I will be traveling South America next April-June and feel overwhelmed by all the information I think I should know. I will be traveling with my girlfriend and hope to travel from Rio-Iguassu-BA-Patagonia-Chile-Bolivia-Peru. I know where I want to go inside each of these countries and what I should see when there. Its a huge continent but its not like landing in Paris and traveling for a few months. I know Europe and understand it. Maybe South America is the same. I just don't know? I have a few simple questions to start of with but in reality i have hundreds!
1: Is any country best avoided because of safety?
2: Is travel between destinations easy?
3: Should we just land in Rio with a route and take it from there?
4:When would it be good to get tours?
Reply to this 1. All the ones you mention are fine safety wise
2. Yes, though flights are relatively expensive. You don't have low cost airlines in SA like in Europe. Most people travel by bus, and these services, especially in Argentina, are excellent and very good value.
3. Probably the best way to do it. If you want to do Inca trail you need to book in advance but everything else can be done without too much planning. Personally, I think 3 months is far too short to see everything you've listed. It took us 3 months just to see Argentina! Also, it's not the best season for visiting Patagonia so unless you're planning to ski in Bariloche, i'd leave Patagonia for another trip.
4. I'd leave booking tours (Cusco treks other than Inca trail, Salar de Uyuni etc) until you arrive in the places as you'll get much better deals that way.
Reply to this Cheers for that. One of the reasons i felt overwhelmed was that i had only 90 days in South America and felt i needed at least a year. But fortunately/unfortunately we are traveling the world and only have 9 months to do SA-NZ-AUS-SE ASIA.
With regards to Patagonia im thinking of flying from BA to Ushuaia and then busing it back up the east coast. Is this silly with the weather and time of year?
How much money do you think we would need for 3 months (excluding inca trail) if we stayed in hostels, ate out a few nights did a few guided tours/treks? I know its very general but any sort of rough estimate would help!
Reply to this We spent on average 60 USD a day between two of us in 12 months in Latin America - staying in double rooms in hostels or cheap hotels (if you stay in dorms it will be cheaper), and eating cheaply. And that's not including one offs like tours or flying.
Obviously some countries like Brazil and Chile are more expensive while Argentina & Bolivia are best value of the ones you mention. Also, the distance you want to cover in such a short time suggests you'll need to fly a lot which will add hugely to your budget.
Reply to this Cheers Barry. You seem to be the resident expert here on South America! Thanks for answering my questions. Hope you might answer a few more in the future. Cheers.
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