Not sure what country you will be coming from, but I am American and have been in Brazil for some time now and will be here for about 5 months, so I have researched a bit and thought I would share the information.
First off there are Visas to consider. Most of South America is easy to travel with a US Visa, with the exception of Brazil. It is a bit pricy to get a Visa and had to procure if you don't live in a major city. The cost is $100 per person plus $10 consular fee and if you have to mail it, that will be about another 50-$70. But in the end, Brazil is very beautiful and warm with great people and good food. Here are other country requirements for US citizens.
Argentina: No Visa Required for Stay up to 3 Months
Chile: No visa required for stay up to three months
Uruguay: No Visa Required for stay up to 3 months; extendable locally for an additional 3 months
Peru: No Visa required for stay up to 90 days
Bolivia: No visa required for stay up to 30 days
Venezuela: Visa required or Tourist Card issued by airline carrier for non-extendable stay up to 90 days
Columbia: No visa required for stay up to three months
Ecuador: No visa required for stay up to 90 days
Bolivia: No visa required for stay up to 30 days
Guyana: No Visa Required for stay up to three months
Paraguay: Visa Required $65 cost
Budgeting: Lodging can be found for cheap through-out South America at hostels or some people rent out their houses/apt (do a google search). Food is inexpensive as well.
Girlfriend coming along I think would be a good idea if you can handle 6 months of continuously being together 😊 I researched this topic a bit before we headed here and didn't find any places that looked down upon women, but you will have to get used to guys looking her way. Not too much modesty here and if a guy wants to look at your gal, he will.
One thing that I would STRONGLY recommend is to look at getting a South American airpass or it is called a MERCOSUR AIRPASS by Varig Airline. Varig is the main airline down here and they are part of the Star Alliance of airlines. You pay anywhere from 225-$870 depending on how many miles you are going to fly and the CATCH is that you have to purchase this in conjunction with your international flight into South America. We didn't do this and are strongly regreting it because flying locally is expensive, trains non exsistant, and buses take a long time. Here is a website for more information on the MERCOSUR AIRPASS http://portal.varig.com.br/us/varig/i18nlayer.2005-04-26.2627485414/i18nlayer.2005-05-02.5525685792/en-us or you can go to www.staralliance.com. I would also recommend checking out a couple other websites that offer similar flights.
www.airtreks.com
www.skyteam.com
www.oneworldalliance.com
My fiance and I are taking a long vacation (18 months) and traveling around the world. Luckily we know people in most of the countries we will be traveling and makes it a lot easier for us, but it can be done if you don't know people as well. Feel free to check out our travelblog and subscribe if you would like. We will be in a town called Recife for the next 2 months, then in Sao Paulo and will probably spend some time in Buenos Aires. So maybe you can learn somethings along the way. But in terms of transportation, the airpass is the way to go. A round trip flight from Sao Paulo to Buenos Aires runs about 400$ per person, but with the airpass you can pay $420 and fly 4200 km, a much better deal. If you would like any other info or have questions, shoot me a message from our website. www.travelblog.org/bloggers/wherearewenow Happy travels.
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