I need some advice in planning a trip to South America?

My boyfriend and I are planning a trip to South America for May 2010. We will have about 16 days. We want to probably spend most of our time in Peru, but I would also like to go to the Iguazu Falls in Argentina and a city in Northern Chile called Iquique. In Peru we want to spend about 5 nights in Cusco and go to Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca and then spend about 3 or 4 nights in the Amazon. I have talked to a couple of travel agencies, but I don't really want anything too structured, I want to be able to stay at hotels of my choice and do excursions of my choice as well. Is it easy to get there and find your way around and plan your own trip and flight, or is it best to have it planned out and do a packaged thing? Can someone who has gone before tell me what they did?I need some advice in planning a trip to South America?
My fiance and I have just come back from 3 months in South America, almost 2 of which we spent in Chile inc Easter Island . I guess it will be easier to go with a structured package, but it will be so much more expensive and you won't have as much freedom. Personally, I'd plan my own, as you get more choice.





Can i just ask, is there a particular reason you want to go to Iquique? I love all things Chilean (being Chilean myself hehe), but I'm not too sure what there is there, saying that, I have never been there (just the airport). My cousin went there earlier this year and told me there was a beautiful oasis about an hour away from it. In the very north we went to Arica and San Pedro. We both loved San Pedro, it was extremely touristy, but it's a beautiful little town, there are lots of tours and you can even do the Uyuni salt flats tour to Bolivia from there.





I would book your flight tickets in advance, as prices do go up. Be warned, flights in SA are VERY expensive! A lot more pricey than here in Europe.





In general, I would book trips and excursions when you're there. i was freaking out before we left as I wanted to have everything done, but that's not possible, if you want flexibility try and book when you're there. One thing though, if you want to do the Inka trail you will need to book months in advance. I booked last November and we did it on March, if you are interested in the trail then I'd really recommend the company that we did it with http://www.sunriseperu.com/





I would suggest you get (if you haven't already) the Lonely Planet's South America on a Shoestring.... it's the travellers bible! It has so much information and help us out A LOT when booking accommodation, tours, etc. I also used tripadvisor when looking for accommodation. A lot of travellers like to book when they get to places, and this is possible when in a lot of places is SA, but I didn't feel comfortable with the idea, plus in my opinion, it's a waste of time, esp if you're not staying long in a place.





Please email me if you have any more questions.... just so you know, we went:





Peru - Cusco, Inka trail, Arequipa.


Bolivia - La Paz, Copacabana (for the Titicaca Island of the sun), Uyuni Salt flats tour.


Chile - A bit of everywhere!





Good luck!





Edit: i completely agree with the other answerer, please don't try to fit in too much, it's a shame and a complete waste having to rush to see a bit of everything. I think it's much better to spend more time in fewer places. He is also right about Iguazu being too far, we tried to fit them in, but it was just a nightmare trying to get transportation from/to either Bolivia or Chile, so we had to give it a miss. Oh and one more thing, if you buy flight tickets with Aerosur, expect cancellations! They nearly ruined our Inka Trail! Thank God for extra long journeys on coaches :). Good coach firms are Cruz del Sur in Peru and either Tur Bus or Pullman Bus in Chile.I need some advice in planning a trip to South America?
You want to go to some of the most touristy places in SA. It is very easy to do your own trip. 16 days is not a long time, and doing Cusco, Lake Titicaca, Iguazu Falls, and the Amazon is far too much to do in that short amount of time. I would suggest just doing Cusco and the Amazon, and maybe you can fit Lake Titicaca in there, but Iguazu Falls is too far away to fit that in.
well regarding traveling to peru. If you have never been there before, I highly recommend finding a travel agency that will have everything ready. I have been to Cusco (Machu Picchu) before and I didn't call any travel agency. I went on my own with a cousin of mine. The reason we did this was to save money and practically do whatever we wanted without having someone telling us what to do as the travel agencies do( they have a large group of people together for the entire trip and only leave you alone during the night.) We also spoke spanish which helps a lot!! so you dont get ripped off when purchasing things along the way. We also had a friend who lived there and whenever he was free he would tell us where to go and what to do in order to see Machu Picchu and other places.....but is really up to you..if you want to take your risks...but as a Peruvian myself I recommend a travel agency...or else your trip could be a disaster...but if you are those people that love adventures...hey go for it...isn't that what life is about....adventures??as far as those other places you mentioned...can't say anything... haven't been there.
Hey,


Ive traveled peru a few times and the one place you don't want to miss is Machu Picchu. Cuzco is a cool place, but not worth spending 5 whole days there. If you don't want to hike to machu picchu on the inca trail you can just take the buses and trains and you can do it one day. Flights are the only option you have with your limited time. The amazon is hard to get to by bus. I took a bus from cuzco to Puno (lake titicaca) last time i went and it was only about 7-8 hours. The buses are much nicer there than they are here too. Oh, and domestic flights aren't that expensive in Peru. You don't have to book them in advance either. International flights to Argentina to go see the falls will be expensive, but I here Iguazu is amazing. So Cuzco and Machu Picchu should be 2 to 3 days max! leaving you with a week and a half for the amazon and argentina. I would say its doeable if you rush rush. Note. you'll have to fly back to Lima to catch a flight to Argentina.





I would go Lima - Iquitos - Cuzco - Machu Picchu - Puno (lake Titicaca) Peru is beautiful! Go for it!!!