Hello all -

I'm planning a trip starting sometime in January. I found a ticket for about $500 to Columbia, so I'm starting there, but I plan on getting down to Patagonia before it's too cold to do some trekking, then coming back up... I know it will take about a month to do that, but I'd rather spend the extra $500 or so on a month of crossing South America than on a direct filght. I'll have at least $2600; I'm not sure this is actually enough for four months, especially if I'll be in Chile a while, but hopefully you guys will have some suggestions to help me make the money stretch. I looked at some spread sheets on other people had posted of costs in Latin America and was pretty surprised at how often they stayed in hotels that cost $25 plus. I'm hoping I can get by on $15 or so most days... I'm hoping I can get by as cheaply as I did in Asia. My plan looks something like this:

January- Arrive in Columbia, hang out a week or two, then start moving south to Peru and hanging out there for a week, then trying to get to the northern part of Chile by February

February - Either go to Patagonia from here, or criss cross through Argentina and go to the Argentinian side of Patagonia first... Not sure, but by mid February I want to be down there.

March - I want to spend about a month trekking and hiking around, then I'll mosy my way back north... Is it very expensive in the Chilean side of Patagonia? I have a backpacking tent and I can live quite cheaply when I need to. I'm trying to find volunteer work around there as well, and have sent a couple applications, but haven't heard back from any; any recommendations?

April - head back up, and spend some more time in Peru. I don't think I'll have the funds left to do a guided hike of the Inca Trail, but I've heard mention of some other cool ruins besides Manchu Picchu - any recommendations?

I'm pretty interested in just hanging out in places with a good vibe, and I really like trekking. I hear Chile has some cool sandsurfing, and it would be cool to just camp out somewhere. I'm assuming this is safe.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Alternatively, you could start your trip from Patagonia - January is the right time of the year.
What you save on cheap flight ticket to Colombia, will be eaten up by flights accross South America. So, the final cost could be about the same.

Another suggestion, taking your money and time constraint into account, would be to visit three-four countries only: Colombia, Equador, Peru and maybe Bolivia. But, then you skip Patagonia, alhough you make it sound like it's the place where you want to be. I'd still reconsider it.

Colombia, Peru and Bolivia have enough for a month travelling, without getting bored. Equador can be visited (the main sites) in two-three weeks.

As for Machu Picchu. I wouldn't write it off - one of the highlights of the entire continent. You don't need to worry too much - go for Salkantay trail (I did that), which you can get in Cusco for under US$200. It's very cheap if you consider it's 5 days/4 nights.

If you want to look at affordability, Bolivia is the cheapest country, then it's Peru, Equador and Colombia, Argentina. Chile which you mentioned in your post is the most expensive one.
I'd also say, Bolivia (my favourite country in SA) is the best value and Chile the lest - that's if you compare what you get and what you pay in each of those countries.

A small correction, just to make it clear,
Colombia, Peru and Bolivia have enough for a month travelling, EACH...

Do you intend on talking buses or flights across South America???

If you were bus-ing it, I'd have to agree with Moniak - to travel the length of South America and back in just four months would be one hell of a slog. You'd find you would be spending a lot of your time (if you added it up, probably over a month) literally travelling - i.e sat on a bus, and whilst these buses would be relatively cheap in Peru and Ecuador, they wont be as cheap in Chilie.

I would seriously look into flying into Patagonia and work your way up, thus saving yourself the time AND cost of travelling the length of the continent.

If you were flying, then i fear you would seriously struggle on that budget.

A lot of people on here would even say that four months isnt enough time to get from Colombia to Patagonia, but ive done a similar route and four months is plenty....there and back in four, though? No way.

I planned on busing, but I thought I'd be able to hang out in one place for a week then do one super long 20 hour bus ride to the next place and start over. But... staying sane in a month of bus-riding every other day or two might be beyond me. I'll have to look more deeply into how long it would take to get down there. Flying to Buenos Aires first, the cheapest southern option I've found, would cut nearly a month's budget.

Does the budget sound do-able? Any recommendations for places that are on my list?

I only had three main points for this: 1. have far more time than I do money right now, 2. I really want to go to Patagonia, and 3. I want to stay away from home for about four months.

I know that each place I could spend a month in and feel like it wasn't enough time... I don't even care to see the main sights of places, so long as I find a place I really like, with a good vibe and nice people who speak clear Spanish, and can settle down there for a little bit.

20 hrs bus trip isn't super long. It's more like average. From Salta to Mendoza in Argentina it takes 22 hrs.
Super long is 44 hrs, going from Mendoza or BA to Patagonia.

$2600 for four months - $160 per week - thats gonna be tight, very tight, though do-able.

One of the best ways to save money is to travel slowly, its not possible to cover the amount of ground that you plan to in four months by travelling slowly, so somethings gotta give really.

yeah. yeah I think so too. I think I'll just fly into Buenos Aires and out of Bogota... about $250 more, but I guess it saves weeks of just to and fro time. I appreciate the feedback so far. It's good to know that I can get from BA to somewhere in Patagonia in about 2 days. I probably won't spend much time in Chile this way, I'll just head north through Argentina, which should make the budget more doable as well, then I'll cut through to Colombia that way. good to know $160 a week sounds doable.

so I guess I'll do something more like:

-Buenos Aires a couple days
-Patagonia Arg and Chile for about a month
-then back to Argentina heading northwardly for about a month
-so then either Chile or Bolivia for two/three weeks, aiming for Peru
-then Peru a month. Manchu Picchu's just going to depend.
-a week in Colombia, and I fly home

well that will probably change completely by the time I start moving around there, but at least I have a rough idea to do some research for.

I guess now what I'd like to know is, it is pretty safe for a woman to travel alone, right? and are there any tips about clothes? like, when I got to India I ended up mostly dressing like a local, and just had to lug my western clothes, which attracted way too much attention, around. will I wish I had dressy clothes, or is it pretty laid back? would it be awkward to wear shorts?

gracias..

Re clothes.
Take what you wear normally at home, with adjustment for the climate. Remember, there's cheap laundry service and you don't need to drag around a big backpack with lots of clothes.
Most of the places where you're heading will be warm. Shorts and t-shirts will be fine.
But, you'll also need fleece jacket, light weatherproof jacket and long trausers for chilly high altitude places.
For walking and trekking use trainers with good grip sole or trekking shoes.

thanks

We spent 2 months in Patagonia a couple of years ago, and I think you may have a hard time on your budget.

$2600/4 months is approx $21/day. This may be doable, but I am not sure. That is a reasonable budget, however, for cheaper places in S. Am (Peru, Ecuador).

That said, if you head straight to Patagonia and camp in national parks, places with campgrounds, eat cheaply, don't move around a lot it might be possible. You could happily spend 2-3 weeks camping in El Chalten and Torres del Paine each and probably keep w/in your budget. And, yes, Chile is pretty expensive, compared to most of the continent.

Good luck on your adventure!

If you're US-American, don't forget the $130 plus visa fee for Bolivia, and jabs n such before you get that (you need proof of the yellow fever vaccine, which is cheaper to get in South America, but might depend on hassle factor and your level of Spanish.

I would travel less and stay put more for maximum enjoyment, though it also depends on what you mean by "Patagonia." If you mean the lakes region in Chile and El Bolsón in Argentina, you're in better shape than if you mean Torres del Paine or Ushuaia. Also, flying within one country can be downright reasonable, and in Chile at least (where I live), it's often cheaper than a very long distance (nice) bus. For example, I found a cheaper flight on LAN from Santiago to Calama than I could find a Cama (very nice) bus. In Argentina I found a flight from BsAs to Barriloche that was cheaper and much faster than the bus.

Chile is very pricey, but if you are willing to couch surf and plan well, I think you can still spend a chunk of time here and not break the bank, though fancy boatrides and geyser trips may have to fall by the wayside.

Sounds like a pretty amazing trip!

5 years and counting in Chile
www.bearshapdsphere.blogspot.com

hey, that's good to know. what airlines do you take in Chile?

I still haven't bought any plane tickets, but since the prices have already started going up I'm a bit anxious to. I have a new question:

Machu Picchu or Iguazu Falls?

I've been refining my plan and reading up on Argentina. I think Argentina sounds cool enough for three months alone, with a little bit of crisscrossing the border to Chile. I actually hadn't heard of it before, but some friends were raving about how beautiful Iguazu Falls is. I'm wondering if I should still try to get up to Peru the last couple weeks and see Machu Picchu and fly home from up there, or if I should just stay in Argentina and fly home from BA for about the same price of airfare. It also sounds a bit like a rainforest around Iguazu Falls, which would be really cool. I probably won't be able to do the Inca Trail -- but -- Machu Picchu still sounds amazing. I also found out that I don't need to do it with a tour, but I could hire a guide on my own with a couple other people, which makes it significantly less than $200 -- that and I know I can hike the whole thing easily in two days with a pack, which even with a guide is still less than $200. I'm not sure which I should pick. A friend of mine who went to Peru said she got tired of looking at ruins, and didn't care much for Machu Picchu. I'm not sure if she's just weird though.

I wanted to spend a few weeks to a month at Torres del Paine and a week at least at Fitz Roy with my tent and backpack. I guess when I'm there I'll hear about other places as well, but I wanted to wander around Patagonia for about a month. I don't know about geysers or fancy boat rides, although seeing the fjords sounds like it might be worth shelling out for a boat ride. I generally don't take luxury buses... part of it is that I'm cheap, and part of it is that I find it really fun to ride the local buses and talk to people. Part of my rational for going to South America is to improve my Spanish.

Thanks in advance

Machu Picchu or Iguazu Falls?

Definitely both.
Iguazy falls is an easy overnight bus trip from Buenos Aires. You need a full day there.
It's not much of a rain forest, more like a park, comfortable to walk around.

Machu Picchu is one of the great ancient sites. Walking a trail to MP is at least half of the fun. MP on it's own is just like any place you might visit in Mexico or Guatemala.
Salkantay trail (ending also at MP) is the best option, in my opinion. You don't need to prebook, and it's cheaper than the classic Inca trail (too commercialized, and overcrowded).

ok - I'm really, really excited now. The Salkantay trail sounds amazing, and the pictures online remind me of trekking in Nepal. I've missed snow capped mountains ringed by jungles. I can't not go to Peru.

SO the plane ticket looks like this:
LAX to Buenos Aires Jan 8
Lima to LAX Apr 24.

I'm buying it now, so I can stop worrying about this not actually happening because of prohibitive airfare costs..