Travelling to South America next March/April

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  retiredfeline on 13/08/2015 - 11:52

  +1

  Well my first piece of advice would be to read a forum with more SA travellers, like say tripadvisor.

  In the cities you can get pretty much any daily stuff.

  SA is a large continent. For 4-6 weeks you'd need to be more specific about countries.

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    BucketsJackson on 13/08/2015 - 21:59

    Hi mate, yeah I've used tripadvisor before to varying degrees of success with opinions etc, I find the OzBargain community to be pretty good at these things so can't hurt to ask.

    Probably should of clarified, looking at Brazil, Argentina and Peru as the 3 mainstays, anything else is a bonus but am interested in Chile as well.

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  [Deactivated] on 13/08/2015 - 13:03

  +1

  Cuba, San Andres and Colombia are my top picks. San Andres is a Colombian island near Cuba.

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  Hellfire on 13/08/2015 - 14:16

  You really need to decide which countries to visit. Whether you want to just visit the highlights or dig a little more below the surface. If you are going to fly a lot or catch the bus. What are you're must see locations.

  While it helps to speak Spanish/Portuguese it isn't that difficult. Especially if you are just going to the tourist places.

  Eg, Argentina was very easy as an English only speaker, Peru was easy around Cusco and Machu Picchu, Bolivia was more difficult.

  If you don't want to do a big tour you can always pick up smaller tours in the cities you visit.

  Prices are generally lower than here but try to bring anything that is a must have or you need to be quality. There are big problems with counterfeit brands.

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    BucketsJackson on 13/08/2015 - 22:01

    Hi mate, cheers for that - we are looking at Brazil, Argentina and Peru as the definites and anything else is a bonus!

    Good to hear about the language, I'm pretty keen to travel anyway, don't mind buses and the like - I guess I'm just looking for opinions and experiences from those who have been.. don't plan on doing a lot of shopping or anything.

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  anth0888 on 19/08/2015 - 14:52

  For Central America and parts of South america, I recommend going with a group tour. Due to saving time with understanding and the logistics of local transportation and also personal safety. I had a freind who went DIY and they said they would instead go by organised tour, as they had hassles by local latino hustlers approaching them with knives and offering cocaine. They were white anglo-saxon looking, so I guess they looked out of place.

  In more established infrastruture places like big cities, you could get away with DIY but navigating the region, I think it works out good with group tours, such as g adventures or I think theres also Tucan tours. Plus you can relax a bit more knowing you won't have to spend time worrying about planning.

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  bzerkAbird on 27/08/2015 - 23:52

  BJ, like mentioned in prior feeds, South America is massive and you really need to narrow down your preferences. Keep in mind that INTERNAL flights within South America are VERY expensive (not like in Australia where prices are pretty reasonable). I spent $700USD on a 1 way flight that took only 3 hours and this was the cheapest.
  Most reasonable priced travel within SA is done on BUS (similar to greyhound in Aust) but they and more comfortable with reclining chairs and food on board, not a bad way to travel.

  Argentina is a must, has a very European feel to it, great night life, food (meat mostly and some of the best pizza in the world! (from the Italian heritage I guess). You can go from top to bottom, traveling through wine regions, old towns to Buenos Aries and then South to the Patagonia if you want to head to the snow and ice.

  Bolivia is very grass roots and authentic, if your like the real spirit of adventure. It has some of the best places and views I saw. La Paz is cool, lake Titicaca, the salt flats and high altitude lakes. Amazing.

  Columbia was fantastic too, and so was Brazil (but not my favorite country to be honest, although it was beautiful and tropical). Just remember, Brazil speaks Portuguese and each of these countries have their own currency so you will be exchanging a lot (and likely getting ripped off in the process). Make sure you have a bank card that will work in overseas ATMS (check with you bank), especially in countries like Bolivia.

  Definitely try and get to Iguazu falls if you can, its worth it.

  Try not to be a dumb naive traveler either, have your wits about you, don't put your money all in once place. (your girlfriends bra is a great place to keep a little purse!) and I use to hide some money under the insole of my shoe and for goodness sake, watch your bags, even when they are loading the bus. I suggest you both learn some basic Spanish, I went to the extreme and took a 10 weeks Spanish for travel course at my local organization, but some books or CDs for learning should give you the very basics. It will make your trip (slightly) more enjoyable knowing some of the language and your (slightly) less likely to get ripped off (which they will do) if you can converse even slightly. The continent as a whole doesn't really speak English. I went for 4 months as a single white female and had no problems at all, but shit can go wrong and it did to my friends. Have a great time, its an amazing continent with such different culture to Australia, but just don't be one of these air-head dummy travelers. Go and have a great time, its worth it!