8 weeks travelling up through South America may sound hectic to some but Ciarán and I enjoyed every minute of our journey, with absolutely no itinerary regrets. However, due to the limited timeline and the vast amount to see in each country some sacrifices were made along the way. Priority is key when backpacking on a budget.
Since coming home, I have been asked by people who are planning their trips to South America about the best way to identify where to go. This is a hard question to answer but over the next few weeks, I will be doing a South America blog series which may help you decide.
But the truth be told, we only had a general idea where we wanted to go when we set off. Along the way some locations got the chopping board after we read blogs and spoke to other travellers who rated places we hadn't even considered. For example, due to our limited schedule Bogotá, Colombia was cut last minute in order for us to travel to the Galapagos Islands. The best advice I can give anyone who is setting off on an adventure, is to not stress about your route. Everything falls into place along the way.
During the two months we spent in South America, we visited the following 13 locations:
· Buenos Aires, Argentina
· Mendoza, Argentina
· Santiago, Chile
· Valparaíso, Chile
· San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
· Uyuni, Bolivia
· La Paz, Bolivia
· Lake Titicaca, Bolivia/Peru
· Cusco, Peru
· Aguas Calientes, Peru
· Lima, Peru
· Quito, Ecuador
· The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
I will be writing about each as part of the blog series for the next 6 – 8 weeks, going into detail on each. I plan on writing about things we did, places to stayed and key activities that can’t be missed. I will be answering questions along the way and making myself available to anyone who requires more detail or information. So, what are we waiting for, lets get started!
