Budget for 3 Months in South America

OK, so our overall budget blew out to about double what I originally projected. For the two of us we spent $10 800 (not including expensive tours like Galapagos or Pantanal) which is about $1800/person/month and $60/person/day. Including those two expensive tours the total for us two was $16 700.Travelling South America was certainly not as cheap as I thought it would be and certain things would be just as expensive as in Australia if not more. We mostly stayed in hostels and splurged a bit on good food and some cool activities but the expensive tours aren't included in the total as they don't reflect day to day expenditure. 

Breakdown per country

Brazil

$90/person/day

We spent the 3 weeks in Brazil and spent $3785 for the two of us by far the most expensive country we visited. Transportation encompassed 57% of this as we had were booking flights relatively late.

Accommodation: $640, $15/person/night.

Transport: $2184, mostly flights and some buses. It's such a big country flying was a necessary expense.

Food: $500, $12/person/day. Cheap but not good food.

Activities: $382

Extra (not included in total): Pantanal 3 day tour, $1100 per person. Not worth the amount of money we spent on it and would have been better in the dry season.

Argentina

$50/person/day

We splurged a bit in the 10 days we spent in Buenos Aires, enjoy fantastic food and going out every day. Our quality of life was far higher than in Brazil and for much less.

Accommodation: $224, $11/person/night.

Transport: $303. Cheap public transport around the city, most of this cost was the bus ride for the both of us from Buenoas Aires to Santiago.

Food: $236, $12/person/day, awesome food for a bargain price.

Activities: $28, did lots of things like rollerblading around the park and went to a tango dance hall.

Chile

$69/person/day

We got very lucky in Chile and got free accommodation and home cooked meals with our wonderful friends so this cut down on the budget for the first half but San Pedro, Atacama desert was expensive due to the high amount of daily tours we did. The outlined budget below is just for our San Pedro portion.

Accommodation: $108, $18/person/night.

Transport: $180, bus for two from Santiago to San Pedro.

Food: $135, $22/person/day.

Activities: $213, did 4 half day tours.

Bolivia

$42/person/day

Bolivia was cheaper than other countries but e didn't find any three course meals for $1 like someone was telling us. Sadly I was really sick at this time and couldn't make it to a computer to budget properly but food and accommodation was relatively cheap.

Peru

$60/person/day

Peru was a good combination of fun and affordable. We were living it large and thought we were splashing the cash big time but the figures end up being very reasonable. 
Accommodation: $188, $12/person/night.

Transport: $429, a few bus rides a lots of cheap taxi rides - about $2-5 per trip.

Food: $381, $13/person/day. We absolutely splurged on food in Peru and went to a few fine dining places which were still cheap for what we were used to.

Activities: $427, we did a lot in Peru and bought a few things like alpaca jumpers which added to this. Still a cheap place to do fun things.

Extra (not included in total): G Adventures 5 day Inca Trail for $934 per person, worth it considering the staff they bring along to support you and the service you get.

Ecuador

$58/person/day
Relatively cheap place to travel around but honestly besides the Galapagos non of it felt like value for money after Peru.

Accommodation: $256, $16/person/night.

Transport: $104, mostly taxi rides including $25-35 taxi rides to and from Quito airport

Food: $282, $17/person/day. Cost more than Peru yet definitely nowhere near the quality. Disappointing.

Activities: $54, went to see the dolphins in El Morro and visit the middle of the Earth.

Extra: 5 day Galapagos Cruise + 1 day land tour on Isabella Island. Total for two people was $3484. Also spent an extra $436 on extras like entry fees, tips and snorkelling hire. 

Itinerary for 3 months in South America

Now that we're on our North America leg I've really come to miss South America. I miss it for all it's uniqueness and vibrancy. We spent three months there in total but this isn't really that long when you consider we visited 6 countries which equates to only about 2 weeks per country. How can you possibly say you've come to understand a place in 2 weeks? I do feel that we managed to cover the most important places to us but there are certainly places we felt we cheated and plan to visit on the next trip. 

Brazil (March 2013)

In total we spent 3 weeks here where we mostly flew from city to city. I think that this was a good amount of time here consider how large the country is. It was the most expensive country we visited so staying too long can really squeeze your budget. We started in Rio and spent 4 days there. It was a great place to start the journey and there was so much to do there. We saw Christ the Redeemer and visited the famous Copacabana and Ipanema beaches. We then made our way by bus to Paraty which was nice but the beach wasn't that great and I would have preferred to have gone to Ilha Grande which we heard many good things from other travellers about the beautiful beaches there. Another bus to the historical town of Ouro Preto where we spent two days, mostly taking photos of churches and walking up hills. We then visited Sao Paulo for four days. This a frenetic and over populated city where we had a great experience meeting some lovely locals but otherwise didn't find much to love about the acutal city. We then took a bus to Bella Horizonte then a flight to Salvador in the Northeast of Brazil. Salvador was one of my favourite cities and we spent 5 days there exploring the Afro-Brazilian culture and spent an extra two days in the small nearby beach towns of Imbassai and Praia do Forte. I'd skip the former but loved the latter, even though it was super touristy. We then flew all the way across to the Cuiaba where we started our 3 day tour into the Pantanal, large wetlands area known for wildlife. Due to it being the wet season (March), this was a dissapointment as there are more chances of seeing Jaguars and other cool animals in the dry season. I wished we'd saved our money instead and went to Bonito instead to see the wild macaws and do the fish swim instead. We then flew to Iguassu Falls and spent one full day on the Brazilian side and the next on the Argentinian side. Do both sides and do the boat ride as well. It's really really fun! Note: We applied for our Brazillian visa's in Australia a month before leaving.

Argentina (March/April)

We spent 8 days only in Buenos Aires which was a good amount of time. We planned on spending some of that time in Mendoza, wine country. But since we absolutely fell in love with the food and culture of BA and don't love wine we ended up going straight from BA to Santiago. This was a 24 hour bus ride but going over the Andes along the way made it feel like more of a scenic tour and definitely recommended even if going through Chilean customs takes ages. We would love to come back one day and see more of Argentina and do Salta and Mendoza as well. We hear they are both lovely. But I would still go back to BA for some more amazing steak. Note: You have to pay a $100 reciprocacy fee and print out the receipt before entering the country.

Chile (April)

We spent 12 days in Chile, 5 of those in Pucon. Stunning volcanoes and lakes with amazing friends, we had such a good time and I just wish we had more time to go further South to Patagonia and do the W trail in Torres del Paine but I hear that is a trip in itself and by April it would have been way to cold for unprepared travelers that  we are. We also spent four days in the northern tip in San Pedro doing daily tours in the Atacama desert. Our favourites were the salt lagoons and the Space tour. From there we started our four day tour to the Bolivian salt flats.

Bolivia (April)

I couldn't really enjoy Bolivia due to altitude sickness but the tour to the salt flats had some stunning scenery and of course the salt flats themselves are so special. We also then spent 2 days in La Paz and 2 days in Lake Titicaca. This was enough and I really can't say I overly enjoyed htis part of the trip.

Peru (May)

We spent just under 3 weeks in Peru and honestly I could have spent more. Such a stunning country with so much to do and great on the budget too. We spent two days acclimatising in Cusco before doing a 5 days Inca Trail trek with G adventures which was hard but infinitely rewarding. Another two days in Cusco afterwads recuperating and then two days in Lima, exploring the ceviche in Miraflores. We spent two days in Ica visiting the oasis town of Huacachina and sandboarding (exhilirating) and one day in Paracas looking at sea lions and penguins. Then another two days back in Lima, this time in Barranco district which is a bit less touristy and more interesting then Miraflores. 

Ecuador (May)

A 28 hour bus from Lima is the city of Guayaquil where we booked our Galapagos tour. This was such a stress point for me but worth it. We originally wanted to squeeze Columbia in before we went to Galapagos but realised that we wouldn't really be giving Columbia the days it deserved plus we weren't sure how long it would take to find a good Galapagos tour and didn't want to risk not having enough time to do it. So Columbia went on the 'next time' list. We spent two days organising the tour, one exploring the city and two days in Playas on the beach and checking our dolphins in the mangroves at El Morro. Honestly, with all the amazing wildlife and beaches that awaited at Galapagos we could have skipped Playas but we had time to kill. We spent 2 weeks in Ecuador but the best part was the Galapagos, the only major tour we did that not only met but far exceeded expectations. We spent 7 days at Galapagos with two of those in transit on flights. This was the perfect amount of time that allowed us to see everything without getting excessively expensive and repetitive. We only had one full day in Quito to visit the equator for a science lesson before we flew out to Los Angeles, USA. 

The REAL Middle of the Earth

The middle of the earth ie. the equator crosses Quito, Ecuador. My first impression of Quito is that the airport is REALLY far away from the city. My second was that it was really cold. I always had thought it would be steaming hot on the equator but as as we were in the highlands, this is was not the case. 

We only had one day in Quito before we flew out to LA so of course, we had to visit the equator. You catch the bus from the centre labelled 'Mitad del Mundo' (Middle of the Earth) to the Ciudad Mitad del Mundo national landmark which is kind of like a theme park but without any rides. Its got the big official statue with the line going through it and all kinds of restaurants and a lama zoo. Random. 

So after taking some customary equatorial balancing photos we had lunch, where we finally had some Cuy or guinea pig. There were a lot of bones, and not that much meat, plus it had a weird kind of game taint to it that wasn't pleasant. I'm glad we tried it but I think I'll just stick to my regular proteins. The good thing about this restaurant was that they had free wi fi and Kevin found the Itinan Museum, where the REAL equator is located.

What? Why would they build this theme park with lamas and all in a place that's not even on the equator. Well supposedly this was the original equator they calculated 200 years ago but with GPS technology we can now verify that the equator is actually located about 200m north of the official landmark in a different place called the Intinan Museum. So we exited the official park, made two lefts and found the museum where you pay another $4 and get a guided tour. 

This tour is a bit wacky but really fun. "Now I will show you a shrunken head" states our tour guide. Sure, why not. We saw the penis fish, the fish that supposedly climbs into your urethra if you urinate in the river. Replicas of amazonian huts, a guinea pig farm (couldn't help but feel guilty since I just ate one an hour previously and they were pretty damn cute alive) and a large poster of naked Amazonian tribal men with their penises tied up. They did save the best for last though where for the second time that day we took touristy photos on a painted line. I believed this one though because we also got a cool water demonstration. They had a tub of water that when placed on the equator, the water would just fall straight through. When the tub is moved 2m south of the line, the water swirls down in a counter clockwise direction. In the North, it goes clockwise. Yep folks, the Simpsons was correct. This is known as the Coriolis effect and is pretty cool when you get to see it. 

Penis fish

Shrunken head, size of your fist.

The REAL equator

Sorry guinea pigs, I won't eat you again.

So there you go, the official but fake equator is kind of lame but the real one is really cool and hopefully more people check it out. 

Galapagos Islands: Planning and Booking Last minute

This is such an amazing place that I think everyone who can should make their way to Galapagos. Here's a rough  guide to help you plan your own awesome trip.

5 or 8 days?

Originally I wanted to spend 8 days on a cruise but we couldn't find a suitable boat and itinerary. We then settled for a 5 day cruise but were to arrive two days early so we could add a one day Isabella Island day tour beforehand. I think this worked out perfectly, it allowed us to get on the island and organise ourselves before we got on the boat and gave us just enough time on Galapagos without getting too repetitive. Some people on our boat were doing the full 8 days AND had 4 more days on land afterwards and were looking to change their flights so they could leave after the cruise. Please note that the last day of the cruise is just a travelling day as most flights leave about midday so a 5 day cruise ends up actually being only 4 full days.

Which Itinerary?

The Galapagos Islands is made up of a handful of different, smaller islands and it really depends on the season what you will see on each island. May is breeding season for a lot of birds and animals so its the best time for wildlife. This is also the beginning of the dry season which means sunny days but colder water temperatures to snorkel in and slightly poorer snorkelling visibility. We picked May because we didn't want it to rain too much and its just before the peak season, to improve our chances of getting a last minute cruise. We particularly wanted to see waved albatross which can only be seen on Espanola Island for certain months and were breeding at the time, whereas most other animals can be seen on most of the islands. So we specified the itinerary to include Espanola. The other winner was a visit to Kicker rock near San Cristobal Island, which is one of the best snorkelling places in Galapagos. Most cruise boats eather do the North west or South east and ours covered the South East Islands. Most itinearies will cover 2 really good islands though and the top islands according to our guide are Espanola, Fernandina, Genovesa and North Seymour. Here is an outline of our itinerary:

SUN

Baltra, North Seymour

MON

San Cristobal: Leon Dormido, cerro Brujo, Isla Lobos

TUES

Espanola: Gardner Bay, Punta Suarez, Islets Osborn & Gardner

WED

Santa Fe, Plazas

THU

Santa Cruz: Tortoise Breeding Centre, Baltra

Cost

Which ever way you go about it, Galapagos is expensive. Its true that you can save 30-50% by booking last minute, usually from Guayaquil, Quito or on Galapagos itself but after speaking to different people on our boat, we all paid the same no matter which Ecuadorian city we came from. Overall, for 2 people the main costs added to $3484. Here's the breakdown:

Galapagos Per Person

5 day cruise 1100

1 day Isabella tour 120

Flights 490

Hotel Flamingo (2 nights) 32

Isabella entrance 20

Galapagos transit card 10

Galapagos entrance fee 100

Snorkeling equipment 30

Tip 40

Taxi to and from airport 36

We flew with Aerogal from Guayaquil into Galapagos and then Galapagos into Quito. We had a $1000 ATM cash withdrawal limit so we prepared by taking out money every day before booking it so we had $4000 to hand over straight away when we found the right cruise. You can pay by credit card but its a big surcharge you end up paying, eating away at your discount. We saved overall $1000 off the online price but it looked like everyone else paid the same on our boat as they all booked last minute too. 

Which Travel Agent?

Guayaquil, unlike Quito doesn't really have a central tourist area so you had to wanter around a lot to find agencies and get quotes and check availabilities. This is a tiring and time consuming process of people calling up boats as there is no online system for checking or booking. The larger, flashier offices were a waste of time. They are too busy to check numerous boats so always just give you one or two expensive options they don't really suit your needs. You really needed a smaller place that JUST did last minute Galapagos tours as their primary business. One other frustration was that we started looking on Sunday but nothing was open so this was a day wasted. The only place we found that catered to our needs was Travel Galapagos located in the Hostal Suites Madrid. Chris was really helpful in finding out exactly what we wanted and spent a lot of his time with us explaining things and calling up a lot of different boats. He was very peristant in looking, what you need when spots get snapped up from under you. He also offered us a fair price. A lot of people, us included, found that even an hour delay thinking about options and researching them could mean you lose it and then have to start all over again. My advice, know what you want and book it when you see it! We also had a public holiday in the dates we wanted which made things more booked out.

We were tired, hungry and frustrated when Chris finally found us the Guantanamera and we snatched it up after doing a 2 minute online boat check. Luckily we did as the couple who booked it last had to be split up into single sex rooms but they too had run out of options at that point and just sucked it up and took it.

Which Class of Boat?

The order of boat quality goes from economy, tourist class, first class and cruise ship. There are also motor boats and catamarans. Our lower budget meant they we were only aiming for tourist class and first class boats. The Guantanamera is a tourist class, motor boat so our cabins were small and basic but clean and comfortable. We had air conditioning (which we didn't need to use), hot water showers and great food on board. Actually, considering some of the hostels we stayed out, this was an improvement and we were happy with it. The smaller boat size does mean you feel the boat rok more and I am really prone to motion sickness. But I found that if I took some tablets and napped when we were sailing I could sleep the nausea off and am proud to say I didn't throw up once on that boat. Also, judging from the other groups we saw, it looked like the nicer the boat, the older the clientele. So think carefully who you would want to hang out with the whole time. We had a good range of people from 20-30 years old with one older lady who was nice but a lot pickier. 

The Galapagos Islands - A World of Wonder

Every now and then, this trip offers me a life-affirming moment. A beautiful sunet over the Atacama desert or arriving at Machu Picchu through the sun gate. But on Galapagos, it feels like every moment gives you something unique to be cherished. From the moment I stepped of the plane, I felt a rush of excitment, giddy with undefined anticipation. 

We frolicked with sea lions in crystal clear blue waters. Grinning through our snorkel masks as they flew through the water right at us, coming so close that you got a feeling they were going to crash and then diving under at the very last second. Psych! Sea lions are so cheeky. Then watching a school of black tipped reef sharks gracefully pass under us and hoped that they weren't too hungry. Heart-pounding as I looked right into its beady shark eyes. I so wanted to high five sea tutles as they blobbed by me and go 'duuuude' just like in Finding Nemo. And then trying to swim frantically to keep up with eagle rays, the birds of the sea. And when there was nothing, there was something. The turquoise water, so clear and beautiful with bursts of sunlight coming through. 

And after all this, lying on the pristine beaches was exactly the R&R I needed after a tiring morning of snorkeling. Yep, life sure is hard on Galapagos. 

We got close to Galapagos penguins, frigate birds with their red pouches puffed out, blue-footed boobies doing their adorable mating dance, waved albatross gracefully flying above with their large wing spans and sunbaking marine iguanas, the only diving iguanas in the world. Knowing these unique animals only exist in this one place gives you a great appreciation in spotting them. Even if its the 1000th booby you've seen. The combination of the spectacular wildlife, great boat and food, and lovely peole we met on it has made this tour the highlight of the trip and I can now say that I went to Galapagos and it was freaking amazing!