South America questions

[hm520]

Hi all,

With the new year comes new possibilities! I'm in the planning stages for this years overseas holiday (hopefully one of a few) and I'm looking at the options for travel to South America. The plan is to aim to fly semi-direct and then visit Peru, Cuba and Chile (or another country which would have beach offerings).

I'm relatively naive in regards to flying to South America. Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems the only options (with OW carriers) are to fly Syd --> Santiago via Auckland with either Qantas of LATAM?

My fairly limited search found that Qantas previously had a deal where QF pax could use their QFF points to upgrade classes with LAN - has this service been continued with LATAN?

Finally - I have been reading a bit about the "discover south america pass" with OW. Has anyone been able to decipher the terms and figured out how to use it? I'm not sure it'd be worth us using it given we're planning to travel to central America, but you never know....

Thanks in advance

 

[RooFlyer]

You'll love Sth America. There are some very knowledgeable people here on Sth America (calling juddles ...and JohnM's been and going to go a couple of times) but I'll try to assist in the meantime.

Yes, on OW you can go SYD-SCL direct with Qantas or via AKL with LATAM. I've done both, but next month I'm going on LATAM's B787 and really looking forward to it.

Re Sth America Pass. This thread is a bit old. but may be worth reviewing. This one is a bit more recent. You'll see I gave the OW Sth America Airpass a miss ...

Here's an AFF article. and (ahem) a Trip Report I did on my visit to Sth America.

 

[Mattg]

Yes, the only direct options with oneworld are to fly into Santiago with either Qantas or LATAM. But you could also fly via the USA, which doesn't add too much travel time if your final destination is in the north of South America.

I'm not aware of any changes to point upgrades using Qantas points on LATAM (i.e. this should still be possible), but if I were you I'd try to book the direct Qantas flight. Makes things much easier as there are plenty of small problems with using the LA codeshare (e.g. limited seat selection, etc.).

Personally I would not bother with the Discover South America pass. I would book internal flights separately, either with money or using Qantas points. There are plenty of award seats available on LATAM within South America, and the taxes are very low.

For my most recent trip, I booked with Qantas from Australia to Lima on an excellent sale fare. This was via Santiago, and I was able to include a 2-3 week stopover in Santiago on the way back for an extra $60 or so. From Santiago I then travelled onwards to Brazil and Uruguay (on a separate ticket), then spending the final days in Santiago itself before heading home. You could also add a "side trip" from Lima to Cuba in this way. If you're interested, keep an eye out for a Qantas or LATAM sale - they come around every few months.

Also, can I recommend you visit Brazil - it's one of my favourite countries and definitely won't disappoint if you like beaches.

 

[hm520]

Thanks for the links and advice - have all made an interesting read the last few days!

Flying direct to Santiago via Sydney is certainly preferable than an additional stopover in Auckland. We've settled on two countries - Chile - for some hiking and exploring and then Peru (yes, we're tourists doing the Inca Trail). Probably will spend a total of 5-7 days in both of those.

I'm struggling to decide on the third country. I'd like to give more time to Cuba and would probably relegate it to another trip in the future. Now I'm trying to decide on a few other destinations.

 

[JohnM]

5-7 days isn't long! What time of year? S America is a big place and Chile, while not huge in area, is very long N-S with lots of different regions worth exploring. I have been many times and do chunks each time. It would take a lot of time to do it justice in a single trip.

Patagonia (Chilean and Argentinian sides) is sensational if you're into hiking. Torres del Paine, Perito Merino glacier, FitzRoy... plenty to see and hike: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ll-patagonia-chilling-antarctica-62166-2.html

But I'd suggest summer for Patagonia.

Beaches in Chile are generally nothing much and with a cold current, about as inviting as swimming in Oregon :shock:, I'd say.

The Atacama is also sensational IMO: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....gh-dry-breathless-atacama-desert-64967-2.html

Both Chile and Argentina are easy to travel about by car - but the long-distance coach system in S America is extraordinary.

Machu Picchu is, of course, extraordinary.

But a trip measured in a handful days in Chile and Peru I struggle to think of how to best execute.

Tip: when you arrive at SCL you will need to pay the reciprocity fee before presenting your passport. Many people miss the fact that the fee desk is (or was) well over to your left when you get to the bottom of the escalator. Its placement is a bit Latin in lacking logic but once you know, you can save the d'oh moment and wasted time of being sent over to get it if you join the passport control line first.

 

[zig]

Direct flights from MEL to SCL will commence in Oct 17 with LATAM, so this might also be an option for you. Not sure where you are based and when your trip is planned?
Agree with JohnM's suggestions above Chile is a beautiful country and you probably need more time to discover it.

 

[Boca68]

Chile and Peru are amazing, for very different reasons. JohnM made some great suggestions.

I agree the time limit is too short. As for beaches, Chile not much experience, but as stated its chilly. Peru the beaches are generally awful tbh. Unless you go north to Mancora, getting close to Ecuador. They are ok there. A bit of a surf culture happening there. (Think Bali 25 years ago)

As for a third country, I'd go with Brazil, for the beaches. Head to Rio for 4 or 5 days. But for the best beaches head out of Rio to Buzios (east) or Paratay (west).

 

[hm520]

Thanks again for your input all.

We're flying in September. Given what you've all said RE: duration of trip, we've decided to spend our three weeks only between Colombia and Chile. Chile we're going to get some hiking in down in Patagonia and then consider getting a rental car and driving back north from the southern region. Looking forward to the mix of hiking and relaxing, enjoying the city of Santiago as well as the regional wineries.

Colombia is still in the works, but ideally we'll get some R&R in Cartagena and also enjoy the other cities/regional towns.

I've been keeping an eye on airfares over hte last few months and the price hasn't changed with a fairly steady ~$1500 for Y and ~$2600 for Y+. I have read the sales come up semi frequently, when do they typically come up?

Regards

 

[JohnM]

Personally, I wouldn't spend much time in Santiago - although you can easily do a day trip to Valparaiso. Santiago is usually very smoggy and September is a bad time for that plus as a place it doesn't offer an awful lot IMO.

Flying is best internally in Colombia. The domestic network is well-developed. Medellin offers a lot more than Bogota (but the gold museum there is good).

Thanks again for your input all.

We're flying in September. Given what you've all said RE: duration of trip, we've decided to spend our three weeks only between Colombia and Chile. Chile we're going to get some hiking in down in Patagonia and then consider getting a rental car and driving back north from the southern region. Looking forward to the mix of hiking and relaxing, enjoying the city of Santiago as well as the regional wineries.

Colombia is still in the works, but ideally we'll get some R&R in Cartagena and also enjoy the other cities/regional towns.

I've been keeping an eye on airfares over hte last few months and the price hasn't changed with a fairly steady ~$1500 for Y and ~$2600 for Y+. I have read the sales come up semi frequently, when do they typically come up?

Regards

 

[amaroo]

We did 10 nights in Peru + two bookended nights in SCL - just barely enough to see some of the sights in Peru IMO.

This is a good thread to get an idea on visiting the Sacred Valley, Cusco, and Machu Picchu http://www.australianfrequentflyer....uide/arrive-santiago-leave-10-days-71807.html

FWIW I did a TR on our experience.... you can review by hitting Peru link below

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Hope you don't mind me joining in as I am just starting to think of visiting South America for the first time in 2018.

WHEN?

I am currently wide open as to when I can go and I am thinking of up to 2 months in duration. Now I realise that it is a big continent, but is there a particular time of year (please indicate in months, rather than seasons as it is less confusing) which is a good time to target to visit several countries. We would look to experience range of activities. Or asa subset preferred months to visit particular groups of countries.

As part of our travel mix we enjoy hiking. So weather favourable to that preferring it to not be too hot, temperate is best, though cold can be good too) (Though having said that my three Nepalese hiking trips have all been in their winter -Dec/Jan).

 

[hm520]

No worries, join in!

As for time of year, I'm restricted to September, which makes hiking in Patagonia a little chilly (no pun). Apparenlty the Chilean and Argentinean treks are equally amazing. We've chosen the W-trek in Chile for no specific reason.