South America

Hello Guys,

First time poster here

Still in the process of confirming our route for travelling in November.

Anyway, we are unsure on wether to travel South America and would like some advice and guidance please.

What is it like for value for money?

What countries and places to see are recommended?

Any information/past experiences would be much appreciated.

Hey Carl! whats up?? if you come to South America you have to take into account that distances are always long from one place to another.. dont know how much time you have for the trip, but i reccommend you visit Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Brasil, Uruguay and Argentina at least... youll find paradise beaches at Venezuela, Brasil and Uruguay, Great main cities at Brazil and Argentina and rustic landscapes and civilizations at Peru and Bolivia, all worth a pass by, im living in Argentina now, and its a great country, you can find any landscape and weather, big waterfalls, giant mountains, sierras and deserts, woods and jungle, also natural marvels like glaciers and cordillera de los andes... i wouldn miss all that!

hope u find this useful! good luck!

DA_JP

Many of the places worth visiting in South America are in Peru. From Cusco, as well as Machu Picchu you can get to a number of other places via the many local travel agents. The Nazca lines are a fair distance away. Many just pass through Lima which is a pity as it has a number of places of interest there:
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http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/lima-per-li-lima.htm
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Lima Tourist Attractions

I read of armed gangs holding people up in Caracas just before going but though I saw a few thefts, I had no trouble there. I thought of visiting the Izuagu falls from there but it was too expensive but I got a good deal on a short break on Marguerita island.

I didn't find that much in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, at least not what I was looking for. Lots and lots of nice countryside if you enjoy hiking.

Petty theft is endemic in Central and South America so be very careful. Distances are great and flights are normally cheaper if booked outside SA. That will be your greatest expense. Lots of accommodation about (not that cheap).

There could be a bit of rain about in November. I'd take a small telescopic umbrella, just in case.

I agree about Peru! At the moment I am in Cusco which is not only in an amazing location on the hills and the heart of the old Inca Empire (amazing archrticture) but also central to some of the top locations in South America , Machu Picchu of course, the Sacred Valley , Manu(the rainforest) and heaps more. It is easy to get to Bolivia from here and see the Salt flats (which I will be doing next). One thing I strongly advise though is learning some Spanish while you are here it helps make travels alot easier and you get to know more about the people. Also if you have time to do some voluntreering work. These are the sort of experiences that really connect you with the people and culture and are times you never forget! I am studing Spanish at the moment and am about to start my volunteer project. You can do as little or as much as you like. Be careful though as some organisations you have to pay large fees. At my school they organise the placement matching your experiences with the project and the placement is Free except for a small fee that goes to the project for materials like books etc, which I´m happy to contribute as it goes along way here. I have travelled alot and I have already met people and had experiences I could never have had by just travelling the usual routes!

I will visit Bolivia next so if any obe else has any advice on more volunteer projects let me know!

[ Edit: Sorry, no promos please. ]

hi!, South America is a wonderful place, really interesting to visit and explorer, I can recommended about Peru we have many beautiful places as Arequipa where we can found the Colca canyon and the Misti vulcano, Cusco where is located Machu Picch citadel and many others ruins to visit as Sacsayhuaman, Quenqo, Choquequirao, and the impressive inca trail, other place very interesting is Puno where we can see the beautiful titicaca lake, and the Uros´s island, a comunity of natives who lives in a island in the titicaca lake, other place is the jungle of Peru, places like Iquitos, Tambopata reserve, Manu reserve, natural, ecologic and magical places, there are a lot of plants, animals and natives tribes, Huaraz is another option to people who likes snow, climb and mountains, and for sure the Nazca lines and the Paracas reserve in Ica. We have in Peru many paradises and beautuful places to take a long vacations, so if just have a short time, you can choose some of them or mange your time.

Thats all i can tell, good luck and have a nice trip.

Good bye

Cecilia