btaggfan

Hola!

Will be headed to Lima mid-August (not doing the MP tour).

Planning a 3/4 day trip to Buenos Aires or Santiago, Chile or Cusco?

I love culture, nature and non-touristy stuff.

Do you have any recommendations? Which is the cheapest and best option as I'm a poor college student.

I've travelled in Mexico (Puebla, Tlaxcala, Cuernevaca) and really excited to be heading to South America!

Muchas gracias por todos

saltshaker

Well, you're talking about vastly different distances, costs, and types of places. Buenos Aires is a very cosmopolitan city, if you're flying it's a several hour flight, and if you're reserving this close to the date, you'll probably pay a few hundred dollars to fly there. Santiago - good sized city, less to do in terms of cultural/historical stuff, slightly cheaper and shorter distance to get to. Cusco is a very short flight from Lima, or a day long bus ride, quite cheap to do - it's a small city, the base for seeing the most well known of the Incan archaeological sites, lots of inexpensive places to stay. If you're on a budget, and you're interested in that kind of stuff, it's probably your best bet.

helenoftroy

I would definitely choose Cusco or Arequipa since you'll be in Lima. Both Santiago and Buenos Aires are big and crowded cities (so is Lima).

Since you are student Peru it's a good option for you considering change rate (US$/Nuevo sol), it's a very inexpensive country.

I would fly to Cusco (check www.lan.com) because by bus it's a long way (thinking you'll be in Lima).

Bienvenido a Sudamérica!

btaggfan

Muchas gracias por tus consejos

Will be looking into flying to Cusco and exploring more of Peru!

Muy emocionado para mi viaje!

Was thinking of reserving the Hostel San Francisco. Do you have any good recommendations of hostels near Lima Centro?

Muchas gracias!!

flintstones

btaggfan: Forget Chile if you are a poot student, and come to Argentina throughout Bolivia, croos Titicaca lake into Copacabana, from there a bus to LA PAZ, from LA PAZ a bus to ORURO and from ORURO a train to Villazon, the border with Argentina, cross the border ad take a bus AT the BUS STATION. DO not pay attention is those who want to sell a ticket in the way...
Here the scedules of the train fro Oruro, you have bus conections between the places I mentioned almost all the time, but travel by train the longest timeTRAIN ORURO-VILLAZÓN /VILLAZÓN-ORURO

Expreso del Sur Expreso del Sur
Oruro-Villazón Departure Arrival
Monday/Friday Monday/Friday
Oruro-Uyuni 15.30 21.56
Uyuni-Atocha 22.16 0.15
Atocha-Tupiza 0:25 3.15
Tupiza-Villazón 3:25 6:20

Oruro-Villazón WaraWara WaraWara
del Sur del Sur
Departure Arrival
Sunday/Wednesday Sunday/Wednesday
Oruro-Uyuni 19.00 2:00
Uyuni-Atocha 2.35 4:30
Atocha-Tupiza 4:50 8:00
Tupiza-Villazón 8:35 11:35
Hope to be helpful...
In LA PAz I sugest Hotel MAjestic, close to the Witch Market, very cheap and nice... I stay there and maybe staying the same time, I will be with a group of people. The hotel is nice and the staff is very helpful.
Warm regards, and good luck!
Angie/ Flintstones

hills27

If you are thinking of going to Cusco, why wouldn't you go to MP during the same trip? It's so close.

kaneda

Definitely Cusco. Macchu Pichu is great and there are lots of good tours from Cusco (lots of travel agents in town) as well as the town itself.

LizzyF

Hola amigo,
Search for a B&B called los Aticos in Cusco if you get there as it is very reasonable, clean and has a half kitchen you can use etc. Also the owner has a Travel Agency next door and knows all the best ways to get here there and everywhere. I stayed in an excellant private hotel in Lima, not in Miraflores as that is too expensive but in another good suburb _ I think the name of the place was Peru Star but it is hard to find with search engines - worth it if you can though.
The cost of going to Argentina would be quite high as I did the reverse last February and was surprised at the increase in prices since my previous visit two years previously. If you go to Buenos Aires stay at Tango Hogar B&B, hosts Oscar and Norma - do a search on this B&B. It is in San Telmo where you are very central to the markets, interesting antique shops and just about everything else including the Melonga (sp???) places. If you go to Chile then go down as far as the lakes district - very beautiful and travel on Chile's great bus routes. However I would go to Cusco and MP or go to Arequipa and down the Colcha canyon and then on to Juliaca en route to Puno thense to La Paz. You could also do what I have done and gone Lima -Cusco- bus to Puno and stop there to go to the reed islands on Lake Titicaca then on to La Paz. La Paz is a particularly interesting city and the moon landscape outside the city is really worth a visit. From La Paz you can go into Argentina via the route suggested by a poster above. This is an interesting route and well worth it. Bariloche and El Calafate in Argentina are two of the most interesting/beautiful places on earth - Bariloche because of the lakes and Andes and El Calafate because you are close to the Moreno Glacier which is magnificent to say the least.

flintstones

I agree with lizzyF you should go to MAchu Pichu, and come to Argentina the way I suggested... You will wnjoy it a lot. I will be at MAjestic Hotel on August 16 and will have some maps of the NW to suggest you what to do in this area.
MAybe we meet there. WArm regards,
Flintstones