Hi everyone,

Sorry to be another newbie posting a trip plan but I would like to get some feedback on our plans.

My fiance and I are traveling for 3 months and plan to stay at cheap hotels/hostels and travel on buses through South America from Sept - Dec this year. We will only be booking our first 2 nights hostel in Santiago and then plan to wing it from there based on other traveler's recommendations and guide books. We don't want to be rushing too much and would rather drop some items from our trip than be rushing around rather than relaxing and enjoying the sights and culture.

We would like some feedback on any must sees along the way as well as anything not worth seeing etc etc. Thank you for your help with this we have done a bit of traveling but this will be the first trip for us both living out of a pack for so long.

* Fly into Santiago and spend the first 2 nights there.
* Maybe visit Mendoza for a day or so
* Head north up the coast - any good towns to recommend?
* Visit Uyuni probably from San Pedro de Atacama
* Would you then recommend heading north through Western Bolivia (see further Bolivia travel below) or back to the Chilean coast?
* Into Southern Peru and visit Cusco and Machu Picchu by train
* Lake Titicaca
* Amazon jungle trip - from Peru or Bolivia? Any recommendations?
* Back down to Bolivia visiting La Paz and cycle the death road and Potosi
* Across the top of Argentina visiting Salta
* If we have time go to Iguacu then southern Brazil
* Spend a few weeks relaxing down the coast of Uruguay ending in Montevideo
* A few days in Buenos Aires before flying back home to NZ

Thank you very much for your help with our plans! BootsnAll has been such a great resource in helping me with planning and packing lists etc.

If you are Canadian, rearrange your itinerary so you fly into Argentina to avoid the US$132 per person reciprocity fee flying into Chile. You don't pay at land borders, so you can cross back and forth from Mendoza or San Pedro by land and, if you want, fly out of Santiago at the end. Argentina was going to implement a reciprocity fee but it disappeared off the radar and they are unlikely to implement it.
There are lots of buses between Santiago and Mendoza but only two companies go three times a week from San Pedro to Salta.
It doesn't make sense to fly into Santiago and then go to Mendoza and back to go up the coast of Chile. Getting to Mendoza takes a minimum of 6 hours on the bus from Santiago, longer if there are delays at the border. Long weekends, national holidays etc. can add hours to the trip.
From Salta into Bolivia is very scenic but you do want to monitor the political situation in Bolivia closer to the date. Blocked roads are not uncommon.
The cycle ride on the "death road" is actually very dangerous. I would rethink this one.
Those are a few thoughts anyway.

and don't end in Montevideo before going to BsAs, end in Colonia. It's a lovely colonial city, you wouldn't want to miss it, and the buquebus (ferry) will take you to BA.

I would recommend doing a trip to Manu National Park in the Peruvian Amazon. I can recommend a tour operator via PM if you would like.

I hope you have a great trip!

Thanks for the advice.

I am a dual Canadian/NZ citizen and we are actually flying home to NZ for a bit first so will avoid the fees landing in Chile as we will travel on our NZ passports.

I was also thinking of heading straight to northern Chile from Mendoza rather than back to Santiago and then seeing Salta on the way back down from Bolivia through Argentina.

Thanks for the tip about Colonia will visit there too. Have to see Monetivdeo as my fiance's granddad fought in the Battle of the River Plate near there and seeing the memorial is high on our list. Any other recommendations on places in Uruguay?

Would a visit to Manu National Park be similar to other Amazon trips? How long does it take to get there from Cusco?

Thanks again!

While around Santiago, you should make some time to visit Valparaiso. On a clear day, its a beuatiful city, with coloured housed packed into hills surrounding the city centre. You can lose hours just wandering around the little alleyways there. I loved it.

I'd have thought going from Mendoza to San Pedro would involve going via Santiago or Salta, so I'd perhaps recommend going back over to Santiago, as there should be more buses from there than Salta.

What I think I'd do is go up the coast from Santiago, La Serena is a nice town, and Iquique is nice further up, then cross into Peru north of Arica. I'd save the Uyuni trip for later, Ill get back to that in a minute.If you want/have time you could visit the Colca Canyon from Arequipa, and if not, there are plentiful buses to take you to Cusco.

As for rainforest, I don't know about Peru, but the pampas tours from Rurrenebaque in Bolivia are really good. Its a good 20 hour bus journey from La Paz though, unless you fancy a flight. I did the Most Dangerous Road, great fun, just be careful. From La Paz you can go to Potosi then to Uyuni for your salt flats trip. And here's why I'd recommend leaving it until now. A. Starting from Uyuni, the altitude gain is more gradual, and besides, youll have been at altitude for a while now, whereas from San Pedro you go from 2,000m to 5,000m in a day. B. Cheaper in Bolivia.

That will leave you in San Pedro, from where you can head to Salta. Easy!

Hope that helps.

Thank you imnotbrian that was great information I will definitely look into doing it that way.

20hours eeek definitely want to see the rain forest though but it might require some ear plugs and sleeping pills to deal with 20 hours or we can look into the flight (although I am terrified of small planes). So a bit of a lose lose but I think it will be worth it though.

Thanks for the help everyone!

Asuncion, Paraguay is a must see if you are looking for an edgy city (i.e. dangerous but exciting) without seeing any gringos. It offers a more authentic South American experience.