4 Months from Jan 2010

My planned travel of South America

14 years ago, August 27th 2009 No: 1 Msg: #84460 Delete Edit

B Posts: 9

Hey everyone!

I have been planning a trip to south america for some time now, i plan to leave at the start of January, hopefully i will be able to travel for a minimum of 4 months, however i have been having some issues with the cost of the trip!
I plan to save atleast £3500 GBP for the spending money on the trip, but im unsure if that will last me for 4 months!!??
So far i plan to land in Caracas and then see Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and than i would fly back from Rio in Brazil, is my costing and time panning realisitc??
i idealy would like to have a trip consisting of alot of sight seeing, and seeing alot of nature! but i also want to relax on some of the most beautiful beaches!
so not an action packed journey where im doing something completly different everyday, but a mixture more than anything else!

I would appreciate any advice or input! Cheers

Nathan
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14 years ago, August 27th 2009 No: 2 Msg: #84463 Delete Edit

deleted_49612
deleted_49612

D Posts: 24.6K

Hello Nathan 😊

So, you have around 30 Pounds per day. Yeah, I think you can make it on that.

Mel Reply to this

14 years ago, August 27th 2009 No: 3 Msg: #84469 Delete Edit

LFCNathan
Nathan Ellison

B Posts: 9

Cheers! 😊

Obviously if i want to do more trips i may have to take slightly more....however i have been told that travelling slow can reduce the costs... Reply to this

14 years ago, August 27th 2009 No: 4 Msg: #84476 Delete Edit

Willow
Willow

B Posts: 16

For day to day living (food, accomodation, buses) Brazil and Argentina are the most expensive countries of your trip - I found prices there (in the touristy places which I guess is where you'll be too) to be as much as in Europe sometimes and can easily blow your budget. If you need to cut something I'd make it those countries and save them for more money and time.

Also don't use the guidebooks as a basis for your budget, especially the shoestring one - I generally don't use them for that but when I did I found them to be really out of date - in some places prices were as much as double. Guessing how much prices would be out by was quite an entertaining game! As far as accomodation goes check out hostelworld or hostelbookers - they'll at least give you a guide for current prices although you might well find something cheaper locally.

Timewise I'd say its a little ambitious for 4 months if you don't want it to be an action packed trip! I've just managed to spend a month in each of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia and easily could have spent more in all of them, especially Colombia and Bolivia which were amazing. I guess it depends on how fast you want to be moving and what interests you - I think the longest I spent in any one place was 4 days. That said I met two English girls who were doing Santiago to Colombia in 3 months - they did it but it really was a military operation - arrive, see the sights, leave again a day or max two later! The other thing is to check the weather for the places you want to go to - I can't imagine some of the places I went to would have been too much fun in the rainy season.

Also you could easily spend a month of your time on different tours - 6 days for Ciudad Perdida, 5 days for Macchu Pichhu depending on what tour you do, 5 days for the jungle including travel, 3 days or more for the pampas in Bolivia depending on where you do the jungle, 3/4 days for the salt flats in Bolivia, 8 days for the Galapagos (expensive but so worth it if you can manage the cash) etc etc. I guess, think about how many trips you might want to do, take that, the travel time and a week or so (waiting around for more people time) off of your 4 months and see what that leaves you to play with. With hindsight I would have gone to fewer countries but seen more of the ones I did visit because I know it'll be a very long time before I get back to see all of the bits I missed - too many other places to see first!

You'll have an amazing trip whatever you do! Enjoy

Oh but try and learn Spanish before you go!! I'm sure it would have made a huge difference if I could have understood even half the help people tried to give me, especially in Colombia where it seems everyone wants to help or chat!!

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14 years ago, August 27th 2009 No: 5 Msg: #84480 Delete Edit

deleted_49612
deleted_49612

D Posts: 24.6K

...however i have been told that travelling slow can reduce the costs...

If you stay longer in each place, it reduces costs because fewer bus fares and also less money spent on things like taxis if you arrive late at night etc. Also, going to few tourist attraction reduces costs, because a lot of them charge fees to get in. I generally go to only the tourist attractions that really interest me and skip the rest. Being in an exotic country is enough of an experience in itself, so no real need to visit tourist attractions. Reply to this

14 years ago, August 27th 2009 No: 6 Msg: #84481 Delete Edit

deleted_49612
deleted_49612

D Posts: 24.6K

And some countries in S. America are a lot less expensive than others, so spending more time in the less expensive ones and less in the more expensive ones will do a lot to reduce costs. Reply to this

14 years ago, August 31st 2009 No: 7 Msg: #84860 Delete Edit

Fielding
Alan Fielding

N Posts: 73

I was in South America last year for about 5 months with roughly the same amount of money. My main tip is to spend more time in poorer countries (i.e. Boliva) than richer ones (i.e. Brazil, Argentina)

Boliva is really cheap. I was planning to only spend 2 weeks there and ended up there for 2 months, I skipped Brazil entirely. By the time I got to Buenos Aires I still had more than a quarter of my entire budget left and then stupidly spent most of it in 2 weeks. Reply to this

14 years ago, September 1st 2009 No: 8 Msg: #84953 Delete Edit

ElAustraliano
Paul Morrison

B Posts: 308

I have done 2 6month trips in Sth Am,I am currently in Bogota, and each time has cost me around $12000 Australian spending $.About 5000 pounds I think.I am a bit older and always get my own room with cable TV and a private bathroom ,so if you are doing the bakpaker route then 3600 should be plenty.
I haven't done Brazil but I didn't find Argentina and Chile to be as expensive as everyone else says.
If you check through other Qs in this forum I have posted many suggestions about my opinion of "must do's" in Sth Am.Any way I can help please feel free to message me.
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14 years ago, September 15th 2009 No: 9 Msg: #86354 Delete Edit

Wanderly Wagon
Wanderly Wagon

B Posts: 177

I left South America 3 months ago after spending 3 and a half months there. I spent roughly 4000 in that time and never once felt like I was held back from doing anything.(That included $500 for the original Inca Trail) Thats about the same as £3500. I also spent a month in Argentina which is regarded as one of the expensive countries but not the most expensive. The guide books are very misleading as Willow has said but only as regard prices. In general the lonely planet shoestring is the bible among travellers in SA and can be seen on nearly every hostel table in the evenings, while people plan whats next.
I would advise learning little bits of Spanish but it is not the be all and end all of your trip. One word can make a sentence. I had very very very little knowledge of Spanish when I arrived and a few days before I left I had a conversation with and old lady on a park bench in Cusco about where I was from, who I was with and where I was going next. I was delighted with myself that I could do it and that she understood me. I would advise having a look into Micheal Thomas beginners Spanish assuming you cant speak any!! He is excellent. He teaches conversation only and none of the complicated mumbo jumbo that people hate with learning languages.
I'm still traveling 3 months later(NZ & Oz behind me) with 3 more months (SE Asia in front of me) to go and SA has not been beaten. Its a different type of traveler there. I cant explain it but I just found them different to else where that I have been. Its very well set up for backpackers and some of the most amazing things you will ever see and do will be in that 4 months.
People travel differently as well. We saw everything on your list plus Chile, bar Ecuador and Columbia in 3 and a half months. If you leave out Patagonia you should be fine but me personally I wouldn't. Everyone who's been to Columbia though says it is the best of the all! My highlights would be in no particular order

Perito Moreno Glacier
Iguassu waterfalls
Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
Trekking in patagonia
Colca Canyon - Be prepared for the uphill climb
Arequipa
Salt Flats
Red wine and Steak in Argentina
Sand boarding in Huacchina
All the other travelers you will meet and travel with

God, I wish I was in your position again!
Enjoy. Reply to this

14 years ago, September 18th 2009 No: 10 Msg: #86598 Delete Edit

degaquethe
Red

N Posts: 2

This thread has answered a few of my questions regarding budget, I'm goin for 5 months starting in January and reckon I'll have approx $10,000 ozzie...flying into Santiago and on towards Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, so at least gettin the cheap legs done first.....

I had hoped to go to the carnival but i'm afraid it'll blow my budget and Itinerary out of the water, and since my flight is out of Buinos Aires I may skip Brazil altogether at this rate.

Intersting point you make on the different type of traveller Wanderly Wagon, after spending 2 years in Australia you meet a lot of idiots that hopefully wont make the journey to South America. I have done South East Asia myself a couple of years ago and guarantee you'll enjoy yourself over there....(I hav a pretty detailed itinerary written up on same if ur interested, I would gladly trade it for a few tips on where to go/good hostels in Bolivia/Peru especially)...

I'm also listening to Michel Thomas as we speak, just started recently but seems good... Reply to this

14 years ago, September 19th 2009 No: 11 Msg: #86696 Delete Edit

Wanderly Wagon
Wanderly Wagon

B Posts: 177

My blogs on South America will give you some good tips on what you would like yourself. As regards hostels. A certain site with the name hostel and world at the end will never lead you astray. Only thing is they get 10% of the booking. I would advise booking one night through them if you feel you need to and then when you arrive book the rest of your stay with the hostel. At least the hostel gets all the money then.

I would advise crossing from Santiago into Argentina as its better value for money and well, just better (in my opinion) You can then cross back into San Pedro de Atacama to to the Salt flats tour in Boliva from Chile. My information will probably all be irrelevant anyway, as you will meet so many on the road with tips for the next town you wont know which ones to use.

Rio - Mango Tree (our first and still one of our favourites)

Argentina
Buenos Aires - Hostel Suites Oblescio (think we picked up the dreaded bed bugs in this one!) Not a bad hostel but not great for meeting people.

Ushuaia - La Posta, Excellent place to meet people and brilliant facilities.

El Calafate - I Keu Ken - Stay Here!

El Chalten - Rancho Grande - Big boring hostel

El Bolson - El Pluebito - Stay Here!!!

Bariloche - Pudu - Stay Here!!!

Mendoza - Chimbas - Nice hostel

Bolivia
La Paz - Loki - What can I say! If you like putting white substances up your nose La Paz is your best place. Its not my cup of tea but you can be gaurenteed most people will be wearing the ear off you. Everyone was buzzing and wanting to talk. Nobody wanted to listen though.

Peru
Puno - Bothy - Best of an average bunch. Very helpful staff and nothing bad to say about it!

Arequipa - Bothy - It was ok and near all the action. Lots of other hostels on the same street if you didnt like it.

Huacchina - Cant remember the name but it is the main one. Huacchina is small, I mean very small. The hostel was full of sun worshipers if your into that.

Cusco - Resbolosa - Cheap and cheerful. A close walk to everything but one difficult walk back up hill to get there but only because of the altitude.

Chile
Santiago - La Casa Rojas - Good hostel and good starting point

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