Hi everyone,

I'm planning a South America trip that revolves mainly around the fact that I have very little money. I'd like to get a rough idea from those who have been around there a bit (rather than only from guidebooks) of how much each country tends to cost per day/week/month/whatever unit you want. Include a reasonable amount of bus fare, activity costs, etc. if possible.

I'll probably stick to northern Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia, because I'd like to spend as much time as possible on just $3500, not including airfare. But any thoughts on average reasonable budget costs would be helpful!

People say so many different things, so I do mean cheap travel, i.e., hostels, skipping things like the mainstream Inca Trail and Tierra del Fuego expeditions, eating cheap food, etc.

Thanks a lot!


Austin

I´ve been spending $45 per day in Colombia the last 6 weeks, but I tend to live high off the hog. I´ve seen a lot of people coming through Casa Kiwi Hostel in Medellin cooking, and surely saving a lot of money. I think you can probably have a great time on $35 a day here in Medellin, and less in the rest of the country, save Cartagena which is the most touristy city, and therefore the most expensive (though it is just as easy to save money there too if you make the effort).

Hope this helps for Colombia!

My husband and I have been traveling in Peru, Argentina and Chile for the past 2 months for about $40 a person a day. We have been camping alot to save money but have also had a few nice dinners out and bought souvaneers. If you want to be able to do activities I would recomend a minimum of $35 a day. Also one of the things that suprised us was how expensive Peru was. The cost of living was cheep but all the activities involving the Inca ruins are crazy expensvie. If you can get a student ID card I would recomend it because it will save you a lot of money there.

Budget questions are always really hard, since it all depends on your style of living. The less moving around you do the better, if you are trying to save money.

Also, the more activities you pursue the more money you will spend (this is definitely not my style).

We often spent less than $40/day (as a couple) living pretty comfortably in Ecuador in 2005.
In Chile we spent around $80-100 or more/day.
Argentina is a little less expensive (for us $60-80/day as a couple).

Some people can get by on really small daily budgets (<$20 in places like Ecuador and Peru)

Our time in S. America is winding down now.

Here's what my wife and I have averaged in each country. This includes everything except our airfare from Santiago to Bogota. We have had private rooms with bath the majority of the time. We have been eating a lot of street food, but haven't cooked a whole lot. Not much in the way of going out to nice restaurants. Includes everything we've bought (not much souvenir wise). This also includes any tours we've done, including Inca Trail, Salt Flats, World's Most Dangerous Road, Pampas, climbing a volcano, and being in Patagonia for over a month during high season.

Peru: $83/day
Bolivia: $75
Argentina: $94 (including a flight from BA to Calafate)
Chile: $110
Colombia: $65

We've averaged $87/day in our 161 days on the road so far. We could have spent way less had we cooked in, but we also could have spent much more. It all depends on the person.

I spent about $30 a day in Argentina last May, not including airfare. I ate grocery store food but splurged now and then on accommodation (mostly hostels but I didn't spend much time seeking out the cheapest ones, and I spent at least two nights in a $50 hotel near the end of the trip). Transportation ended up eating up the majority of my budget and was definitely the biggest expense I hadn't really expressly planned for.

Prices are always shifting. Argentina has become quite expensive recently. What someone said is very true, it isn't the food and lodging which you can always tweak, it is the activities or entry fees. Days you aren't going somewhere special you will be fine on $30 but days you want to see something special you will often double that. I would suggest that you stay less time but not do yourself out of seeing what you want to see. I don't mean hike the Inca Trail but definitely go to Machu Picchu etc..

My daily budget was a little higher than your average backpackers. I'm eating out fairly often, and stay in nice hostels. However this budget does let me do some activities so keep that in mind.

Argentina: USD 55/day
Chile: USD 60/day
Peru/Bolivia: USD 55/day