I first wrote this post when I had no idea about blogging. I was just about to set off on my first ever long-term solo backpacking trip and I wanted to share the South America Route I’d planned out.
It took several months of planning to decide where to go, but eventually the map below began to materialise.
I was adamant while planning my South America route that it wasn’t going to dictate everything I did. Sure, I had a day-by-day itinerary planned out, because I’m organised like that, but I knew that if other opportunities presented themselves I could edit it.
Having since returned from this trip, I can say that it was a pretty well planned journey. I didn’t make it north or Rio in Brazil, and I spent some unplanned time on a Galapagos cruise, but otherwise I didn’t stray too far. Read on for links to some of the activities I took part in.
MY SOUTH AMERICA ROUTE
My South America route: starting in Bogota and ending in Rio
HIGHLIGHTS OF MY SOUTH AMERICA ROUTE BY COUNTRY
COLOMBIA
Bogota (colonial architecture and raucous nightlife)
Villa de Lleyva (scenic village famous for its kite festival)
San Gil (adventure sports hot spot)
Bucaramanga (Fried fat-bottomed ants is a culinary delicacy of the region)
Santa Marta (Lost City trek – only discovered in 1975 – and Minca)
Tayrona National Park (unspoilt jungle-fringed beaches with hammocks as hostels)
Cartagena (more partying and colonial architecture, but this time with beaches)
Medellin (a city known for its dodgy past, high crime rates and rival drugs gangs, it’s becoming increasingly popular with tourists. I’m going to try to be there for the flower festival)
Cali (world capital of salsa music apparently)
ECUADOR
Quito (base for equator museum, Otavalo market and thermal baths)
Mindo (cloudforest: wildlife, waterfalls, zip lines and tubing)
Latacunga (emerald volcanic crater – Lake Quilotoa)
Cotopaxi Volcano (high-altitude hike at 5897m)
Baños (locals call it a ‘little piece of heaven’; known for its thermal baths; also bridge jumping; and a scenic cycle ride to Puyo)
Cuenca
PERU
Mancora (beach and surfing)
Chiclayo (pre-Inca archaology still being uncovered in the surrounding countryside)
Trujillo (colonial mansions and Baroque churches)
Lima (museums, nightlife and architecture)
Huacachina (a desert oasis where sandboarding and dune buggying are popular)
Nazca (flight over the Nazca lines)
Arequipa (base for condor spotting in Colca Canyon)
Cusco (base for Machu Picchu, the jungle trail and maybe a shamanic ceremony)
Puno (Lake Titicaca – the highest navigable lake in the world, home to the Uro people who live on reed islands)
BOLIVIA
Copacabana (the other side of Lake Titicaca – Isla del Sol overnight)
La Paz (base for death road cycle and San Pedro prison tour)
Cordillera Real (hiking among beautiful scenery in the Andes)
Rurrenabaque (for the Amazon jungle)
Potosi (silver mines with a famously horrific track record of safety)
Samaipata (forested mountains, archaology; near La Higuera, where Che Guevara was executed)
Tupiza (horse riding in Butch Cassidy country and the base for the Salar de Uyuni tour)
CHILE
San Pedro de Atacama (driest desert on earth, with sandboarding dunes, salt flats, geysers, lagoons, flamingoes and volcanoes)
Valle de la Luna (beautiful sunsets over lunar landscape)
Santiago (Chile’s capital, surrounded by snow-capped mountains)
Valparaiso (port and naval base; brightly coloured houses and numerous ascensores linking the hills; vibrant nightlife and close to the beach at Viña del Mar)
Pucón (for Villarrica volcano climb; white water rafting and thermal springs)
Coyhaique (for San Rafael Glacier and the Capilla de Marmol grotto)
Puerto Natales (Chilean Patagonia: base for the W trek in the Torres del Paine)
ARGENTINA
Salta (multicoloured mountains and leafy plazas)
Mendoza (wine tasting)
Bariloche (outdoor adventure hub, including skiing, rafting, zip lines, kayaking, paragliding, trekking, mountain biking and even paint balling)
El Chaltén (on the edge of Los Glaciares national park with views of the peaks of Monte Fitz Roy)
El Calafate (stunning Perito Moreno Glacier; ice trekking)
Ushuaia (most southern city in the world and launch pad for Antarctica)
Trelew and Gaiman (getting back to my Welsh routes)
Puerto Madryn and the Peninsula Valdes (great penguin, sea lion and orca watching)
Buenos Aires (tango time)
Puerto Iguazú (magnificent Iguazú falls)
URUGUAY
Colonia de Sacremento (visit from Buenos Aires)
BRAZIL
Florianópolis (beautiful beaches)
Rio de Janeiro (Rio Carnaval, the Sambadrome and Christ the Redeemer)
Salvador (home of Capoeira)
Morro de São Paulo (surfing, diving and reggae bars)
Chapada Diamantina (national park with stunning views)
Pantanal (if I have time and money!)
Literally sick with jealousy and full of admiration. Really hope you have an amazing time Ari, not long to go now. You’re going to have the best time ever :) x
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Thanks hun. I still think you should come out and travel with me for a bit. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before you win a trip there :)
In one word: AWESOME! Good planning skills :)
Little concerned about the costs! Perhaps I won’t be doing ALL the activities in ALL those places! But it’s only a rough guide. I’ll be a pro at high-altitude trekking after this!
Arianwen Morris recently posted..My South America route
me and wife want to drive to south america, wife from puerto rico, what do you think from kansas city, mo
I’m afraid I have no experience of driving abroad. It sounds like a very long trip, but I guess it could be doable. I once met a man who drove from the states to Costa Rica to set up a restaurant in Drake Bay. I’d recommend you do a lot of research beforehand and ask a few people who have done it before. At least you will have the advantage that your wife speaks Spanish. That’s invaluable.
Looks like you have an amazing trip planned! I look forward to reading all about it :)
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Thanks Annette! I’m getting very excitable! :)
Wow this looks like an amazing itinerary. It looks like you’re going to really be able to see and do a lot on this trip. Can’t wait to read more once you take off!
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Thanks! I really hope so! I’m going to use every trick in the book to save money where I can, so I can afford to do as many exciting activities as possible!
Oh I am so jealous, I have such great memories from there. When you get to Cuenca stay at the Casa Cuencana and tell them I sent you. It’s an Ecuadorian family that runs it and they have private rooms for ridiculously low prices.
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Oooohhh, that sounds brilliant! Thanks for the tip Ayngelina!
AWESOME route! Very very jealous :)
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Thanks. Only time will tell if I stick to it! :)
Damn, this trip looks AMAZING! I can’t wait to read about everything! And then steal ideas for my when I finally get to South America!!
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Thanks Lindsay! I am stupidly excited now. If you do plan a trip there in the future feel free to get in touch if there’s things I haven’t covered in my blog. I’ve had loads of people give me advice on places to stay/staying safe/which trips to do, etc. It’s always nice to repay the favour.
That’s going to be one heck of an itinerary! I did something very similar back in 2010 – although you’ll be hitting more places than I did. Best wishes with it all!
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Thanks! It’s my first time backpacking solo and long term, so I don’t know how realistic my plan is yet, but if I see half the things on that list, I’ll consider myself a very lucky girl.
10 km from La Paz is Valle de la Luna.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dittaeva/3250992683/in/photostream/
It would be awesome to see that in live.
Awesome photos. It looks crazy! I will definitely keep it in mind when I’m in La Paz. Thanks for the tip!
in southern Ecuador, don’t miss Vilcabamba in the Longevity Valley, stay at Itzchayluma hostel, a beauty in the middle of trekking mountains (to practice for Machu Picchu).
in Puerto Natales, stay at erratic rock hostel, they have the best service, advice, atmosphere and people there (I’m biased I worked there! ahaha) and Torres del Paine is awesome! if you have more time, hit for the whole 8-day circuit instead of just the W (W included in the 8-day!) : you’ll love it!
tell me about the Lost City trek in Colombia, I’ve been dying to go there!
in my recap of my own world trip, you can find other tips for those countries you’re gonna visit.
http://lespetitspasdejuls.wordpress.com/about/amerique-du-sud-janvier-a-juin/
Once again, have the time of your life! it’s gonna be awesome!
Happy trails!
Jul’
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Thanks for those tips. I’ll add them to my rough itinerary. Not sure I’ll make it to Vilcabamba because I was going to head for the other border crossing with Peru. But you never know! And yes, I will definitely let you know about the Lost City Trek! It’s going to be a good one. I can tell!
This is going to be so so cool – fun to see a South America trip just starting! Definitely don’t miss the Salar de Uyuni – that was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. The Lost City trek is also totally worth it! Also, Canoa and Montanita (on the coast of Ecuador) are fun little party towns where you can learn to surf, if that’s your thing.
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There’s no way I’ll miss the Salar de Uyuni. I’m very excited about Bolivia and the salt flats especially. Same goes for the Lost City. It’ll be my first trek of the trip. I’m a bit unsure of what to do in Ecuador though. I was originally going to travel down the Andes, but I do love the sea and I did some surf lessons in Costa Rica last year and loved it! Tough decision! South America is just too amazing!
Found you on DELB’s site. This itinerary is awesome! We’re currently on our own RTW right now and just announced we’re heading to S. America in September. But we’ll only have 6 weeks, so we’ll just be tripping through Peru & Bolivia.
Check out Ilha Grande when you make it out to Rio, that place was really special for us.
Are you going to try to make it to Antarctica since you’re going so far south?
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Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll make sure I have a chance to see Ilha Grande. It looks stunning! Maybe that should be my final week before I fly home. I really wish I could go to Antarctica, but it would just be too costly. Same goes for the Galapagos. I should be in Peru around September and then Bolivia after so perhaps we could attempt to meet up?!
This is an incredible route! Good luck! Signing up for your updates! Look forward to new posts. July 19th is so close :)
P.S. Love your profile/aboutme picture :)
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Thank you! Tell me about it. It feels like only yesterday I decided to go and now I have just 2 weeks left to prepare! Oh, and that picture was taken in Costa Rica. Quad biking is awesome…but dirty!
This looks like a wonderfully planned route! I’m heading out to South America for the long haul too – 5 months teaching in Ecuador (in Cuenca – have you been there yet?) then I’ll start exploring. No plans or itinerary as yet though so I’m really excited to have my options wide open!
Happy travels, maybe I’ll catch up with you somewhere :)
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I had to skip Cuenca because of time constraints. I only saw the bus terminal! But I know a lot of people who loved it. Have an amazing trip! I only have 3 months left in Argentina and Brazil. I don’t want it to end!
My wife and I are now planning a route from the tip of South America to the Alaska having just completed a 7 month trip across China , Indonesia and Australia.
Your route looks so well planned and inspiring. We hope you have a brilliant time. I
This is kind of an old post now. I’ve travelled through South America, been back to the UK briefly, spent 6 weeks in New Zealand and moved to Sydney since I wrote it! But yes, it turned out to be a good route. The main deviation was to the coast of Ecuador and over to the Galapagos for 2 weeks. It was well worth the extra money and effort! I hope you can take some inspiration from my blog posts and would love to hear how your trip works out too. It sounds incredible!
Hi Arianwen – I just stumbled across your post because I am in the midst of planning an SA trip and your itinerary is almost identical to what I want to do! I’m planning on giving myself about seven months (but could stretch it to eight) to go from Bogotá all the way to Buenos Aires. I’d love to go to Brazil too but don’t really want to be rushed, plus I’ve heard it’s really expensive.
Do you have any particular recommendations for the route? Did you feel like 7 months was enough for it? How was your budget in the end? I’ll probably have about £12,000 and will be scrimping as much as possible. Finally – do you think it’s worth flying from Bogotá to Santa Marta as a starting point? Or is the bus route Bogotá to the north coast painless enough?
Thanks in advance – great blog you have here. Jonny
Hi Jonny! This looks like a comment I should reply to via email. I’m sorry for the late reply. The Northern Territory of Australia barely has any WiFi!
Awesome route! I’m heading to South America in August for 6+ months and glad I found this :) Will definitely come in handy. Don’t have much of a ‘route’ planned yet, thinking about winging it a little as I have time to spare.
Great post :)
It’s best to stay flexible. I planned the route just so I knew roughly how long it would take to see the places I definitely didn’t want to miss. I also find that doing more planning means it’s easier to retain advice from the people you meet on the road, as their words don’t merge into one long list of strange-sounding places. I ended up going to Puerto Lopez, Montanita, Guayaquil and the Galapagos, which hadn’t been on my list. My advice is to get a good feel for your options but then play it by ear when you’re there :-)
Hi there! Sounds like a great trip you had planned! Sorry if this was posted somewhere else, but what kind of budget did you have, and how did you end up doing with it? How much were your flights to and from SA? On average, what did you spend per country? I’m trying to budget my own trip so any advice you could give would be awesome!
Hi Carissa, thanks for your message. I’m afraid I wasn’t particularly good at keeping track of my budget. My flights were £783 to go from London to Bogota (via Houston) and then from Rio to London (via Frankfurt). I don’t know how much use that will be to you as that was a couple of years ago, but I guess it’s handy to have a reference value. How much you spend really depends on which countries you intend to spend longest in, and how you like to travel. I stayed in cheap hostels and rarely ate out, but then I often splashed out on activities…especially the Galapagos, which was worth every penny. The northern countries are much more affordable. Chile, Argentina and Brazil cost a lot more. There are also very long distances between places and even the buses aren’t cheap in those more southern countries, so slower travel visiting fewer countries is much cheaper. Before I left, I made a rough itinerary of where I might go and calculated how much the main journeys and activities would cost me (don’t forget to factor in insurance, jabs, flights, buying travel gear, etc). I then researched the rough spending per day for each country and made a very rough estimate of how much I would spend myself. I also kept an eye on my general spending as I travelled, but it’s very difficult to really know. My advice would be to err on the side of caution unless you are desperate to do something and then if you find yourself with more money than expected later in your trip, find something awesome in that area and treat yourself.
Hi Arianwen,
Just came across this on pinterest and love the map you’ve created. I hope to plan a similar trip in the future, but was wondering if you spent the 7 months to do this (give or take your original course) and roughly how much it ended up costing you without flights?
Thanks!
Hi Marilyn! Yes, I was there seven months and I stuck fairly closely to the plan. However, I ended up going across to the coast in Ecuador (Puerto Lopez for the whales and Montanita for the beaches and parties). I then flew from Guayaquil to the Galapagos for 2 weeks and booked a last-minute cruise while I was there. It was the highlight of the whole trip! I reached Rio after about 6 months and decided not to go to Salvador, so I reckon you could do the whole route in 6 months rather than 7 quite easily. I tended to only spend two or three days in one place (depending on what I wanted to do there), but I did stop in La Paz for two weeks for a little break from constantly being on the move. My route takes in most of the highlights and quite a few places people don’t stop at so often. I’m afraid I didn’t track my spending very closely. I just played it by ear and was more frugal when I thought my funds weren’t going to last! I would say that roughly $1000 per month should be more than enough. It all depends so much on your travel style though. You can save a lot by staying in the cheapest hostels and snacking on street food, but then splash out on activities. One of my biggest expenses was transport in Argentina and Brazil. Getting to and from Patagonia was not cheap, but again, definitely worth it. My advice would be to research the places you absolutely have to see and plot a rough route around them. Then allow yourself a bit more time than you think it would take you to see those places, because you WILL get sidetracked. I hope you have a great trip!
Heya!
Sounds amazing. I’m planning to take off for a 4 – 5 month trek around SA in September. Can I ask what your budget was for the trip (excluding flights?)
Hope it was amazing!
Amie
My budget was roughly £1000 per month. You can travel fairly cheaply, especially in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. If you don’t intend to do too many activities and if you stay in cheaper accommodation and eat street food or cook for yourself, you can get by on barely anything. It will really depend on your style of travel and whether or not you decide to splash out on things like the Galapagos. If you’re really into trekking, the journey through Patagonia to the W trek is quite pricey, but also totally worth it.
This is so awesome! Thank you so much for posting this!
I am off to a mission trip in Peru for 5 months then going on a 3 months expedition from Peru to Brazil. I am making a V-loop: Peru –> Bolivia –> Argentina –> Brazil. Pretty much the same itinerary in each country as yours. Do you think 3 months would be enough? I will be seeing most of Peru hopefully during my mission trip and would only cut 2 weeks max from my 3 months. So essentially do you think Bolivia, Argentina, and Brazil would be plausible in 2.5 months with similar itinerary as yours?
Yes, I do. I slowed down a lot in Bolivia and Brazil because I’d been moving fast for a couple of months and needed the break. Without that I think you’ll be fine. I usually find it helps to make a list of the places I really want to go to and try to plot them on a calendar to see if I’d have enough time. With night buses you can really fit a lot in. Have a great trip!!
Hey, your trip sounded exactly like what i am planning, and your blog has been very helpful.
i know you did this a while ago now but i would still love a bit of advice.
my current plan is similar to yours only 5-6 months depending on funds.
i am also looking at spending around 800-1000 pounds a month.
I am not to worried about that as a budget for the most part, but i am very interest in doing patagonia and Galapagos which i think could change my budget completely? would you suggest just doing one? and which one? I am also in rio for the carnival which is already changing my budget plans a bit.
and finally is there any activitys and or transport that you recommend i book prior to going or is it cheaper to rock up and barter a bit. (i have already been advised to book the inca trail permits)
thanks for your knowledge. hope your still living the dream in Australia! I am approaching the end of my 2 years in november, and living in Melbourne. flights booked to south america for the 1st of feb! Yeeew
Thanks for leaving a message Tom. I’m glad my blog has helped.
First off, yes, the Galapagos and Patagonia are expensive. Galapagos is the best place I’ve ever been and I would advise you to do everything you can to get there. Book it all from over there. I bought my flights in Quito and you can get either a return or you can fly into or out of Guayaquil if you want to see more of the coast of Ecuador. Puerto Lopez is ugly as anything, but if you go at the right time of year the whale watching is incredible! So, fly to Galapagos and then look around for a cruise. I’d recommend a smaller boat of no more than 12 passengers and no fewer than 8 days. I got mine the night I arrived and it departed the next day. It cost me US$800 (so $100 a day) and was worth every penny.
Patagonia is stunning, but the buses cost a lot. I’d definitely recommend going to Bariloche, El Chalten, El Calafate and Puerto Natales for the W Trek. You don’t need to book anything ahead of time though, so maybe just see how your finances look by then.
One hike you have to do is the Santa Cruz trek in Huaraz, Peru. It’s stunning. It’s way more beautiful than the Inca Trail (or the bits of it I saw!), and almost as pretty as the W Trek (although nothing will live up to the W Trek…). I would actually advise against doing the Inca Trail. It costs a lot and it means you have to be in Cuenca on a certain date. You don’t really want to have to be tied down to that kind of commitment. I did the Jungle Trail instead and it’s cheaper, more fun and you can book it from Cuenca. You zip line, mountain bike, white water raft and hike to some thermal pools. The only think you miss is being at the Sun Gate early in the morning, but you can still walk there when you’re at Macchu Picchu.
Rio Carnival is also very expensive (at least accommodation is), but it’s an experience you can’t miss. That and the Galapagos were my top two experiences. I was lucky to have family in Rio. If you look ahead of time, you might be able to find an apartment to rent. I met one guy who’d rented out a big apartment and then found travellers in the run up to Carnival who were more than happy to pay him to stay there. He made a profit!!
I didn’t book any activities or transport before I left home. It’s a good idea to find out about your options as soon as you arrive in each place and sometimes to get a ticket a day or two in advance, but usually, I just rock up at the bus terminal.
I’m actually not in Australia any more. I’m travelling from Mexico to Costa Rica or Panama. I’m in Honduras at the moment – couldn’t stay away from Latin America!
You’ll have an amazing time, and anything you’re concerned about now you’ll figure out as you go. You’re always surrounded by people who you can ask. If you think of anything else you’d like to know, though, just get in touch! It’s going to be amazing! :)
COSTA RICA 5/5-15 – 14/5-15
San José
Tamarindo
Santa Theresa
Montezuma
Puerto Viejo
PANAMA 14/5-15 – 4/6-15
Bocas Del Toro
Boquete
Panama City
COLOMBIA 4/6-15 – 4/7-15
Medellin
Santa Marta
Tayrona Park
Taganga
Cartagena
Salento
Cali
Ipales
ECUADOR 5/7-15 – 15/8-15
Quito
Cuyabena (Amazonas)
Baños
Montañita
Cuenca
PERU 16/8-15 – 10/10-15
Mancora
Chiclayo
Trujillo
Huaraz
Lima
Huacachina
Nasca
Cusco
Arequipa
Colca Canyon
BOLIVIA 10/10-15 – 22/11-15
Copacabana
La Paz
Cochabamba
Toro Toro
Sucre
Potosi
Uyuni
CHILE 22/11-15 – 7/12-15
San Pedro de Atacama
Valle de la Luna
Santiago
Valparaiso
Viña del Mar
Pucón
ARGENTINA 7/12-15 – 16/1-16
Bariloche
Ushuaia
Mar del plata
Buenos Aires
Puerto Iguazú
ATARKTIS 11/12-15 – 20/12-15
Drake Passage
Barientos Island
Brown Bluff
Paulet Island
Mikelsen Harbour
Graham Passage
Orne Harbour
Cuverville Island
Paradise Island
Neko Harbour
URUGUAY 10/1-16 – 14/1-16
Punta Del Diablo
Montevideo
Colonia del Sacremento
BRASILIEN 24/1-16 – 24/2-16
Foz do Iguazú
Salvador de Bahía
Chapada Diamantina
Paraty
Ilha grande
Rio de Janeiro
Thanks you for the help. You’ve been the biggest help for my year of traveling!
You’re very welcome. If you need any more advice, just let me know! Your itinerary looks great. There’s quite a few places in there I still need to check out! :)
Hello,
What route would you recommend from starting in Buenos Aires? We are flying there in January but not sure where to go from there! :)
Hi Leona! Thanks for your message. Unfortunately, that’s a very difficult question for me to answer without knowing what you’re interested in, what your budget is and how long you have. My advice would be for you to pick up a Rough Guide or Lonely Planet book focusing on the whole of South America. Have a read through the information on each country and note down the places you really want to go to. Do a bit of further research on specific locations by reading blog posts and looking at Google images. Next, think about where they are on a map and what a logical route would be given the time and money you have. If you can’t see them all, it might make sense to cross off a couple of places that would make you do a big detour, or places that would really drain your funds. You could always save one big country, like Brazil, for a future holiday, for example. Generally speaking, Brazil, Argentina and Chile are more expensive than Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. If you want to splash out once, I can’t recommend the Galapagos islands enough! Finally, remember that you don’t have to book things ahead of time (apart from maybe the Inca Trail and accommodation for Rio Carnival). It’s best to have an idea of where you’d like to go, but to be as flexible as possible. You don’t know in advance which places you’ll fall in love for and which ones you’ll be keen to get away from! By all means, book your first couple of nights’ accommodation or bus tickets a day or two in advance, but I’d strongly recommend against locking yourself into an itinerary ahead of time. Have a fantastic trip!
Hi, I know this post is a few years old now, but I thought Ild try anyways.
I’m going to SA as well for 7 months man arriving in late sep or beginning of October and I was planning to do pretty much the route you’ve described but now I’m
Worried about the weather, seeing that I wan to hike the Inka trail, hike in Patagonia, visit he Amazon… how was the weather the different places you were back then?
Will for sure be reading more of you blog for tips :)
Hi! Thanks for your comment. If I were you, I’d do a little research on the climate for each of the places you intend to visit that might require better weather. You might also get information from forum discussions or specific tour providers in each area. If you find that your plans for a particular hike coincide with poor weather, for example, you could alter your route. Perhaps it would work better to do it backwards or to start halfway through and then fly to your original start location. It’s challenging to hit every place at exactly the optimum time, so you need to decide what your priorities are. I would advise that you don’t book too much in advance (if anything). You might find that you meet people along the way who you want to travel with or find a particular country more intriguing than you anticipated, and then you’ll wish you had the flexibility to change your route. This is why I did the Jungle Trail instead of the Inca Trail. It’s cheaper, you can book it from Cusco and it’s more fun in my opinion too! Also, remember – there’s no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing! If you take, buy or rent what you need you’ll probably be fine anywhere at any time, especially if you have the flexibility to change your plans or wait a few days if bad weather or any other issues arise. When you’re doing a trip like this it can be quite daunting, but I think you’re doing the right thing by being as prepared as you can be. However, remember you can always do more research when you’re there and you’ll pick up loads of tips and suggestions on the road as well. If you have any more questions, just let me know! You’re going to have the time of your life! :)
Hello!
I am looking to backpack in SA; however, I will only have 3 weeks. I loved reading your backpacking trail. How long did that take you? How much could you cover in 3 weeks? Also, what was the most common mode of transportation from city to city?
Thank you!
Hi Erin. I was there for 7 months. I think you’d be best of choosing one country (or maybe two bordering ones). It’s always better to see a place properly (and more slowly) than to feel like you’re rushing every day. I’d base the decision of where to go on the main activities that appeal (i.e., whether you’re looking for hiking, wildlife, festivals, high-adrenaline activities, or if something in particular, like an amazing glacier or waterfall or archaeological site stands out as a must) and then work around that. You can’t go far wrong. It’s an amazing continent. Bear in mind that Chile, Argentina and Brazil are more expensive than the more northern countries. Peru and Bolivia are perhaps easier to get around than Colombia because they are more travelled, so there will be more tourists and more locals who speak English. It really depends what you’re looking for. I travelled by local bus pretty much everywhere. They’re cheap and comfortable. Most were night buses, so I’d save on accommodation costs and time!
I would really love to go to Columbia! Did you feel that it was safe? I would be traveling with a female friend. We’re both 25. I’ve heard it is way more touristy than it used to be!
I was by myself at the age of 29 back in 2012 for one month in Colombia (seven in South America). There were parts of big cities that made me feel a bit uneasy, but it was mainly a wonderful country. The really lovely, helpful people far outnumber the criminals! Of course, it’s a good idea to keep your wits about you. Lock valuables away in hostel safes and hide them on your person when moving between places. Always wear your small bag when on public transport (and definitely don’t leave it in the overhead storage). Wear your bag on your knee when you go out for food too. Try to avoid wandering the streets after dark. Certain areas are much more touristy than others, but this can attract pickpockets. Try not to stand out as a tourist (i.e., avoid reading a map and looking lost in very public places and don’t wear expensive jewellery). These are only precautions. I don’t mean to scare you. It’s just better to be cautious! It’s a fascinating and beautiful country with loads to offer and I’m sure you’ll have an amazing time.