Backpacking South America

[Deal]

For a first timer, what flight destination do you reccomend for arrival and departure (coming out of Toronto or Buffalo depending on price) Also, what basic internary is reccomended for a 2 week backpacking trip? As well as budget, travel time is for first 2 weeks of May. Thanks!

[jonmark]

Intro.... From a traveller perspective, South America splits into roughly three regions. The more developed Southern countries of Argentina, Uruguay and Chile; with their European feel, political stability and relatively high standards. This is were many start/finish a trip. Then you have the less developed 'Inca and Amazon' countries - Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador/Colombia. Here you have the main concentration of backpackers, drawn not only by the world famous sights, but also the significantly lower cost of travel. And lastly you have Brazil, which although often combined as part of a larger trip (typically Rio and/or the Foz do Iguaçu), due to its size, needs to be treated separately.

South America on the whole lacks difficult border crossings and visa headaches. Bus transport is easy to arrange and there is an established trail of attractions. This however causes many to 'bite off more than they can chew' in terms of distances to be covered overland, not finding to time/energy to discover out of the way gems and (although good value on a world level) spending too much [money] in the Southern developed countries and/or Brazil.

[GFI]

I’d like suggest Argentina, which is speedily growing into a major backpacking destination along with nearby Brazil. Buenos Aires is better place because the weather in December is absolutely suitable for your requirement.
Moreover, it is a host to long coastline of Andes Mountains. I’d defiantly recommend travelers to take a tour towards this place.

[peat]

According to me the most beautiful backpacking destinations in South America lies in the western part along the Andes. Lima is one such important tourist destination in South America which I would love to visit.