? I don't really feel the need to see Lima (and mancora is still very far from Lima) so I was wondering would there be a good flight/ train route to get me maybe from Cusco to mancora swiftly?

After the Galapagos Islands I was thinking of travelling up the coast towards Colombia and organising my return home from bogota either directly home if I can get a good deal on flights into Buenos aires and out of bogota or else using a combo of spirit airline and jet blue to get me to Orlando or New York to fly home with aerlingus.

If I could fit all of the above in between 5th March- 15th April I would be pretty happy. Has anyone any recommendations? I wonder would I make better use of my time not travelling to Salvador after Rio but rather flying to la Paz around 25th feb as oppose to 5th March? Is Salvador worth seeing over gaining more time to do the rest of my itinery?

I have limited time between now and departing and am looking to have as much knowledge as possible before leaving as to what routes to take etc. I have been looking at lan.com multi city flight options which seem to reduce flight cost significantly but it requires serious organisation on my behalf to make it work. It would be great if I could figure out a multi city combo of Rio to la Paz and then a flight from Cisco to somewhere nearer to mancora...

Any advice at all on durations to stay in places starting post my Rio plans.....bus companies to use....potential trains....Useful travel apps other than travel guide apps which would give me relevant and useful info quickly, particularly about internal flight routes and cheap airlines or more info on these multi city flight options in South america (basically anything to cheat the system in terms of keeping costs down) ....all would be very much appreciated!!

I've already found a lot of stuff on the boards very helpful but there are quite the number of posts to trail through!!

Feel free to advise me if this itinery is ridiculously over ambitious!!

Thanks in advance!

hakelly

No no you haven't confused things at all meathlass !!! You've been very helpful! Thank you! I have found relatively cheap flight one way to beunos Aires from Madrid with Iberia ....problem is I can't book a return from there as that would make no sense. I'm finding it most difficult to choose a final destination for definite as I don't know how I will get on on my own travelling (this being the first time ever and it's South America not Europe!) I'm getting mixed reviews about the safety of travelling to Colombia on my own! I know that I am most likely going to bump into people along the way, definitely in hostels anyway, but the getting to and from one place to another quite possible will be by buses alone! So I really at this point am lost as to picking a final destination. At present either Lima or bogota look like my best options to get home as there are cheap enough flights with spirit airline and jet blue from there to Miami however there is quite a distance from Lima to bogota. I have checked out flights with lan airlines from Rio and Salvador to la Paz so I think I will definitely be flying to la Paz so should arrive there either 25th of feb or at latest 4th March if I travel up to Salvador. I have a budget of about 6000-7000e which I will ideally not go over. Lan do return flights from Guayaquil to Galapagos for about 350e at the moment that's the only reason I was looking at Guayaquil but then I don't even know if that is realistic to just fly over to the Galapagos....the accomodation doesn't really look like hostel style and then I don't know is it better to just have some sort of packaged tour to actually see it at its best or can that be organised on the islands? My friends who are in South America reckon I would love Colombia so I don't really want to miss that but it's really just considering is it worth either a) forgetting about the Galapagos and travelling straight to Colombia maybe with an internal flight from Lima or just letting Lima be my final destination and not rushing all the things in between la Paz and Lima! I think at this point I should probably just book a one way flight and decide when I'm over there! It will probably work out more expensive but I am none the wiser atm!

Thanks again!

Meathlass

I have found relatively cheap flight one way to beunos Aires from Madrid with Iberia ....problem is I can't book a return from there as that would make no sense. I'm finding it most difficult to choose a final destination

I can't recommend going to a specialized travel agent like Trailfinders or USIT enough. I flew into Caracas and out of Rio - about €900 6 years ago. You'll be unable to organize this properly through the internet. I would suggest that flying into BA and out of Bogota would be great and you could get a good package for this.

I'm getting mixed reviews about the safety of travelling to Colombia on my own! I know that I am most likely going to bump into people along the way, definitely in hostels anyway, but the getting to and from one place to another quite possible will be by buses alone!

I traveled on my own in South America for 9 months in 2006/07. Colombia was amazing and completely safe. I doubt it has deteriorated in recent years; there's probably even more for tourists to do there now. People who know nothing about modern Colombia are terrified about it because of the reputation for FARC etc. Obviously there are places which aren't safe but these aren't on the gringo trail anyway.

the accomodation doesn't really look like hostel style and then I don't know is it better to just have some sort of packaged tour to actually see it at its best or can that be organised on the islands?

I've heard of people organizing their own trips around the islands but it's usually only if they are very short on money and have plenty of time to organize transport on local boats etc. You need to go for a one week live aboard package. Don't do day trips as lots of time will be wasted getting back to the main island each day. I went on a budget package ($1000 including flights to and from Quito) and it was great fun but there wasn't much scientific or nature info. I've done an Antaratic cruise with GAP and loved them so if the budget can stretch I'd recommend them. Make sure the groups are small - more than 30 is a hassle for visiting islands.

You could travel from Peru up to Guayaquil, organize the cruise, fly to Galapagos and take the return flight to Quito continuing on to Colombia.