How to plan your itinerary to visit ABC South American Countries?

Valparaiso, The Seaside City, Chile

Andean Mountain/Lake/Border Crossing (Chile/Argentina) - Osorno Volcano (Chile) in the background

ABC stands for Argentina, Brazil and Chile. These are the countries I visited in 3 weeks in April 2011. However, I made a mistake by using Buenos Aires in Argentina as my travel hub. Buenos Aires has 2 airports, one in downtown called Aeroparque Jorge Newberry and the other is called Ezeiza Ministro Pistarini International Airport (serves flights to and fro North America, Europe, etc), and the distance between the 2 is 39km or 24mi or 45 minute bus ride (during off peak hours), the cost is 65 pesos. The traffic is very congested during peak hours, and the facilities and services at the Aeroparque (which also serves flights to and fro Chile and Brazil) are lacking and poor (with very little information in English), while one’s experience is then often exacerbated by the notoriously unreliable Aerolinas Argentina (the Argentinian National Carrier), don’t expect good inflight service either, but do expect flight delays.

Bariloche Town and Lake Nahuel Huapi (Argentina)

 Here was my itinerary (most people already know what to see and do in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Santiago, and travel info on these 3 cities are abundantly available, so I just focus my travel description outside of these big and famous cities):
1*Arrived Buenos Aires (capital of Argentina) via Houston Texas. Spent 4 nights in Buenos Aires.
2*Flew from Buenos Aires to Bariloche in the Argentinian Lake District (sometimes known as Northern Patagonia). Spent 2 nights in Bariloche.
Full name for Bariloche is San Carlos de Bariloche, a beautiful mountainous lakeside town (by the lake of Nahuel Huapi), also famous for chocolates, ski/golf resorts and its German influence in local architecture and culture. Bariloche made headlines in the international press in 1995 when it became known as a haven for Nazi war criminals.

Bariloche Town Hall (with German architecture), Argentina

3*Crossed the border (and the Andes Mountain) to Chile, took a 6 hour bus from Bariloche to Puerto Montt in the Chilean Lake District (sometimes known as Northern Patagonia, likewise, this region also has strong German influence), the bus ticket costs 120 Argentinian Peso, or one can take the 10 hour ferries/bus routes run by Cruce de Lagos (Andean Lake Crossing) catered for rich tourists which costs 950 Argentinian Peso (but views of the volcano/mountain from the lakes are spectacular). Spent 2 nights in the scenic Puerto Varas town (also visited the beautiful lakeside town called Frutillar).
Puerto Montt is the largest city in the Southern half of Chile, it is not a tourist town, it has the largest salmon farms in the world, but the nearby tourist towns of Puerto Varas and Frutilla are a lot cuter, with spectacular views of the coned shaped snow capped Osorno volcano at the end of lake Llanquehue.

Puerto Varas and Osorno Volcano (Chile)

4*Flew from Puerto Montt to Santiago (capital of Chile). Spent 2 nights in Santiago, also visited the seaside city of Valparaiso (120 km or 75 mi to the northwest of the capital Santiago, its nickname is Chilean "San Francisco" and "Jewel of the Pacific", was declared the World Heritage Site in 2003).
5*Flew from Santiago to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Spent 6 nights in Rio de Janeiro.
6*Flew from Rio de Janeiro to Foz do Iguacu (Brazilian side of the Iguacu Falls). Spent 2 nights in Foz do Iguacu.
For information about my travel in the Iguazu Falls area, please see my other article in this blog.
7*Crossed the border to Argentina, took a local bus to Puerto Iguazu (Argentinian side of the Iguazu Falls). Spent 2 nights in Puerto Iguazu.
8*Departed Buenos Aires for Houston Texas.

Lake Nahuel Huapi, Bariloche, Argentina

If you have 3 weeks and wish to visit ABC countries in South America, then I would recommend that you use either Santiago (the capital of Chile) or Rio de Janeiro in Brazil as your entry/exit point to/from North America. It is not only cheaper, but also you can avoid flying in Argentina and using their airports (long distance bus companies in Argentina offer better service than airlines, and is less prone to delays). For example: arrive Santiago, then fly to the south to visit the Chilean Lake District, then cross the border to Bariloche in Argentina by bus, then to Buenos Aires by bus, then to Puerto Iguazu by bus, then cross the border to Foz do Iguacu in Brazil by bus, then fly to Rio de Janeiro, and depart from here back to North America. Or you can do the other way round, arrive Rio de Janeiro from North America and reverse the rest of the itinerary, where you depart from Santiago for North America.
Santiago's national and international airport is modern and is called Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport, the distance is 11.5mi or 19km, 24 minutes from Santiago downtown. Rio de Janeiro has 2 airports, 1 is located in downtown, mainly serving shuttle flights to and fro Sao Paolo, while the other is located about 20km/13mi north of the centre of Rio de Janeiro city and is called Galeao-Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport. Not only airports in Chile and Brazil are generally more modern than in Argentina, but also you will find more people speak English and information in English are also more plentiful.

The Iguacu or Iguazu Falls - Brazil and Argentina

One of the greatest natural wonder of the world is the world’s famous Iguazu Falls, spread over the borders of Brazil and Argentina. The Iguacu/Iguazu National Parks consists of several hundred waterfalls, cascades and cataracts, surrounded by lush rainforest, teeming with exotic birds, plants, local raccoons (called coati) and butterflies of various colours, shapes and patterns. It was an amazing and spectacular sight.

Rainbow and Iguacu Falls viewed from the Brazilian side

How to get there?

There are airports on the Brazilian side (Foz do Iguaçu) and Argentinian side (Puerto Iguazú) of the falls. Alternatively, one can take a 22 hour bus ride from São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro in Brazil – or a 18 hour bus ride from Buenos Aires in Argentina.
The distance from Foz do Iguaçu downtown to the Falls is about 15km, likewise, it is also about 15km between Puerto Iguazú downtown and the Falls. Actually the airports of both town are situated not far from the Falls. There are many buses travel between the National Parks/Airports and downtown of both towns, and frequently, fare is around US$1.50.

Flight delays in Puerto Iguazú and Buenos Aires are common. Sometimes it could be faster to get to your destination by overnight bus, to and from between Puerto Iguazú and Buenos Aires, and the bus fare is a lot cheaper than airfares yet quite comfortable (and you also save a night of accommodation at a hostel or hotel).

In April 2011, Australian, American and Canadian citizens require a visa to enter Brazil and need to pay entry fee to enter Argentina. Citizens from EU countries, UK and NZ are exempted from visa requirements and from paying entry fees.

Rainbow over the Iguazu Falls in Argentina

Border Crossing

During my visit to the Brazilian Falls in April 2011, I spoke with other travellers who crossed the border from Argentina by bus, they said there were no Brazilian authority to check their entry. When I crossed the border to Argentina by bus, again there were no Brazilian authority to check my exit. Effectively, people who have no Brazilian visa, could try their luck to visit Brazil from Argentina, and the cost of bus fare is only around between US$1 or $2.

Get close and wet in the Argentinian side

Brazilian side or Argentinian side? Which one is better?

If you ask an Argentinian, most likely you get this answer: “of course Argentinian side is better, so don‘t bother to visit the Brazilian side.” But if you ask a Brazilian, he or she might say: “each side is different, equally beautiful, so you should visit both sides.”

But I say, if you have the time and money, visit both sides, and you could either use Foz do
Iguaçu in Brazil as your base or Puerto Iguazú in Argentina as your base. What I did was, I stayed in both towns, with a minimum of 3 nights, 1 night in Foz do Iguaçu and 2 nights in Puerto Iguazú (or you could do the other way round).

The biggest and most famous fall is the U-shaped “Devil Throat” falls of about 250ft high, where you can view it from close distance from the Argentinian side (but you need to walk a long way and cross a very wide river on boardwalk to get there). One can see the Devil Throat from a distance at the Brazilian side, but to compensate this, the Brazilian built a tower, so make sure you take the lift to get to the top, where you can see the falls from a high vantage point. Moreover, in the Brazilian side, you can also walk on the board walk or bridge to get close to the Devil Throat and the surrounding falls and get wet. If these are not good enough, one can take a boat ride from either Argentinian and Brazilian sides, to get very close and drenched.

However, overall, the Brazilian side is more tourist friendly with a lot of information written in English and most people can communicate in some English too, and is also more developed, eg they have storage lockers, world class buffet restaurant, credit cards are welcome, etc.

Taken from the tower in the Brazlian side

Costs and when to visitBoth the Argentinian and Brazilian charge foreigners (from non Mercusor Countries) twice as much as locals (eg Argentinian, Brazilian, Chilean, Uruguayan, etc are considered “locals“). In April 2011, the entry fee for non-local at Brazilian side is around R40, while for the Argentinian side it is around P100 (they ONLY ACCEPT pesos in cash, no credit card). If you speak Spanish or Portuguese, and befriended with one of those “locals”, they might buy an entry ticket on your behalf at half price.

When is the best time to visit? Anytime is good time, around Christmas and January is the hottest and wettest, so waterflow is bigger but watercolour is rather yellowish/brownish, while during July, it is drier and cooler period and watercolour is lighter.

View of the Devil's Throat from the Brazilian side

Hope this blog is helpful in planning your trip to visit Iguazu Falls, please feel free to ask questions or make comments.

Mt Ruapehu Volcano and Ski Area - Tongariro National Park - New Zealand

Mt Ruapehu is an active volcano (it last erupted in 1996) situated in Tongariro National Park, in the middle of New Zealand’s North Island. Mt Ruapehu’s highest point is 2797m (9177ft), it is also the highest mountain in the North Island, and at the top of the mountain, there is a crater lake.

The Pinnacles (Whakapapa Ski Area) New Zealand

Mt Ruapehu has the largest ski field in New Zealand, actually it consists of 2 ski fields, one is located on the Northern side of the mountain called Whakapapa (pronounced “fucker papa“) and the other one is situated on the Southern slope called Turoa (pronounced “too raw ah).

Mt Ngaruhoe Volcano (left/background) and The Pinnacles (right)

It takes about 5 hours to drive from New Zealand’s largest city Auckland to get to Whakapapa, and about 5 hours to drive from Wellington (the capital of New Zealand) to get to Turoa. The small town that serves Whakapapa is called the National Park, while Ohakune (aka Carrot Town) serves Turoa. There is no flight nor airport in National Park and Turoa, and most visitors to the ski fields stay in ski lodges located in either town. Distance between National Park town and Whakapapa Ski Area is 22km or 25 minute drive, and the distance between Ohakune town and Turoa Ski Area is about 19km or 30 minute drive.

Almost at the top of Mt Ruapehu Volcano (background is Mt Ngaruhoe, another Volcano)

The chances of Turoa Ski Area being closed are higher than Whakapapa Ski Area. Those who stay in Ohakune, may want to drive to Whakapapa when Turoa is closed. The distance between the 2 ski areas is about 75km or 1 hour 20 minute drive. Both Ski Areas are temperamental, so be prepared to spend days in either towns or at your ski lodges when the ski areas are closed (which is common, due to strong wind, road closure, etc). When the roads to the Ski Areas are snowy and icy, one can rent snow chains in Turoa ($20/day) but not in Whakapapa (they used to rent them in previous years). If one doesn’t have a 4WD or snow chains, one can still take shuttle bus from The Chateau public car park (by the Grand Chateau Tongariro Hotel) to Whakapapa Ski Area.

Majority of visitors stay in National Park, as there are more things to do and see in the vicinity, such as the other active volcano and perfect cone shaped mountain named Mt Ngaruhoe (aka Mt Doom in the Lord of the Rings), fishing for trouts along the Tongariro River in nearby town called Turangi, etc. Moreover, the scenery at Whakapapa is spectacular, it has the peaks called The Pinnacles (extreme skiers like to push their limits here). Furthermore, according to experienced snowboarders and skiers, Whakapapa has more challenging terrains and trails.

Tips: It is cheaper to rent snow chains from your car rental companies ($25 one time charge) and to rent ski and snowboard gear and buy ski pass at your lodge. Up in the Ski Area, not only things are more expensive, they also charge 2% surcharge when using credit card to rent gear or buy ski pass.