m_raje

Hi there, My wife and I are planning our first 2 month trip to South Amercia with the itinerary below and would like to get your feedback: -

Do I have the right cities / no. of cities? Am I not spending enough or spending too much time in every city? Should I consider alternative cities? Do I have the right route? Would you recommend against living in hostels (premium rooms) in any of the stated cities? Any highly recommended tours for Galapagos / Amazon? Are overnight bus trips an economical yet comfortable way to travel?- Any other feedback welcome!

Day 1 Manaus, Brazil (1 night)

Day 2 Amazon tour (4 nights) - shortlisted Amazon green tours

Day 6 Return to Manuas (1 night)

Day 7 Sao Paulo (5 nights)

Day 12 Rio (5 nights)

Day 17 Montevideo, Uruguay (3 nights)

Day 20 Buenos Aires, Argentina (6 nights)

Day 26 Cordoba (4 nights)

Day 30 Santiago, Chile (5 nights)

Day 35 Cuzco, Peru (7 nights) - Machi Pichu / Inca trail

Day 42 Lima (4 nights)

Day 46 Manta, Ecuador (4 nights)

Day 50 Galapagos Islands (7 nights) - shortlisted Galapagos tours - First class boat

Day 57 Bogota, Columbia (4 nights)

Day 61 Villa de Leyva (3 nights)

Appreciate the help !

laurenholmes100

Hi there, I live in Rio and work as a travel journalist, so have a few suggestions for you. I would definitely recommend limiting your time in São Paulo - although it is an interesting city, you can visit the museums, Liberdade (the japanese district) and explore the happening nightlife in max 3 days, if not 2. Instead, I would travel up the Costa Verde (emerald coast) towards Rio, and stop off in the Colonial town of Paraty, a former fisherman's village that was once the principal port for the diamonds and precious gems that came from Minas Gerais. The best thing to do is hire a private boat for the day and explore the beautiful islands of Angra. You can do this journey by bus or private transfer. From Rio, I would also try to spend atleast 2 nights in the beach town of Buzios, which is about 2 hours north of Rio and a great place to unwind. Hire a beach buggy and explore the 23 different beaches and make sure you spend a day at beach bar Rocka.
When in Buenos Aires, I would recommend a new boutique hotel called Hub Porteño, which is in Recoleta and has amazing handcrafted interiors and can organize insider type experiences around the city. I would also spend a day or two on an estancia in the Pampas - my favourite is La Bamba de Areco.
When in Santiago, try and spend a night or two in Valparaiso, which is very up and coming at the moment.
If you havent been to Cartagena, i would split my time in Bogota to 2 nights and spend the other two in Cartagena - internal flights are easy and reasonable when bought in advance. For me, it was one of the highlights of Colombia.
Hope that helps!

thursdaysd

I just spent two months in SA, also my first trip, but I went further south (click on my name for my TR). However, I did cover a few of the same places and have some comments.

I am totally skipping the Amazon because I have too much heat and humidiy at home, one reason I opted for glaciers and mountains instead, but obviously a lot of people love the Amazon.

You could drop a night in Rio. If you also drop a night or two in Sao Paulo you could add the Iguassu Falls which are drop-dead gorgeous and should not be missed.

I would add a night in Colonia in Uruguay.

Five nights in Santiago is overdoing it. Consider adding Valparaiso.

I haven't been to Colombia yet, but definitely plan to see Cartagena when I do.

mlgb

Hopefully you know that you must book the Inca Trail months ahead of time. The first available trek date for 2013 is September 27.

You can still go by train of course.

yestravel

I've been to a few of the places you plan to go. I agree that 5 nights in Santiago would be too much. As suggested spend a couple nights in Valparaiso which is easy to get to by bus. Also was not a fan of Lima, so 4 days would be too many for me. Much preferred the SV and Arequipa. Definitely visit the ruins at Pisac and stay in Ollantaytambo which I found far more charming and interesting than Lima

I haven't been to Colombia yet, but when I go will definitely visit Cartagena.

In Argentina I agree that you should consider a couple days at Iguazu Falls which are fabulous. You could also go there from Brazil.

Treepol

I've planned 2 6-8 week trips to South America, both of which have had a wildlife focus mixed with the 'must see' city sights. We leave in July for the second trip which excludes most cities (except for transit nights - Cusco and Arequipa are included) in favour of regional highlights such as the Pantanal, Amazon and Chaparri for spectacled bears. If you are not overly interested in wildlife, my response may not be very helpful.

Your itinerary contains multiple nights in cities, and whilst I agree that Rio, BA and Cuzco deserve multi-night stays there are some others that could be shortened to include some more diverse destinations - depends if you enjoy cities! I've not been to Uruguay or Colombia so have no idea of what else is offered in these countries.

I'd suggest visiting the Amazon from Cusco where its a short flight to Puerto Maldonado rather than the 6 nights you currently have out of Manaus. I've looked at Manaus twice now with a view to staying at Uakari Lodge, however it takes the best part of a week to travel to the Brazilian Amazon, whereas its possible to have a 3-4 night trip from Cusco (and the flights are substantially less).

Rainforest Expeditions http://www.perunature.com/ have some well regarded trips into Tambopata and Manu Expeditions http://www.manuexpeditions.com/ offer some 4 and 5 night itineraries that include a drive over the Andes and thru' the Cloud Forest to Manu reserve.

Maybe re-consider the nights allocated to Sao Paulo, Santiago and Lima and maybe do some trips to nearby areas like Cristallino Jungle Lodge or the Northern Pantanal in Brazil, both out of Cuiaba. My own preference would be to spend some time in the Atacama Desert in Chile rather than long stays in Santiago and Lima. Have you ruled out Iguazu Falls - they are worth a visit.

I can recommend Ecoventura for small group Galapagos cruising, although there are some good land based itineraries offered by Red Mangrove http://www.redmangrove.com/ and the Finch Bay Hotel http://www.finchbayhotel.com/travel-...s-islands.html


Happy planning,



Pol.

crellston

We spent 5 months in South America in 2008 and loved it. We only visited Brazil briefly so can't really comment. Here is a link to our blog which provides an idea of the route we took SA starts at # 55.
We are back again , this time for 6 months starting off here in Quito. You route depends entirely on what YOU find interesting, but for me it does seem very city centric. We spent a month in Ba and loved our time there but it was at the end of a very long trip. There are lots of exciting places missing fron your itinerary in Argentina alone, Iguazu has already been mentioned, I would add Salta and the north west and Patagonia, both Argentine and Chilean. In Peru Titicaca and Arequipa are worth of consideration.

We have been tramping around the travel operators here in Quito over the last couple of days and the following impressed with there professionalism

Cuyabeno River Lodge via www.ecomontestour.com which is $210 3 nts and $240 for 4 nts.

Samona lodge via www.gulliver.com.ec 3 nt $255, 4 nt, @ $295

Siona lodge seemed the most luxurious? @ $280 3 days and $340 for 4

Add ons include air fare of approx. 150 or overnight bus of $8

Cuyabeno reserve gets pretty good reviews as to condition of the forest/ Eco system etc.

We are planning on Maddidi in Bolivia based on the info kindly provided by glover on this board, but Equador seems a lot less expensive than Bolivia or Peru so we may well go to one of those lodges above as well.

Overnight buses in in Argentina are great, as are Peruvian ones too ( at least most of them) . I will let you know about Ecuador!! It is always worth paying the extra fro Ejecutivo class, which is extremely comfortable and still only 1/3 the cost of flying. Factor in the saving in accomodation and you have a real bargain!

Hostels are fine and most have private rooms with shower etc, good site for booking and reliable reviews are

www.hostelworld.com
www.hostelbookers.com

A good site for Peru is www.andeantravelweb.com

Have fun planning , I am off to my Spanish school now..

Susan7

I can highly recommend staying at Uakari Lodge for an Amazon tour, but as Treepol says it is time consuming getting there.

I like São Paulo a lot, but it's the museums and galleries that interest me, for the average tourist I don't think you would need five days. Things to see include: amazing view of the megalopolis from the top of the Bansepa building, the central market, Ibirapuera Park, Oscar Niemeyer's Monument to Latin America, Villa Madgelena (interesting neighbourhood with good shopping and bars).

I went to Montevideo last year, I enjoyed it a lot but went for a work-related reason. It wouldn't be a city I would particularly recommend as a must see in South America. That said, the meat is amazing at Mercado del Puerto and the Torres Garcia Museum is modest but worth visiting if you are interested in the development of modern art in South America.

ljramos50

You are not coming to Ushuaia, the end of the world??

thursdaysd

I skipped Ushuaia. Can't see any reason to go there unless you're headed to Antarctica.

DrewCrawf1

After living in Ecuador for 5 months, I would suggest taking a bus from Lima, Peru to Guayaquil, Ecuador. From Guayaquil, take a flight to the Galapagos and return to Guayaquil after your trip. From Guayaquil, you can do "La Ruta del Sol", which can be a guided or unguided ride north up the coast, where you could stay a night in Salinas, Puerto López, Montañita, Manta, & Canoa. You would get extremely bored with four nights in Manta, defnitely not worth that much time. If you like peace and quiet, don't go to Montanita. But if you like to kick back on the beach with a beer and head out a night for a drink and to dance, it is a must-see. From Canoa, you can take a 6-7 hour bus ride to Quito, where you can explore for the day. And then take a flight to Bogota, Cartagena, or Medellin to start your Colombian adventure. There is always the option of taking a 10-11 hour bus ride to Cali, Colombia and start Colombia from there. Depending on your budget and time constraints. Hope that helps a bit!

m_raje

Thanks so much for your replies everybody !
Few questions
Is it a good idea to stay in Buzious and/or Paraty in Brazil?
ljramos50: what is there do in Ushuaia apart from access to Antarctica?
I have now included the cities / places you have recommended I consider.
Thanks again guys !

FrancisTourGuide

I am not a expert in all the destinations , but i can sugest the best of all Iguassu Falls a Nature Wonders.
From Rio (4 days) you can flight to iguassu IGU (2 hours flight)1 or 2 nights at iguassu falls. Leave iguassu from Argentine side IGR to Buenos Aires(4days) (2 hours flight) and BA to Montevideo (short flight 30 minutes).
Thats my suggestion , RIO and BA 4 days it will be enought.
regards

m_raje

Thanks Francis !