We booked our flight to from Amsterdam to Santiago de Chile via Madrid with Iberia. Back from Rio de Janeiro to Amsterdam via Madrid.
We also booked ahead the flights from El Calafate to Buenos Aires, from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazú and from Foz do Iguaçu to Rio de Janeiro.
We booked only two hostels ahead.
The hostel in Santiago de Chile was booked ahead. And the hostel in Rio de Janeiro we booked ahead. To my surprise the prices in Rio are really high and most hotels are booked full because of the New Year. If I new this I planned the journey the other way around. Finally we decided to book a hotel in a slum (Favela) for the crazy price of € 36 per person per night. This hostel is owned by a German man who married a Brazilian woman and started a hostel there. On January 2 the prices go normal again, so we decided not to book for this last day but wait to see what it’s like in the Favela.
We made a global planning of the route:
Santiago 3 nights
Chillán 2 nights
Temucó 1 night
Pucón 3 nights
Puerto Monnt 3 nights – including excursion of 1 night in island Chiloe
Bariloche 7 nights
4 nights to get to El Calafate by excursion
El Calafate 3 nights
2 nights spare
Buenos Aires 5 nights
Iguzú Falls 2 nights
Foz do Iguazu 1 night
Rio de Janeiro 4 nights
Chosen travel guide: Footprint Chile and Footprint Argentina
