Planning a Backpacking Getaway to South America

South America. Continent of adventure, culture, and endless enjoyment. Long held as being a backpacker’s dream, South America continues to draw in scores of visitors each year. However, there are some big questions that you’ll need to ask yourself before going.

Torres Del Paine, a must-see for anyone visiting South America

FIRST THINGS FIRST

1) If you only have a short window to visit South America, choose one or two experiences or places that you want to visit. Don’t spread yourself thin.

2) If you don’t have much money to spend, avoid visiting Brazil, Chile or Argentina.

3) Learn conversational Spanish. Your time there will be improved dramatically. If you are in rural areas, don’t expect everyone else to speak English, or even Spanish.

4) Think about how long you want to spend on buses or in transit. If long bus rides don’t appeal to you, choose a small region to explore.

5) The continent is vast and diverse. Don’t expect customs, culture, food or level of development to remain the same throughout Latin America.

First Considerations

1) How much time do I have?

For many backpackers, they’ll book return tickets to Latin America, save up enough money for 4 weeks over there, and plan to see Macchu Picchu, Patagonia, Easter Island and Cartagena, all in the space of 4 weeks. I can say that this would be a distinctly unenjoyable way to see the country, and is practically impossible. Your route, itinerary and overall experience will be guided by how much time you have, and my first piece of advice is don’t bite off more than you can chew. That is, if you only have two weeks to visit, stick to a single country, like Peru. If you only have one month, stick to a single region, like Patagonia, or Bolivia. When you start moving towards having upwards of two months to travel in South America, your itinerary can get a bit more exciting. If you have up to six months to visit, you can complete the entire Gringo Trail, like I did in 2014. If you have only two weeks, you should spend it seeing Macchu Picchu and maybe Colca Canyon.

2) How much money do I want to spend?

This is an important one. Many backpackers save up only a tiny amount of money before their trip (like me), expecting to pay third world prices for their time in South America. I can promise that this is absolutely not the case. Prices for accomodation, food/drink, and tourist experiences rival those of Europe in Argentina and Chile, and far exceed them in Brazil. Therefore, if you don’t have much money, your trip should be focussed on visiting the cheaper countries, such as Bolivia and Peru. However, if you have done your due diligence and saved plenty before leaving, you’ll be much more free to visit the more expensive countries, like those mentioned above.

3) What do I want to see and experience whilst there?

This is one that I hadn’t considered fully before leaving (a common backpacker trait.) I knew I wanted to see Macchu Picchu, visit the Amazon Basin, and eventually reach Cartagena, but hadn’t really considered anything too specific in between. In a country the size of South America, this is a big no-no, and I would urge anyone visiting to set up a long spreadsheet with all of the activities they want to complete, when they roughly expect to be doing them, and how much they have budgeted to spend on them. In particular, if you plan on doing things like the Inca Trail, hike the ‘W’ trek in Patagonia, or visit the Galapagos Islands, these all need to be booked well in advance, and may need to be booked before you board your outbound flight.

4) How’s my spanish?

While this is an obvious one, many backpackers visit South America expecting English proficiency with the locals to rival Europe. this is absolutely not the case. in many parts of South America, particularly regional areas in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, locals almost certainly will not speak English, and will probably not speak much Spanish either. Therefore, if you plan on visiting any areas away from major centres, learn at least conversational Spanish.

second considerations

1) How Much time and money do I want to spend in Transit?

After looking at a map of South America, you’ll notice two or three key details. Firstly, the place is huge. Secondly, most of the major tourist destinations are separated by huge distances. Thirdly, there isn’t any major train lines connecting cities. Thus, to get anywhere in South America you’ll be either taking a bus, or flying. With the bus you’ll be spending anywhere between 7-24 hours getting between cities, especially if visiting Patagonia. with flying, you’l be spending less time in transit, but considerably more on the journey (expect to pay up to $300 USD for some internal flights, and up to $600 USD for flights that cross borders). Therefore, if you don’t relish spending your entire trip on a bus, choose a small region to explore, ie; heartland of Peru or Colombia’s North Coast, and just focus on that. After spending 16 days in total on buses as I explored South America during 2014, I can assure you, it’s not a fun way to spend your time, particularly if you only have two or three weeks.

2) What kind of vibe do I want to go for?

Do you want this to be a cultural experience, involving exploring Macchu Picchu and other Incan ruins? Then go to Bolivia and Peru. Or, do you want to explore the rainforest? Then go to either Bolivia or Ecuador. Do you want to see long, sandy beaches, and go scuba diving? Definitely head to Colombia’s North Coast. Do you want a foodies experience? Try heading to either Lima, Buenos Aires or Santiago. If you only have a short time, you won’t be able to do all of it - focus on one or two types of experience that you want, and go for that.

3) How am i with altitude?

This is a serious one. For the most part, many of the countries containing the most exciting experiences in South America are largely built around the Andes Mountain Range. This means that cities such as La Paz, Potosi, Cusco, Arequipa and San Pedro de Atacama, to name a few, are all at altitude, some of them well above 3000m above sea level. If you aren’t able to deal with high altitudes, this definitely needs to be something you consider whilst planning your trip.

SUMMARY

1) If you only have a short window to visit South America, choose one or two experiences or places that you want to visit. Don’t spread yourself thin.

2) If you don’t have much money to spend, avoid visiting Brazil, Chile or Argentina.

3) Learn conversational Spanish. Your time there will be improved dramatically.

4) If you’re bad with altitude, avoid the Andean region.

South America

Any questions? Ask away in the comments below!