Backpacking in South America
South America is huge! Allow a good amount of time travel around the continent, dont try and fit to much in or you will regret it. We started in Caracas, travelling south through Venezuela down through Brazil along the Amazon to the east coast. We then travelled south down the east coast of Brazil crossing into Argentina by Iguazu Falls. We then travelled down to Buenos Aires and then north up into Bolivia. We looped through Bolivia up into Peru as far as Lima. The route we did was all over land using buses - except from Salvador to Rio de Janerio which we flew, this was only because it was actually cheaper to fly than get the bus.
We spent 4 months on this route and it was just about the right balance of having time to spare when you wanted to and not feeling like you havent seen enough. I would highly recommend this route to anybody thinking of going travelling.
Of all the contents that I have visited so far, South America is by far my favourite. For many it conjures up images of drugs and violence, but I think backpacking in South America is by far the best experience any independent traveler can hope to have. In South America we found people to be much more honest than those of South East Asia. We felt more at ease with the whole vibe of the Continent, maybe as we share the same ancestors as opposed to strong difference in culture with South East Asia.
8 Responses to “Backpacking in South America”
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Hi Benedict,
I am planning on backpacking from Caracas to Salvador, Brazil this August. Is there a special route you took? Did you fly or take a bus? What places did you stop on the way. Any helpful info would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Robin
Hi Robin, we traveled by bus and boat - by bus down through Venezuela into Brazil, then by boat along the Amazon then by bus along the Brazilian Coast to Salvador.
I will write a post detailing the route and places to go as soon as I can.
Out of curiosity, do you think that in two months time my boyfriend and I could enjoy backpacking through South America and if so, what are the places you would highly recommend? Also, is it fairly easy to find places to stay? Do you shack up at a hostel or do you have connections? Sorry for all of the questions, but we are very excited to begin planning for the trip and are trying to figure out the logistics!
Thank you and safe travels!
Eli’
Hi Eli
It entirely depends how many places your planning on visiting. If you try and fit too much in I don’t think you’ll enjoy it as much, so make sure your not over stretching yourself. It also depends which countries your were thinking about visiting, obviously getting through Brazil takes a lot longer than Uruguay.
We stayed mainly in hostels and guest houses and found places when we got there, going on peoples recommendations and those in the guide books.
I’d highly recommend going to Bolivia (it was our favourite country), its very cheap and there’s a lot to see. We also loved north Argentina and Buenos Aires, The coast of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro (our favourite place), and the Inca areas of Peru.
If you’d like any more detail of places we went to in each country just let me know.
PS I’m very jealous!
Hi!
I was hoping you could help me out in finding a bus company i can look up in venezuela to travel to brazil so I can estimate costs.
If you dont mind my asking how much money did you need to bring in order to get you through your 4 months?
Thanks!
Sara
Hi,
Me and few friends are booking a trip to south america in Nov. Start in mexico then head over to cuba, then down into south america? Which route do you suggest, sites, and any festivals or carnivals in certain countries that we shouldnt miss.
Please let us know,
Hi Omar,
If you traveling down from Central America I’d recommend the route we took, passing through Venezuela, down into Brazil then down the Brazilian coast across into Argentina then up through Bolivia and Peru.
Make sure you visit Bolivia and Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina if you’ve time.
We didn’t specifically go to any festival or Carnivals though we stumbled across quite a few on our way. If Carnivals are what your after then you couldn’t go wrong with Brazil. Cities like Olinda and Salvador have Carnival like atmospheres all year round with music and parades in the streets an everyday occurrence.
Hope that helps, if you need more details about Carnivals and dates this looks like a good resource.
Enjoy your trip, let me know how you get on
Hi Sara,
Sorry for delay in replying, I couldn’t find any of my old bus tickets, I did find this bus companies website, seems like a nice one http://www.aeroexpresos.com.ve You can look up prices on it which is helpful a trip from Caracas to Ciudad Bolivar will set you back Bs62.400 which is about £14.50, not bad for 591km on a pretty nice looking bus!