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🌋 Central America🏔️ South America🛵 South-East Asia🥐 Western Europe🏰 Balkans + Eastern Europe

South America: how long, and how much?

Colombia to Patagonia. The trip most Aussies dream about and most never plan.

PRICE MY TRIP
THE SHORT ANSWER
HOW LONG DO I NEED
3 months gets you the big loop.
  • 6 weeks does the Andes run: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia.
  • Under 3 weeks? Pick one corner. The distances are huge and buses take 20 hours.
  • 6 months lets you do all of it, slowly, with Patagonia in summer.
WHAT A DAY COSTS, PER PERSON, ALL IN
Tight
A$50-100 /day
Not worried
A$90-170 /day
The budget where you stop checking your balance
Treat yourself
A$170-300 /day
Bed, food, buses between towns and everyday activities. The range is the cheapest country to the priciest. Flights and the big one-offs are costed below.
Every country has its own seasons. Patagonia is December to March only. The Andes are driest May to September.
COUNTRY BY COUNTRY, CHEAPEST FIRST

Uruguay costs about 2x Bolivia for the same day.

Where you spend your days matters more than how long you go. Per person, per day, all in.

TIGHT NOT WORRIED
🇧🇴BoliviaGIVE IT 10-14 DAYS
A$50 / A$90 a day
Cheapest country in South America by a mile. Uyuni is the one splurge.
🇵🇪PeruGIVE IT 2-3 WEEKS
A$60 / A$110 a day
Good value until Cusco. Machu Picchu is the one big cheque you can't dodge.
READ THE GUIDE
🇨🇴ColombiaGIVE IT 2-3 WEEKS
A$65 / A$115 a day
Great value. Cartagena is the exception, it's priced like a resort town.
READ THE GUIDE
🇪🇨EcuadorGIVE IT 1-2 WEEKS, PLUS GALÁPAGOS
A$65 / A$115 a day
Cheap on the mainland and it uses US dollars. The Galápagos is a separate budget entirely.
🇦🇷ArgentinaGIVE IT 2-4 WEEKS
A$80 / A$140 a day
Great value in Buenos Aires and the north. Patagonia runs 2-3x the price, and it's summer only.
READ THE GUIDE
🇧🇷BrazilGIVE IT 2-3 WEEKS
A$80 / A$145 a day
Bigger than you think and pricier than its neighbours. Rio in Carnival week is a different number.
READ THE GUIDE
🇨🇱ChileGIVE IT 10-14 DAYS
A$95 / A$165 a day
Priced closer to home than you'd think. Patagonia costs 2-3x the rest of the country.
🇺🇾UruguayGIVE IT 3-5 DAYS
A$100 / A$170 a day
The priciest stop on the continent. Most people do Montevideo and Colonia in a few days.
NOW PRICE YOUR TRIP

Pick a length, tweak the days, see the number.

01 | HOW LONG HAVE YOU GOT
02 | HOW DO YOU WANT TO TRAVEL
03 | DAYS IN EACH COUNTRY
The big loop, in route order. Set a country to 0 to skip it.
🇨🇴
Colombia
A$115/day | give it 2-3 weeks
16
🇪🇨
Ecuador
A$115/day | give it 1-2 weeks, plus Galápagos
8
🇵🇪
Peru
A$110/day | give it 2-3 weeks
16
🇧🇴
Bolivia
A$90/day | give it 10-14 days
10
🇨🇱
Chile
A$165/day | give it 10-14 days
10
🇦🇷
Argentina
A$140/day | give it 2-4 weeks
18
🇺🇾
Uruguay
A$170/day | give it 3-5 days
0
🇧🇷
Brazil
A$145/day | give it 2-3 weeks
12
04 | THE BIG ONE-OFFS

The things that blow a daily budget. Tick what you're planning to do.

05 | FLIGHTS AND EXTRAS
Flights from Australia
A$Usually A$1,900-3,000 return. Santiago or Buenos Aires direct from Sydney or Melbourne is usually cheapest.
Travel insurance
About A$8/day on a long-trip policy
Don't-stress buffer
+15% for the sick day, the extra night out, the dive you didn't plan
YOUR NUMBER
🏔️ SOUTH AMERICA | 3 MONTHS | NOT WORRIED | PER PERSON
A$18,736
all in, flights included
A$182 a day on the ground
7 countries
WHERE THE MONEY GOES
🇨🇴 Colombia
16 days x A$115
A$1,840
🇪🇨 Ecuador
8 days x A$115
A$920
🇵🇪 Peru
16 days x A$110
A$1,760
🇧🇴 Bolivia
10 days x A$90
A$900
🇨🇱 Chile
10 days x A$165
A$1,650
🇦🇷 Argentina
18 days x A$140
A$2,520
🇧🇷 Brazil
12 days x A$145
A$1,740
Flights
Return from Australia
A$2,400
Big one-offs
Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu, Uyuni salt flats, 3 days, Patagonia domestic flights, Iguazú Falls, both sides
A$2,030
Insurance
90 days x A$8
A$720
Borders + entry fees
E-visas and land crossing fees, roughly
A$125
Don't-stress buffer
15% of everything but flights
A$2,131
WHAT TO PUT AWAY
Leaving in
A$721 a week for 26 weeks
Send this to your travel mate
A WhatsApp-ready breakdown, with a link back to this exact trip.
THE ROUTE, TOWN BY TOWN
Aussies In South America
Every country's stops, the overnight bus network and the Google Maps pins for all of it.
MONEY TIPS FOR SOUTH AMERICA
  • Overnight buses save you a night's bed and cover distances you'd otherwise fly. Never put your bag in the overhead rack.
  • Cross a border overland, then book a domestic flight on the far side. It can be a fraction of the international fare.
  • Argentina runs on cash and exchange rates. Read up on the Western Union rate before you land.
Want one city in detail? The city-by-city estimator does seasons, travellers and a PDF.
AUD per person, based on what Aussies and Kiwis spend on the ground in 2026. Daily numbers cover your bed, food, buses between towns and everyday activities. Flights swing a lot with dates and how early you book. Entry fees and visa rules change, so check the Visa Checker before you go.