South America: The Continent That Never Bores
South America defies compression. It contains Amazonian jungle and Andean glaciers, colonial cities and ultra-modern metropolises, the world's driest desert and its largest wetland, the ruins of the Inca Empire and the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. Covering meaningful ground takes time — and three months is the minimum to do it justice. The good news: with a sound route and the right approach, $4,500 (around $50/day) covers a genuinely extraordinary experience.
The Route
The most logical circuit starting from Europe's cheapest gateway city:
Lima (Peru) → Cusco → Lake Titicaca → La Paz (Bolivia) → Uyuni → San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) → Santiago → Buenos Aires (Argentina) → Montevideo → Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) → Medellín (Colombia) → Cartagena → fly home
Or reversed. Or with any number of detours and extensions — the Amazon Basin, Patagonia, Easter Island.
Country-by-Country Budget
Peru — The Anchor ($35–45/day)
Lima is a food lover's paradise and surprisingly affordable — world-class ceviche from a proper cevichería costs $8–12, and a supermarket breakfast barely registers. Cusco (altitude: 3,400m — acclimatise for at least two days before attempting the Inca Trail or Salkantay Trek) is the base for the region's greatest experience.
Machu Picchu entry: Now requires advance online booking (approximately $45–60 depending on entrance zone and time slot). The train from Cusco is expensive ($70–150 return by Inca Rail or Peru Rail); the budget option is the combination of bus + collectivo + Santa Teresa trek route ($25–35 total) — scenic, rewarding and considerably cheaper.
The Inca Trail (4 days, $700+ all-inclusive with obligatory licensed tour) is the most famous hike. Salkantay Trek (5 days, $300–500) covers more dramatic landscape with fewer permit restrictions. Both require advance booking in peak season.
Bolivia — The Spectacular ($20–30/day)
Bolivia is South America's most affordable country and arguably its most visually dramatic. Salar de Uyuni — the world's largest salt flat, at 3,656m altitude — is an experience that belongs on any serious traveller's list. Three-day tours from Uyuni town cost $80–130, including transport across the salt flat, geothermal fields and coloured lakes at the Chilean border.
La Paz has the world's most extraordinary urban geography — a city built in a canyon, connected by a network of cable cars (teleférico) that serve as public transport and offer spectacular views for $0.35 per ride.
Argentina — The Contrast ($40–60/day)
Argentina is South America's most expensive country but still excellent value by Western standards. Buenos Aires is one of the world's great cities — an overwhelming mix of European architecture, tango culture, extraordinary steak and one of the world's most vibrant nightlifes (dinner at 10pm, clubs open at 2am, close at 8am).
The asado experience: A proper Argentine parilla (grill restaurant) serves a complete asado — multiple cuts of beef, chorizo, morcilla (blood sausage), achuras (offal) — for $20–35 per person with wine. This is genuinely one of the world's great eating experiences and represents excellent value.
Chile — The Extreme ($45–65/day)
Chile is the most expensive and most geographically extreme country on the route — from the Atacama Desert in the north to Patagonia in the south, a distance of 4,300 kilometres.
Torres del Paine national park in Patagonia (entry $35) is among the world's finest hiking destinations: granite towers, turquoise glacial lakes, condors and guanacos. The five-day 'W trek' costs $200–400 total including park entry, refugio accommodation and transport from Puerto Natales — excellent value for what is genuinely world-class wilderness.
San Pedro de Atacama (the gateway to Chile's salt flats and the Atacama Desert) offers day tours to Valle de la Luna ($20), flamingo-filled altiplanic lakes ($40) and the El Tatio geysers at sunrise ($30).
Colombia — The Revelation ($30–40/day)
Colombia has transformed its international reputation comprehensively in the past fifteen years. Medellín — once the world's most dangerous city — is now acclaimed as one of the most innovative cities in Latin America: remarkable public transport, excellent café culture, stunning surrounding hills and a palpable energy of optimism. The Cable de Medellin gondola system, originally built for the poor hillside comunas, now connects them to the metro and to the finest botanical garden in South America.
Cartagena — a walled colonial city on the Caribbean coast, all bright-painted balconies and bougainvillea — is the ideal final destination before the flight home.
Transport Between Countries
Night buses are the budget traveller's best friend in South America. Major routes:
| Route | Mode | Cost | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cusco → La Paz | Bus (tourist shuttle) | $20–25 | 10 hours |
| La Paz → Uyuni | Bus or 4WD tour | $15–80 | 8–10 hours |
| Santiago → Buenos Aires | Bus (Andes crossing) | $30–50 | 18–20 hours |
| Buenos Aires → Rio | Bus (Pluma / Cata) | $60–90 | 42 hours |
| Rio → Medellín | Flight (cheapest option) | $80–150 | 6 hours |
The 42-hour Buenos Aires to Rio bus sounds brutal. It is, in fact, a remarkable experience — crossing the Brazilian border through subtropical forest, with a semi-cama (reclining seat with footrest) that makes it tolerable.
