How can I do a 6 month South America trip on a budget?

Question

I am bored with SEA and apart from Burma and a possible trip to Cameron Highlands, I am ready to move on to South America while I avoid the Eastern European winter. From October until the end of April. The purpose of the trip is to see the parts of South America that are worth seeing to tick them off the list and potentially never need to visit South America again (last time i left due to budget constraints and wanting to get back to SEA).
In the 2012/2013 during the South American summer, over the period of about 9-10 weeks I went to Bogota, Medellin, Solento, Cali, Quito, Guayaquil, Lima, Cuzco, Lima. I feel like I have seen enough of North-Western part of South America and I would like to restart my trip in Lima and head south and then travel around the bottom of Sth Am to B.A then end the trip in Rio.
This should take around 6-7 months and the weather should be good to see Patagonia, right?
What is the best route for someone who doesn’t like to hang around in places for more than 7 days (each place max.), if I want to stick to a budget of about $1000-$1200 per month? I am aware that buses are slow, long journeys but I am not in a rush for this trip… just avoiding the European winter and escaping the pointlessness of my time in SEA.
Would like tips for which places to go, avoid, internet speeds, problems, which bus company you used.
I do affiliate marketing so easy access to an internet connection is important, but internet speed does not matter too much.

floc · Accepted Answer

Chile is as expensive as Europe, no comparison at all to Peru, Ecuador or Bolivia. You can still easily travel Chile on $1000 USD a month, but it won’t be anywhere near the comfort further north.
Probably a good idea to spent more time in Argentina than in Chile but you shouldn’t miss Santiago and Valparaiso.
Also the area around lake Llanquihue at the Northern end of Patagonia is just beautiful and trekking in Cochamo or Fuatelufu will probably satisfy all your Patagonia needs.
Starting out in Lima is a very good idea, since you haven’t been to Bolivia. I’d say:

Peru: Lima - Arequipa - Puno
Bolivia: Copacabana - La Paz - Sucre -  Potosi - Uyuni - Tupiza
Argentina: Salta - Mendoza
Chile: Santiago - Valparaiso - Pucon - Puerto Varas

Puerto Varas is already in Patagonia and a great homebase for Llanquihue lake, Chiloe island and Trekking Cochamo, depending on how much time you have.
Puerto Varas is also starting point of Carretera Austral going to Southern Patagonia, but tbh, I would switch back to Argentina after Puerto Varas + sidetours.
Puerto Varas, Bariloche and Chiloe were more than enough Patagonia for me, so I never got further south than Chiloe (and don’t intend to), but people usually go down the ruta 40 in Argentina:

Argentina: Bariloche - El Bolson - Perito Moreno - El Chalten - El Calafate
Chile: Puerto Natales for Torres del Paine

Ofc you can just head to Buenos Aires after Bariloche if you don’t wanna hit Southern Patagonia.
Internet/Wifi shouldn’t be a problem except maybe for the no man’s land of Uyuni and Tupiza in Bolivia.
Buses in Argentina and Chile are very good, sometimes have Wifi and are very expensive. In Bolivia they are dirt cheap in quality and fare.
Take a lot of Pesos Chilenos, Dollars or Euros to Argentina or it will be expensive, check the dolar blue rate.

floc · Answer

$1k is definitely doable. I did it on much less, around $700/month. But that’s an average, you will spend more in Chile.
Argentina used to be on the expensive side, but the peso has collapsed to less than half its value in the past 3 years. No idea about inflation though.
You will have to do a tour through the South West of Bolivia, but it’s only about $70-80 for 3 days, all included.The 4 day tour ending in Tupiza probably more like $100-110.
Also you really shouldn’t miss a tour of Cerro Rico in Potosi ($15 with Big Deal Tours), the death road in La Paz ($35 with El Solario) and if you have the time: paragliding in Cochabamba ($35 with andesXtremo).  Just show up a day before for the tours, no need to book ahead.
If you’re into hiking, you can do a guided Huyana Potosi summit from La Paz for around $100, guide and gear all included. Huayna Potosi is one of the easiest and definitely the cheapest 6.000m mountain in the world.
But besides that, you can organize everything by yourself, even Colca Canyon in Arequipa or Cochamo in Chile. In fact DIY is more fun 
If you wanna do a whirlwind tour, I’d say you need a minimum of 3 months from Lima to Bariloche, with all the stops I listed. You will see a lot, but we’re definitely not talking slow travel.

floc · Answer

It is hard to talk days and months, cause everyone travels differently.  That’s why I said a minimum of 3 months.
I would burn out quickly with that kind of speed.
Also some people hate Bolivia, whereas I spent 2 months there and came back for another 3 months.
Imho, just take it as it comes. You can always take a direct bus to B.A. Just keep in mind that flights are usually very expensive in South America and should be avoided.
Some notable exceptions are:

Santa Cruz (Bolivia) to Sao Paulo (Brazil)
Santiago (Chile) to Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Buenos Aires (Argentina) to Sao Paulo (Brazil)

plus some domestic flights, but they are still expensive.
The only inexpensive flights are domestic ones in Brazil (GOL, Azul, TAM)

vpazionis · Answer

Great thread guys… Thanks for sharing the info! SO + myself are about to pack up shop in London to embark on a indefinite tour of this part of the world. Also hope to kick-start a digital nomad path. Feel relieved to read the average costs cause we have already been budgeting for around $1000pm without having ever stepped foot in SA.

floc · Answer

@timnomad:
Patagonia is great and the Bolivian South West is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
For me hiking in the mountains can get repetitive fast. I did some trekking in Cochamo, some in Bariloche and some in Petrohue. We also biked some days on the island of Chiloe, around Bariloche and around Llanquihue lake. That was enough Patagonia for me, but ofc your mileage may vary.
My gf did both Arco Iris in Cochamo and the 4 day Torres del Paine (W Route)  and she preferred Cochamo. So I don’t think going further south is necessarily better and so far nobody had a lot of praise for Ushuaia. Ofc Perito Moreno must be quite a sight, but wasn’t worth spending 2 days on a bus from Bariloche and back for me personally.
Just go south as far as you want, there is no need to plan anything ahead unless you wanna fly.
Btw, you can also take a ferry from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales, which is supposed to be quite beautiful.

anon72215238 · Answer

Awesome reply, thanks.
Patagonia is the part I am most excited about, along with the Bolivian salt plains. Why did you say that you saw enough? What about Ushuaia?

anon72215238 · Answer

Great info. Do you think I could spend only $1000USD per month, including travel and visa costs, within these countries? I probably won’t spend much time in Chile and if I do I will just stay in hostels. I don’t go to bars or nightclubs, I won’t drink much (if at all) and I usually don’t pay for organized tours. So $1k p/m is doable?
How long do you think a trip like this would take if I wasn’t hanging around, just seeing what there is to see with a few rests days throw in here and there.

anon72215238 · Answer

Three months just to get to Bariloche? So another 1-2 months to go to B.A, S.P. and Rio then.

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