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South America

What is the cheapest way to start a trip in South America?

Hey, I want to go to South America for about 3 months in December, and I will be departing from Vancouver. My travel partner will be departing from Sweden. I was wondering what the best bet would be on where to start the route and where I might have the best luck with prices as far as a city to fly out of and into. Is it cheaper to fly out of Seattle? Any help would be sooo appreciated.

I am not sure which city is the least expensive to fly out of but I do think that either Quito or Guayaquil in Ecuador might be your best bets to fly into. Once you are there, you can catch a bus to just about anywhere in South America on the west coast. Buses are extremely inexpensive means of travel there. But be very cautious with your luggage. Luggage has a way of disappearing if you let it out of your site for one minute. It is ok to check it on a bus provided you are there when the bus driver opens the bin. Also air travel in South America is not too expensive, but it is much more than bus travel. The reason I suggest one of those Ecuador cities is because they are both very popular tourist destinations and there are quite a few flights to and from them so the competition might mean lower prices. I do know for a fact that flying into Guayaquil is about $300 less expensive than flying into Lima. And a bus from Guayaquil to Lima is about $30 or so. It is a long trip though by bus. It should be broken into a couple of segments with stops in Piura or Chiclayo. Then from Lima you can catch a flight to Iquitos if you want to experience the Amazon jungle. And there you can hire a boat for the day to take you up or down the Amazon. You can also visit the Allpahuay-Mishana reserve about 30 minutes from Iquitos by taxi. A great place to experience some of the wild life. From Iquitos you can get a flight to Cuzco and then visit Machu Picchu. Then a bus to Puno on Lake Titicaca (not to be missed) and then a bus to Chivay in Canon del Colca a canyon twice as deep as the Grand Canyon (also not to be missed). From there you are a relatively short bus trip to Tacna the border crossing into Chile. From Chile you then have the option of taking a bus across the Andes into Argentina and on to Iguazu (a very long way by bus) then on to Tierra del Fuego (best reached by plane)