Backpackin SA
 

I will be traveling throughout South America in a few weeks beginning Lima, Peru for 5 months. I am a 24 year old male from Los Angeles, CA. I have no route of where to begin; I know that I do want to end in Brazil for Carnival. I don’t have any real plans, I am looking for ANY advice for this journey. I will be traveling by myself, I would greatly appreciate any tips, from must see places, recommended hostels, safety tips, or gear to take. Thanks!

You have a beginning and an end what more plans do you need?? Seriously though one of the great advantages of having that much time is the ability to make it up as you go along. That said it does help to have an outline plan so as to cover those places you really must see and avoid back-tracking to see places you missed.

A few websites which will assist are:

http://www.saexplorers.org/club/home definitely worth the $40 to join as this will get you access to their clubhouses all around SA (they have a great one in Lima). Plus you get to meet other travellers and get genuine discounts at hostels, restaurants etc.

http://www.andeantravelweb.com/ is great for Peru

www.hihostels.com www.hostelbookers.com & www.hostelworld.com are all good for booking accommodation - again worth joining hostelling internation for the discounts.

We spent 5 months in SA in 2008 as part of a longer trip details of where we went are on our blog @ http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blo...ai/1/tpod.html

We loved Peru and Argentina but they are vast countries with so much to see. Bus travel is comparatively cheap and a very efficient way of covering even large distances (an overnight bus trip will save on accommodation costs.

The oft quoted advice when packing for such a trip is to lay out all the stuff you want to take. Throw half away but take twice the money you think you will need - So true!

Travel as light as you can as the novelty of carrying a heavy backpack very soon wears off.
A good pair of boots and trekking sandals are essential as are a money belt or "hidden wallet".
You do need to consider clothes for all seasons as it is not only the seasons but also the altitude that will be a major consideration.

Highlights of our trip were many and varied but a few include;
the Salta region of NW Argentina, Peninsula Valdez, Iguazu Falls, the Argentine/Chilean Lake district. The Fodors South America Guide book is a good place to start planning as is teh destination section of this website, Lonely Planet's thorn tree is a lively forum that has a lot of info from backpackers travelling the region.

Other thoughts include;

Take debit cards to access cash from ATMs whilst travelling. Take two cards from different accounts. Notify your bank of where and when you will be travelling so they do not block your card. Take some cash in USD as a reserve

Scan your travel docs - tickets, passports, bank/airline contact numbers etc. and email them to yourself.

Set up a Skype or similar account for contacting home (or take an unlocked 3G cellphone and buy sim cards in each country you visit.

Visit a travel clinic or your own doctor for specific advice on what vaccinations you will require and, depending upon where you are visiting, which type of malaria meds you may need.

Check the visa requirements of each country you are visiting. If you are a US citizen be aware that some countries charge high fees to enter.
Above all, have a fantastic time! It is an amzing part of the world to be travelling.

First congrats on your trip did a 5K roadtrip down there

last fall... buy/download this it is your bible.

http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-...Shoestring/dp/

Cheapest usually to fly spirit.com LAX to visitcartegena.net

Then hop Grupo Ormeno bus all the way down to BsAs in

Argentina on the "Andean" route then make your way back up

from Rio after Carnival via Manaus Ciudad Bolivar Caracas

The way I have done it in the past...

www.saexplorers.org Discounts Best info careful many scammers

NEVER wire monay www.hostelbookers.com top hostels

www.guanguiltagua.com add a Galapagos visit/cheap cruise

a DO NOT MISS for me also incalandadventures.com Flavio

for Inka Trail to MP from $300 simply AWESOME.

You are headed for a life changing experience..

travel.state.gov crime safety columbusdirect.com for cheap ins

mdtravelhealth.com health watch food water...respect altitude

allow plenty of time to adjust....

Have fun,

Personally I only travel with Visa CC 0 liability

capitalone.com Venture no foreign fee VISA works great

Personally have had my identity stolen there $150k

put on one of my credit cards Chase had to eat it all

If a debit card I would have been liable.

lots of skimmers/scammers/kidnappers look for

backpackerers & debit cards in SA and bleed them dry and worse

so be smart and keep your wits about you do not share cabs

befriend stangers on bus particularly nice little old ladies

www.travelblog.org/Topics/1363-1.html

A cautionary tale...

Peter and Katharina were kidnapped by a gang of organized criminals who pretended to be policemen. In all likelihood they fell victim to a common ploy: a taxi waits for tourists descending from the public bus, when they embark, a fake tourists joins them. After a short drive, the taxi is stopped by a fake policemen pretending to look for illegal drugs. The fake tourist carries drugs on him and all are escorted to a fake police station where the tourists are forced to give away their bank cards and the PIN-codes. The Bolivian police found a false sign-post (reading “police station”) as well as false uniforms that were used in the kidnapping of Katharina and Peter.

During extensive police actions several members of the gang have been arrested, the head of the gang, Ramiro Milan Fernández, and further members are however still fugitive. On April 3rd, the corpses of Katharina and Peter were excavated at an illegal cemetery on the outskirts of La Paz. They were killed in a very brutal manner on the 1rst of February. The same day, the kidnappers travelled to Oruro, where they again took money out of an ATM in the evening.

Oops forgot to discuss weather2travel.com Climate Guides

If you are planning to do the route of the Volcanic Cones

south Argentina/Chile which is awesome shoot for Jan warmest.

www.casaviena.com Cartagena best hostel in Cartagena to

get u started Hans Otto Bush a great poster on the boards

can help you if needed PM him there...

Happy Travels!

We joined SA Explorers and definitely thought it was worth it. Plan on spending a while in Cusco to see the Sacred Valley and Macchu Picchu. On a separate trip from Peru, we went to Patagonia and camped. Both Torres del Painey and Fitzroy were gorgeous. El Chalten, the gateway town to Fitzroy is picturesque and three years ago was wonderfully undeveloped.