1

Chris- the places you are going to all have wi-fi available. From Huaraz and Cuzco in Peru to Punta Arenas and El Chalten, I had no problem using FaceTime on my iPod Touch and chatting with my wife in Toronto. You could set up Skype and make that work just as easily.

I don't know about the sim card and its cost and how and if one card would work in three different countries- it seems unlikely. I think you'd do fine using the wi-fi you find in the hostels and guesthouses you stay in- even a number of restaurants had free wi-fi.

There is a two-pronged adapter for South America that you need to get if your Aussie connection is different. You can probably find it at a travel store near you. If not, you should be able to find one in South America.

You should have no problem just using the wi-fi capabilities of your iPhone to keep in touch with your kiddies back home.

2

Is it i-phone 4 (mini sim) or 3 (regular sim)? Regular sim, no dramas.

Mini sim I don't think is so widely available but I imagine you can get it. Let us know if it is a mini sim and maybe others know more about that.

The plugs here are two vertical prongs, exactly like this... I I

Free WIFI is everywhere!

3

WIFI is practicably everywhere, in Bolivia it will limited to bigger town though. I strongly recommend voip for calls back home, use local sim only for local calls.
For mini-sim no drama, just make sure you will bring this handy think with you
http://www.cutmysim.com/
It's also possible to do it with regular kitchen knife, but when you visit few countries and you'll have few simcard to cut I think cutter is worth the investment
Peru and Bolivia accept both us or euro type plugs, Chile has their own 3 pins typo of plug that is however backwards compatible with euro plug (but with thin pin only!). It's best to bring universal converter with you (available in ebay for $5 or so)

4

Thank You so much, It has made me feel so much better about leaving the kids at home. I do appreciate all your replies. I think I am going to just take my phone and not worry about the sim, It was more for them and me to know we were ok, even an e-mail once every couples of days was going to be fine, Thanks again

5

If you have no intentions of calling locally from your phone you don't really need a sim. Receiving sms is always free in roaming, and they will be able to sent you a txt with domestic rates.
You can reply simply by e-mail, or there are several applications that allow you to sent txt for something close to nothing using wi-fi.
If you have spare hour you can get a SIM in Bolivia (wait in line, register with your passport, standard entry level bureaucracy), as it's pretty handy there and calls area really cheap. I wound't bother with Peru and Chile.