South America for 7 weeks - how much do I need to pre-book ?
Nov 21st, 2009, 06:36 AM
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South America for 7 weeks - how much do I need to pre-book ?
My boyfriend and I are spending about 7 weeks in South America from mid Jan 2010 - flying into Rio and leaving from Santiago. I am currently working through a possible itineary but still have work to do. So far it's Rio to Iguazu to Patagonia to Lake District/Bariloche for about the first 3 to 4 weeks - my research will continue to look at areas in Chile, Peru and maybe the Galapagos Islands. I have been reading through a lot of the forums and have good recommendations for accommodation and tours etc.
My main query is : Do you think I need to have a very set itineary with accommodation pre-booked or can we avoid this and allow some flexibility by booking flights and accommodation as we move along ? I am happy to pre-arrange Rio, Iguazu and Buenos Aires - but ideally would not like it all planned completely . Obviously I do want to risk missing out on internal flights etc.
To help your thinking on this, the level of accommodation we are looking at over the trip can vary between hostel, B&B and mid-range hotels - this is part of an overall 4 month trip and we are moving on to NZ and OZ from Santiago before returning home to Europe.
Look forward to your thoughts !!
My main query is : Do you think I need to have a very set itineary with accommodation pre-booked or can we avoid this and allow some flexibility by booking flights and accommodation as we move along ? I am happy to pre-arrange Rio, Iguazu and Buenos Aires - but ideally would not like it all planned completely . Obviously I do want to risk missing out on internal flights etc.
To help your thinking on this, the level of accommodation we are looking at over the trip can vary between hostel, B&B and mid-range hotels - this is part of an overall 4 month trip and we are moving on to NZ and OZ from Santiago before returning home to Europe.
Look forward to your thoughts !!
Nov 21st, 2009, 07:07 AM
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It depends (don't you hate that reply!). January and February are high season in Chile and Argentina. Anywhere on the coast around Viña and Valparaíso gets totally booked. You have the usual tourists (lots of Argentines in Jan) plus the cruise ship passengers plus various festivals in summer. But if you hit the same area in March, you don't need to pre-book. You will find something. The lake district is the same. Early March is usually an excellent time to visit. San Pedro de Atacama does not really have a low season any more, but outside of the two peak months you can usually book something a few days before. However, as this usually involves a flight to Calama, you might want to book this as far ahead as possible if going there.
In general, the mid-range gets booked before the cheaper options in high season. But even in high season, the local tourist office should have a list of places to stay. Sometimes these are rooms in private homes. We have had some very good experiences with those and been able to find a room with its own bathroom at the last minute.
Flights are cheaper bought in country than from outside and, if you can remain flexible, you can get some good deals.
Hope that helps a bit.
In general, the mid-range gets booked before the cheaper options in high season. But even in high season, the local tourist office should have a list of places to stay. Sometimes these are rooms in private homes. We have had some very good experiences with those and been able to find a room with its own bathroom at the last minute.
Flights are cheaper bought in country than from outside and, if you can remain flexible, you can get some good deals.
Hope that helps a bit.
Nov 21st, 2009, 08:00 AM
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During our 5 months in SA last year, admittedly at a diferent time of year (Aug-Dec) we really did not find the need to book in far in advance for accomodation or bus travel (we only took one flight from Lima to Cusco). We arrived in Lima and departed from BA back to London travelling through Peru, Chile and Argentina. This was part of a year long trip using a RTW ticket with teh various legs pre booked but altered as necessary.
We found it essential to have a basic outline plan which we could then alter as we travelled and this worked well for us but we did have teh luxury of time.
We found airfares, particularly within Argentina to be horrendously expensiveand I understand that these are best booked outside the country in advance. Buses were genearlly easy to book somedays on the day of travel but usualy a few days in advnce. We got into the habit of checking availability for our next leg on arrival at the bus station and then making a decision.
We stayed mostly in B&Bs and hostels (private rooms) and used www.hostelworld.com and www.hostelbookers.com. The reviews on these sites and the ratings we found to be pretty accurate and the booking sytem was efficient. We found just keeping an eye on these sites gave a pretty good indication of the need, or not, to book in advance. As huentetu, rightly points out public holidays and high seasons can make a big difference. We turn up in Bariloche on spring break and ended up staying in what I am convinced was really an old peoples rest home!
Other good resources are www.andeantravelweb.com and www.saexplorers.org both are non profit and reliable.
We also found some really excellent places along the way just be turning up and asking around and, particularly form travellers in hostels.
Details of some of the places we stayed can be found in our blog:
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...ai/1/tpod.html
We found it essential to have a basic outline plan which we could then alter as we travelled and this worked well for us but we did have teh luxury of time.
We found airfares, particularly within Argentina to be horrendously expensiveand I understand that these are best booked outside the country in advance. Buses were genearlly easy to book somedays on the day of travel but usualy a few days in advnce. We got into the habit of checking availability for our next leg on arrival at the bus station and then making a decision.
We stayed mostly in B&Bs and hostels (private rooms) and used www.hostelworld.com and www.hostelbookers.com. The reviews on these sites and the ratings we found to be pretty accurate and the booking sytem was efficient. We found just keeping an eye on these sites gave a pretty good indication of the need, or not, to book in advance. As huentetu, rightly points out public holidays and high seasons can make a big difference. We turn up in Bariloche on spring break and ended up staying in what I am convinced was really an old peoples rest home!
Other good resources are www.andeantravelweb.com and www.saexplorers.org both are non profit and reliable.
We also found some really excellent places along the way just be turning up and asking around and, particularly form travellers in hostels.
Details of some of the places we stayed can be found in our blog:
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...ai/1/tpod.html
Nov 22nd, 2009, 05:52 AM
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In high season usually book internal flights
and hotels in tourist peak areas particularly if you
are picky about lodging...
www.expedia.com www.sidestep.com
good hotel values for me in tourist areas
www.despegar.com for flights...
and hotels in tourist peak areas particularly if you
are picky about lodging...
www.expedia.com www.sidestep.com
good hotel values for me in tourist areas
www.despegar.com for flights...
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