Help me plan my 50th birthday trip to South America

Just a thought or two ...
Next summer where you are, will probably be next winter in Buenos Aires .. keep that in mind.. Southern Hemisphere etc.

Iguazu Falls in Argentina/Brazil is a wow moment for the whole family and I believe Machu Pichu is too... I am not so sure about Buenos Aires the city being one.

Not sure if you are going for just a great trip with sightseeing or a trip that is all just mind-boggling..

If you were to come to Argentina, you could see the Falls, see BA, stay on an estancia and experience gauchos, horses on the pampas sort of things.. you could rent an apt so everyone would be comfy and it is definitely more affordable than the hotels with kids along .

Then you can also combine Argentina with Another country .. or 2 .. a week in each.
What fun to decide ,

You could easily spend the 3 weeks in Perú as there is a lot more to see besides Machu Picchu. The northern hemisphere winter is the best time to visit the higher elevations. Southern hemisphere summer is not the best time as it is rainy season and MP closes in February to give it a rest.
Easter Island is another great choice, but a)if you are from the US you are going to pay a US$131 reciprocity fee each if you fly into Santiago. Ouch x 4. b)if you are talking about July, there is to be a total solar eclipse and flights and lodging are pretty much booked up already.
Have you considered the Galapagos islands off Ecuador? I can't think of a better place to take kids. Combined with a couple of days in Quito, a colonial city, it would make a great and memorable trip.

Do a multi-country include Peru Galapagos Iguazu

www.kuodatours.com

www.latinamericaforless.com

good providers based on budget.

Have fun,

Depending on how you feel about watching birds, I thought watching the condors in Cruz del Condors was totally amazing and memorable. I wish I could see it at least twice since the first time was sort of overwhelming. When I was there last week, there was about 8-10 condors swooping back and forth in the valley and sky. It was really hard knowing where to concentrate my focus on.

Itsv,

congrats on the forthcoming 50th and what a great way to celebrate with a family holiday to South America. I'm also planning a South American trip next year and this is what I would suggest from my own planning:

Iguazu Falls

A trip to the Pantanal if you are into wildlife - the Northern Pantanal offers a range of accommodation and its possible to book a tour with a guide e.g. http://www.pantanalnature.com.br/ or hire a car in Cuiaba or maybe Pocone and drive yourself. Here is one list of lodge accommodations along the Transpantaneira, http://www.pantanal-pocone.net/en/pantanal/lodges/pousada_piuval.php

Rio - if you like cities

I'd second the Galapagos and if you don't want to do a cruise a number of the inner islands are accessible from Santa Cruz. Here are a couple of interesting links - Semilla Verde Guest House http://www.gps.ec/ and http://www.redmangrove.com

Amazon - the Ecuadorian Amazon is more readily accessible from Quito than the Brazilian Amazon is from Manaus. I was very taken with Uakari Lodge, http://www.tropicalnaturetravel.com/travel/brazil/uakarilodge.shtml but eventually decided against it due to accessibility because getting there involved 4 flights for a 3 or 4 night stay with overnights in Manaus.

There are a number of lodges available in the Ecuadorian Amazon with Sacha Lodge being a 5 star option and the (possibly) community run Yachana Lodge providing a less expensive option. Manu Biosphere is accessed from Cusco and also provides an exceptional Amazon opportunity, there are some good ideas here, http://www.tropicalnaturetravel.com/travel/peru/about_peru.shtml


Totally agree with Macchu Picchu to which I would add a couple of days in the Sacred Valley.

Other Peru highlights which I am considering are Arequipa, Colca Canyon and the Nazca Lines.

Happy Planning ,



Pol

I'd take the kids to Rio, stay in very safe Ipanema Beach, and take in the famous sites of Sugarloaf and Christ Redeemer. see this website for a good overview

www.rio-de-janeiro-travel-information.com

Thank you all for your suggestions. Many things mention look exactly for what I am looking for. One question, do you think Easter Island is worth the trip? I read an article cited here on this board by a NY times author that it was a place you had to see. I am sort of toying with the idea but don't want to land with the kids and have them ask why I brought them there. thanks for the help, itsv

itsv,

I am staying for 2 nights on Easter Island on my way home to Australia next year. For myself, I wouldn't make a special trip when there is so much else to do in South America, but as I can buy a ticket back to Sydney via Easter Island and Tahiti its a good opportunity.

There are a couple of trip reports on the Forum if you do a search that might help you with this decision.


Cheers,


Pol

Anyone have a preference for cruise line in SA--probably Rio-Sandiago 14-20 days? Thanks

One suggestion would be to visit the Amazon basin by traveling to Puerto Maldonado which is a short 30 minute or so flight from Cuzco. From there you can visit a number of jungle lodges and depending upon the time you can spend you can visit some "old growth forests" and you should be able to see lots of caiman and some amazing birds.

Have a great trip

I am an American living in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I would have to recommend against going to Rio. Our trip there was not enjoyable aside from going to the beach. The city is very polarized rich and poor, but the rich and poor live close to each other making crime frequent. I am not someone who feels unsafe in general and I am experienced living in big cities. I did not feel safe in Rio. Also, I was not impressed with the accomodations or food. If you want to go to a beach, there are many other lovely places to do this in SA.

It would be a shame to miss Rio, I think it's one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I come from a country of beautiful beaches so I'd never really travel to go to the beach, but the cultural life of Rio is very rich. From small artist-run galleries like A Gentil Carioca

http://www.agentilcarioca.com.br/

to the architectural spendour of Oscar Niemeyer's Museum of Contemporary Art in Niteroi:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niterói_Contemporary_Art_Museum

As well as the museums, there's an amazing Botanical Garden, Burle Marx's house and the usual tourist sites such as Sugar Loaf and Christ the Redeemer. The music scene is also very rich.

Wow factor for a milestone 50th, potential last family outing, and maintaining the interest and enthusiasm of teens makes me agree with the Machu Pichu, Galapaogs, Iguazu itinerary. But I skew towards nature.

Happy 50th!

Don't go to the Galapaogs, go to the Galapagos!

Argentina not bad You casnm stay in Buenos Aires couple days then go by plane to Bariloche Andean Lake, Puerto Madryn to see Pinguins, Whales and mch more or maybe Cusco Machupicchu and make the Inca trail to Machupicchu 4 days 3 nights I made bouth countries then to Galapagos if need some advice drop me on line. engreidos2@hotmail.com

Thank you all for your suggestions. DS has most of his college apps so I can stop nagging him and turn my attention to this trip. I appreciate all the tips and will start doing the research.

Okay, I am stuck in planning my trip. We plan on buying a LAN Visit South America Pass since that seems the most economical for getting between places in South America. This allows me to be flexible. We will start in Buenos Aires and then go to the Iguazu Falls. After the falls we want to go to Easter Island but want to go someplace between the Falls and us flying into Santiago, Chile. Anyone have any suggestions. We will be there in June and can't change the time of year due to school. Suggestions as to what to see in Santiago.

After Easter Island, we plan on going to Peru to visit the sites there. For the Amazon, what would be the best place to go since I have teenagers. We have close to a month. Of course I will be broke after the trip but I just told the kids that their inheritance would be smaller but their life experiences richer.

Thank you for your help, I have other questions and will post them.

itsv,

is there any advantage in booking your international flight through to Iguazu via BA to save a few $$.

Cheers,


Pol

Pol, I tried it and it is cheaper with the pass. The pass really does save a lot of money and gives us flexibility with lots of options. We can get between 5-6 segements (including rt to easter island) for around $1000. Considering that RT to Easter Island is $650 along, the pass makes a lot of sense.

You have a month? I would go to:
BA, Iguassu, Rio, Pantanal, Easter Island, Machu Picchu, Nazca Lines, Galapagos. Too cold for anywhere in Patagonia (it's winter in June) and Santiago doesn't sound that interesting to me (personal opinion only). The Pantanal looks much more interesting (again, personal opinion) than the Amazon. The animals are easier to see and you can horseback ride, canoe, fish....

Christabir,

Thank you for your suggestions. I do realize that the time of year is too cold for Patagonia but with school there is no option. What do you like the Pantanal rather than the Amazon. If we did Puerto Maldonado it is easier to get to than Pantanal but I am interested in Pantanal. Is there a place you like to stay at Pantanal? do you have any guide recommendations for Pantanal?

itsv-
I haven't been to the pantanal yet, but it's on my short list. I looked into it a lot last year, and the trip reports from atravellyn and others are great. Look for them by searching pantanal in fodors or searching trip reports and past posts. If I can scrape together the pennies, the Pantanal and Iguassu are next (unless the great deals to zimbabwe sway me to southern Africa again!!) John at brazilnaturetours.com helped me a lot with a trip to Brazil including the Pantanal that we planned but couldn't go in 2008. It's not easy to get there, but it sure looks worth the effort.

Look into a oneworld pass. Depending on where you go, it also might be worth it.

Christabir, Thank you for responding. We are going to use the oneworldpass through LAN Visit South America Pass. The price difference between individual tickets and the pass is astonishing. We can get 6 tickets including easter island for around $100 which is a deal considering easter island alone is $654.

I looked into Pantanal especially the Fazenda Barranco Alto which was highly rated by other reviews and looks wonderful, but I just can't make it work for our trip unless I want to spend about $5000 extra. The time and cost to get there is the problem and we can't fly unless we lose a kid (i'd pick the 18 yr. at this stage) so it looks like it will have to be Puerto Maldonado-there are some fabulous places and I will have to put the "pink dolphins" and Pantanal on my bucket list. We are making it to the Falls. I'll post my trip plans soon. Good luck to you and your trip, i hope you get there soon. itsv.