We are 3 girls from New Zealand and are trying to figure out a two month trip to South America
At the moment we are thinking of arriving in Rio, where one of us has family, and flying back home from Santiago. We are thinking to go From Rio past the Iguassu Falls to Buenos Aires (via bus, any idea how long it takes and how doable it is?), then to fly to Cuzco, check out Machu Picchu, and then head towards Santiago. This is where it gets tricky: we want to see the salt lakes but aren't sure how long it'll take and how safe it is to get from there to Santiago via bus. Would it be better to backtrack to La Paz and to fly from there to either Santiago or even further down south and then bus back to see some of Patagonia before we get to Santiago and fly back home. Our biggest concerns are trying to estimate how long everything takes and what transport is available at what cost. Any suggestions are more than welcome :-) Please help us make this an amazing trip.
Thanks in advance,
Claudipie
Reply to this I caught buses all over Sth Am and have no complaints what so ever.From the Uyuni Salt Lakes to Santiago is quite an uneventful trip though.I would consider flying into El Alto instead of Cuzco.It is only a day on the train to Uyuni,then return to La Paz and get the bus to Cuzco via Puno .From Cuzco you could bus down through Araquipa to Chile.It is even Posible to bus it from Iguazu ,through Paraguay to Santa Cruz then onto La Paz.I did it this way .Just remember that you need a transit visa for Paraguay.Also it is well worth sacrificing a couple of days in Buenos Aires to get the boat across to Uraguay.What a friendly ,happy ,well educated country.Even just a day in Colonia is worth the trip.Patagonia is such a beautiful part of world,very much like the Sth Island but you only have 2months and that isn't much time to see everything.If you are set on seeing Patagonia you should consider going to Puerto Monte and doing the 5day cruise to Ushuaia then fly back to Santiago.From Aukland you will probably be flying LAN to Brazil so you should be able to get the Ushuaia/Santiago leg added to your ticket quite cheap.Hope I've been some help and feel free to message me if you have any questions.I will be happy to help ,if I can
Reply to this Hey thanks so much for the quick reply :-) That was really helpful actually. I'm sure there'll be many more questions, once we've done some more research. Have a lovely week!
Reply to this Hello! It's easy peasy to bus around South America. They're good buses as well - more like comfy aeroplane seats than buses. Check out my blog to read how we did it. We did it all by bus/train. We flew to Sao Paulo from Heathrow (we're English) then from Santiago to Auckland where we toured NZ.
Reply to this From Rio to Foz do Iguaçu it will take aproximately 24 h by bus (Expresso Kaiowa does it) and will cost about US$100. Flying will be at least 3 times more expensive. If you want to visit the salt lakes consider going to Salar de Atacama in Chile.
Reply to this Hi there thanks a lot for your advice. From Salar de atacama, what do you think would be the best way to carry on towards Santiago. Would you drive back towards La Paz and then fly, or bus down through Chile?
Reply to this Hi Claudia,
Calama is the city in Chile that gives support to tourism in San Pedro de Atacama. People use to fly from Santiago to Calama (or vice versa). I undestand it is also possible to travel by bus from Calama to Santiago. Check the site:
for more information.
There is another bus company that does Rio - Foz do Iguaçu, it's Viação Pluma Internacional.
Reply to this Hey guys, thanks heaps for all your help! One more question, what is the safer part of rio and have you got any good advice as to how we can get around the city safely and also maybe recommend a few good backpackers :-) Thanks a million!
Reply to this As in any big city of the world keep a low profile, avoid going out taking expensive items with you. Rio is not different. It's interesting to read the impressions of bloggers that stayed in Rio recently. I found their opinions should be considered (as I was born and live in Rio I behave and move around instinctly). The bests places to stay is where the main attractions are and rooms offers are higher: Copacabana and Ipanema (may a bit more expensive). Many tourists stay in Flamengo. If you are staying in a hostel or pousada you can book excursions (Corcovado, Sugar Loaf, Floresta da Tijuca) at the reception or look for tourism agencies (there are many).
Reply to this You can get a cheap flight from Arica (near San Pedro de Atacama and woth a visit) to Santiago. About 60. The bus will cost 40 and takes 28hrs.
I'd recommend Mango Tree Hostel in Rio. My first stop on our travels and one of our favourite hostels. Its in Ipanema and very safe. As for Rio - No camera, No wallet, No robbed.
Reply to this Thanks guys as usual some really helpful advice here, much appreciated :-)
Reply to this I stayed at Stone of the Beach Hostel during Carnival in Rio, very safe and in a great area. They have their own nightclub downstairs too, if you don't feel too safe out past 3am in ordinary states.
I went from Cuzco to La Paz via Puno/Titicaca then down through Bolivia via the Uyuni Salt Flats and Potosi then down into Argentina all via bus. We pretty much did overnight buses then sight seeing during the day.
From Mendoza we did a quick 8 hr bus overnight into Santiago, spent a few days there, then bussed back into Argentina where you could then head south to Patagonia and to BA. Or you could do Argentina first then fly home from Santiago rather than BA.
Bus trips will generally not cost more than $100 NZ for even the day long trips in Argentina and even less in places like Bolivia.
Reply to this Hey thanks a lot, yeah the busses definitely sound like the way to go. Our main issue is time and my car sickness 😉 so am a bit worried I won't do too well bussing through bolivia, but the plane trips are soo expensive... still looking for a bargain, but time might be aginst me here...
Reply to this If you suffer from car sickness then you definatly want to pay for 1st class on the buses.1st class is downstairs and the upstairs sways back n forth the whole trip LOL
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