South America

[travelinterest]

Anyone done Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay? Things you must see, suitable for football fans? Approx costs, timings etc. Just any info really.

Brazilian here. Where are you thinking of visiting? It's an enormous country. Most planes stop in either São Paulo or Rio, but you can also get some to Salvador and Brasília.

Rio what id like to see, what would you suggest over say 5/6 days, would like to add 2/3 in Argentina on.

I am not sure 2/3 days in Argentina is worth it... I love South America but how many days do you have? Only grown ups or DC also travelling?
Argentina is best March - May or Sep—Nov otherwise can be very hot in the north for sightseeing... but depends where you go.
If you do 2 days in Buenos Aires , go 1 afternoon to La Boca and see football stadium there too.
Also Iguazú falls , 2 hs internal flight from Buenos Aires.
Patagonia or the north Andes are also amazing but you need more time than a couple of days ...

Could maybe do 5 days Rio, and 5 Argentina, would it be worth adding 1/2 in Uruguay. Budget £12,000 for 2 of us? This cover internal flights etc?

Sounds better to me, the budget seems reasonable too
From Buenos Aires you get a ferry to Colonia Uruguay, You can go and come back on the same day, really nice.
In Buenos Aires go to a Tango place, visit San Telmo.
If you can you could do a day in a Estancia de Campo, countryside house , proper bbq, horse riding, large expanses of land.

Argentina is going thru an economic crisis at the moment, seems ok to travel but do not have on show very expensive stuff. Is safe tough I always go with British DH and DC an never an issue.
Sometimes there are airlines strikes for internal flights, but that tends to happen for Xmas, or big dates, just keep an eye.
Depending on dates etc internal flights in Arg are £150 pp return Buenos Aires to another place.

I would recommend to choose from
Iguazú
Bariloche área
Glaciar Perito Moreno
Cafayate, Purmamarca, quebrada de Humahuaca

Google the places to get an idea of what you will be seeing and choose the stuff you prefer.

You will love it

We went to Rio and Paraty a few years back. Rio was beautiful and interesting but lots of crime (could hear people being shot, someone asked waiter and waiter said oh that's normal on a Saturday night ). DH was working in Rio - we stuck to guided tours and went up SugarLoaf, round Rio etc and we stayed overlooking Copacabana Beach. There was a man at the hotel trying to arrange a prostitute at breakfast and the woman was trying to offer him 10 on a boat and he was trying to argue for one not 10. Obviously there's the famous football stadium.

Paraty was mid rainforest and a really quiet town, felt very safe but probably not what you are looking for.

We haven't been yet but are going to Argentina in Feb
Lots and lots of research later we have narrowed it down to Buenos Aires then fly to salta for a couple of nights then we have booked a tour just the 4 of us plus a guide and are driving from salta to Mendoza staying in wine lodges some band bs this will take 6 days but looks amazing then from Mendoza back to Buenos Aires and a trip to Uruguay
We kept the flying down because last year we spent so long toing and froing from airports in Asia that
It felt a bit like we were eternally packing and unpacking.
It's such a challenge as you want to make the most of your time but it's also a holiday!,,

I have been to both Brazil and Argentina.

Starting with Brazil, fly to Rio. We stayed on Copacabana Beach but Ipanema is a good area. You can get taxis to all the sights or go on an organised tour. We took ourselves to the Maracana stadium tour. It was the summer break in the season but the stadium tour is good. The beach scene in Rio is something else! Copacabana is huge and it’s zoned for differing activities.

We also went to Salvador, Praia da Forte beach (no Brits) about 80 km north of Salvador and Iguazu Falls where the best experience is on the Argentinian side (or on a boat trip!) There is also the Amazon rainforest if you wish. We also went to Ouro Preto and Tiradentes in the Minas Gerais region for more amazing churches and hill top towns. We hired a car for this trip which ended back in Rio.

Regarding Argentina, it’s difficult to do everything and go everywhere. We did Buenos Aires, (no football though) flew to St Martin de Los Andes and drove down to Bariloche (the Lake District but don’t miss back roads through the mountains). We went to the glacier region and stayed at El Calafate. We also went to Mendoza and did an amazing wine tour and wildlife 4x4 photographic trip. We missed out Salta, the Pampas and colonial Córdoba but we will be back! Think about what you really want from Argentina and narrow it down. It’s very difficult and time consuming to do everything. The food is good and there are some great hotels. Internal flights are a must if you want to see a variety of countryside and differing experiences.

On balance I preferred Argentina. April is late for El Calafate but perfect for Mendoza. I can recommend both countries highly.