We have been asked about our plan and itinerary for our RTW trip and our stock answer has been, ‘There’s no plan’. But that’s not really true – we do have a very rough idea that after South America we’re heading off to Africa, then Europe, than Asia.
Nothing is set in stone, however. But for now, let’s just say that the the plan.
It looks really good on the map.
We don’t know how long we’re going to be in each continent. Case in point: just yesterday we found out that we’ll be volunteering for an organization in Ecuador for 3 weeks, thus extending our stay in Ecuador from however long it was going to be to…. well, 3 weeks longer 
Unfortunately, beyond Colombia and Ecuador we haven’t had done much research.
So if you have some country-specific suggestions, or even better, have written about your favorite spots in any of these countries below, share them in the comment section below.
Anyway, so far here is our ‘plan’ for South America:
Colombia
Colorful Cartagena — by LUZA
After what the first country is in our itinerary, the second most often asked question, usually accompanied by an expression of disbelief and concern is, ‘Why Colombia?’
We honestly don’t remember the reason why. It could be because Colombia doesn’t require visas for both of us (with one of us having neither a non-US nor a non-EU passport, visa can be a pain in the arse). It could be because Colombia is at the top of the continent and we like my routes to be laid out in an orderly fashion. We don’t know. But why not?
We’re flying into Cartagena and are planning to make our way south to the border with Ecuador. We’ll be checking out pueblos, the coffee region, and colonial cities and hopefully get to meet some tweeps on the road.
A shout out to Jeff and Dave for their help in crafting our Colombia itinerary. And another one to Jasmine Wanders and Never Ending Voyage for showing us some of Colombia’s charming pueblos.
Ecuador
From the border, we’ll be making our way south through Otavalo, Quito, Guayaqil, to the Peruvian border.
To Galapagos or not to Galapagos
We’re still not sure if we’re going to splurge for a visit to the Galapagos even though everyone we’ve talked to and have been there can not recommend it highly enough. ‘Worth every single penny and more’ seems to be the consensus.
Jessica and Timothy of Hedgehog Without Borders have been so kind in sharing their Galapagos experience with us and I can say because of them we’re never this close to this side of ‘Yes. Screw the cost and let’s go to the Galapagos’.
We’re tempted, but haven’t made a decision either way just yet.
We’re also going to spend 3 weeks volunteering for Arte del Mundo in beautiful Banos. We’re really excited about this opportunity and we would never have discovered it without Pete and Dalene Heck’s help.
Ecuador has turned out to be the biggest wild card of South America so far. I remember reading that the easiest overland border crossing from Colombia to Peru is through Ecuador (before that time, Ecuador was not on our radar at all). Further reading showed that Ecuador does not require visas for any nationalities (always nice).
So why not? Let’s pass through Ecuador really quickly.
Now it seems that we might actually stay there for much, much longer than we had originally expected. Betsy and Warren from Married With Luggage write up about Ecuador’s Quilotoa loop, among many other glowing reviews of the country, definitely helped convince us that Ecuador is worth so much more than a passing glance.
We love little unexpected twists like this.
Peru
The home of Machu Picchu. We’re not organized enough to secure the permit to do the Inca Trail trek, but even if we were, the (cheaper) alternative treks sound just as exciting and scenic if not more.
Two of the treks we’re considering are Lares Trek and Salkantay Trek. Jason of 2backpackers has done the Salkantay Trek and has been more than kind in giving us the information we need if we decide to do the trek ourselves.
As Ayngelina has shown there’re more to Peru than the Machu Picchu, so I’m looking forward to discover what else this country has to offer.
Chile and Argentina
Patagonia – by yuge
In all honesty, we haven’t had a chance to do much reading on these two countries.
Mountains, Argentine tango, and wine – that’s as much as we know about what’s waiting for us there (but that’s more than enough to convince us).
That and the mini-essays on the highlights of Chile and Argentina that Alisha and Sheryl have written for us that we still need to peruse and study up. A million thank yous to you both!
Then what?
After Argentina, maybe Brazil? Or straight to Africa?
We don’t know yet, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
–
Help us build a South America itinerary
Do you have any tips and advices? Or a ‘definitely can’t-miss experience’ you’d like to suggest? Maybe you’re in the area within the same time frame and would like to meet up? Let us know too.
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I’d be happy to help out! For Chile and Argentina (my favs in S America) it really depends on what MONTHS you’re going to be there. My biggest rec is to take pachamamabybus.com for the time you’re in Chile…its a great way to get north to south in that country.
I also did the Salkantay to Machu Picchu and highly recommend it. And don’t miss Bolivia- I LOVED it there!
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Our daughter just got back from South America and boy are we jealous! Thanks for the ideas for when we finally get to go ourselves.
-David
any chance of starting in central america and sailing to colombia from panama via the san blas islands?
maybe you could catch the boat from buenos aires to montevideo while youre down in argentina too. easy, short trip and uruguay has some good raps on it.
we are actually trying to start planning our next trip too!
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Interesting idea on catching a boat from BA to Montevideo. Will def look into it when we get there. Thanks for the tip!
It’s a bit like one of those “Choose your own Adventure” books I used to read when I was younger! Enjoy the no plans – makes it all the more fun!
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Ha, thanks…
It has actually been less stressful that way.
Venezuela! Fly into and quickly out of Caracas, head to Los Llanos for Anaconda and cowboy watching, take the 6 hour drive to Merida for a few days. Head to Canaima to see and climb to Angel Falls, then relax on Margarita Island and Los Roques.
My 2 cents… I would actually vote for skipping the Galapagos. Ben and I went and loved it – it’s a totally unique place, that’s for sure. But looking back on it, I think we would have gotten more enjoyment spending the money elsewhere. If you’re on a budget, it’s a tough one to justify. You mentioned Africa – I would give up Galapagos in a second to spend more time/money in Africa (we had very short visits to Egypt & South Africa).
Otherwise, your rough itinerary sounds great! I love Banos, you’ll be happy to spend 3 weeks there. Make sure to visit the nice man at Casa del Arbol and let him excitedly tell you all about his important job monitoring the volcano.
Thanks for your two cents, Alonna. We’ve been reading your blog for awhile and it seems that we have similar style of traveling so we def appreciate any insights you have. You think that if your opinion might differ if you did indeed opt for a longer cruise than staying on the islands?
BOLIVIA!!! salar de uyuni
Exciting stuff indeed. I say go to Galapagos. Totally worth it. There are tons of budget accommodations and tours. The trick is to go around town and get short tours to the different islands. Live aboards are expensive!!
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Good luck on the RTW trip! SA sounds like a great place to start. I have some connections in Peru and would love to visit SA one day. Look forward to reading about your adventures and don’t forget those of us still in northern California!
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Hey there,
I went to South America on my RTW trip in 2009 and it was amazing. I highly recommend the following:
Peru – when in Cusco, go to Jack’s Cafe and get a ginger honey tea and a pumpkin soup. At night, head uphill toward Parque San Marcos (north of Jack’s cafe) for great views of the city at night, especially Plaza de Armas. Buy souvenirs in the markets here, not in Machu Picchu’s town. It’s one-third the price and they bargain a lot more. And a lot of the things you can get in Peru are sold in Bolivia for even less.
Bolivia – the scenery in Bolivia was spectacular. Definitely overnight on Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca (ferry from Copacobana). I was on the south side of the island. The stairs were dreadful at that altitude but the views were worth it. The lake was stunning and at night I could watch the moon rising on one part of the horizon and a lightning storm on the other. The salt flats at Uyuni are remarkable too – I did the three day tour to Chile. Just be careful who you book with. If the jeeps aren’t full, they bump you to whatever company’s vehicles need more passengers. Check for safety equipment and the skills of the drivers. My car was Colque Tours, with Edgar Colque as the driver and he was on his game but his co-workers were bad news. One drove drunk both days and the other just learned how to drive and didn’t know how to reverse. And eat vegetarian – they cook the meat that sits unrefrigerated on top of the jeeps in the sun all day.
Argentina – I spent a whole week just in Mendoza. The wine, nightlife, siestas and food were outstanding. Patagonia was fantastic too. Just be prepared to siesta from noon until five or six since everything is closed. And buy snacks – the kitchens don’t open for dinner until 9-10pm. This article explains how awesome Argentina is: http://www.apairofpantiesandboxers.com/2011/03/28/pack-a-few-extra-panties-boxers-for-argentina/
Have an amazing time!!
Bon Vogage guys! I’m starting RTW soon too beginning in Middle-east and keep heading West until I’m back Asia. South America is almost the last leg. I initially plan to visit only Brazil, Ecuador (Galapagos included), Peru. But now I’m including Bolivia and Colombia because my friend is absolutely crazy about the 2. Chile and Argentina I have to pass because we need visa to go there (ugh) and have to get it at home and only 3 months before.. so yah. It makes it easier to decide. Haha.
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I think suggestions for the Southern Cone will be very dependent on when you end up getting here. Santiago in the winter can be kind of miserable, to be totally honest, between the grey skies, damp cold and smog, but there’s great skiing. Hopefully you’ll be able to spend enough time in more northern areas – including San Pedro de Atacama – to get farther south once the weather’s better. Pucón is a really fun spot toward the south of Chile which reminds me a lot of the Lake Tahoe area with its combination of adventure activities (volcano hiking, river rafting, trekking). Patagonia is absolutely amazing if it’s warm enough. September 18 is Chile’s Independence Day, so it would be fun to be here for that.
I have enjoyed both Colonia and Montevideo, Uruguay, both of which can be done in a couple days and are an easy boat ride from Buenos Aires, so I would look into including them.
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The Lares trek is better than the Incan trek because you are mostly alone in the trek. Your group will not be see a lot of trekkers each day; rather you will see small villages.
I am so excited for you. South America stole my heart and I hope to return there myself. I lived and worked in Colombia and fell in love with the country. I would definitely recommend staying in Salento while you are in the Zona Cafetera. It is one of the most naturally beautiful places I have seen – next to the valley of wax palm trees and all the coffee fincas. The “Plantation House” in Salento is a good place to stay.
Happy trails to you!
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glad you are going to start with Colombia — one of my favorite countries. Am sure you are getting great advice from Dave and Jasmine about it, but I’d add this… make sure you hit the mountain town of San Gil. Lovely part of the country. Try Sam’s Hostel there and see if he remembers a gringo that asked to watch the American baseball playoffs last year and sat and wrote in his community room for weeks at a time.
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When you are in Cartagena, make sure to go to Volcán del Totumo. Volcanic mud bath – so awesome. (http://wikitravel.org/en/Cartagena_(Colombia))
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We are entirely useless to you in this case (having never been to South America)… but we’ll enjoy getting ideas for our own travels from your trip and these suggestions!
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I went to Montevideo in Uruguay and I wasn’t very impressed. Santiago, Chile has great food and wine. It also has some excellent native art. I thought it had a good mix of Spanish colonial and modern culture. It has weather and mountains similar to LA.
Buenos Aires is so fun, and you can find something to do at any hour of the day. Steak and wine is great of course, although there are all kinds of restaurants. The Recoleta cemetery where Evita Peron is buried is a must see.
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Very excited about Buenos Aires. It’s the first time hearing about Evita’s cemetery, sounds interesting. Thanks for the tip, Jennifer.
Our favourite places in Chile were Santiago, Pichilemu and Pucon…but it sounds like you might be making it down there in the dead of winter? If so, it might be a bit cold and rainy – though if you’re into winter sports, there is heaps to do in Chile. Probably definitely too cold for Patagonia, though. Most things in the south shut down from what I understand. But if you’re hitting Chilean Patagonia in November, we were told that’s the best month to visit Torres del Paine.
In Argentina, the same is true for Patagonia. I imagine Bariloche would be awesome in winter because of skiing, with Argentine tourists flooding the place. We love Mendoza so far and you can’t miss Buenos Aires. We’ve got lots of travel posts on Chile and Argentina on our blog, of course =)
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Yup, been following your adventures and it looks except for the one Patagonia hike, you guys have had good luck with weather, eh? Gorgeous pics. We’re talking about possibly wait out the winter by renting an apt somewhere so November for TdP might still be in the picture.
I’m a huge fan of Africa, of course, but don’t skip out on a place (like Brazil) just because you’re anxious to get to the next place. Many sleepless nights of regret happen that way!
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Sounds like a really good start!! If you decide to visit Montevideo, I’ll highly recommend the Feria de Tristan Narvaja (its a huge local second hand market, where you can find the most amazing things! and people are really friendly too (I spent about an hour chatting with a guy about local poetry! – learned a lot!). When in Buenos Aires (one of my favorite cities worldwide)… I’d recommend to stroll around the streets in Palermo Soho – the artsy area!
Besides for that… well, if you’re thinking about Brazil or not Brazil… I would really say go for it. It’s a beautiful country and has the most amazing beaches.
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I cannot wait to get to Africa! It’s not going to happen for at least a couple of years, though. I’ll be looking forward to yours posts about it. As far as Asia, Vietnam was my favorite SE Asian country – exotic, with just tons of extremely cool towns, cities and beaches, all along its length. A month is how long I spent there, and I think that’s about the right amount of time.
I spent 3 months in Ecuador, don’t forget to spend some time in Cuenca but stay far away from Guayaquil, it’s so dangerous and yucky.
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Below are the tips I have gotten around to writing plus a video from my parapente experience in Colombia (one of the most fun things I have done).
http://www.lengthytravel.com/travel-tips-colombia/
http://www.lengthytravel.com/paragliding-parapente-in-san-gil-colombia/
http://www.lengthytravel.com/travel-tips-ecuador/
http://www.lengthytravel.com/travel-tips-peru/
I also agree that a tour of the salar de uyuni in Bolivia really is a must-do.
After you get on the road you are not going to have any trouble getting recommendations from other travelers you will meet. If your time is short (as it is for most travelers) this will end up being an exercise in prioritizing amongst great options.
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Thanks so much for this!! I will definitely check them out.
I hear Paraguay would be one of the “roads less travelled”, but apparently very worth it!!! We won’t be in that neck of the woods for a long while, but Paraguay has made our shortlist…
http://www.brendansadventures.com/concepcion-paraguay
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Uruguay and Paraguay – love their soccer teams
We’re open to the possibilities of squeezing them in depending on how easy/cheap the border crossing is.
We loved Paraguay and only saw 3 other tourists in 3 weeks there.
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For me, the Amazon was the best part of Peru (after Machu Picchu of course) — I caught a piranha and saw pink dolphins! It doesn’t get any better than that.
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Everyone I’ve spoken to who’s traveled South America says that you need more time than you think. So it’s good that you have flexible plans…
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Looking at the map and seeing how big that continent is – I can just imagine that it’ll take a life time to explore what the region it has to offer.
Glad you’ve been inspired to visit Colombia’s pueblos – they were our favourite part. Jardin and Salento are both lovely.
We skipped the Galapagos because of the cost and it’s probably our only South America regret. We will be back!
Bolivia was our favourite country -visit the Amazon (cheaper to do it there than Brazil or even Peru), do a 4 day jeep trip from Tupiza -Uyuni through amazing landscapes (including the salt flats), and chill in pretty Sucre.
In Argentina we loved the Salta region, especially a road trip to Cafayate and Cachi.
We found Brazil way too expensive for our budget.
Distances are huge and it’s tiring though so take things easy and don’t worry if you have to skip some “must-sees”.
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Yeah, that’s the thing about Brazil that concerns us the most. Thanks for the tip about Bolivia – seems to be highly recommended here so we might re-evaluate our decision on the road. The only reason we didn’t pursue Bolivia much was the fact the visa requirement was more stringent than most of the other SA countries.
Funny, we thought we would move quickly through Ecuador too, but really fell in love with the tiny country. I’m so glad you will get to experience FAM in Banos, it really is a great experience.
And…say YES to the Galapagos, you will NOT regret it. Also, they seem to be changing the rules there, and starting in Feb of next year, they will no longer offer shorter (less expensive) cruises. The price is about to go waaay up, get there while you can!
I also have to concur that Bolivia is a definite must-see. We spent two months in Sucre and loved every minute of it. Also, the salt flats tour ranks as the #2 thing we did on our whole trip (right after the Galapagos!)
Plan for lots of time in Argentina, there is so much to see. Chile is beautiful as well, but Argentina really is something else!
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If you guys like hiking and nature, then don’t miss Northern Peru. We loved the Chachapoyas area and did an incredible 4-day trek there to the fortress of Kuelap. Yungay was another unexpected delight in Peru. And we loved Ecuador, as you know, and stayed for the entire 3 months we were allowed.
As for the rest of your itinerary, don’t sweat it. You’ll hear about places from other travelers as you go and make up your mind then. That’s how we found out about the Quilatoa Loop, Chachapoyas, Yungay, and many of the other great diversions on our trip. Better to just plan one destination at a time and see where the road takes you.
Happy travels!
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Thanks for the recommendations, Betsy. We’ve gotten many good tips from what you’ve written. I have a feeling that we’ll also max out our limited time in Ecuador.
Bolivia can’t be missed, it is arguably the most interesting country in South America. From Peru cross the border at Lake Titicaca, then head to La Paz where you can bribe your way into the prison that they keep cocaine smugglers in (REALLY interesting), bike the “world’s most dangerous road”, then go to the Amazon on the cheap. Then head to Potosi and see the incredible Salar de Uyuni while crossing into San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. Best of all, Bolivia is cheap and has maintained its indigenous populations. I spent over a year in South America and Bolivia won my heart when I hadn’t even planned to go there.
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