Traveling to South America

[red sky]

Hey all,

I was looking into traveling to South American near the end of this year and was just wondering if anyone had any tips or recommendations of "must sees". I am not sure which countries I will be visiting at this point but the trip will be for aprox. 16 days. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[killer_carlson]

I've been to ecuador, peru, bolivia and a short time in argentina

my favorite country was, by far, Peru. Check out Machu Piccu, the Amazon Jungle, and potentially the Nasca lines if you have time. You'll really have to move to see all of that in 16 days.

My favorite individual spot though was the Galapagos Islands which are off the coast of Ecuador. It is worth it to spend the time to take a 4 day cruise there. Stay in a high quality boat because you definately get what you pay for in that circumstance.

[troutman]

16 days is not much time.

I spent 5 months in 1994, and only scratched the surface.

If you only have two weeks, I suggest either:

A) Ecuador - Quito, Galapagos, Amazon (Tena), Banos, Cuenca, Beaches

B) Peru - Cuzco, Machu Pichu, Lake Tititaca (Copacabana, Bolivia), Nazca, Arequipa, Amazon, Lima is not so nice

C) Patagonia - Pto Natales, Torres Del Paine, Pta Arenas, Tierra Del Fuego (Ushuia), Cruise to Antartica

[BlackEleven]

Machu Picchu and the Galapagos are the two major tourist attractions, but there's a wealth of things to see in South America.

It depends what kind of stuff you're into. If you like the roughing it, adventure type of Holiday you can take a trek through the Amazon or hike the Inca Trail. If you like the beach, Brazil is a good bet. If you like the big city cosmopolitan scene, I would definitely recommend Buenos Aries.

I spent just over three weeks there last summer. My route went Lima to Cusco to Machu Picchu to Puno (Peru) to Copa Cabana to La Paz to Santa Cruz (Bolivia) to Buneos Aries (Argentina) to Santiago (Chilie). If you want to check out my pictures they're here:
link to flick set

As for getting between cities, fly whenever possible. Its relatively cheap and buses and trains in South America are very, very slow....

[habernac]

I lived in Venezuela when I was a kid, beautiful country. The amazing Orinoco river (a few miles wide right where we lived) the spectacular Caribbean resorts, we took a dugout canoe through the jungle, we saw the Guri Dam under construction (google a pic of it, it's huge). Amazing stuff.


Too bad it's being run by a crackpot right now.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by BlackEleven

If you want to check out my pictures they're here:
link to flick set

Great pictures - I should try and get my pictures scanned - I saw some amazing things.

[BlackEleven]

Originally Posted by troutman

Great pictures - I should try and get my pictures scanned - I saw some amazing things.

Thanks, I appreciate the compliment. Please post a link if you do scan and upload your pics. I love looking at travel pics.

[red sky]

Thanks for all the responses so far. I will be back packing and hugging trees along the way. I never thought about the Galapogas island though. I suppose 16 days may not be enough but that is about as much time as I can take off. Thanks for the pics BE, they look great!

[The Yen Man]

Just make sure you don't go hiking barefoot.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/0...r_caterpillars

Yikes!

[troutman]

Originally Posted by red sky

Thanks for all the responses so far. I will be back packing and hugging trees along the way. I never thought about the Galapogas island though. I suppose 16 days may not be enough but that is about as much time as I can take off. Thanks for the pics BE, they look great!

Another option is to go to Chile (Santiago, Atacama, Lake District, Easter Island)

[Sylvanfan]

Don't underestimate how huge South America is....I went to Brazil for 35 days and barely had enough time to see the Coast from Porto Allegre to Rio di Janiero. You'll need to pick a specific region and than go from there. The Inca trail is on my list of things to do.

[red sky]

Originally Posted by troutman

Another option is to go to Chile (Santiago, Atacama, Lake District, Easter Island)

I was actually leaning towards Chile as well as it may be more suitable for the time frame that I have. Plus I would get to see the giant heads on Easter Island!

[g_railed]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls

My wife and I were there last November and she still can't stop talking about the falls. I would recommend spending a full day viewing the falls from the Argentina Side and a full day viewing from the Brazilian side.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by g_railed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls

My wife and I were there last November and she still can't stop talking about the falls. I would recommend spending a full day viewing the falls from the Argentina Side and a full day viewing from the Brazilian side.

Am amazing place.

The sad thing is, IIRC there were larger more spectacular falls upstream, but a dam flooded it all.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Just be careful you don't do what this lady did in peru.

Doctors reveal case of Alberta woman who died after stepping on venomous caterpillars


http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/...ical-case.html

[habernac]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Just be careful you don't do what this lady did in peru.

Doctors reveal case of Alberta woman who died after stepping on venomous caterpillars


http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/...ical-case.html

check the above post by The Yen Man

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by habernac

check the above post by The Yen Man

Ah, crap, I'm ######ed.

[habernac]

nah, you're just reading too fast, something I am guilty of quite often.

[skins]

I´m currently in Valparaiso, Chile and am halfway through a 3 month trip to Sur America. My wife and I started our honeymoon in Ecuador and are slowly working our way around to Rio. So far the highlights have been the Rain Forrest in Ecuador and Machu Picchu. We´ll be in Buenos Aires in about a week and are planning to hit Iguazu on our way up to Rio.

16 days isn´t a lot of time so you should probably pick 1 or 2 countries to visit. Based on what I´ve seen, I would definately recommend Peru. Machu Picchu/Inca Trail combined with a jungle visit and a trip to lake Titicaca would be an incredible trip. Or you could do something similar in Ecuador and do the Galapagos Islands while they´re still open to the public. We skipped it because it´s really expensive, but the wildlife there is unlike anywhere else on earth. Have fun!