1

Hi

Not sure where you're based but my girlfriend and I just booked some flights from UK to Lima, Lima to Bogota and Bogoto to UK. The cheapest price using the multiple city function on edreams was £568, in total. By bundling the flights together like this you tend to get a sweet deal...

2

Have you considered flying internally from Lima to either Piura or Tumbes, and from there continuing on bus through Ecuador to Columbia. A one way ticket should be under $200 USD, and would shorten the distance you need to go by bus by roughly 1000 kilometers, saving you some time

3

I`ve done this trip a few times, it`s pretty easy and cheap.

Option 1

Fly to Iquitos for avg $140
Take the speed boat to Leticia $75 (6 hours) I think it leaves every thurs, sat, monday but not to sure, at least every few days.
Flight from Leticia to Bogota avg $120

When you get to Leticia, ask to get off on the peru side. The town is tiny, just walk to immigration to get your exit stamp.Go back to the docks and cross over to Leicia ( small boats are always there for taxis)

You`ll get your colombian stamp at the office in the airport.

Option 2

Fly Lima to Quito for about $277
Take a morning bus to ipiales. Pass immigration then get on a night bus to cali. If I remember you should be there the next morning.

Have fun

4

Flight + boat + flight would probably take as much time as bus travel, ie. at least two full days, or maybe three, depending on connections.

5

Thanks. Useful info!

Do you know if there's a way of buying a flight ticket without incurring the hike in fee for being not based locally there. Flights when based in Peru are 3times cheaper than when I confess to LAN.com that I live in France. Any way around that? Thanks!!

6

Fly starperu.com or peruvian.pe from Lima to Iquitos, without incurring a foreigner charge. Taca.com also has good flights but their one-ways tend to be a bit more expensive. Look for something about $90 usd one way to Iquitos.

From Iquitos, take the boat to Leticia. I went the other way (Leticia-Iquitos) on the slow boat and it was 80 soles ($35 usd). I think the fast boat is about 2 time the price. I had a friend take the fast boat from Peru to Colombia; it was fast but not enjoyable. I took the 3 day/2 night trip up river and it was absolutely awesome.

7

Thanks!!

8

Are there any cheap airlines operating out of Peru...Lima or Cuzco...?

I have considered using Lima as a base for trips going to Manaus or Patagonia... Are there trains along the Pacific coast...south of Lima? Long distance buses...to the south...? Are they safe...?

How is the weather in March in the Andes...on the coastal deserts ...or the mountains...?

9

#8
Flying isn't the best way to go within South America. I've travelled several times in South Am countries and never took a flight. Many people do, if they're in a hurry, typically Lima-Cuzco or Buenos Aires-Iguazu.
The usual problem is that there are very few direct connections between provincial cities. Instead, you need to fly via capitals, which means longer travel time, and often backtracking.
The idea of using one city (Lima) as a base, isn't a good one. That would make your travelling very expensive.
Flights within one country are usually much cheaper than international flights.

There's no railway system worth mentioning, only single connections between A and B within one country. Paraguay doesn't have railways at all, even if they used to have it in the past.

The best way to travel is by bus. There's a well developed network and you can get to every place, usually having more than one company to choose from. On main routes you'll find very comfortable busses (cama type), with reclining seats and service on board like on a plane. That has two advantages - you can sleep on the bus and save money on accommodation, and you can travel at night saving travel time.

You need to be aware that distances are often very long and bus trips 10-20 hrs aren't unusual.
Therefore you need to plan your travel accordingly with enough travel time.
If you're mentioning Lima, Manaus and Patagonia, you'd be into a great trip that should span over three-four months at least, so that it'd make sense logistically and cost-wise.

For weather you need to make your own research as there're great differences between Manaus and Patagonia in April. Just remember SA is mainly in southern hemisphere where March is end of summer/ beg autumn.

10

Hello again.

I just heard that I could possibly take a plane from iquitos to caballo cocha, but I cant find details on who offers these flights although the peruvian air force was mentioned in a blog.

anyone heard of this and any advice, please?

from there I understand that i could take a boat from caballo cocha to leticia with the total trip taking 4-6 hours.

thanks!