BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi,

My girlfriend and I are planning our 6 month trip around SA and are having a debate as to the best route to take.
Basically our initial flight is to Lima on the 10th of November. From here we are unsure if we should travel north or south. The main highlights of our tour are going to be the Inca Trail, Galapagos Islands, Angel Falls, Rio Carnival, Rain Forest Trek and Patagonia. We have already reserved our hostel for the carnival so we must be in Rio for the 20th of Feb.
Other than that our trip is very open we just need to know what the best route is.
We have looked at heading south into Ecuador then Columbia, then Venuezula then taking a boat down the amazon and working our way down to Rio but would this give us enough time to cover the rest of SA?
The other option is to head north through Boliva, Chile down into patagonia and then up through Brazil via the carnival.

Sorry for the essay and thank you for any help,

Chris and Natalie

Sorry just relised I confused north and south! but u get my jist!!
Chris

I can't figure out what your itenerary would be. Are you heading to southern Peru, Bolivia and along the eastern coast of South Am, to come back to the north - Colombia and Ecuador?

Since you're starting in Peru, it would make sense to spend some time there first. You need a month to see the highlights of southern Peru (including the Inca Trail), then from there you can either go into Puerto Maldonado or cross into Bolivia and go to Rurrenabaque to go into the jungle. Personally, I'd take Bolivia because there are many more things to see in that country as well.

So after Peru and Bolivia you are at the end of the year with about a month and a half left to see Patagonia. You could either spend about two days on buses or fly to Ushuaia (Argentina) or Punta Arenas (Chile) and explore from there.

Then either go overland all the way to Rio and see Iguazu Falls in between or fly from Buenos Aires to Rio. Either way, having roughly six or seven weeks to cover all of Patagonia and maybe some of Buenos Aires, you'll have to move quickly. We're talking about a massive area to travel through, but your Carnaval reservation dictates that you move fast.

After Carnaval you'll have about two and half months left. You mentioned Angel Falls, Colombia, and the Galapagos, so it would probably be best to fly from Rio all the way up to Caracas, then take a short flight to Ciudad Bolivar to see Angel Falls. From there fly back to Caracas and fly or bus it for two days out of Venezeula and into Colombia.

Let's assume you have two months left at that point. You could split your time evenly between Colombia and Ecuador and just catch the highlights or get to know one of them more thoroughly. Head to the Galapagos for five to seven days at the end of your trip and head home.

Is you flight back home also from Lima? You can get from Quito to Lima in two long days of buses or spend the extra money and fly.

I suggest this route because you can't comfortably go to Patagonia after March, and since you'll be in Rio for Carnaval, you'll only be able to squeeze Patagonia in beforehand. Just don't try to see everything. Six months is not nearly enough time for the whole continent. There's three or more months of stuff to do in each of the bigger countries in South America.

Thanks Djperry,

We love the sound of that itinery its pretty much what we had looked at and certainly seems to cover what we would like to do.
Have you done the trek into the Bolivian jungle yourself? It really sounds amazing.
We have budgeted $6,000 for this leg of our journey excluding Galapagos and Inca Trail does this sound about right?
The other question i have is about getting a boat through Brazil to Manaus? and getting to Venuezula that way? is it worth extending our trip for?
We also dont have to fly out of lima as we are considering going onto Central america after SA, is it easy to get to Panama from either Ecuador or Columbia?

Thanks for all your help,

Chris

$6000 per person (I hope you didn't mean only 6k total) will put you on a very tight budget for that trip when you consider the expensive stuff like the Galapagos, Inca Trail, and flying all over the place (even though some of those flights will end up being cheaper than the equivalent bus rides because of the great distances involved). I wouldn't go to the Galapagos with less than $1000 each ($350 flight + $100 entrance fee + $550 cheap 5 day cruise). I spent 20 days and $1600 there and I'm a real cheap bastard. I think the Inca Trail goes for about $350 these days, plus you'll probably have to include $1000 for your flights, so that only leaves you roughly $3500, or $19.44 per day, assuming 180 days. You can backpack on that kind of money through Peru, Bolivia, and maybe Ecuador, but everywhere else, we're talking complete shoestring travel. However, if you take out the Galapagos, you should be okay as long as you don't go nuts buying crap.

One way of saving money would be to bring camping gear, especially for the Patagonia portion of your trip. Patagonia is expensive, but you can camp anywhere cheaply, and with your own stove, you can also cook your own food. Also if you have camping gear, you could do an alternative Inca Trail trek on your own and save a bunch of money. The only caveat would be that you'd be carrying your own gear.

When I was in Rurrenabaque a couple years ago, the jungle trips were going for $60 for three days, everything included. Most people fly there from La Paz for about $75 each way, or you can take the bus which most people will tell you is the most hellish experience of their lives, but they tend to forget how beautiful the scenery of the yungas is.

If you want to do an Amazon River trip, fly from Rio to Belem, then take the boat up to Manaus, stopping at Santarem along the way. I think that takes six days. Lots of backpackers do that section of the river. From Manaus, you have an overnight bus ride to Boa Vista, then a few hours' ride to the border. Once in Venezuela you can stop at Santa Elena and trek to Roraima (highly recommended). From there you can take a bus to Ciudad Bolivar and go to Angel Falls (about $200) and skip Caracas altogether (also recommended). That would be a fantastic route to take instead of flying directly from Rio, but it will add about two weeks onto your trip.

To get to Central America, you can either fly from Quito or Bogotá to Panama City, take a yacht from Cartagena to Colon, or take a series of small boats to Capurgana and Puerto Obaldia, then a short flight to Panama City (what I did). This is the cheapest option but not very exciting in my opinion.

Since you want to go to Central America, it may be better to save Ecuador and the Galapagos for another trip and go directly from Colombia to Panama. I know it's not what you want to hear, but it solves your budget problem.

Thanks again Dj,

Sorry for the confusion what I meant to say was that $6000 was not including the Inca trail and the Galapagos which is a seperate budget.
So the $6,000 is purely for the rest of the trip, is this a more accurate estimate?
I really love the sound of taking a boat through Brazil, do u know off the top of your head roughly how much the flight to Belem and boat to Manaus are?
Thanku so much for your help its really helping us piece our trip together.

Chris

You've got already a lot of useful info from djperry.
Two more things (since you're on budget):
- instead of Inca trail you can take an alternative trail (Salkantay or Lares), which you don't need to book in advance, and is usually better than Inca trail.
When you arrive to Cuzco, book it on the spot and you can start the trail two days later. Two days are needed anyway for altitude acclimatisation. You'll save about 50%, that is, you pay less than YS$200 for a 5 day trek.
- use night busses (cama). They are very comfortable, with fully reclining seats. Sleeping on busses while you're moving, saves you money you'd pay for accomodation. Depending on time and distance, an average price for bus ticket is worth a night accommodation in a single room with private bath.

Thanks moniak, great advice, the only problem being my gf really has her heart set on the actual Inca trail itself it is her number one thing to do while in SA so I couldnt really change that.
We will certainly be taking your advice on travelling at night thou, sounds a great way to save a few quid.
Do you think our $6000 budget will be enough for this leg of our journey?

Thanks,
Chris

I think you'll have enough money, as long as you are backpacking, cooking some of your own meals, staying in cheap hostels, etc.

I don't know about the flight from Rio to Belem, but plan on it being at least $200. The bus probably costs more than the flight in this case and takes 72 hours or so. I took the boat in the other direction from Tabatinga to Manaus, and that cost 150 reais, which was $68 a year and a half ago, but is now $92 by today's ridiculous exchange rate (Brazil is getting very expensive), and that took 4 days and included meals and drinking water. Your boat will surely cost more because it's a longer distance and is upstream, but maybe that gives you an idea.

The Inca Trail is packed with history, culture, and incredible natural scenery, but in my opinion it's not an adventure or even a trek. It's walking for three+ days with a bunch of middle aged office workers who haven't done any exercise since they were teenagers while always relying on the incredible fit natives to carry your luxurious camping gear and gourmet food for a salary of $10 per day, while the tour companies, the government in Lima (not Cusco), and Chile rake in huge money. But go for it if you have your heart set on it.

I just saw this after posting in regards to the North and Central America branch of the trip. Based on your posts... where did you get your idea for a budget? That's $33 a day. As I mentioned on the other branch, you seem be off on understanding distance. One other.. I'm wondering if this applies. If under 18 you are probably going to need some notarized letters from the folks.

Overall budget. I hope you have allowed $500 for Inca Trail and about $1200 or more for Galapagos. The carnival gig is the nail in the itinerary that everything swings around. Anything you have read about Brazil prices.. triple for Carnival. Just on the long odds... you didn't book your Carnival accomodations with Glenn Bahia? Internet scam artist who is evidently friends of someone at LP. If so.. your money is gone. Angel Falls is also expensive.

Jungle boat trip. Just to put the Amazon in perspective.. at Belem the mouth is 100 miles wide. At Manaus it is 5 miles wide. Bring binoculars to see the shore. It can be done cheaply, sleeping in a hammock on deck. You will probably get massive dysentery from the food cooked in river water. If you are really into an African Queen type trip then consider some of the jungle river trips out of Rurrenabaque, Bolivia or Cusco, Peru. One of the most way cool trips is to Manu from Çusco. I've photos on my site. Figure a grand for the longest trip but it's worth it.

Tons of other advice on stuff to see and places to go but until I see an honest itinerary I don't want to do the typing. I have some real concerns how you plan to handle security. Read on my site. Comeback with questions. You need to rethink either time or money. Look at a map and plot some dots. Consider my suggestions in the CA section. Clarify your plans after SA. Let's avoid zigzagging.