Backpacking South America, advice needed!

[mausoto]

Hey Mark, first of all let me congratulate you for this great website!!! It is exactly what I have been looking for and it will be very useful for me.

My name is Mauricio, I am 19 years old and in december I will have a friend come over to visit me from Italy here to Costa Rica. First I will take him to some great places here and then we'll depart with our backpacks to Panama, where the journey will start. From there we'll head to the south. We have almost nothing at all planned, in fact that is kind of the idea, since we want this trip to be totally flexible for us to have the freedom to decide where to go, etc. on the moments. More or less we want to visit Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia, Brasil, Argentina, Chile, but as I said it is a totally flexible plan. For sure we will be visiting Machu Picchu and I am very tempted to the Inka Trail where you walk for about 4 days, but it will depend on the budget.

I am planning to do this with about 900 dollars, my friend probably has a bit more.

Anyway, do you think it is possible to move around like this through South America, without having previous reservations and still find cheap accomodation in hostels and transport in buses? This will be in the months of December/January.

Feel free to add any advice you want regarding anything .

I thank you in advance for any help you can give us and again, congratulations for such a cool website!!!

[Mark]

Hi Mauricio,

Thanks very much for the kind words! It's nice to hear you enjoy the site!

I traveled 18 months in South America. No reservations were made beforehand. I left with just a return ticket in my backpack. You're planning to start in Panama and I will have to start with some words of advice. It is very dangerous to travel overland from Panama to Colombia. You have to cross the Darien Gap. There is another thread about crossing the Panama - Colombia border here. If you've never been in South America, Colombia may be a bit too much to start your South America adventure. It is a very beautiful but hectic country.

Something else to consider is that you are going to travel during the rainy season and some roads may be inaccessible in some remote areas. Always ask advice to fellow backpackers about road conditions.

You will spend between 10/15 dollars daily. Take into account that visiting Machu Picchu will cut your 900 dollar budget considerably.

Keep in mind that distances are enormous. You may consider shortening your list of countries you'd like to visit. I personally would visit Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia (the Andean countries) if I only had two months. Those countries are very beautiful and still very traditional.

If you want to have a general idea of hostels for backpackers feel free to play around with our hostel booking engine (the Lonely Planet people use the same engine). You can use it on the road as well.

Let me know if you still have questions. I'll do my best to help you out.

[mausoto]

Hey Mark, thank you for the help, I will take all that info into account for my travel.

You are right, Machu Picchu is hard with that budget, in fact, probably I might not be able to do the Inka Trail.

Crossing the Darien Gap was my first and major concern on this trip, since I know there isn't any road and it is hard to find cheap alternatives to flying. I found out some info and as you posted on the other thread, apparently the best alternative is by boat.

However, I am not even sure if I should go through Colombia, since some say it's safe and others, like you, have warned me it can be dangerous! I am not sure of how dangerous is it and what risk I would be taking if passing there.

The problem is that Colombia is the only country that borders with Panama, therefore the only way to skip it would be taking a plane (either from Panama or Costa Rica) directly to Ecuador or Venezuela, and that would cut off my budget in a huge way, since flying is ridiculously expensive here!

Anyway, I'll have to give it more thoughts and I'll keep you informed.

[Mark]

Hi Mauricio,

Why don't you book a flight to Quito, Ecuador and work your way south to Cuzco, Peru. You've got two months and you are on a tight budget. Write down some highlights you really want to see and adjust either your budget or travel time.

Keep us posted!

[mausoto]

Hi mark,

It's been quite a few time since I haven't posted anything. I am glad to tell you that I am already travelling, at the end we decided to go to Panama, Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador. We are in Cartagena right now and I am already falling in love with this amazing country (Colombia).

[Mark]

Hi Mauricio,

Wonderful news indeed! Happy to hear you love Colombia! Let us know how you crossed the Darien gap between Panama and Colombia. You can share some pics too by adding a photo album to your profile (I'd love to see some).

Keep us posted! Enjoy your amazing journey in South America!

Best wishes,

Mark

[mike]

First of all, a big thank you and congrats for this amazing site that I discovered just the other day. It has motivated and inspired me to start my own journey to the unfamliar. I do have a few questions for you if you would be so kind. What did you do with your belongings while you were away, (beloved motorcycle and gun collection)? suggestions? My next question is what type of saety should you have financially for a one year experience?
Thanks again,
Mike

[Mark]

Hi Mike,

Great to hear the site touched your adventurous spirit!

What did I do with my belongings?
The first time I went to South America I stored some of my belongings with my parents and friends. Other stuff, like my car, got sold. I ended up traveling 18 months the first time. The second time I only traveled for 4 months. I didn't move anything. Just paid the rent of my house while traveling. Another time I stored all my belongings in a container for 3 months.

Travel budget
Giving sound advice on how to cope financially is always difficult. For 1 year you'll have to calculate your return flight, 10/15 dollars daily and a budget for some wonderful, not to be missed, attractions like Machu Picchu or the Galapagos Islands. You can also opt to teach English in one of the many schools in South America. The pay is not much but should cover basic expenses.

Best wishes,

Mark

[Emily]

Hey Mark,
I stumbled upon this site whilst starting my research into South America. I'm wanting to help in any way i can whilst traveling and above you mentioned about teaching in schools. I was wondering if they were easy to come by or if you had to organise details with a school before heading out? Also i have recently returned from Mozambique where the demand for clothing was very high. I was wondering if this was the same for in South America or whether they wouldnt be accepted in the same way.
Hope you can help
Many thanks
Emily

[Mark]

Hi Emily,
You just present yourself at a language school with a positive attitude and a big smile and hope for the best. I gave lessons in some schools in Argentina. At that time I was already traveling for over a year and I just had some very basic trousers and pullovers, you know, the typical backpacker clothing. This didn't seem to be an issue. I don't know if this can be a problem in other schools in South America.