Need feedback on trip plan for Central/South America trip
 

My husband I are planning an approximately 8 month trip in Central and south America. Our objectives are: learn spanish (attend language school, volunteering (missionary) work, sight see, and cultural immersion. We are hoping to start in Guatemala and do about 6 weeks of language study there, continue to Costa Rica to do some missionary work for about a month, then spend a month or so exploring the rest of Central America. Total of just under 4 months in Central America. We then hope to cross over to South America (by ship?) and work our way down using local transportation-mainly buses to traverse and explore South America and end in Buenos Aires spending about 4 months total in South America. Our travel budget is about 13,500 ($56 per day for us both) not including airfare. We plan to travel pretty cheap and do some touristy things but also spend time with the locals in smaller villages and such. We wouldn't mind trading labor for food/lodging. We may cut loose at times but are not planning going out and drinking much of the time. We are both fairly travel naive and I would really appreciate some feedback on the feasibility of the time line and the budget. Thanks!

We spent 5 months in 2008 in South America travelling on a (semi) budget. $56 each is doable but it will be tight and leaves little for the unexpected. Costs vary dramatically from country to country. Developed countries like Chile are v.expensive when compared with developing countries like Peru. Bus travel throughout the continent is efficient and relatively cheap. Sites like www.hostelworld.com will give you a good idea of costs for rooms and dorms (dorms are clearly way cheaper). www.saexplorer.org is worth a look and maybe joining as the benefits in terms of discounts will be invaluable - particularly useful for language courses and volunteer work.

I seriously doubt you will have much luck "trading labor for food/lodging" unless maybe you have specialist skills to offer and do consider whether you will be doing more harm than good by taking employment away from a local.

I can't comment on Central America but 4 months in the South sounds like a lot but it isn't and I would strongly recommend that you restrict the number of countries you intend to cover. We visited Argentina, Peru, Chile and Uruguay.

If volunteer work is your main objective then it may be best to focus on less developed countries like Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru etc. - plus they are generally a lot cheaper.

If that is US$56 for the two of you per day you are going to have trouble just covering food/lodging in some places. Bolivia, Ecuador, Perú are the cheapest, in ascending order. But Argentina is now outstripping Chile due to high inflation. If you stay out of Buenos Aires you might manage but I think that budget is very low outside of the countries I mentioned. You would not be able to cover transport to your next destination with it.

You should consider couch surfing or setting up some contacts through your church if you are missionaries. I would also suggest reducing the number of countries you visit and sticking to either Central or South America.

I think the op means $56 per person - still tight but possible. Huentutu I know Arentina has severe inflationary problems but things must be much worse that I thought. Argentina was way cheaper than Chile when we were there in 2008. Time for a major realignment of the currency- again??

Hello, Crellston:

Argentina is in a serious financial crisis - again - but, so far, not as dire as in 2001. There is dollar - peso fluctuation and run away inflation; there were caserolazos (pots & pans banging) with hand clapping and horn honking as demonstrations against the government's handling of the economy etc, several nights last week.

For tourists, this means only that their dollars and euros will likely go farther - but costs are way up from the time of your last visit, Crellston.

OP: Did you mean $56 EACH or for BOTH of you per day ?

You will have difficulty with the first, but I would think that unless you stay through the auspices of your church, as Huentetu suggests, $56 for both will leave you unhappy with the conditions you will find to meet that budget, in many places.

Good luck - and please post back on your progress/experiences.

I'm surprised few have stopped to do the quick arithmetic to see that the $56 is per person per day.