A couple of months ago, I returned from a somewhat lengthy trip to South America. In 54 nights, I visited three countries – Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. In order to get some idea where my monies went, I kept a rather a detailed log of all my travel expenses.

After slicing and dicing all the data, I have decided to share my findings with all my fellow travelers - after all, many of you are probably curious as to how much does it costs to travel in South America. Now I am not talking about a 2-3 week package tour but a real journey, which I define as a trip of at least 25 or more days. My findings are rather illuminating…

When viewing the expense summary (see below), please keep in mind that I am not a backpacker nor do I consider myself a conventional luggage-toting tourist. I would probably describe myself as being a flashpacker, which is midway between the other two aforementioned traveler types. I usually travel with a large canvas bag, a small carrying bag, a dedicated camera bag and a backpack for my laptop, an I-pod, a portable sound system and some reading material.

As far as accommodations go, I usually stay in one of the better budget hotels, moderate bed and breakfasts, boutique hotels or one of the best hostels/guesthouses. Only on rare occasions do I splurge on accommodations, and in general, I dine at either at local cafes or moderately priced restaurants. No street food for me!

Total land expenses for 55 days/54 nights…..$4140      Per diem expense…..$77
Includes domestic airfare within South America

Breakdown of the land expense per country
    PERU (12 nights)               $1143**             Per diem expense…..95.25 

    BOLIVIA (25 nights)          $1621**             Per diem expense…..64.84 

    ARGENTINA (25 nights)     $1376**             Per diem expense…..80.94 

It should be noted that all touring costs were included in my land expense per country figure. Here’s a rundown of those expenses: Peru - three tours for $211; Bolivia - three tours (includes a 4 day/3 night Salar de Uyuni package) for $290 and Argentina - two tours for a measly $33.

**Domestic airfare within South America is also included in my costing figures. In Peru, I flew from Lima to Arequipa for $117, in Bolivia, I flew from La Paz to Sucre for $84.50 and in Argentina, I flew from Salta to Buenos Aires for $245**

Please note all prices are in US dollars.

You might want to see a more detailed breakdown of the land cost per country - includes average price per accommodation/per night per country (including highest and lowest prices); average cost per dinner (including highest and lowest prices) as well as a comparative cost of a small bottle of water. Very interesting, and worth a view!

After reviewing my cost breakdown, what can we conclude? Bolivia has the reputation of being the least expensive travel destination in South America and my data bears that out. Peru is considered a more affordable destination than Argentina, but my data shows that the per diem expense in Peru was somewhat more than Argentina. Keep in mind that the per diem rate for Peru was inflated by a somewhat pricey one-day tour to Isla de Ballestas/Paracas National Park ($128). Then again, Argentina might be a more affordable destination than the general perception held by most travelers.

I befriended a young street dog while staying in Sorata, a small town located in the Andean highlands of Bolivia. On my first night in town, I dined at one of the small cafes located just off the plaza. There were a number of street dogs hanging around the corner - feeling sorry for them, I bought some salchichas con papas(sausages with potatoes) from a local vendor and fed them.

Walking across the plaza on my way back to the hostel, I was escorted by two of the dogs. We were soon joined by a 3rd dog. I was out of “dog food” so I had nothing to feed the newcomer. He had short hair, a moderate skin rash on his rear hindquarters and walked with a limp. When he was standing still, he dangled his leg. I surmise that at one point in his young life he had been hit by a car, a common occurrence among street dogs. Like most street dogs he had no name, so I nicknamed him Pedro. Bidding Pedro and the other two dogs farewell, I made my way back to my hotel.

The following morning, I made my way back to the plaza where I ran into Pedro again. When I called his name, he ran to me, wagging his tale. Like many street dogs, Pedro was fairly scrawny so I bought him two plates of salchichas con papas, and he gleefully gobbled it up. Afterwards, I sat down at one of the park benches, and Pedro lied down on the pavement besides me as I patted him on his head.

The life of a street dog is not very fun – abandoned by their human owners sometime early in their life and left to fend for themselves on the streets, most of these dogs become full time scavengers. In Sorata, the dogs hang around the plaza during the day, looking for scraps of food on the ground or soliciting handouts from patrons of the park. At night, the dogs target the garbage cans located just outside the small cafes and food stalls surrounding the plaza.

Over the next couple of days, I would hook up with Pedro whenever I went to the plaza, buying him some street food or some raw meat from the butcher shop located in the outdoor market. Pedro really relished the raw meat. At no time however did Pedro beg for food – but I fed him just the same. On two occasions, Pedro followed me back to my hostel – the first time, he tried to enter the hostel but the owner shooed him away.

After waking up one morning, I walked to the roadside fronting the Hostel – about 600 meters from the plaza – to be greeted by Pedro, who appeared from the bushes located at edge of the nearby soccer field. Apparently he slept there overnight.

On my last day in Sorata, I tried to find Pedro a home with one of the villagers. But alas, no one wanted to adopt Pedro. Too bad, Pedro was a very sweet dog and would have made a nice pet for someone. I will miss him….