South America - Help me with ideas!
Discussion
I'm considering a one month trip to South America next year (it's one of 3 options for me, so i'm trying to work out the options). I will be on my own, in my mid 20s, and looking for amazing scenery and some activity 
Other than that, i have no great preference on a route and would be open to any suggestions you may have. Budget is very limited though, and will be £2.5k inc flights!
Thanks
Other than that, i have no great preference on a route and would be open to any suggestions you may have. Budget is very limited though, and will be £2.5k inc flights!Thanks
Iguacu falls on the border of Brazil and Argentina would be my recommendation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls
rah1888 said:
Iguacu falls on the border of Brazil and Argentina would be my recommendation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls
Agreed with above, amazing.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls
If you can time your trip with Carnival (end Feb) in Brazil then do that! Salvador is where a lot of young Brazilians go for carnival and it is amazing fun. Imagine a street party with 1 million people a day for 7 days and nights, beer only 20p a can and some of the women there.......
A mate of mine did a truck tour round africa with www.oasisoverland.co.uk & loved it.
They do similar tours through South America which is now on his list.
Their site is very helpful in identifying things to do & see and getting an idea of costs, vaciniations & visas etc.
They do similar tours through South America which is now on his list.
Their site is very helpful in identifying things to do & see and getting an idea of costs, vaciniations & visas etc.
I did a month through Peru to Bolivia
Peru - there is Macchu Picchu, Nazca Lines, Colca Canyon (twice as deep as Grand Canyon!), Isla Balistas(sp?), Huacachina (again sp but is a desert oasis town) Lake titicaca and then over to Boliva for moutain biking on the Zonga trail (high mountain down to hot forest (about 4km drop)
Oh and budget was about £1.2k including flights (if that!) staying in hostels and travelling on buses etc. so for an extra bit you can probably get some really nice hotels!
Peru - there is Macchu Picchu, Nazca Lines, Colca Canyon (twice as deep as Grand Canyon!), Isla Balistas(sp?), Huacachina (again sp but is a desert oasis town) Lake titicaca and then over to Boliva for moutain biking on the Zonga trail (high mountain down to hot forest (about 4km drop)
Oh and budget was about £1.2k including flights (if that!) staying in hostels and travelling on buses etc. so for an extra bit you can probably get some really nice hotels!
Edited by wainy on Wednesday 8th December 20:44
wainy said:
I did a month through Peru to Bolivia
Peru - there is Macchu Picchu, Nazca Lines, Colca Canyon (twice as deep as Grand Canyon!), Isla Balistas(sp?), Huacachina (again sp but is a desert oasis town) Lake titicaca and then over to Boliva for moutain biking on the Zonga trail (high mountain down to hot forest (about 4km drop)
Oh and budget was about £1.2k including flights (if that!) staying in hostels and travelling on buses etc. so for an extra bit you can probably get some really nice hotels!
When did you do that mate, I was looking at flights down there and the best return I could see was around the £900 mark, not leaving much left for a month away from your £1.2K budget ? Peru - there is Macchu Picchu, Nazca Lines, Colca Canyon (twice as deep as Grand Canyon!), Isla Balistas(sp?), Huacachina (again sp but is a desert oasis town) Lake titicaca and then over to Boliva for moutain biking on the Zonga trail (high mountain down to hot forest (about 4km drop)
Oh and budget was about £1.2k including flights (if that!) staying in hostels and travelling on buses etc. so for an extra bit you can probably get some really nice hotels!
Edited by wainy on Wednesday 8th December 20:44
wainy said:
Macchu Picchu, Nazca Lines, Colca Canyon (twice as deep as Grand Canyon!), Isla Balistas(sp?), Huacachina (again sp but is a desert oasis town) Lake titicaca and then over to Boliva for moutain biking on the Zonga trail (high mountain down to hot forest (about 4km drop)
I'd add the Salar de Uyuni to that which is a huge (IIRC the biggest in the world) salt flat, and was IMO the best thing we did in South America.But then there's Angel Falls and the Tepuis in Venezuela, the whole of Chile with volcanoes, fjords, vineyards, Tierra del Fuego and particularly the Torres del Paine. Not to mention Argentina and Brazil, both of which could occupy a month...
Ecuador is pretty good for a lone,young traveller. Plenty of choice from climbing volcanoes to jungle trips (although the cheapo jungle trip we did was only secondary forest).
Peru is a fantastic country too, I did 2 weeks there and barely scratched the surface. Macchu Picchu 4 days trekking is a great way to see some fantastic sights and to meet loads of other people. Jungle trips in the north are pretty special too, we did a fairly long trip about 60km downriver from Iquitos and the flight to/from Iquitos and Lima are fairly cheap. We arranged both trips through a taxi driver we met at Lima airport for around $100 each but I believe the don't allow these unofficial drivers/fixers in the airport anymore.
Chile is good too, you can get day trips from Santiago to the Aconcagua national park and see the mountain from a distance in just one day.
As for flights, I work for an airline so found travel cheap but there are a few options. Travelling via Spain with Iberia is one, travelling to the US and getting flights down with American Airlines is another.
I flew this way via Miami a couple of times and flew BA to Rio/Sao Paolo the other time. I'd prefer to go back via the US as the direct South America flights are quite long and leave you really not in the mood to haggle for somewhere to stay when you get there.
If you find the flights to South America too expensive try Central America. Some absolutely superb places to visit through that entire region and they have a great airport hub in San Salvador with links to all the countries.
I loved Nicaragua and found once outside Managua there are some real unexpected gems, cheap place to visit too.
Peru is a fantastic country too, I did 2 weeks there and barely scratched the surface. Macchu Picchu 4 days trekking is a great way to see some fantastic sights and to meet loads of other people. Jungle trips in the north are pretty special too, we did a fairly long trip about 60km downriver from Iquitos and the flight to/from Iquitos and Lima are fairly cheap. We arranged both trips through a taxi driver we met at Lima airport for around $100 each but I believe the don't allow these unofficial drivers/fixers in the airport anymore.
Chile is good too, you can get day trips from Santiago to the Aconcagua national park and see the mountain from a distance in just one day.
As for flights, I work for an airline so found travel cheap but there are a few options. Travelling via Spain with Iberia is one, travelling to the US and getting flights down with American Airlines is another.
I flew this way via Miami a couple of times and flew BA to Rio/Sao Paolo the other time. I'd prefer to go back via the US as the direct South America flights are quite long and leave you really not in the mood to haggle for somewhere to stay when you get there.
If you find the flights to South America too expensive try Central America. Some absolutely superb places to visit through that entire region and they have a great airport hub in San Salvador with links to all the countries.
I loved Nicaragua and found once outside Managua there are some real unexpected gems, cheap place to visit too.
Jackleman said:
wainy said:
I did a month through Peru to Bolivia
Peru - there is Macchu Picchu, Nazca Lines, Colca Canyon (twice as deep as Grand Canyon!), Isla Balistas(sp?), Huacachina (again sp but is a desert oasis town) Lake titicaca and then over to Boliva for moutain biking on the Zonga trail (high mountain down to hot forest (about 4km drop)
Oh and budget was about £1.2k including flights (if that!) staying in hostels and travelling on buses etc. so for an extra bit you can probably get some really nice hotels!
When did you do that mate, I was looking at flights down there and the best return I could see was around the £900 mark, not leaving much left for a month away from your £1.2K budget ? Peru - there is Macchu Picchu, Nazca Lines, Colca Canyon (twice as deep as Grand Canyon!), Isla Balistas(sp?), Huacachina (again sp but is a desert oasis town) Lake titicaca and then over to Boliva for moutain biking on the Zonga trail (high mountain down to hot forest (about 4km drop)
Oh and budget was about £1.2k including flights (if that!) staying in hostels and travelling on buses etc. so for an extra bit you can probably get some really nice hotels!
Edited by wainy on Wednesday 8th December 20:44
Flight was about £700 then. then the rest was cheap hotels ($2-3 per night), cheap travel, cheap food and cheaper booze
Did a month ( 5 weeks in S.America last year)
Part of a RTW trip so you might wanna start the other way etc.
We did:
Flew into Chile (Santiago) and got out pretty quick, its not really worth staying, over the Andes into Argentina all the way across (stopping along the way) to Beunos Aires (amazing party city, try to see a footy game).
After that headed diagonally up to Salta (nice town with good hostels) where we then hopped to the Bolivian border.
got the train from Villazon, Boliva up to Tupiza for some horseriding through canyons and then the train to Uyuni, did a three day tour of salt flats which was incredible and only cost £50 all in!!!
After that, headed through Bolivia and Argentina retracing our steps and went to Iguazu (Argentinian side is better than Brazilian side).
You can easily vists Paraguay and Uraguay from this point, we didnt have time to.
After this we headed for Rio, spent a few days there catching some rays and getting incredibly drunk before flying back to London.
If i were you (and based on my experience) i would miss out Argentina / Brazil and concentrate on the northern countries: Columbia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador.
Colombia is supposed to be stunning, and Ec, Bo, Pe are super super cheap. Bottles of bear etc for 50p and less. East out every night.
Without a doubt you can do 4 weeks up there for a grand with all the activities and travel, internal coaches are cheap and comfortable.
oh and if you dont know any, learn some spanish.
Part of a RTW trip so you might wanna start the other way etc.
We did:
Flew into Chile (Santiago) and got out pretty quick, its not really worth staying, over the Andes into Argentina all the way across (stopping along the way) to Beunos Aires (amazing party city, try to see a footy game).
After that headed diagonally up to Salta (nice town with good hostels) where we then hopped to the Bolivian border.
got the train from Villazon, Boliva up to Tupiza for some horseriding through canyons and then the train to Uyuni, did a three day tour of salt flats which was incredible and only cost £50 all in!!!
After that, headed through Bolivia and Argentina retracing our steps and went to Iguazu (Argentinian side is better than Brazilian side).
You can easily vists Paraguay and Uraguay from this point, we didnt have time to.
After this we headed for Rio, spent a few days there catching some rays and getting incredibly drunk before flying back to London.
If i were you (and based on my experience) i would miss out Argentina / Brazil and concentrate on the northern countries: Columbia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador.
Colombia is supposed to be stunning, and Ec, Bo, Pe are super super cheap. Bottles of bear etc for 50p and less. East out every night.
Without a doubt you can do 4 weeks up there for a grand with all the activities and travel, internal coaches are cheap and comfortable.
oh and if you dont know any, learn some spanish.
I spent a month or so in Chile (with a little crossover to Argentina for the Perito Moreno glacier) and it is an incredible place.
Even Santiago we stayed for a few days to explore and there is stuff to see, if you like just absorbing a different culture. You can do it on the cheap using buses, just be prepared for a long bus trip! From memory we flew into Santiago, then bused it up to the North, then hitched North East and worked our way back down in stages until we took a cargo ship thing in the South followed by a week's trek around the national park in the South (tents, own food etc. although I think you can do huts now, it's got a bit more popular). Beautiful country and friendly people on the whole. Sorry I can't remember the names of the towns/areas we stayed but I am happy to look them up if you're interested.
Chile has so much - mountains, live volcanos, the driest desert in the world, from "true" south america all the way to a pretty westernised environment in the south.
However that was 10 years ago so things may have changed!
Even Santiago we stayed for a few days to explore and there is stuff to see, if you like just absorbing a different culture. You can do it on the cheap using buses, just be prepared for a long bus trip! From memory we flew into Santiago, then bused it up to the North, then hitched North East and worked our way back down in stages until we took a cargo ship thing in the South followed by a week's trek around the national park in the South (tents, own food etc. although I think you can do huts now, it's got a bit more popular). Beautiful country and friendly people on the whole. Sorry I can't remember the names of the towns/areas we stayed but I am happy to look them up if you're interested.
Chile has so much - mountains, live volcanos, the driest desert in the world, from "true" south america all the way to a pretty westernised environment in the south.
However that was 10 years ago so things may have changed!
With just a month available, I'd personally focus on one country.
Argentina's a great place with massive variety. Buenos Aires is a top city. The wine region along the Andes is cracking. You have Iguacu and the forests. Plenty of ranches you can stay on to see some amazing scenery and then there's the south (glaciers etc).
I was there for just over 3 weeks and only managed to sample the top half of the country.
Off to Peru and Ecuador in Jan (with some time in the Galapagos for good measure).
Argentina's a great place with massive variety. Buenos Aires is a top city. The wine region along the Andes is cracking. You have Iguacu and the forests. Plenty of ranches you can stay on to see some amazing scenery and then there's the south (glaciers etc).
I was there for just over 3 weeks and only managed to sample the top half of the country.
Off to Peru and Ecuador in Jan (with some time in the Galapagos for good measure).
I'll qualify this by saying I've not been to the whole continent (far from it, having only spent 7 weeks there), but imo if you're going to do one country, make it Argentina.
It's just got everything you think of for South America, and the food and wine is simply awesome.
Caveat is that if you're on a budget, it's not the cheapest of the countries.
It's by no means expensive as you're looking at about a tenner for a 400g steak in a decent parilla, but stack that up against £3-5 a meal in Peru and Bolivia and it adds up.
I did a GAP tour from Lima to Santiago over Oct/Nov this year, and the trip on the Salar de Uyuni, over the mountains in Bolivia into Chile was the absolute highlight for me.
Mind blowing scenery.
If I was advising anyone on going and they had any sort of budget, then Bolivia and Peru would be my unmissables.
Have a squiz at my Flickr sets for some inspiration.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigalinembra/sets/
It's just got everything you think of for South America, and the food and wine is simply awesome.
Caveat is that if you're on a budget, it's not the cheapest of the countries.
It's by no means expensive as you're looking at about a tenner for a 400g steak in a decent parilla, but stack that up against £3-5 a meal in Peru and Bolivia and it adds up.
I did a GAP tour from Lima to Santiago over Oct/Nov this year, and the trip on the Salar de Uyuni, over the mountains in Bolivia into Chile was the absolute highlight for me.
Mind blowing scenery.
If I was advising anyone on going and they had any sort of budget, then Bolivia and Peru would be my unmissables.
Have a squiz at my Flickr sets for some inspiration.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigalinembra/sets/
BigAlinEmbra said:
I'll qualify this by saying I've not been to the whole continent (far from it, having only spent 7 weeks there), but imo if you're going to do one country, make it Argentina.
It's just got everything you think of for South America, and the food and wine is simply awesome.
Caveat is that if you're on a budget, it's not the cheapest of the countries.
It's by no means expensive as you're looking at about a tenner for a 400g steak in a decent parilla, but stack that up against £3-5 a meal in Peru and Bolivia and it adds up.
I did a GAP tour from Lima to Santiago over Oct/Nov this year, and the trip on the Salar de Uyuni, over the mountains in Bolivia into Chile was the absolute highlight for me.
Mind blowing scenery.
If I was advising anyone on going and they had any sort of budget, then Bolivia and Peru would be my unmissables.
Have a squiz at my Flickr sets for some inspiration.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigalinembra/sets/
Good advice there, some fantastic photos too. The one of Macchu Picchu is perfect!It's just got everything you think of for South America, and the food and wine is simply awesome.
Caveat is that if you're on a budget, it's not the cheapest of the countries.
It's by no means expensive as you're looking at about a tenner for a 400g steak in a decent parilla, but stack that up against £3-5 a meal in Peru and Bolivia and it adds up.
I did a GAP tour from Lima to Santiago over Oct/Nov this year, and the trip on the Salar de Uyuni, over the mountains in Bolivia into Chile was the absolute highlight for me.
Mind blowing scenery.
If I was advising anyone on going and they had any sort of budget, then Bolivia and Peru would be my unmissables.
Have a squiz at my Flickr sets for some inspiration.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigalinembra/sets/
Thanks!
We were so lucky with the weather! Being on a tour that packed a lot in meant we arrived for lunchtime one day, went to Machu Picchu in the morning, then were off on the train again in the late afternoon.
It rained both afternoons (it's on the edge of the rainforest, or "cloudforest", so maybe no surprise), so my advice would be that if you're going there and doing it lazy style with the train and bus then to get up there early in the morning.
The museum at the foot of the hill isn't visited much, which is a real shame as they've put a lot of effort in and you get more out of it than we got on the guided tour. Me and my mate were the only folk in the group of 10 that went. Expensive by Peruvian standards at about 20 soles, but worth it imo.
We were on a 6am bus up the hill, which seemed a bit brutal at the time but meant we got great early morning light for photos and missed the worst of the crowds.
Weather was so good I think I got a touch of sunstroke, so another tip if you're there for the day is to make sure you take plenty water in, as it can be a real trek to get to the overpriced shop at the entrance at queues there and to get back in are quite hefty.
Obviously if you do the Inca trail then this advice is totally useless!
The leaflets say you can't take a bag bigger than 20l in, but I'm sure mine was more like 25-30l and had no worries, it's more to stop trail folk carrying full on rucksacks round.
The other thing is that remember much of Peru and Bolivia is at serious altitude, which really slows you down. Don't assume you can cram things in at that height that you could do at sea level.
Factor in a good couple of days acclimatisation, and even then it'll still ruin you at times.
We were so lucky with the weather! Being on a tour that packed a lot in meant we arrived for lunchtime one day, went to Machu Picchu in the morning, then were off on the train again in the late afternoon.
It rained both afternoons (it's on the edge of the rainforest, or "cloudforest", so maybe no surprise), so my advice would be that if you're going there and doing it lazy style with the train and bus then to get up there early in the morning.
The museum at the foot of the hill isn't visited much, which is a real shame as they've put a lot of effort in and you get more out of it than we got on the guided tour. Me and my mate were the only folk in the group of 10 that went. Expensive by Peruvian standards at about 20 soles, but worth it imo.
We were on a 6am bus up the hill, which seemed a bit brutal at the time but meant we got great early morning light for photos and missed the worst of the crowds.
Weather was so good I think I got a touch of sunstroke, so another tip if you're there for the day is to make sure you take plenty water in, as it can be a real trek to get to the overpriced shop at the entrance at queues there and to get back in are quite hefty.
Obviously if you do the Inca trail then this advice is totally useless!
The leaflets say you can't take a bag bigger than 20l in, but I'm sure mine was more like 25-30l and had no worries, it's more to stop trail folk carrying full on rucksacks round.
The other thing is that remember much of Peru and Bolivia is at serious altitude, which really slows you down. Don't assume you can cram things in at that height that you could do at sea level.
Factor in a good couple of days acclimatisation, and even then it'll still ruin you at times.
I took a full size pack on the Inca Trail but wimped out and paid a porter to carry it on the 2nd day (when all the uphill stuff is). It was well worth it as I enjoyed the surrounding much more not being totally worn out.We got up at the crack of dawn on the 4th day to hike into Machhu Picchu hoping to see it deserted and get some good shots like yours only to find it was peeing it down and shrouded in mist. All cleared up a couple of hours later but by then it was swarming full of tourists who arrived by train and coach.
Still, a must see regardless of how you get there.
Edited by Bugeyeandy on Monday 13th December 22:38
Bugeyeandy said:
I took a full size pack on the Inca Trail but wimped out and paid a porter to carry it on the 2nd day (when all the uphill stuff is). It was well worth it as I enjoyed the surrounding much more not being totally worn out.We got up at the crack of dawn on the 4th day to hike into Machhu Picchu hoping to see it deserted and get some good shots like yours only to find it was peeing it down and shrouded in mist. All cleared up a couple of hours later but by then it was swarming full of tourists who arrived by train and coach.
Still, a must see regardless of how you get there.
Edited by Bugeyeandy on Monday 13th December 22:38
I have to confess I was left thinking "it's just like all the photos", and was far more blown away by Angkor Wat.
Maybe 2 wonders of the world in a single year is too much?!
I'd not have missed it, but for me not the highlight of the trip I was on.
The 4wd trek over the mountains was just relentlessly spectacular.
Yep, have to admit I was a bit disappointed to do all that hiking only to find a tarmac road snaking up the other side jam packed with tourist coaches. The hike is pretty good though, great scenery and not a car in sight. Some great people on the trail too although it can get very, very busy at some times of the year.
The hot springs at the bottom of the hill it sits on are pretty good for a relaxing soak after 4 days camping.
The hot springs at the bottom of the hill it sits on are pretty good for a relaxing soak after 4 days camping.
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