Links & Lessons Learned

Hostelworld is the best app for finding hostels and is usually the cheapest. When none appear there then Airbnb often has private rooms in hostel type accomodations.
aloSIM is the best app we’ve found for eSIMs and has very reasonably priced regional SIMs that cover multiple countries.
AllTrails is the best app for finding good trails in a given area but we’ve found Organic Maps to be the best free offline maps app for navigating the trails once you are there. It is useful too anytime you are out of mobile coverage or when you simply want to conserve data.
inDrive is a ride share app that provides increased security in countries that don’t have Uber.
Long haul buses tend to be quite cold. Be sure to bring some extra layers! Also worth noting the back row of seats on buses don’t recline as far back as the others.

Like Argentina, Bolivia also has a blue dollar rate for USD cash. As of March 2025 the blue dollar rate is ~11BOBs to 1USD for 50s & 100s (the official rate is 7BOBs to 1USD). In other words you can save ~40% on almost everything if you bring USD cash and exchange it here.

Uyuni Salt Flats

We booked our tour a few days in advance but it is common to book the day before.

Sucre

Me Gusta Spanish School is where we took our lessons and we would highly recommend. We only did 1 week but if you have the time, 2 or more weeks would be ideal to get the most from your time.
Coffee Bike has the best coffee in town with some yum bagels and other goodies too. They also have a second location here.
El Patio has the best Salteñas in town though be sure to get there before they close at 1pm!
The bus to Parque Cretácico is only 15BOB return (much cheaper than a cab even with 3 of us) and leaves from near the main plaza.

Cash in Chile is easy to withdraw from most ATMs although there is a small fee. We’ve found Banco Estado to have the lowest fee (5,500CLP per transaction). Both our Wise and BNZ cards are accepted here.
Some hostels offer VAT tax off for cash payments. The discounted price will be what they advertise so basically you need cash to pay for most hostels.
Recorrido is the best website we’ve found for booking long haul buses.
Outside of main centres, public transport consists of small buses and shared taxis. Although small, the buses operate like most, accepting cash only. The taxis are more unusual in that they are colour coded per area, have (very reasonable) standard fares, and will pick up additional people along the way until they are full.

Punta Arenas

If you don’t plan on seeing the penguins, not heaps to do here. Few walks around but all quite far from the city.
Cheap compared to rest of Patagonia!

Puerto Natales

Torres Hike is the best website for booking campsites in Torres del Paine.
We didn’t do the O or W trek (which you need to do well in advance) but managed to snag a campsite at Glacier Grey booking only a few days before. We did hear of a few people managing to book the O or W treks only a few weeks out though!

Puerto Montt

We were told by multiple fellow travellers to skip Puerto Montt and just stay in Puerto Varas but decided we would do both anyway. In hindsight there really wasn’t a heap to see in Puerto Montt and given the lack of hostels, a day trip from Puerto Varas would have been a good option.

Castro

As a couple, we booked a double room here and couldn’t recommend it more. Maybe our standards were low from Puerto Montt but we had a very comfortable and relaxing stay.
It may not be the most authentic option but we had dinner at Bonsai Sushi twice and would go back a third. Good value and excellent taste.

Puerto Varas

Here we stayed at MaPatagonia and found it very well run and very well kept. Our nicest hostel yet. They also offer bike hires to Frutillar at a good price (see below).
The cycle to Frutillar was a great day out. Something about biking to a place makes you appreciate it more. We hired bikes through our hostel although were told we couldn’t get them until 10am (which ended up as 11am in our case). This sounds minor but does impact the feasibility of biking back as well. Of course you can have the bikes collected from Frutillar but not for free! If you do want to bike both ways then pushing for an early start would definitely be worth it.

Pichilemu

San Pedro

sanpedroatacama.com is a useful website for finding up to date entrance fees and other info for the attractions here.
This ATM allows you to withdraw up to 400,000CLP for a flat rate fee of 5,500CLP.
This Money Exchange shop has good rates and gives the blue dollar rate for Bolivianos (and probably Argentinian Pesos) with USD or CLP.

We’ve found a combination between Organic Maps and All Trails works best for finding trails. Guru Maps is a good addition if you want to load GPX tracks. These can all be used free.

Argentina has seen inflation up to 200% in the last few years and as a result is not cheap like it was a few years ago (it’s now the most expensive country in South America).
We found it near impossible to get USD or ARS in Argentina without crazy fees. Western Union seems to be the only way. Definitely worth bringing USD cash if you can (crisp 50s or 100s if you want to get blue dollar rates).
Recorrido is a Chilean website but seems to be the best for booking buses in Argentina too (significantly cheaper than bus bud). It doesn’t seem to accept NZ debit cards but it does accept Wise.

Buenos Aires

America Del Sur Hostel is where we stayed most of our time in Buenos Aires. It is a tidy, social, and cost effective hostel great for those interested in activities other than drinking.
Plaza Dorrego in Buenos Aires is where we saw tango in the street (free / tips only).
La Parri in Buenos is “where the locals go” and where we had cheap churis (and even cheaper beers).

Ushuaia

Hard to get a Sube card here, grab one in Buenos Aires if you can. I think you can get them at the Municipalidad though.
Tierra del Fuego National Park is located west of the city and costs 45000ARS per person for a days entry. Everywhere else is free!

Mendoza

The heat here is relentless between about 2-5pm. Make the most of the mornings if you can!
Your sube card will be useful here!
Gorrilla Hostel is where we stayed and was a great vibe with a bar, pool, and air con. Don’t get your hopes up about the brekky though as it was tasty but simple and small.

Salta

Would definitely recommend renting a car in Salta (there’s none in Cafayate) to explore the area. We didn’t and as a result only saw a fraction of the sights to see here. It’s a stunning area worthy of the extra expensive (and likely cheaper than tours).

Uruguay is not cheap, both food and transport. Staying under our 85NZD budget was a struggle given our significant mileage and short timeframe. In hindsight we should have considered hitchhiking up the coast, saving buses for the way back when time was constrained.
If you plan to eat out for dinner, remember to have a late lunch or big afternoon tea so you can hold off until at least 8pm when restaurants start opening!
Everywhere we read online said cash was easy to get from ATMs in Uruguay but we’ve failed so far to find one that accepts either a Wise or BNZ card.
We’ve found URUBUS is the best way to both find bus schedules and book them in Uruguay.
If you have cash, it seems you can pretty much wave a bus down from anywhere they drive past (although a bus stop is probably preferable).
Mar de Fondo in Punta del Diablo is where we stayed and we had a great experience. Not the most lively hostel by some standards but a very friendly, social, laid back vibe if that’s what you’re in to. We would definitely recommend it.