Hi all
I will be in Chile and I want to get to Cuzco in Peru without it costing the earth. Can anyone tell me if it is feasable to rent a car from somewhere in the top end of Chile and drive to Cuzco? Would this be out of the question? I could get a reasonable " Lan Chile domestic flight pass" and do the rest by road and that would not cost the earth OR is there some other way of getting to Cusco fairly cheaply?
Thanks in advance

You will struggle to rent. Taking cars over borders in South America is difficult. You will really struggle to find a Chilean hire car company that will rent you a car to take out of the country (except to Argentina which Hertz and Alamo allow).

If you want to avoid planes to keep costs down there is a railway from Iquique in Chile to Bolivia (I think it goes to La Paz but you need to check). It only goes once a week or so. Then when you are in La Paz you can take a bus to Lake Titicaca and catch the train to Cuzco.

Alternatively get to Arica (CHile) and cross the border to Tacna and buy a plane ticket to Cuzco. You will fly via Arequippa but the tickets are not very expensive if you buy them inside Peru on a route such as this which is not too popular - the flight this was is much cheaper then Lima - Cuzco.

Alternatively you could buy a car in Chile and drive to Cuzco.

Thank you so much Punani for your help. Is there a bus that goes to La Paz from inside Chile and do you know if going from La Paz to Cuzco my train is more frequent than once per week. My wish is to see as much of the Inca people as possible and I have been asked to try and obtain/purchase a lot of Inca or Peruvian type artifacts for a client who is hoping to develop some trade in those items. So any and all information would be more than appreciated.

I think the train from near lake Titicaca (Puno I think the station is called) is more frequent than once a week (maybe 3 times a week) but it is slow. You have to catch a bus from la paz to Puno to get the train.

If you are in a rush you should fly.

There might be a bus but from Arica or Iquique to La Paz but it is a steep climb from there up to La Paz and I think a bus could be unreliable. I think the train may be a bit unreliable too. Again I would consider flying as flights here are cheap. LanChile operates at least one shuttle flight every day from La Paz to Santiago that stops at Arica, Iquique, and Antofagasta en route. To jump on from one leg (ie, Arica to La Paz is not expensive - probably around US$50).

Flights are cheap if you buy them in SA.

If you really want to travel by road and are a confident traveller (ideally travelling with one or more persons including at least one male) and one of you can speak some Spanish you could take drivers (ie, taxis).

I often take taxis on very long journeys in South America and Asia. In many ways this is not any different to hitching and there are dangers involved but it isd a lot better than taking a bus. Just change taxis at borders!

Thank you again - I will buy my flight tickets in S.A as that seems to be the best thing to do.

It's cheaper to purchase your airline tickets in South America than if you were to purchase your tickets in the States. The airflight alone will save you a lot of time that you can spend time touring the city of Cuzco. There is plenty of historical sights to see.