Travel to South America

It depends where you want to go (South America is huge), how complicated the itinerary you want to sketch out, and how experienced and confident you are about planning your own trip. A few friends and I planned a trip to northwest Argentina several years ago which involved two internal flights, a rental car, and a fairly aggressive itinerary for a two week trip. It wasn't different than planning a trip elsewhere except that it was difficult to gauge road quality in some places and how long it would take to get from A to B by car. I think reading and research will be essential because sites are very spread out in some countries (Argentina and Brazil) while more manageable in others (Ecuador, Uruguay). I used the Footprint guide book and it was very helpful. If you know some Spanish, it will really come in handy as well (depending on where you go and if you get off the main tourist path).

There are good tour companies (not cheap though) that cover the area. Google "Southern Explorations" (they are based in Seattle) and look at their itineraries for ideas. Some of their tours are more physical than others.

South America is different than Europe in terms of getting around - the distances are vast and, in many places outside major cities, the (long distance) bus system works best. My good friend just arranged her trip to Peru using only Lonely Planet and related websites..she's there now as a solo female who does not speak Spanish. So in terms of process, I don't think planning will be that different.

Lonely Planet is the way to go.

Thanks for the reminder that South America is the same as Europe. I love lonely planet off to Bsrnes and noble tomorrow. One of the thinks that makes Rick's suggestion memorable is his local tour guides. That part will be a challenge.

Planning on Rio de Janiero, Iquazu Falls, Peru, Amazon boat trip and of course the Galapegos.

Thanks for everything.

Well it's not exactly true that South America is the same as Europe.

For one thing, South America is about 70% larger than Europe, and yet it has about 60% smaller population. So distances are greater overall, and distances between population centers will often require air travel.

Also, Germany has about 1 km of railroad track for every 8 square km of land. For France that number is 1 per 21.5. For Argentina it is 1 per 77. For Brazil it is 1 per 300. For Peru, 1 per 636. There's no high-speed rail anywhere in South America.

Other differences: there is no South American Union. You'll have passport control at every border. And you'll need to get a Visa in advance to go to Brazil, which will cost you about $175. In addition, for Iguasu Falls and the Amazon, the Yellow Fever vaccine is recommended.

I'm not saying you shouldn't make an independent trip to South America. Just that we should be careful not to generalize too much. It's good to know what to expect up front.

I am not saying it is literally the same, I am saying if you have the
skills to research and plan an independent trip to Europe it is the
same set of skills you need for S. America.

If that's what you were saying, you should have said it. I don't disagree with you. And of course all of Europe isn't the same, and neither is that true of South America. The challenges are different wherever you go. The adventure is different everywhere.

If someone asked about an itinerary in Europe that had four destinations as far flung as Galapagos, Amazon boat trip, Rio, and Peru what do you suppose the response would be from members of this forum? The distance between Lima and Rio, for example, is over 2,300 miles as the crow flies. Farther than the distance between Madrid and Moscow.

Dot, how much time do you have for this trip? Since you've traveled independently in Europe, surely you know the pitfalls of trying to cram too much into too little time, or of spending so much time traveling from one destination to another.

Planning on Rio de Janiero, Iquazu Falls, Peru, Amazon boat trip and
of course the Galapagos.

Dot,
I hope these are all separate trips...do not underestimate Visa (in case of Brazil) and flight costs and distances. I flew to Iguazu Falls from Buenos Aires and it was an expensive flight since the only choice was the national carrier which had no competition. Galapagos tours are for the most part done as tours so that would be the easiest to organize...just pick the boat and outfitter. You can combine with Ecuador since you'll have to fly into Quito anyway. The Amazon is the most remote and requires effort (usually internal flight plus land and boat travel) if you're going "deep" into it.

Good luck and happy planning!

Thanks for all the thoughts. Looking at timing now thinking 3 weeks. 5-6 days for Rio and the falls, 10 days for Peru and a week for a tour in the Galapagos. Ya, a lot of flights and trains not easy to get around and will run the costs up. Like past trips I'm making a dream list that I will cut away at. Peru looks like it will require guides.

Dot, you should definitely organize the trip on your own! My husband and I just returned from an amazing 3 weeks in Peru, Argentina, and Uruguay. I would be glad to share more specific information, especially on Peru since that is a location on your itinerary. Feel free to PM me if you would like to know anything else specific.

We have visited Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.

Each country is different, even through all are Spanish speaking countries.

We visited South American twice on two different cruises. The first was on a cruise from Florida through the Panama Canal then down the west coast of SA to Chile. The second was a cruise from Buenos Aires that went around Cape Horn to Valparaiso, Chile.

On the first cruise we spend three days in Valparaiso and Santiago, on the second, we spent five days in Buenos Aires, Argentina and two days in Chile.

Cruises are a wonderful way to see a lot in South America. Combine a cruise with a land trip is even better. South America is cheaper than Europe.

Chile,, Argentina and Uruguay were similar to Europe in many ways.

The cruise around the Horn is special, the ports are all different and the scenery is amazing.

Dot, just to follow up on the vaccine requirement, I just went to get my yellow fever vaccine in advance of my upcoming trip, and they also recommended Hep-A. The cost of the two vaccines was $325. Most medical insurance plans don't cover travel-related vaccines. You might want to be prepared for this...

Not sure what you want to do, but I you want something similar to Europe :

Fly into Montevideo (MVD) ,go to Punta del Este for a few days, then stay in Montevideo, then take the ferry from there to Buenos Aires, then fly home from there.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Has anyone done a land based excursion in the Galapagos? Boat based are much too much money.

Trying to shorten the time commitment and cost of my dream plan.

Someone on this forum named Chuck has, so maybe you should send him a PM. See thread below:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/beyond-europe-ecuador

There are a lot of ethical considerations for the Galapagos, especially the land based tours. Folks who go off track without a guide can (even unintentionally) destroy this wonderful place for good. It's a very fragile environment and there's a reason why most trips are very restrictive...it's pure self preservation. This is also mentioned by a lot of comments to this NYT article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/20/travel/galapagos-islands-ecuador-affordable-vacation.html?mcubz=0

Dot re vaccinations - I suggest you check out Costco. Found their prices very reasonable for HepA/HepB/shingles. I didn't need yellow fever so I don't know about that.

We've done both independent and organized tours in South America. Search the Internet for tours to get ideas....e.g. REI.

I have not researched South America that much, but I know that 1) distances are long even within countries, and hence travel logistics more challenging 2) health issues can be more significant--having to brush your teeth with bottled water, immunizations, etc. 3) you must be more aware in some cities not to wander into a bad area, or otherwise set yourself up to be the victim of crime.

We lived 9 years in South America and can give these suggestions. First, to answer your question--you can arrange the trip on your own, but it may take more research than, say, a trip to Europe. A travel agent might be helpful for portions. From the Boston area, a trip you described would be most logical in a circular fashion: Manaus (Amazon boat trip), Rio, Foz do Iguaçu, Peru, and Ecuador (Galapagos) or the reverse. However, you may not find flights to Manuas from the US so you'd have to back track from Rio. Similarly, you'd want to fly on to Peru from Foz do Iguaçu, but you may have to go back to São Paulo or Buenos Aires before flying west. Generally, for the places you name train travel is not what you'd want. I suggest looking at LATAM airlines and Gol airlines for flights. Have a great trip.

Thanks to everyone's help I have a trip planned for May/June flying Boston to Lima for a couple of days and then flying to Cusco and heading to Ollantaytambo- Machu Picchu and back to Cusco for a few days before flying to Quito and Amazonian boat cruise on the Napo River flying back to Quito for a couple of days before flying to the galapagus staying on Santa Cruz doing day trips to Bartlome and north Seymour islands and flying home from Guayaquil.

I owe it all to you guys with your encouragement and suggestions.

Dot