Hey there!

My husband and I will be arriving in Argentina in Feb of 2010. We plan to travel through argentina,Chile, and end in Peru. If you were us, what route would you take? How much would you budget for each day? (Don't really care, as long as it's a clean bed, and we're fine with camping too.) We want to see the culture, hike, see the history, and just take in as much as possible! We want to see as much as we can, but don't always want to be rushing rushing...any ideas? Much appreciated. Don't yell at me for not "reading the other posts!!" I've done that as much as possible! But would love some direct advice.

You'll probably get more concrete (or any!) advice if you give us more details.

How long are you travelling for?
Do you speak Spanish?
How clean-oriented are you?
How important is culture vs. outdoorsy etc to you?
Are you planning on overnight busses, flights, etc?
Do you use a guidebook when you travel, and which one are you planning on? (this tells me if you're a RoughGuide traveller, a Lonely Planet traveller, a Fodor's traveller, etc).

Hope you get the advice you're looking for.

eileen

bearshapedsphere

Eileen,

hmm... yes, thanks for the clarifying questions.

1.We will be there from Febuarary - mid April.
2.I do speak some spanish, enough to get around, and carry on a conversation.
3. Clean-oriented... hmm, well I'm definately out-doorsy, and I don't need things to be pristine, but I don't want to sleep in super filthy bed.
4. We'd prefer to bus around the countries. we weren't planning on taking any flights once we're in SA. But I could be convinced otherwise. If it made sense..
5. I've used all the guide books, and I do have both Lonely Plaet, Frommers, and Rough Guide book.

Any advice? Thank you!

In that part of South Am I'd reccommend you include Bolivia. I found Chile to be the least intersting in terms of culture and food, and the most expensive. Bolivia is the opposite.
Busses are the best way to travel in South America. The distances are huge and bus travels 16 or 20 hours are not unusual. The busses (cama type) are very comfortable though, and cheap.
It's difficult to say how much you should budget, but roughly 30-40 USD per day and person would be a good estimate. Chile is the most expensive country and Bolivia the cheapes, out of the four.

Thanks Moniak! I appreciate the tip. Does anyone agree with that about Chile? I'd love to hear from others about their opinion of Chile, and the idea about adding Bolivia..

Thanks all!

Being born in Chile I may be a bit bias, but the food can be quite fantastic. There are many similarities to Argentina because of the proximity, but you can find some amazing seafood, meats, and other fresh foods. The wine as well can be great.

Of course certain areas may offer better variety then others, there is plenty to see and experience. As far as price I can't make any claims as I haven't been in 5+ years.

Definitely worth checking out though.

I have a similar opinion on Chile - Santiago was pleasant but not overly interesting and I travelled from Argentina to Chile via the Lakes District (boat and bus) which included some great mountain scenery (Osorno is stunning and the German settlements are interesting). Patagonia (Chile and Argentina) is meant to be superb but I've not been there.

Bolivia is well worth a visit and is a practical extention from Peru (via the lake from Puno). The lake, Tiwanaku, La Paz and the salt pans are all enjoyable and interesting. There is a great one-day cycle ride all downhill from just outside La Paz (written up on my blog.

Getting into the Amazon rain forest area in Peru (or Bolivia?) is an excellent trip. Similarly, Iguazu Falls are a bit out of the way but by far, the best waterfalls in the world.
----------
Travel Wonders of the World

I assume you'll be starting from BA. Are you going to fly back home also from BA, or from Lima?
Your itinerary would very much depend on that.

Thanks All. Yes, we plan on starting in BA, and then flying back to Seattle from Lima.

I think Bolivia will definately be added to the intinerary. Thanks for suggesting it.

Hello,

My wife and I have been in SA since mid October. Spent a month in Peru, about 3 weeks in Bolivia, and we've been in Argentina since early December.

A few comments:
1. Go to Bolivia. Wish we had more time there. It was absolutely stunning. One of the most unique places I've ever been. Don't miss it. We thought about not going, and I'm so glad we did.

2. We have averaged a little over $70/day, total, for both of us (not counting flights). So this counts accommodations (we have stayed in hostels the entire time except for Buenos Aires, where we have had an apartment for the last month; and we have primarily had private rooms with bathrooms; I would say we have averaged about $25/night for accommodations, maybe a tad less), food, activities (we've done lots--Inca Trail; Salt Flats; World's Most Dangerous Road; Pampas Tour; Wineries, etc.), and transportation (we've bused it almost everywhere; took a flight from Rurrenabaque, Bolivia back to La Paz after the horrific bus ride there, and we are flying to El Calafate to start our Patagonia portion on Monday).

3. Have you thought about Colombia? I know it doesn't currently fit into your itinerary, but I don't know what you have and haven't booked, yet. But every person who we've talked to over the last 3 months who has traveled extensively in SA and been to Colombia has RAVED about it and said it was their favorite. And I'm not exaggerating, seriously, every, single person. We originally had it on our rough itinerary, but then took it off because it didn't make sense logistically, but then found a way to add it back on because we just felt that we had to go now.

4. If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask. The task of planning something like this is a bit daunting at first. Also, feel free to check out our blog. We have tons of posts and pictures on all the places we've been so far.

Good Luck!!!!!

Oh yeah, one more thing.

When I said that $70/day didn't include flights, that just means the flight to S. America and the flight from. It does include the few flights we've taken in S. America.

A suggestion to your itinterary:
BA -> Iguazu -> Asuncion -> Salta (via Residencia or Corrientes) -> Tupiza -> Salar de Uyuni -> Potosí -> Lima -> Copacabana -> Puno -> Arequipa -> Cuzco -> Ica -> Pisco -> Lima.

Comments:
1. That way you add one more country, Paraguay. It's a practical solution going that way. But, you probably need visa, so you may evaluate that yourself.

2. You might still keep Chile as an option - I wouldn't skip it totally. You'd have to cut through Argentina and go from Iguazu to Mendoza. From Mendoza to Santiago - the bus ride is only 6 hours, but the passage through the Andes is stunning. Add Valparaiso, which is only 1.5 hr bus ride.
Then return to Mendoza and from there proceed to Salta.

3. There is much more you can do in Bolivia - depending on your time schedule. If you find it viable, add Sucre and Cochabamba, or even possibly a jungle tour.

(Colombia as per the last post, is a great suggestion but that'd be way too much and to far off).

Oops, a typo - after Potosí it should be LaPaz, nothing else

Wow. You all are truly fantastic. Thank you endlessly for your input! Hearing from experienced travellers is so valuable. So you can be sure I will take your suggestions, and advice very seriously! Thanks again.