Feedback Required On South America Trip

whiz

Hi Guys

I am thinking about travelling to South America in March next year ....I am thinking about doing the following itinerary below, does anybody have any opinions on it ? It's a tight itinerary but can you buy an airpass with one of the local or one of the international airlines to visit most of the destinations? Is there visas etc required ? Lastly is March the right time of year to do a trip like this ?

1) Fly from Ireland to Manuas (Brazil), stay 4 nights and see some of the Amazon
2) Fly to Rio (Brazil), stay 3 nights
3) Fly to Iguazu Falls, stay 2 nights
4) Fly to Buenos Aires (Argentina), stay 3 nights
5) Fly to Patagonia Ice Field and see ( Perito Moreno Glacier , stay 3 nights
6) Fly to Peru, stay 4 nights and see some of Machu Picchu
7) Fly back to Ireland


Any responses appreciated

schemingbohemia

4 nights in Peru and hoping to see Machu Picchu is tricky - will you be flying directly into Cuzco? Altitude can really effect you and with that timescale you'd be getting the train up rather than hiking up.
Haven't been to the other places but you seem to be doing an awful lot of flying around, wouldn't be my personal idea of a holiday but everyone's different.

ArnoldJRimmer

I went to Peru years ago and effectively bypassed Lima, just flew into the airport and directly back out to Cuzco. Its a lovely spot. +1 on the altitude, I'd skip the trek completely and just get the train to Aguas Calientes. Stay the night and get up at dawn to see Machu Picchu at sunrise.

bswan

Flying inside south america can be quite expensive (at least it was a few years ago), many people take buses to get from A to B, these can be quiet long journeys but the buses are sleeper buses, cama and semi-cama i think they were called.
If flight cost is an issue and you have to resort to buses then you will need more time to complete your itinerary, not only because it will take longer to get from A to B. but you will find it hard to jump back on a long bus journey after just completing one.

As for March being the right time to do a trip like this, i am guessing you mean this in the context of weather, SA is such a big and diverse place with lots of different mountainous areas that each place you visit on your itinerary will probably have very different weather in March.

Good luck in your travels its an amazing place

Tomw86

Hi Whiz,

It seems like you are looking at doing a 3 week trip. My opinion is that you are trying to fit in a huge amount in that time and you won't enjoy it (too much travelling over various climates and altitudes).

My advice - split it up in to 2 three week trips 9/12 months apart, if that is viable.

1st trip do Amazon, Rio (try for a weekend for street parties), try get down to Florianopolis (2-3 days), Iguazu (can do 1 night and bus it to BA or stick to 2), Buenos Aires (try to get to a River or Boca game), Patagonia I think you'll need minimum 3-4 days.
You could finish this trip by visitng Chile which I've heard is amazing (didnt get to it myself).

2nd trip to Colombia, Ecuador (could be skipped), Peru (alot more to Peru than Macchu Picchu but I would recommend 2 days either side of Macchu Picchu which will take 3 days unless u get the train), Bolivia (Mainly for death road and the Salt Flats).

Thats just advice, if you are intent on doing it all in 1 go then flying is the only way, but buses are very good and overnight buses will save u a nights accomodation costs!

whiz

ArnoldJRimmer wrote: »

I went to Peru years ago and effectively bypassed Lima, just flew into the airport and directly back out to Cuzco. Its a lovely spot. +1 on the altitude, I'd skip the trek completely and just get the train to Aguas Calientes. Stay the night and get up at dawn to see Machu Picchu at sunrise.

Just wondering did you stay 1 night in Cuzco, then stay 2 nights in Aguas Calientes to see Machu Picchu, then head back to Cuzco ?

whiz

Thanks for feedback so far, does anybody know of a cheap tour that you can do with a guide or tour company of the Amazon from the city of Manaus in Brazil ?

ArnoldJRimmer

whiz wrote: »

Just wondering did you stay 1 night in Cuzco, then stay 2 nights in Aguas Calientes to see Machu Picchu, then head back to Cuzco ?

Not a whole pile to see in Aguas Calientes apart from Machu Picchu, its a very small town. So it depends on how long you want to spend there. I'd recommend getting there the night before and getting up around 5am to see it, then grab the train back to Cuzco. Cuzco is a pretty cool city so its worth spending a few days there. Be prepared for climbing hills in serious altitude though! And the highest Irish bar in the world, Paddy's, does a cracking shepherds pie

Tomw86

ArnoldJRimmer wrote: »

Not a whole pile to see in Aguas Calientes apart from Machu Picchu, its a very small town. So it depends on how long you want to spend there. I'd recommend getting there the night before and getting up around 5am to see it, then grab the train back to Cuzco. Cuzco is a pretty cool city so its worth spending a few days there. Be prepared for climbing hills in serious altitude though! And the highest Irish bar in the world, Paddy's, does a cracking shepherds pie

Really is worth spending a few days in Cuzco, and Paddys is fantastic spot for some pub grub and good pints!

whiz

Tomw86 wrote: »

Really is worth spending a few days in Cuzco, and Paddys is fantastic spot for some pub grub and good pints!

Would it be while staying more time in Cuzco then Lima ?

AGC

1 night in Iguazu is enough I think, go spend a complete day at the falls. Not much in the town (I was on Argentinian side though, not sure on Brazilian)

Tomw86

whiz wrote: »

Would it be while staying more time in Cuzco then Lima ?

Definitely, Lima is ok but its a busy capital city at the end of the day. They do stuff such as paragliding and abseiling down a building there, but apart from that there isn't a huge amount else 'touristy' to do!