South America this October
 

We are two women travelling to South America this October and only have 2 weeks but aren't sure where to travel We have Buenos Aires, Santiago, Lima and Bolivia on the list but think it's too much to cover - we definitely know we don't want to hop from city to city to fast and miss anything - recommendations for the perfect 2 weeks?

What would make a great trip for you? what do you like to do? I would not want to spend most of my time in the big cities. Where in Bolivia are you thinking of going? There are lots of great TRs on here that may help you narrow down your choices.

Our first visit to Buenos Aires was in the fall .. we moved there after that visit. Just be warned : )
October is a great/beautiful time of year .. warming up , good walking weather .

Just cities?

What do you like to do? No outdoorsy stuff?

Are you thinking of side trips?

I really liked Valparaiso, not far from Santiago.

I like Lima for museums and seafood, you probably would want to see more of Peru than that, though.

La Paz for culture and scenery. It is not too far from Lake Titicaca if gou want to combine with Peru.

Santiago and Buenos Aires didn't really impress.

It is too much to do on one trip. How about Lima and LaPaz, travelling via plan to Cusco Peru from where you can explore Machu Picchu and all the interesting things around Cusco. Then take the train or a bus to Lake Titicaca and proceed from there to LaPaz.

So: start in Lima---four nites, three days including a day trip to Pachacamac.

Then fly to Cusco. First day downtime to adjust to the altitude: no food all day, just coca leaf tea and relaxation. Or better, get a cab right to Ollantaytambo from the Cusco airport and take the train the next day to MP--Olla and MP are lower than Cusco so you won't have such a hard time with altitude. I'd look to spend a week around Cusco touring the Sacred Valley, seeing the markets in Pisac and Chincheros, etc., which would include an overnite at Aguas Calientes near MP. Be sure to reserve on-line for MP as tickets are limited.

Then take the train up toward Lake Titicaca--spend a day and then the rest of your time in LaPaz or Sucre or both, in Bolivia--higher yet than Cusco. Then fly back from there if you can or if not, fly to Lima and return.


That would be a good two-week trip without having to fly all over the southern part of the continent.

Hello,

I am an Argentina..distances here are huge. I would suggest Argentina and Chile or Santiago and Lima or Argentina and Lima.

Lima is Peru..is the Machu Pichu..
Santiago.. more than Santiago is Pucon ormore southern the fiords for a cruise
Argentina youhave heaps of options and you need the 2 weeks
SOUH San Martin de los Andes and do the 7 lakes one day one night tour Bariloche.. youmight even ski at the 2000 metres, Villa La Angostura wonderful views.. Once in Bariloche you can spend easy a whole week... get into this site and check the circuits
http://patagonia.gov.ar/English/Home/


and the other week you can do either MENDOZA,, for rafting, bike and wineries, trekking and rappel..here a site with all those excursions
http://www.kahuak.com.ar/english/index.html

the problem in Argentina is you always have to fly back to Buenos Aires, and air fares don't come cheap.

And the 3rd option is the NORTH TUCUMAN SALTA JUJUY...amazing views..only spanish but site has great photos
Salta you can also have amazing wine tours..Argentina produces the TORRONTES..sweet unique wine...
http://www.nordic-travel.com.ar/index.html

this SALTA info site has English version
http://turismo.salta.gov.ar/

if u need more info..email me
[email protected]

have a nice trip..! and October is perfect..22 centigrades.. warm during the day and ..in the mountains it gets fresh at night. Check the accuweather.

cheers

Gracias Dolores. I'll probably contact you as I bought my Argentine tickets last week and don't want to hijack this thread.

ok vagamundo.. do ctc me... !! love to help ..

I have booked 12 oct to San Rafael, in Mendoza for
rafting, trekking, biking (not mountain bike just classic bike) a winery visit and a day off to Valle de Uco..
coming back Sunday 16 Oct...

with Aerolineas Argentinas, when booking flights..allow time for delays....

i have skype. dolo1956 if u wish to talk to me..

cheers

the best trip and cheapest way to see as much you can and i mean wonderful landscape, great food, cheap hostal, cheap transportation, lakes, gaisers, dessert, colourful town island in the lake, etc etc etc
what you can do is to start in Lima-peru.

Lima-peru
cusco-peru
machupichu-peru
puno-peru
copabana-bolivia
isla del sol-bolivia
la paz-bolivia
sucre-bolivia
potosi-bolivia
uyuni-bolivia
atacama-chile
antofagasta-chile
valparaiso-chile
santiago-chile
mendosa-argentina
cordoba-argentina
rosario-argentina
buenos aires-argentina

you can use to stay the website couchsurfing.com we are members on this site and we host people for free to help we all are traveler swell

peru, bolivia are really cheap accommodation, transportation and food
chile and argentina more expensive but no more than europe

doing this trip easily 2 weeks from pero to chile

you can stop in chile or continue to argentina if you have more time

all the best

JF Fernando

Ladies--to give you an idea, I spent a month in Peru the first time I went there and barely scratched the surface. Went back later for another three weeks. Meant to go to Bolivia on the latter trip, but changed my mind and stayed in Peru--Nasca, Pisco, Islas Ballestas, etc.

Peru and Bolivia easily have enough to see in two weeks.