hi guys,
i'm travelling to south america in september / october and want to spend as long as possible around the continent (i have recently set on the journey of english teaching and have completed an intro to tefl). i am hoping to be there over 12 months.
my dilemma is how to approach the flights. i am tempted to get a one way ticket, but have heard it's expensive to get flights from south america to europe. i've just discovered aero sur and comet air, so i have an understanding of the prices on offer.
the alternative is get a return flight from england. i have the added security that i can get home within the year if things go wrong. but its a waste of valuable cash if i don't use it.
has anyone experience of travelling to south america one way? what are the limitations, if any, of getting into countries without an onward ticket?
cheers.
Reply to this Hi Chris,
In theory when you enter a Latin American country you have to show a ticket proving you will leave within three months. Because of this, we booked a return rather than one way when we came here for a year. It could potentially be risky not to have onward travel, although it is difficult to say whether you will be checked or not. I have certainly heard horror stories of people being refused entry to the aircraft because of this (it is the airline's responsibility to make sure you conform to immigration procedures as they will have to repatriate you at their own cost if you are refused entry to the country you are travelling to).
It may depend on which country in particular you are going to, but I'm not sure.
Usually return tickets are cheaper than buying 2 singles, so I would look into that option if I were you.
Have a great trip!
Ruth
Reply to this cheers ruth. i've actually contacted the brazilian embassy to ask them so i guess this could be the best way to approach this. i want to stay longer than a year so might even look at a rail or bus ticket out of brazil. but i'll keep my options open. thanks again for the advice
Reply to this I was told I HAD to book a return flight out of South America before leaving Canada so I did just that. Now that I have 'been there/done that'....if i could do it again....I would not have booked a return flight. The reason being, I ended up extending my stay twice and even changed the cities....cost me $100 each time. I was only asked to produce proof of my exit once....that is when i flew from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Quito, Ecuador. The rest of the time I did land crossings by bus (Ecuador to Peru, Peru to Bolivia, Bolivia to Argentina, Argentina to Chile...and back, Ecuador to Colombia) and none of these times did I have to provide proof. Personally, I would wing it and if one is required, buy a cheap bus ticket out of the country and then don't use it. Gives you more freedom and is easier in my opinion. HOwever, I am not sure what the repercussions are if you are asked to produce somethign and you do not have it....this might be worth checking into.
Reply to this I'm in pretty much the same situation, I'm travelling from the UK to Rio in feb in time for the carnival, but then plan to spend 6 months travelling around South America, however I don't plan to return home at the end, I plan to travel to New Zealand and perhaps somewhere else first on the way to New Zealand, probably from Buenos Aires, so a return ticket home really isn't any good for me, I want to book my flight to Rio soon, but really don't know what to do about not have proof of ongoing travel for entry to Brazil and any other countries in South America...
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