Backpacking / Touring South America?

Question

I'm trying to put together very basic plans for backpacking through South America from the UK; hopefully to see as many countries as possible with a couple of friends; hopefully next year sometime. I have a few questions:

How long is needed to see a wide variety of things; i.e. A few Brazilian cities, Argentina, Boliva, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Colombia & Venzuela? Was thinking 2.5months.

Is Colombia safe? What about Bogata?

Is it worth visiting Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador ? Whats the best things in each of these & are they safe?

Would it be too hard/costly to head towards Cental America?

How much would it cost/how long would it take to visit the following; Easter Island, Galapagos Islands or Falkland Islands? And would any be worth while visiting?

Would US$50 a day be enough to get by on for 2 or 3 months without to much of a struggle?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I say just starting planning just now to see who wants to go with me.

Answer 1

it's certainly possible in that amount of time. I did a similar trip:

Brazil: Sao Paulo - Rio up to mountains - Foz de Iguassu - Campe Grande and Pantanal (all via coach with journey times up to 56 hours!!) but 3 or 4 days in each is ample...

Bolivia - Peru and then back to Argentina.

I'd recommend Peru be added to your list.

'The Shining Path' caused most of the dangers along the west coast a few years back but this has now changed, but still take care in Columbia though but my friend loves it and goes back on his own to Bogota and Cartagena.

Go to The Travellers Lounge for ideas on your budget : http://www.thetravellerslounge.co.uk/cur... or also weather-wise: http://www.thetravellerslounge.co.uk/wea...

Answer 2

I have lived ,worked and  traveled in Mexico,Central and South America for several years. I'll try to answer your questions in order from top to bottom.

You have listed eight countries in your example(is there a reason you chose those 8 countries?) and you've estimated two and a half months or approximately 75 days which works out to 9 days per country.That's not a lot of time to see a country and it doesn't include any travel time in or between the countries.

South America is not a small continent. It is roughly 4500miles or 7200kilometers long and 3000mi./4800km. wide at it's greatest width.Add to that,the longest north-south mountain range (Andes) on the planet and also the largest expanse of tropical rain forest and you should begin to see and understand the ground transportation challenges.These challenges could of course be minimized by air travel, but not on a budget of US$50 a day.

I have never had a problem anytime or anywhere while traveling or working in Colombia including Bogata.I have also not had any problems in Venezuela or Caracas even though the US state department continues to issue travel warnings for both countries.They are both filled with some of the friendliest people I have ever met while traveling and also some of the most breathtaking scenery in Latin America.

Yes,i feel it was well worth my time and expense to travel into those countries and to meet the people there.With the exception of Ecuador the others are, for the most part,off the gringo/ tourist trail.I felt safe when I was there and had no problems except that I don't speak any Dutch or French.However,while in those countries I usually had no trouble finding someone who spoke either a little Spanish or English.I also struggle with the Portuguese when I am in Brazil but the places I like to visit in Brazil are typically places where many of the people also speak some Spanish or English so it's seldom a problem.

Why would it be too hard or costly to go to Central America?

The only thing that might be a problem is that there is not yet a way to get from or to Central America by land.You must take a boat or plane from South America,usually from Categena to Panama City, or in the case of a boat, somewhere in the San Blas Islands.Once there, it is a great, inexpensive place to travel.Mexico also has a lot to offer the budget traveler and is certainly worthy of your consideration if you haven't yet traveled there.

The Galapagos Islands are truly unique & amazing but very expensive to travel to on a backpacker budget.The flight alone fron Ecuador is 600 air miles and about $400r/t .  Because of the tightly restricted access to and within the Islands you must be with an appoved guide service which can also be fairly expensive. Easter Island and RapaNui park is awsome but it is also a long,expensive flight away.It's a little over 2000 air miles from Santiago to Hanga Roa.The Falklands are not nearly as interesting as the Galapagos or Easter Island. In fact, I found them a little stark and somewhat depressing.

US$50 per day is also the number I use to estimate my traveling budget and I have yet to exceed it when traveling anywhere in Mexico,Central or South America.To be more precise, I have exceeded it occasionally on a daily or weekly basis but I always manage to make it up before the trip is over.I try to keep my spending around US$35 a day.

Have a good trip!

juan23

Answer 3

From what I know, Colombia is your biggest issue. I was in Ecuador and wanted to visit Colombia via bus, but all my local friends said that it is dangerous and difficult to enter in this way, and I could not afford to fly. However, many of my American friends made the trip and they were safe. Just stick to the tourist areas and watch your pockets.

If you visit Ecuador, look into visiting Montanita (a hippy beach town 3 hours from Guayaquil) or Banos (a sports mecca in the mountains, 3 hours from Quito). Ecuador is beautiful and has a lot to offer.

As for money, $50 is plenty! You can be low budget and safe for much less. I have stayed in hostels in south america for less than $5 a night.

Hope that helped a bit. Enjoy your trip!

Answer 4

With your budget you're going to have the greatest trip your money can buy.

Brasil is a great place to start off your trip. I would arrive at Rio de Janeiro and then go up to Fortaleza (they say it's a fun city) then go down the coast to Rio again (Recife, Salvador, Buzios) and further to Sao Paulo, then to Iguazu Falls (this would be the only point were you'll see Paraguay). From Iguazu Falls head east to Curitiba, then south again to Florianapolis, Porto Alegre then to Uruguay (Punta del Este & Montevideo) and to Argentina (Buenos Aires).

There's so much to see in South America that I would suggest to skip going further south, specialy if those landscapes are so alike the ones you have in Europe. The Andes Mountains, is another matter!

From Buenos Aires head to Santiago Chile passig through Rosario, Cordova and Mendoza, then you cross the mountains to Santiago and visit Valparaiso and Viña del Mar, then head north to La Serena then Iquique.

Iquique is a good point to head to Bolivia, go to Cochabamba passing through Oruro. From Cochabamba you can go to La Paz and then to Copacabana in Lake Titicaca (visit the Tiahuanaco ruins). From Copacabana you can cross the border to Peru visit Puno and take a train to Cuzco (take at least 4 days at Cuzco-Macchu Picchu) then head to Arequipa then Lima. From Lima go north to Trujillo then Mancora and to Ecuador.

In Ecuador I would recomend going to Galapagos Islands, Guayaquil, Montañitas, Cuenca and Quito. Then head for Colombia (Cali, Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena, Barranquilla & Santa Marta).

At this point You'll decide if you head east to Venezuela or head for Central America, it will depend on the time and the money.

Forget Falk Islands (nothing but bad wheather & sheeps), also forget Easter Island for it will take too much time and money off your budget.

In Brasil be carefull with your belongins, even robbers are friendly. Southern Brasil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile aren't dangerous.

In Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia always take the best transportation available, by that I don't mean plane, I mean take the best bus company or the best train coach etc. And don't drink tab water, your stomach isn't use to our Latin American bacteria!. LoL

Answer 5

Find a nearly nude picture of her, and take it into the bathroom with you whenever you get the chance. =]