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My wife and I leave on our RTW in October and will be flying into Lima. We have two different possibilities for our S. America portion and would love your comments on them.

Here are our 2 different routes. We're basically hitting the same spots, just at different times. After each itinerary, I posted a pros and cons of each for us.

Sample Itineraries

First possibility

Fly into Lima on Oct. 15
One month to make it north to Galapagos, another couple weeks to make it up to Colombia.
Arrive in Colombia sometime in early December, stay for about a month, spending Christmas and NYE there.
Catch a flight to BA; Argentina for about 2 months, including Patagonia
Make our way north to Bolivia; be in Bolivia sometime in early March; stay for about a month, then head towards Peru
Arrive in Peru in early April, hike Machu Picchu, make our way back to Lima most likely, then either head home for a few or over to SE Asia.

Comments (pros and cons):
Galapagos a definite, which is good and bad; good weather everywhere except for the end. Bolivia will still be really wet and will have gone through 4+ months of wet weather. It will probably be hard to travel.
We would be arriving to Machu Picchu at the end of the rainy season, so the trail could be wet, but we should get pretty good weather while hiking Inca Trail.
Colombia over the holidays will be cheaper than Argentina, possibility of beach holiday on the Caribbean.
Preliminary checking of flights shows it’s cheaper to fly from Colombia to BA than BA to Lima or Quito. $200/person difference on first check.

2nd possibility

Fly into Lima on Oct. 15.
Make our down to Cusco/Machu Picchu-hike Machu Picchu late October/early November
Keep heading south towards Bolivia-Lake Titicaca-be in Bolivia area by mid November.
Bolivia for a few weeks/month-start heading over into Argentina
Argentina for Christmas/NYE and for about 2 months
After that, start making our way north towards Peru/Ecuador either by plane/bus/combo of both
Plan on being in northern Peru/Ecuador by early March
Galapagos sometime in March; make our way towards Colombia.
Be in Colombia by late March/early April and stay for about a month-either head home for a few or head to SE Asia

Comments:
More open than 1st possibility. Preliminary check of flights shows it will be more expensive to try to fly from Argentina to Ecuador, but buses are more of a possibility. Machu Picchu could be a little rainy, but the trail should be good and it wouldn’t be as crowded. We could get cut short in Bolivia depending on the rain, but the beginning of Bolivia should be good. Might miss out on Salt Flats. More expensive to be in Argentina for holidays than Colombia.

Going to S.A. and not even considering heading to Brazil?

I didn't mention that we weren't considering it, and not much of this will be set in stone, but we can't go everywhere. Something has to go. Thanks for the advice though.

Well it looks like you've done your homework. The only point I'd disagree on is Argentina being more expensive than Colombia. I think it's the other way around these days because of a strong currency in Colombia.

You've hit the nail on the head with your analysis but I'd go with the second option because you won't be hitting Peru and Bolivia right in the middle of the rainy season. It sounds like you like outdoors stuff and that's not pleasant when it's pouring everyday.

Thanks, dj. I appreciate your opinion. I've read a lot of your posts regarding S. America, and I've read quite a bit of your website.

We actually decided on option 2 for sure. We're hiking the Inca Trail leaving October 29th. Just booked it!!

Sounds good to me. Have fun and don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions.