6 month+ Tour of South America.

[davidroper73]

Planning at least a 6 month pretty intense tour of south america.

Having some difficuilty on planning the general direction of the trip but basically I will want to visit: visit Rio, skiing week in patagonia, climb cotopaxia, trek around lake titanita, and possibly the biggest challenge is a approx 10 day kayak along part of the amazon, staying in a tent.

We dont want to be arranging tour guides and would rather be doing this on our own. Obviously there are other sights i want to see, like angel and iguaza falls, maybe do the inca trail as well. I also have a big desire to visit Ushuaia.

We have also looked into the possibility of buying a couple of bikes to do it with. What do you think, is it feesable?

[Mark]

I like it! Very adventurous travel plans! With some careful planning this is feasible. Don't forget that distances in South America are huge. Bus rides can take forever sometimes.

[davidroper73]

thanks for the comments mark. On the back of that i ownder if you could possibly give me some reccomendations / advice.......

We would like to kayak along the amazon, prob for a week, but not as part of a tour party, take a tent and simply camp along the riverbanks. Is it feesable to hire a kayak / canoe for your own journeys, or do they insist on going as a group?

Can i ask if you have been down to ushuaia before? I quite fancy the idea of having a beer at the southern most city in the world!! Is it feesable to get to? I also believe there are ski resorts nearby which id be keen to explore.

Thanks once again.

[Mark]

Aah, the end of world is a wonderful place to have a beer! I hitchhiked in Patagonia from Puerto Madryn, the city of whales, to Ushuaia (see pics above). An unforgettable adventure. There is a ski resort nearby but you'll have to go during winter (July/August) if you want to ski. Another great spot for skiing is Bariloche.

I had a crazy canoe afternoon (see pics below) in Santa Rosa (Amazon Basin in Bolivia) with an Argentenian friend of mine. Santa Rosa is where the jungle tours from Rurrenabaque start. Crocodiles were just a few feet away from us.



You will have to ask around if something can be arranged when you arrive. The good news is that something always can be arranged in South America so this shouldn't be a problem.

[davidroper73]

Hi mark, thanks for your help again.

on the back of that, what would you suggest was the most feesable option to get to the very south, say from santiago or BA region?? We are thinking about buying a couple of bikes for our trek, but whether that will happen or not im not sure.

Hitchhiking would be an option, or the bus i guess. Im not sure about flying there though.

[Mark]

Distances are enormous in South America. It's 3000km (1860miles) from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia. Although I hitchhiked in Patagonia I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing it. I slept in gas stations and stuff.

[davidroper73]

thanks again! A wealth of experience and knowledge!

The itenary for our trip is quickly taking shape. We have been researching out amazon trek. Do you have any experience of travelling along it? We ideally want to rent a canoe ourselves and follow some small isolated tributaries rather than take a tourist boat.

Thinking possibly from iquitos area, or futher towards manaus. We plan to buy a tent out there and take that, for maybe a wk to 10 day trip!

[Mark]

I haven't cruised on the Amazon river myself. I had a wonderful surreal week on a Bolivian river boat (the only gringo on board) in the Amazon Basin while traveling to the border of Brazil. You can read about the river boat trip here.

Either in Iquitos or in Manaus it shouldn't be too difficult to get things arranged. Ask around while traveling, your fellow backpackers will be your best source of information on the road.