What Things Actually Cost
Start with the seat. The same seat on the same route in Chile can run $29 to $65 for an entire 24 hours of travel. That is the honest range, and it is better than most people expect. Now hold that against Patagonia, where a dorm bed can cost more than $100 a night. Both numbers are real. They sit in the same country, sometimes a few hundred miles apart.
The cheapest country on the classic route is Bolivia. On a budget profile you can get through a full day there spending under $28. The most expensive is Chile, and Patagonia is the reason. The national parks there charge steep entry fees, and there is no way around them if you want to see what you came for.
Argentina sits somewhere in the middle, and it is cheap again as of the last update to this material in November 2018. The infrastructure is good for under $1,000. For one person, the total monthly cost comes to $955. That figure covers a month of moving around, not a month of sitting still.
Accommodation is where the spread gets wide. A dorm room can run $4. That was Huaraz, not Patagonia, but it shows the floor. The ceiling is that $100-plus dorm in the south. Most travellers end up splitting roughly 50/50 between shared rooms and private accommodation, which pulls the average somewhere between those two extremes.
The Money Problem in Argentina
Argentina’s prices are debatable because the inflation has been running for years. It was already bad in 2014, bad enough that anyone travelling there had to learn their way around the blue dollar. By 2018 the situation had gotten worse, not better. That is worth knowing before you budget from a number you read six months ago.
Food follows the same pattern as beds. Restaurants are very expensive in Uruguay, but eating a steak there is a must-do, much like in Argentina. A chivito, Uruguay’s classic steak sandwich, goes for about $10. A midrange restaurant with a drink runs $25. Double that for a top-end place with wine. So $10, $25 and $50 are your three tiers. Pick accordingly.
Ten days can cost nothing at all if people invite you and put you up. That happened in Iran, the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, England and Argentina. It is not a plan you can build a budget on, but it is a real thing that occurs.
Gear and Insurance
REI Co-op’s in-house gear tends to balance price against performance, and the Trail daypack is a fair example. It comes in 25- and 40-liter capacities. The larger model went to southern Patagonia for testing. That is the kind of pack you want if you are carrying everything and walking through park gates.
Insurance is the other fixed line. A backpacker policy can extend cancellation costs up to 11,000 euros, which is $11,880. Luggage is covered up to 2,500 euros, or $2,700. If that feels thin, you can raise it to 5,500 euros, which is $5,940, and that adds about 50 euros, or $54, to the premium. Those three numbers are the whole decision.
Time and Route
Seventy-two days in Argentina is not unusual. People have a hard time leaving. The classic route runs Peru, Bolivia and Chile over 40 days, though that is a pace, not a rule. Bolivia will cost you under $28 a day. Chile will not. Argentina comes in at $955 a month if you keep moving and keep the split between dorms and private rooms roughly even.
The seat for $29 to $65. The dorm for over $100. The day in Bolivia for under $28. The month in Argentina for $955. Write those four numbers down and the trip plans itself.
Leave a Reply