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[mercenarri]

Hey everyone,

So I've planned a trip to South America (and some USA and Canada) and I'm planning on leaving October this year. I have no idea when I'll get back, but its not on my mind at the moment. I'm going to get a single flight to Rio de Janerio, and then go from there with a general plan on where I want to go and see.

Here are the places I wish to see, in order, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil all the way to Vancoucer, Canada. There are many little towns that I've researched that I will be passing by for a day or two, but these is the main sights I wish to see:

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Ushuaia, Argentina
Patagonia, Chile
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
Rurrenabaque, Amazon, Bolivia
Machu Picchu, Peru
Lake Titicaca, Peru
Nazca Lines, Peru
Panama City, Panama
San Jose, Costa Rica
Guatemala, Guatemala
Belize City, Belize
Mexico City, Mexico
Los Angeles, United States
San Fransisco, United States
Seattle, United States
Vancouver, Canada

A couple of questions about this trip if I may. I'm not fussy at all when it comes to living standards, accommodation, travel times, etc. Living in youth hostels every day would be okay for me, I'd like to do everything on the cheap. I will also be going overland everywhere, so will not require flights. What would you suggest my budget will need to be for a trip like this? I'm thinking around £6,000. Would this be okay or too little? Note that the USA and Canada isn't as much as a priority as South America for me, so I can sacrifice them.

Another question, looking at the itinerary, are there any places that you can recommend I visit that I've missed? Anything like small towns and sights would be much appreciated

Any kind of advise would go a long way for me. As you can imagine going solo around South America is making me a little nervous. Thanks for reading! I'll post updates of planning, and pictures of the trip as I go.

[starlagurl]

If you REALLY don't mind cheap accommodations, I recommend couchsurfing.com

Otherwise, check the listings at tripadvisor.com for cheap cheap hostels. Tons of deals there, plus you can sort by price, etc. etc. it's great.

6,000 pounds sounds like just enough for that, especially if you are couchsurfing.

Places you missed: I would say Big Sur, in California. I want to go there so bad next year.

[mercenarri]

Big Sur looks amazing, thanks for recommending it. Is it an expensive place to go? I've had to trim off places like Easter Island and Galapagos Island because the tours there are far too expensive to be part of a big trip.

Meanwhile, I've recorded all the places I'm likely to stay in, from little towns to big experiences:



It looks so daunting

[starlagurl]

I'm not sure. On my trip, I would like to couchsurf at least 50% of the time and I don't plan on doing any tours at all, so pretty much anywhere I go, it will be reasonable.

But it looks like hotels are pretty pricey, however there are some campgrounds. I'm hoping to camp quite a bit too.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g240329-...nia-Hotels.html

[wakingdream]

As you can imagine going solo around South America is making me a little nervous.

Wowza! Awesome trip! Your route looks really good! I'll think on any recommendations for SA but you know, you're going to get there and then you're off to the races.

You'll stumble upon places, you'll hear about cool places people have just come from and your plan will change so many times anyway! You're going to have so much fun! I guess being a little nervous is understandable but after a few weeks you'll be full of confidence and making your way around like an old pro!

Big Sur is very beautiful but yeah, it can be expensive. Plus, it's nothing like it used to be back when.....

[nixsboys]

Big Sur looks amazing, thanks for recommending it. Is it an expensive place to go? I've had to trim off places like Easter Island and Galapagos Island because the tours there are far too expensive to be part of a big trip.

Meanwhile, I've recorded all the places I'm likely to stay in, from little towns to big experiences:

It looks so daunting

It looks like an amazing trip you have planned. A pity you have had to drop the Galapagos and Easter Island. I have just come back from my trip and I went for the 4 world continent flight package with BA - it included my flights to Easter Island which was a bonus.

My one recommendation when you are in the Argentine Patagonia is to travel on Ruta 40 which means you get to take in the highlights of Bariloche, Perito Moreno glacier, El Chalten and Fitz Roy. At El Chalten you can get a boat across to Glacier Vladmir to walk on the glacier which is just amazing (You cant miss the company that arranges it - they are on the only main street). It is also a good place to base yourself if you are a keen tramper as there are a number of walks that take you to awesome viewpoints across Fitz Roy. The weather can be a bit tempremental in this region - I went at end of December and it was pretty chilly and windy.

Have an awesome trip!

[mmbcross]

My goodness! You have certainly done your homework. It's the American trip to end all trips. Looking at your map, it looks exactly like a trip I would have made in my younger days, so there is very little I can add.

I really don't know how developed couchsurfing is in South America, but accommodations are so cheap that I suggest you keep it in mind in case there are people in some of the larger cities that offer it. It's a great way to get to know locals.

With your exhausting schedule, I suggest you look into relaxing for a few days along the route in Mancora, nothern Peru. By then you should be totally exhausted.
http://www.mancora.net/

I agree that if you are on a budget, Easter Island the the Galapagos are a bit out of reach, more for the airfare than anything else.

Once in the USA, you can go for the couchsurfing route. As far as Big Sur is concerned, just passing through is worth the effort. Don't travel the inland route between LAX and SFO, but keep to the Coastal Highway, CA1, no matter what the cost.
http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/12744/
http://www.pacific-coast-highway-travel.com/

[mercenarri]

My one recommendation when you are in the Argentine Patagonia is to travel on Ruta 40 which means you get to take in the highlights of Bariloche, Perito Moreno glacier, El Chalten and Fitz Roy. At El Chalten you can get a boat across to Glacier Vladmir to walk on the glacier which is just amazing (You cant miss the company that arranges it - they are on the only main street). It is also a good place to base yourself if you are a keen tramper as there are a number of walks that take you to awesome viewpoints across Fitz Roy. The weather can be a bit tempremental in this region - I went at end of December and it was pretty chilly and windy.

That's some very useful information, I've added those notes to my planner. Thanks a bunch

With your exhausting schedule, I suggest you look into relaxing for a few days along the route in Mancora, nothern Peru. By then you should be totally exhausted.

Mancora has been recommended so many times, its very much on my list of stop-offs for a few days. So too is Trujillo and Chiclayo, all places that amaze.

[mercenarri]

Meanwhile, has anyone done the Cordillera Blanca trek? I'm thinking of going for the Alpamayo 9-day hike, whether or not this will be instead of Machu Picchu is still undecided, as I don't think I can fund both.

I've been reading up on the Alpamayo, and many people have recommended that trek over Machu Picchu.

[starlagurl]

Did you check the blogs yet?

Here's one:
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/physi...u2006/tpod.html

[mmbcross]

Talking about California Highway 1, just look at this glorious website:
http://www.webshots.com/collections/highway/highway_0.html

To me going to Peru and not visiting Machu Picchu is like dying and not going to heaven!

You can have it all. Look into the Salcantay Trek
http://www.salcantay.info/trek/index.php?lg=en
http://www.travelpod.com/s/salcantay+trek

[mercenarri]

Oh man, so many treks! I'll try to arrange both the Salcantay and Alpamayo treks if its possible.

A note on booking tours - I've been advised to book Machu Picchu about a month in advance, but would I also need to book things like the Iguassu Falls, Salcantay, Nazca Lines, Patagonia tours much in advance?

I ask because the problem with this is there's no absolute time I'm staying at one certain place. Would it be possible at all to just show up at these places and book the tour there and then? I don't like being structured too much by time.

[nixsboys]

A note on booking tours - I've been advised to book Machu Picchu about a month in advance, but would I also need to book things like the Iguassu Falls, Salcantay, Nazca Lines, Patagonia tours much in advance?

The Inca trail does get booked up pretty quickly so you will have to know when you want to go. I would not worry about Iguassu Falls as buses tend to come in and out. As you are approaching from the Brazilian side try and spend a day looking at the Falls before crossing over to Argentina. I stayed at Puadimar Campsite in Foz do Iguacu and the falls are a 10minute local bus away. They also arrange tours to the falls across to the Argentina side which leave every morning.

http://www.paudimar.com.br/eng/detalhesinf...tivo.php?p2=487

Dont think you will be catching taxi's but if you are make sure they stop at the border to have your passport stamped. I had a couple of friends who had to be smuggled back over the border just to get their stamps to avoid fines when they final left brazil (a bit of a nightmare)

[travelmonster]

Big Sur looks amazing, thanks for recommending it. Is it an expensive place to go? I've had to trim off places like Easter Island and Galapagos Island because the tours there are far too expensive to be part of a big trip.

Meanwhile, I've recorded all the places I'm likely to stay in, from little towns to big experiences:



It looks so daunting

Wow, where did you get that map from?

[mmbcross]

As Nixsboys says, you won't have to book Iguaçu in advance, nor will you have to book the overflight of the Nazca Lines. You probably won't have to book Patagonia either, unless you are planning on an extended trek. Nevertheless treks are usually limited in participants, so it would be terrible to turn up and find the only trek departing during the month is already fully booked, or has been cancelled due to lack of participants. In Cusco, there are many different routes to Machu Picchu, so if one trek is full there is usually another route available, but I would imagine that in the case of Alpamayo, there is a more limited demand and more likelihood of a cancellation or overbooking.
http://www.travelpod.com/s/alpamayo

[mmbcross]

Here's some information from our expert in Peru regarding the Inca Trail:

http://www.travelpod.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13297

You might want to contact hime regarding Salcantay and Alpamayo.

Hope this helps a bit.

[aopaq]

I just took another look at your itinerary and realized that you are planning to go everywhere via overland transportation. However, I just wanted to point out that the latest I had heard is that traversing the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama by land is next to impossible unless you want to have many dealings with armies and terrorists and perhaps even be kidnapped. I think this is one section you will have to look at going by sea or air.

With that said, I should also add that Colombia is an amazing country and one of my favorite places for chilling was the lovely town of Popayan in the SW department of Cauca . And north of Bogota in the Santander province is the town of San Gil which is the centre of many adventure sports such as whitewater rafting and hiking. Or it is also a lovely spot to just relax and toss back hormigas tostados (toasted ants).

[mmbcross]

Aopaq is certainly right about the Darien Gap, though I'm sure you have done your homework on that section. None the less, here's what other Travelopdders have written about this crossing.
http://www.travelpod.com/s/darien+gap

He is also right about how Colombia is such a beautiful country. If you check the US State Department advisory, take it with a pinch of salt. Colombia is generally a pretty safe destination as long as you don't go where you shouldn't. The UK travel advisories are pretty detailed and more unbaiased the the US ones.
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-li...merica/colombia

[mercenarri]

Wow, where did you get that map from?

It's a screen grab from Google Maps. I've been using that to place markers of places and things to see along the general route.

The Darien Gap heads-up is duly noted, thanks a lot for that.

[nataschab]

[Seeing as I've done a similar trip I would recommend the following places:
Don't stay too long in Panama City but go straight to Bocas del Toro and cross the border there to get into Costa Rica. Skip San Jose and follow the coast line from Puerto Viejo to Tortuguero into Nicaragua.

In Guatamala I would skip Guatamala city, no attractions and go to the colonial town of Antiqua and go to Semuc Champey and Tikal (town north in Guatamala)

Skip Los Angeles and go to San Diego, WAY BETTER.

Anyway once you start travelling you will get lots of tips from other travellers were to go and what to see.

If you have any questions feel free to ask!