Hi Folks,
Hi Matt,
I spent two months travelling around Peru and Bolivia, doing a mixture of volunteer work and cultual sightseeing, so hopefully I can give you some useful feedback on your itinerary!
With regards to the places you're looking to cover in Peru - you've definitely done your research! You mention the coastal areas of Ica and Nazca, but one place I would definitely include is Huacachina. This is a desert oasis town where you can put your feet up for a couple of days but also do some sand-boarding, which is amazing!
Two weeks is definitely long enough to do the first leg of the trip (Lima - Arequipa). For Cusco, Macchu Picchu and Lake Titicaca, you can do this easily do this in 7-10 days. Cusco is a great city, so I would spend some time here acclimatising and exploring. Puno isn't a very nice town, so you don't need to spend more than 2-3 nights here to do a boat trip onto the lake. You may also be interested in doing an overnight stay on one of the islands.
Bolivia is an amazing country! I've never seen such stunning landscapes as the salt flats and lagoons here! Again, a month is a long time to travel around Bolvia, as it's a small country. I spent a month in the lovely city of Sucre, which I don't think you've included, so I would recommend popping there for a few days. I also went down the silver mines in Potosi - what an experience! It's not a walk in the park, so take a deep breathe before you head down the mines! -snip-
Have you considered doing a stay in the Amazon jungle? You can do this in either Peru or Bolivia, and it's such an adventure! This is something you can easily arrange locally in either country.
Please see the following link for ideas and inspiration on what trips to do in Peru: -snip-
I hope you have a fantastic time on the trip!!
Suzanne
Hi Suzanne,
Thanks for the comprehensive reply and the links - I will add in Sucre and Huacachina to the itinerary as sandboarding sounds like something that needs to be experienced! This silver mine also sounds quite interesting, so I guess I will check that out too when in Potosi.
I haven't considered the Amazon yet but I've been trekking in the jungle before in the north of Thailand and that was an awesome experience so I would probably do it again.
It's been 5 years since my last big trip so really looking forward to this one!
Thanks again for the advice!
Hi Matt!
You're a lot more organized than I am! I'm embarking on my first round the world trip on Jan 20th and also spending about 4 months in South America before heading to Oz and NZ, and then South East Asia. I'll be landing in Buenos Aires and leaving from Santiago at the end of May, and am also in the process of figuring out an itinerary.. sorry to be barging in on your thread like that seeing as how I can't really help you out, but do you mind if I ask you a budget question?
I've never done anything like this before and it looks like I'll have approximately $800 per month in South America, does that sound sufficient to you?
Will you be going to Ecuador and Colombia before heading to Peru?
I've also heard Bolivia -Sucre- is not to be missed but check the weather forecasts if you're planning on busing it, I heard it can get very tricky.
Cheers and all the best!
Maya.
Hi there Maya,
As such I am quite lucky as I don't have any budget restrictions so unfortunately I can't really advise you on whether $800/month is sufficient - maybe there are others on here that can help you out on that front.
What I can say is that Argentina and Brazil are the most expensive places to visit as they are the most developed. Bolivia is the cheapest country most probably followed by Peru and then Chile I guess. So you might want to take this into account when planning and maybe spend more time in the cheaper places.
I've not planned to go to Ecuador or Colombia on this trip. I have been to Colombia before and spent 2 months there - my time split between Cali (Valle de Cauca) and the lovelly seaside town of Cartegena in the north. I can highly recommend Colombia, there is some stunning scenery and the people are some of the friendliest/happy people I have ever met. The country gets a bad rep from the drug trafficking etc but it really is a hidden gem. I never had any problems there - although I was staying with a local. Like most places you just need to avoid making yourself a target by flashing jewellery, expensive watches etc. this is just common sense anyway when travelling to places where people are much poorer than you.
Anyways - good luck with you planning and happy travels
Matt.
[ 17-Nov-2011, at 02:55 by matt_25 ]
Has anyone got anymore ideas/comments on my original post? As it's getting close to the time I need to book my ticket!
and still not 100% on the route that I am looking at...
How long would it take to bus it down from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia and then bus it back up Chile to Santiago? Anyone got any ideas?
Cheers
Matt.
No advice as I'm heading to Latin America myself, but I will be stealing your itinery
Let me know if you need any advice on SE Asia as I done that route a few years ago...
oh my friend has done the BA - Ushuaia bus journey and I think it's something like 35hrs to one town, then another 12hrs onto Ushuaia.
[ 23-Nov-2011, at 07:16 by Beckiboo ]
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