Basics - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 26

Gol W voegol.com.br
Iberia Airlines W iberia.com
KLM W klm.com
LAN W lan.com
Qantas W qantas.com.au
TACA W taca.com
TAM W tam.com.br
TAP Air Portugal W flytap.com
United Airlines W united.com

A BETTER KIND OF TRAVEL
At Rough Guides we are passionately
committed to travel. We believe it
helps us understand the world we live
in and the people we share it with -
and of course tourism is vital to many
developing economies. But the scale
of modern tourism has also damaged
some places irreparably, and climate
change is accelerated by most forms of
transport, especially flying. All Rough
Guides' flights are carbon-offset, and
every year we donate money to a variety
of environmental charities.

AGENTS AND OPERATORS
Adventure Center US T 1 800 228 8747, W adventurecenter.com.
Hiking and “soft adventure” specialists with trips deep into most
South American countries.
Dragoman UK T 01728 861133, W dragoman.com. A range of
South American overland trips on a giant 4WD bus, with a choice
between accommodation in a hotel or tents.
Exodus UK T 020 8675 5550, W exodus.co.uk. Walking and cycling
- and everything in between - from Argentina to Venezuela.
Expedia W expedia.com. Discount airfares, all-airline search
engine and daily deals.
HostelTrail W hosteltrail.com. A great source for hostels and
budget tour companies in South America.
Hotwire W hotwire.com. Last-minute savings of up to forty percent
on regular published fares. Travellers must be at least 18 and there are
no refunds, transfers or changes allowed. Log-in required to purchase.
Intrepid Australia W intrepidtravel.com. Global travel company
with almost three decades organizing adventure group travel -
also has a “basix” option for those on a budget.
Journey Latin America UK T 020 3432 1550, W journeylatin
america.co.uk. Knowledgeable and helpful staff, good at sorting
out stopovers and open-jaw flights. Also does package tours.
Lastminute.com W lastminute.com. Package holiday and
flight-only deals available at short notice.
Opodo W opodo.com. International flight comparison site where
you can also book everything from car rental to hotels.
REI Adventures US T 1 800 622 2236, W rei.com/adventures.
Climbing, cycling, hiking, cruising, paddling and multi-sport tours
to many countries on the continent.
Skyscanner W skyscanner.net. International flight comparison site.

From Central America

Crossing overland from Panama into Colombia
is not recommended as it entails traversing the
Darién, a wild, lawless region occupied by guerrillas.
The safest option is to fly - Bogotá and Caracas are
the main points of entry - or take a boat from
Panama to the Caribbean coast of Colombia. There
are no ferry services, but boats can be chartered
in Colón and San Blas in Panama to Cartagena,
Colombia. The journey takes four to six days.

AIRLINES
Aerolíneas Argentinas W aerolineas.com.ar
Air Canada W aircanada.com
Air Europa W aireuropa.com
Air France W airfrance.com
Air New Zealand W airnewzealand.com
Alitalia W alitalia.com
American Airlines W aa.com
Avianca W avianca.com
British Airways W ba.com
Caribbean Airlines W caribbean-airlines.com
Delta Airlines W delta.com

AIRPASSES AND ROUND THE WORLD TICKETS
If you're visiting South America as part of a world trip, a round-the-world (RTW) ticket offers
the greatest flexibility - and if your starting point is Australia or New Zealand, it may even be
cheaper. Many international airlines are now aligned with one of two globe-spanning
networks: “Star Alliance” ( W staralliance.com), which has 27 members including Air Canada, Air
New Zealand, Lufthansa, Avianca/TACA and United; or “One World”, which combines routes via
twelve airlines including American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, LAN and Qantas. Fares
depend on the month, point of origin and number of continents or distance travelled, and in
general the more expensive options include South America, but they are worth exploring.
If you plan to do a fair amount of travelling within South America consider buying an
airpass (see p.32) with your main ticket. These passes offer substantial savings, but can be
bought only outside South America when buying an international ticket.