South America on $20/Day: 21-Day Shoestring Itinerary

A 3 weeks argentina and colombia and peru itinerary budget covering Bogota, Lima, Cusco, and Buenos Aires fits 4 cities across 3 countries into three weeks. That works out to roughly 5.2 days per stop, enough time to settle into each city without rushing to the next bus station. At the brokepackr level, daily costs average $20/day, covering the cheapest hostel dorm beds (averaging $7/night), street food and self-catering ($5/day), and local transport ($2/day). The price gap between the cheapest city (Cusco at $10.56/day) and the priciest (Buenos Aires at $32.98/day) is worth planning around. All prices on this page are in USD.

The cheapest dorm beds city by city: Cusco at $4.75/night, Lima at $5.53/night, Bogota at $7.13/night, Buenos Aires at $11.21/night. Street food and market meals average $5/day for the route. Cusco is the cheapest place to eat at $2.90/day, while Buenos Aires runs $10.88/day for street food and self-catering. Inter-city ground transport for the full route comes to $356 to $482, sticking to the cheapest bus options and booking in advance. Adding it up: 21 days of dorm beds, street food, local transport, and inter-city travel comes to roughly $430 to $912 before international flights, stretching every dollar.

This route works because the cities complement rather than repeat each other. The jump from Buenos Aires ($32.98/day) to Cusco ($10.56/day) is more than a cost difference; it is a full reset in pace, food culture, and street-level energy. The Lima to Cusco connection runs 22 hours by bus starting at $25. Costs build gradually along the route, from $14.96/day in Bogota up to $32.98/day in Buenos Aires, so front-loading cheaper cities buys time to adjust the budget. All stops align for April, May, September, October, and November travel, when drier conditions and moderate temperatures make each city more walkable and enjoyable.

April, May, September, October, and November is the recommended window, balancing good weather with reasonable hostel availability. Avoid January, February, March, and December when conditions are less favorable for overland travel. The cost table below breaks down exactly what each city costs per day, sorted so the cheapest stop (Cusco) stands out immediately. Below that, the transport section shows pricing and duration for every city-to-city connection on the route. Toggle between the brokepackr, backpackr, and flashpackr tiers to see how costs shift at each spending level.