OK travel board. Just returned from my South America voyage. I have asked for help here many times. Today I give back a little in case anyone cares to glean anything from my experience. Know going in that I am not a very experienced world traveler. I have been to a few places but by no means am I an expert traveler.
This was a group tour. Small group. 18 people. It was my first time doing one of these. So some of the commentary will include thoughts about that.
The full trip was Rio de Janeiro, Iquazu falls, Buenos Aires, Bariloche, Puerto Varas and Santiago. It was a 15 day tour. I have never been to South America and wanted to see a good portion of it. Yes a significant portion of the 15 days involves some travel. Based on some comments on another thread, I assume some of you will think this is hellish. Realize that there are some people out there that don't mind moving on after a few days. To each their own.
Cost for 2 people from Htown including all airfares and buses and boats etc before any excursions or meals during the periods of "free time" was roughly 16k. We probably could have done something similar for a bit less by using a different travel company that would stay at cheaper hotels.
Now on to the meat of the experience. If anyone has questions, let me know and I will try to answer.
Rio: Spectacular geography. Just stunning. And I am not talking about the females on the beaches although it might could apply there too. Our hotel was a resort right on the beach. FYI - don't plan on your Spanish (if you speak it) to allow you to communicate very well the locals. It might allow you to pick up on similar words and understand what they are saying, or at least a general idea. But it was not very helpful otherwise in trying to communicate back with them. We went to the corcovado, sugar loaf mountain and cathedral as part of the planned group things that were included n the package. All worthwhile stuff. Very touristy for sure. Spent some time chilling at the beach and resort and generally wandering around the nicer areas behind copacabana and impanema beaches for some shopping for the wife and sampling local foods. We avoided the favelas as we were advised they are not safe to visit. Very glad we saw this city and enjoyed it very much. I would absolutely recommend this as a place to go for anyone who has never been. I have no desire to go out of my way to visit again though. So many other places I would want to visit where I have never been.
Iguazu Falls: I went only because it was part of the itinerary. We were only there a couple days. Saw them one day from the Brazil side and one day from the Argentina side. It was actually enjoyable. The sheer size of the falls is very picturesque. Hotel accommodations here were a bit more mediocre but I don't think there are going to be any real higher end options here. It is a bit remote. I am not a huge nature guy so I don't have much to add on this. But for anyone traveling to this area, I would say there is a reason this stop is on most tours.
Buenos Aires: Here for 3 days. Very modern city. A ton of history and charm. My favorite stop on the tour. Got a great tour of the city here by our local guide. It was nice to get back to a Spanish speaking country so communicating for us was much easier again. We took in a Tango show that was great both for the musicianship and the dancing. Spent some time at the market in Boca and also took some empenada making classes in another neighborhood. In short ... this is for sure a city I would like to go back to. Could probably also include a trip across to see Montevideo, Uruguay which was not on our trip.
Bariloche: Kinda felt like a more rustic Lake Tahoe. As my username suggests, I am familiar with this kind of place. And while enjoyable, not exactly my favorite stop. But that is more about my perspective than anything else. Many of the rest of our tour group really liked this stop. We were only here for 2 days and most remarked they would have like to stay longer. I will say that I had some goulash at a restaurant here that might be my favorite meal of the trip. So at least it will always have that going for it in my mind. Lol.
OK here is where you might think something is strange. We then spent a full day traveling from Bariloche across the Andes into Chile. Multiple boats and buses ferrying across some pretty remote areas. Took maybe 12 hours. Some of you might think that is awful. I would say it is a can't miss thing. I'm not sure we could have figured out the logistics to this on our own. So this is one part that I would absolutely say the group tour was well worth doing. And since I have not mentioned it I'll add it here... I suppose we might have been very fortunate. We got along with everyone on the trip. We happened to be the younest though. In our early 50s. Most of the others were already retired. The time required and cost involved probably weeds out most younger folks. We made some new friends that I expect we will stay in touch with after the trip. Not all of them. But a couple of them. I'm sure this is an absolute crapshoot though. I went in hoping we would at least be able to stay away from any jackholes. It was never an issue.
OK so the end of the Andes crossing put us into Puerto Varas, Chile. We were only here one night. I wish it was longer. Just looked like a nice place to visit. Similar a little bit to Bariloche, Argentina but more modern, not as rustic. And more fun. Our hotel was literally across the street from a casino. The had a heck of a Queen cover band going that night in the casino. Not sure anyone in there spoke any English. But they all knew the words to the songs. One of those things I will probably never forget. Probably just a reflection of my own speed and tastes, but if there was another place I could go back to - this was it. Just gorgeous looking across the lake to the volcanos. Makes me think I might want to make another trip here and then head south through Patagonia.
Next day went to Puerto Montt for a visit to the fish market before going to the airport to Santiago. OK but nothing remarkable.
Santiago, Chile: Probably my least favorite place on this trip. And I don't think it was because we were a little tired by this point. These folks here know how to ruin a good steak. Well done? I hate to not appreciate the local cuisine anywhere so we tried it. Yeah it sucked. And quite honestly, I prefer Malbecs so I liked the wine better in Argentina. This is probably the only place on the trip I would say... ehhhh. If you can skip it, skip it.
OK so I left off a day trip we did from Santiago that is worthwhile. We spent a day going to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. That was interesting street art in Valparaiso. Although we did get crapped on by a seagull there. But I won't hold that against the town. Valparaiso feels a bit more like a rough port town. Vina del Mar is more affluent which is where the excursion took us for a meal. It sucked to though. Chile really needs to step up their food game. Lol.
I'm sure I can add more thoughts as I think of them but wanted to get this out as a long and good start. I have not had much time to reflect on it. Other things I could add but I have grown tired of writing this for the moment. But if nothing else, anyone out there as a rookie traveler thinking about going and seeing a bit of the world... just go ahead and try something. You'll enjoy some of it. Probably not enjoy some it. But with the right frame of mind, it is a great experience overall.
This was a group tour. Small group. 18 people. It was my first time doing one of these. So some of the commentary will include thoughts about that.
The full trip was Rio de Janeiro, Iquazu falls, Buenos Aires, Bariloche, Puerto Varas and Santiago. It was a 15 day tour. I have never been to South America and wanted to see a good portion of it. Yes a significant portion of the 15 days involves some travel. Based on some comments on another thread, I assume some of you will think this is hellish. Realize that there are some people out there that don't mind moving on after a few days. To each their own.
Cost for 2 people from Htown including all airfares and buses and boats etc before any excursions or meals during the periods of "free time" was roughly 16k. We probably could have done something similar for a bit less by using a different travel company that would stay at cheaper hotels.
Now on to the meat of the experience. If anyone has questions, let me know and I will try to answer.
Rio: Spectacular geography. Just stunning. And I am not talking about the females on the beaches although it might could apply there too. Our hotel was a resort right on the beach. FYI - don't plan on your Spanish (if you speak it) to allow you to communicate very well the locals. It might allow you to pick up on similar words and understand what they are saying, or at least a general idea. But it was not very helpful otherwise in trying to communicate back with them. We went to the corcovado, sugar loaf mountain and cathedral as part of the planned group things that were included n the package. All worthwhile stuff. Very touristy for sure. Spent some time chilling at the beach and resort and generally wandering around the nicer areas behind copacabana and impanema beaches for some shopping for the wife and sampling local foods. We avoided the favelas as we were advised they are not safe to visit. Very glad we saw this city and enjoyed it very much. I would absolutely recommend this as a place to go for anyone who has never been. I have no desire to go out of my way to visit again though. So many other places I would want to visit where I have never been.
Iguazu Falls: I went only because it was part of the itinerary. We were only there a couple days. Saw them one day from the Brazil side and one day from the Argentina side. It was actually enjoyable. The sheer size of the falls is very picturesque. Hotel accommodations here were a bit more mediocre but I don't think there are going to be any real higher end options here. It is a bit remote. I am not a huge nature guy so I don't have much to add on this. But for anyone traveling to this area, I would say there is a reason this stop is on most tours.
Buenos Aires: Here for 3 days. Very modern city. A ton of history and charm. My favorite stop on the tour. Got a great tour of the city here by our local guide. It was nice to get back to a Spanish speaking country so communicating for us was much easier again. We took in a Tango show that was great both for the musicianship and the dancing. Spent some time at the market in Boca and also took some empenada making classes in another neighborhood. In short ... this is for sure a city I would like to go back to. Could probably also include a trip across to see Montevideo, Uruguay which was not on our trip.
Bariloche: Kinda felt like a more rustic Lake Tahoe. As my username suggests, I am familiar with this kind of place. And while enjoyable, not exactly my favorite stop. But that is more about my perspective than anything else. Many of the rest of our tour group really liked this stop. We were only here for 2 days and most remarked they would have like to stay longer. I will say that I had some goulash at a restaurant here that might be my favorite meal of the trip. So at least it will always have that going for it in my mind. Lol.
OK here is where you might think something is strange. We then spent a full day traveling from Bariloche across the Andes into Chile. Multiple boats and buses ferrying across some pretty remote areas. Took maybe 12 hours. Some of you might think that is awful. I would say it is a can't miss thing. I'm not sure we could have figured out the logistics to this on our own. So this is one part that I would absolutely say the group tour was well worth doing. And since I have not mentioned it I'll add it here... I suppose we might have been very fortunate. We got along with everyone on the trip. We happened to be the younest though. In our early 50s. Most of the others were already retired. The time required and cost involved probably weeds out most younger folks. We made some new friends that I expect we will stay in touch with after the trip. Not all of them. But a couple of them. I'm sure this is an absolute crapshoot though. I went in hoping we would at least be able to stay away from any jackholes. It was never an issue.
OK so the end of the Andes crossing put us into Puerto Varas, Chile. We were only here one night. I wish it was longer. Just looked like a nice place to visit. Similar a little bit to Bariloche, Argentina but more modern, not as rustic. And more fun. Our hotel was literally across the street from a casino. The had a heck of a Queen cover band going that night in the casino. Not sure anyone in there spoke any English. But they all knew the words to the songs. One of those things I will probably never forget. Probably just a reflection of my own speed and tastes, but if there was another place I could go back to - this was it. Just gorgeous looking across the lake to the volcanos. Makes me think I might want to make another trip here and then head south through Patagonia.
Next day went to Puerto Montt for a visit to the fish market before going to the airport to Santiago. OK but nothing remarkable.
Santiago, Chile: Probably my least favorite place on this trip. And I don't think it was because we were a little tired by this point. These folks here know how to ruin a good steak. Well done? I hate to not appreciate the local cuisine anywhere so we tried it. Yeah it sucked. And quite honestly, I prefer Malbecs so I liked the wine better in Argentina. This is probably the only place on the trip I would say... ehhhh. If you can skip it, skip it.
OK so I left off a day trip we did from Santiago that is worthwhile. We spent a day going to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. That was interesting street art in Valparaiso. Although we did get crapped on by a seagull there. But I won't hold that against the town. Valparaiso feels a bit more like a rough port town. Vina del Mar is more affluent which is where the excursion took us for a meal. It sucked to though. Chile really needs to step up their food game. Lol.
I'm sure I can add more thoughts as I think of them but wanted to get this out as a long and good start. I have not had much time to reflect on it. Other things I could add but I have grown tired of writing this for the moment. But if nothing else, anyone out there as a rookie traveler thinking about going and seeing a bit of the world... just go ahead and try something. You'll enjoy some of it. Probably not enjoy some it. But with the right frame of mind, it is a great experience overall.