Travel Advice for Argentina, Chile and Peru

[brocoli]

Hey CP,

So I'm doing a trip this October that will take me to Argentina, Chile and Peru. No real plans yet for Chile or Peru. I will be staying in Rosario, Argentina for 5 days, other than that my trip is open. So please let me know anything that will help with these countries. Where to go, where to stay, what to do? I'm travelling with my Uncle and cousin and we all love wine. So We will be hitting up wineries and enjoying all the wine that we can.

[shermanator]

Nice! I'm thinking of doing a similar trip next summer. Allow me to follow this thread intently.

[CarlLester]

Lots of wine tours, etc within easy access of Santiago. Hit up Valparaiso and Vina Del Mar for quick trips from Santiago. If you have more time you can go south - Pichilemu if you like surfing, beach vibe, etc. And if you have lots of time, all the way down to Punta Arenas.

[troutman]

How long do you have?

Argentina is quite expensive compared to Chile and Peru. If you have a week in Argentina - 2 days Buenos Aires, 1 day Falls at Iguazu, 2 days at Peninsula Valdes, 2 days at Ushaia. There used to be a package with the national airline where a tourist could get 4-5 flights around Argentina on the cheap.

Chile - could spend two months if you saw the whole country North to South. One week - 2 days Santiago, 2 days Lake District, 1 day Puerto Montt, 2 days Torres del Paine.

Peru - could easily spend a month there. One week - 1 day Lima, 3 days Cusco, 2 days Puno (Lake Tititaca), 2 days Arequipa - Nazca.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

That is a lot of travelling, depending on how much time you have. I spent just short of a month in Peru alone (lots of hiking in and around Cuzco/Machu Picchu).

For Argentina, Mendoza is a great place to start for wine. Really interesting country side, with river rafting and the like not too far away. Taking the bus across the Andes is something else. The windy roads (curvey, not wind-blown) are nuts. Personally, I preferred the Patagonia region to the south, with lots of mountains, lakes, glaciers, etc. (but no wine, IIRC). Bariloche was a great place to hang out. Buenos Aires is one of my favourite cities in the world. Spend some time there.

On the Chile side, Santiago and Valparaiso are nice, but again, I really liked the southern part, with the Torres del Paine area with unbelievable hiking and scenery.

[Kybosh]

That'll be a good trip but could be a lot to cover depending on how much time you have. I would love to take a sabbatical and work my way down the Andes from Bariloche to Tierra Del Fuego. Hiking, climbing, and just relaxing the whole way. It'd be rad.

[Sylvanfan]

I did a cruise from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso in 09. I found Argentina to be cheaper than Chile at that time. Valpo is a good place to visit.

[calf]

I have only been to Peru but agree with troutmans suggestions. Work out transport before hand. We did a tour, and glad we did...the driving, especially through the Andes is crazy (switchbacks, crazy passes from all directions, etc)

[brocoli]

Thanks for all the replies CP. Always good for suggestions. Argentina will be a week with 4 days in Rosario and probably the other 2 in Buenos Aires. Then to Chile for 5 days and on to Peru for another 5 days. Other than Argentina, the timeline isn't set in stone. I've got 3 weeks to do as I please


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[Fuzz]

I'd pick one or 2 stops in Peru, at most. Either focus on Nazca, Cusco, possibly Machu Picchu, Arequipa or Puno. I'd skip Lima. It's a bit of a distance between all these places by bus. Machu Picchu requires permits that you have to get way ahead of time. They are probably all gone for October.

[tipenmat]

I have a few thoughts and suggestions:
In all of the 3 countries travel is really centralized. Other than the Mendoza-Santiago direct flight you will probably have to fly/connect through Santiago, Bs Aires and Lima almost all the time. Also, flying within the countries themselves may require you to go back to those cities which can be quite inefficient even if you are going from A to B and Santiago is C. I would plan the trip to visit 1 or 2 limited areas you can cover by car or through a guide so you don't waste time flying around and connecting.
If you plan to travel to northern Argentina or the amazon area of Peru look into getting vaccinated a few months in advance (yellow fever).
My understanding is that Chile used to be more expensive but I have heard Argentina has had a lot of price increases recently as in the least year or so. Peru may be the cheapest of the 3, but just my guess.
Safety, I don't know much about Peru but Chile and Argentina are relatively safe outside pick pocketers and some scammers like taxis who charge you more. But it is considerably more dangerous at night, I wouldn't walk around much after dark. If you don't speak spanish you may want to hire a guide/translator.
Since you only have 2 days in Argentina and you like wine Mendoza is a strong option and a very cool city with lots to do and excellent wineries and food. But if you are interested in visiting a latin american "city" I would say Bs Aires is far above and beyond anything else in the 3 countries. I would try squeezing in a trip there for at least 1 night/2 days. You can do wine tours in Chile instead if you can't go everywhere and want to see Buenos Aires.

Some suggestions for Chile depending on what you are looking for:
- I suggest not spending any time in Santiago unless you are interested in chilean culture like museums, cathedrals and concerts. Otherwise it is a pretty standard city and IMO Buenos Aires is far more interesting than Santiago. Staying in Valparaiso is far better and gives you similar exposure to the culture and it is a way cooler city to explore.
Beach: I suggest not planning any beach or lake stuff in the central or south area of Chile (like Santiago's coast and south) unless you like cold water. The ocean in Chile is freezing cold and in October it won't be 30+ yet so it won't be that pleasant. Peru and northern Chile would be my suggestions if you want to go to a beach.
Wine Tours: If you are not planning to go far from the area around Santiago/Valparaiso you can check out the Casablanca valley which is between both cities for wine tours. There are also a couple of good wineries in the Aconcagua valley (San Felipe) which is within 80km or so of each city.
For a longer range trip you may want to check out the wineries in the Maule and Colchague valleys to the south of Santiago.
-Nature/Hiking trip: Some of the suggestions above are great like Torres del Paine national park which is amazing. Same with the lake region around Pucon. If you want something slightly different you could consider checking out San Pedro de Atacama in the north (valle de la luna) or Valle del Elqui near La Serena. The Elqui valley has really good Pisco and I think they may have a winery there too.
- Beach/relaxing vacation: If you want somewhere warm and where you can go to the beach consider the far north of Chile (Iquique and Arica). They have amazing beaches, pleasant weather and also some interesting towns in the inland mountains (Pica and Putre for example). You can also go to Peru from Arica without flying.
- Culture: If you want to experience the culture consider Chiloe island and Puerto Montt, Concepcion, and Valparaiso. For rural culture/wineries you can go to places like Talca and Rancagua which are close to good wineries.
- Unique: For something really amazing and unique consider Easter Island. You need at least 2-3 days there as it is expensive and takes a while to get to. You can fly there from Santiago.

I don't know much about Peru but I have heard Lima is not very nice outside a few upper class neighbourhoods, and it is kinda sketchy overall. Maybe you can skip it.

For Argentina, Bariloche and El Calafate are pretty cool in the south. Iguazu Falls is really nice and a world wonder (I would spend 1 night there as not much else to do unless you really like jungle animals). Also, I have heard that a lot of people like Salta and visiting the salt flats there.

[brocoli]

Thank you everyone. Especially tipenmat. I am scratching Peru off the trip. I'm spending 3 days in BA. Then 5 days in Rosario. Back to BA for 1 day. Then to Santiago for 1.5 days. Easter Island for 3 full days. Then back to Calgary via Santiago.

Thank you everyone for all the info. I never would've even thought of Easter Island if not for this group (tipenmat). So now I just get to be excited and book my accommodations. But the dates and travel are set


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