Budget : 3 weeks in South America

South America, especially Peru and Bolivia, is one of the least expensive destination in the world. After setting my itinerary here, it is time for me to dress the bill.

This is an affordable destination if you want to, regarding of the airplane ticket which will be balance with low cost of living there.

Same way I did before, by order of priority :

1. Plane tickets : 730 € round trip with Air France

2. Accommodation : 300 € for 15 nights (hotel or hostel in private room) because there were some nights in buses or tours

3. Transportation : about 350 € including

• Peru Hop for 150 € (from Lima to Arequipa)
• Bolivia Hop for 47 € (from La Paz to Cuzco)
• internal flight Uyuni – La Paz for 625 Bolivianos (about 81 €)
• linking Arequipa – San Pedro de Atacama by bus, where I explain here how to do it
• and transportation in towns by taxi or metro

4. Food : about 235 € (restaurants, fast food and daily needs)

So, for those main expenses, total cost rises to 1615 €.

Of course, I didn’t restrain or prive myself. If you have a tighter budget, you can obviously lower the cost, by privileging hostels for example. Same goes for the airline company, Air France is a personal preference but other companies serve Peru for lesser price. Everything can easily adapted to your budget and your preferences.

Then, it is more personal so your budget will vary according to activities and/or tours you want to include to your trip. As for me, the second most important expense will have been my Short Inca Trail.

Here is a summary of my activities that might interest you :

• Short Inca Trail 2 days/1 night : 525 $ (495 €) including Huayna Picchu
• Uyuni Salt Flats 3 days/2 nights : 95 000 Chilean pesos (124 €) booked the day before in San Pedro de Atacama + 30 Bolivianos entrance fee for Isla Incahuasi
• Sandboarding in Huacachina : 50 Soles (13,50 €)
• Ballestas Island in Paracas : 50 Soles (13,50 €)
• Isla del Sol (Titicaca Lake) : 70 Bolivianos (9€)

Upon that, there were my expenses for souvenirs, free to everyone.

These are exchange rates in June 2017 :

1 Sole = 0,27 €

1 Chilian peso = 0,0013 €

1 € = 7,70 Bolivianos

As you can see, I had to deal with 3 types of currencies by crossing 3 different countries. I choose an international option to my credit card to allow me to withdraw money as it goes. I didn’t want to travel with a lot of money on me, especially not knowing local life.

I hope it will help you plan your future trip to South America !!

So.