5 months in South America & Cuba: Itinerary & Transportation (Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Cuba)
Update May 2017: Here is the latest version of our itinerary in South America, Cuba & the Caribbean. All that lasted 5 months…
I found transportation a bit complicated to understand in South America, some border crossings are recently impossible (especially Los Antiguos – Chile Chico), I had to tear out a lot of hair to establish this itinerary.
There are many land border crossings, especially between Chile and Argentina, make sure you have enough blank pages in your passport.
Click on the button at the top left of the map below to access the list of destinations.
CHILE
- Easter Island(round-the-world ticket)
- Santiago (round-the-world ticket)
- Punta Arenas (plane 160€/person)
ARGENTINA
- Ushuaia (bus) – 35000$CH/person
- El Calafate (bus) – 1140$AR/person
CHILE
- Torres del Paine (day trip) – 2300$AR/person
ARGENTINA
- El Calafate (bus)
- El Chalten (bus) – 500$AR/person
- Bariloche (bus) – 1020$AR/person and La route des 7 lacs (car) 3300$AR/3 days
CHILE
- Puerto Montt (bus) – 500$AR/person
- Chiloé (bus + ferry) -> Christmas – 6500$CH/person
- Puerto Varas (bus) – 6500$CH/person
- Viña del Mar -> New Year’s Eve (bus) – 25000$CH/person
- Valparaíso (bus) – 640$CH/person
- Santiago (bus) – 4000$CH/person
- San Pedro de Atacama (bus to Copiapó then bus) -> acclimatization to altitude – 40 000$CH/person
I had to go to Bolivia to see the salt desert flooded, then to Peru to visit Machu Picchu before the rainy season, then back to Bolivia. If I had to do it again, I would have gone first to Peru (from Chile) and then to Bolivia.
I would have done it like this: San Perdo de Atacama (Chile) => Arequipa (and Colca Canyon) in Peru => Cuzco => Machu Picchu => Cuzco => Puno => Copacabana (Bolivia) => La Paz => Uyuni => Potosi => Sucre => Santa Cruz => Asuncion (Paraguay) etc…
So if the weather permits, follow the itinerary on the left (click on it to zoom in)
BOLIVIA
- Uyuni & the salt desert ( bus) -> go there absolutely mid-January – 18000$CH/person to Uyuni then one day tour 160$B
- La Paz (bus): 100$B/person
- Copacabana (bus) : with Bolivia Hop
- La Isla del Sol (boat)
PERU
- Cuzco (bus): with Bolivia Hop
- The Sacred Valley (excursion) : 30 soles/person
- Machu Picchu (train and bus through Aguas Calientes) : 208$US/person
- Rainbow Mountain (excursion): 65 soles/person
- Puno and Lake Titicaca(bus): 60 soles/person
BOLIVIA
- La Paz (bus): 30 soles + 15$B/person
- Sugar (bus) -> possibility to take Spanish courses for 1 to 2 weeks: 180$B/person by bus
- Santa Cruz (bus)
PARAGUAY
- Asunción (plane)
- Encarnación (bus) -> for the Carnival
- Ciudad del Este (bus)
BRAZIL
- Foz do Iguaçu (bus)
- Iguazu Falls (bus)
ARGENTINA
- Puerto Iguazú (bus)
- Iguazu Falls (bus)
- Concordia (bus)
URUGUAY
- Salto (bus)
- Montevideo (bus)
- Punta del este (bus)
- Piriapolis (bus)
- Colonial del Sacramento (bus)
ARGENTINA
- Buenos Aires (boat)
BRAZIL
- Rio de Janeiro (plane)
- Paraty (bus)
- Ilha Grande (boat + bus)
- Rio de Janeiro (bus)
- stopover in Sao Paulo then return to Paris (plane, round-the-world ticket)
CUBA
- April 3: arrival in Havana (cab from the airport 25-30CUC or to be arranged with a casa particulare)
- April 6: Vinales(possibility to go to the beach of Cayo Jutias in 1h30) horseback ride to the tobacco plantations
- April 9: Cienfuegos
- April 10th : Playa Giron (snorkelling and/or diving at Punta Perdiz, possibility to go there by car, where a bus passes in the morning in front of the Playa Giron hotel (paying, 3CUC return)
- April 12: Playa Larga
- April 15: Cienfuegos + El Nicho Park (by cab colectivo)
- April 18: Trinidad (beach of the Costa Sur Hotel, publicly accessible), Playa Ancon
- April 23rd : Varadero
- April 25: Matanzas
- April 27: Havana (return by Hershey train)
- April 29th : Bye bye
Return to Paris (via Madrid)
End of the 1st round-the-world tour
To learn more about shipping costs are available on our other article (here)
Practical guide: Itinerary by country, Budget & Advice
And here are the practical guides for each country:
- 12 days in Peru
- 20 days in Bolivia
- 1 month in Chile
- 15 days in Patagonia & the Lakes Region
- 1 week in Buenos Aires + Iguazu
- 12 days in Uruguay
- 9 days in Paraguay
- 27 days in Cuba
- We did not include Colombia in the first world tour but in case you are interested: 3 weeks in Colombia
- Withdrawing money with Azimo (for Argentina) and Xoom (for Argentina and Chile)
- If you are going to Central America: here is our itinerary from Colombia to Mexico
