Shortest time to cover the entire continent

[MObruin]

Basically, from Caracas to Ushuaia.

I plan on starting at the northern tip of Venezuela and finishing up at the southern tip of Argentina. I would like to get around to visiting all the countries (minus the three in the north east).

Basically Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina.

I want to visit as many countries as possible. Realistically, how long would it take me to bus from caracas to ushuaia visiting roughly 3 or 4 cities within each country. I want to take little to no flights, want to stay on the ground. I also dont plan on trying to fully explore each of the cities I visit, I would stay like 1-2 days tops in the major cities.

THanks, I appreciate the input. I plan on leaving either late August or early september.

-MO-

[Mark]

Maybe you can finetune your plan a bit. How long can you travel for, how big is your budget, which highlights do you want to see, etc... Plans always change on the road. Your idea of staying 2 days max in every city is not realistic.

It is a very, very, very, very long way from Caracas to Ushuaia. I bused this in 18 months.

[MObruin]

so from north to south is unrealistic.

What about East to West?? I was inspired by your South American Dreams tour that takes me from Rio de Janero to Lima in 40 days.

This is the one I am referring to:
South American Dreams | Travel Amazing South America


I will be spending anywhere from 6-8 weeks down there. And would like to follow a similar route, while fine tuning according to where I'm at and how much progress I'm making.

I will probably just bus through some of the destinations listed on that tour.

Is it possible to do that same route without the flights? Or how about if I minimize the flights to just 1 or 2? Would it be possible to make it east to west in 40-60 days?

Also, I will be doing this journey over the summer (might leave as early as june or as late as September).

thoughts?

Thanks again for having such a detailed site.

-MO-

[Mark]

Maybe I wasn't clear enough. Traveling from North to South is realistic, your idea of staying 2 days max in every city is not realistic.

Following the itinerary of our South American Dreams trip is a great idea but may not be as straightforward as you think. The trip is fully organized, we travel with our own vehicle, all hotels are pre-booked. If you do this on your own you will end up changing your plans, believe me, some places are very beautiful and have a lot to offer.

Do not approach backpacking with a sense that you HAVE TO do this and HAVE TO do that. Write down some highlights you would really like to see and allow time to go with the flow (more often than not those are the moments you will cherish for a long time).