45-Day South America Comfort Itinerary: Cartagena to Buenos Aires

A backpacking argentina and colombia and ecuador and peru budget covering Cartagena, Medellin, Quito, Lima, Cusco, and Buenos Aires fits 6 cities across 4 countries into six weeks. That works out to roughly 7.5 days per stop, enough time to settle into each city without rushing to the next bus station. At the flashpackr level, daily costs average $55/day, covering a private room or boutique hostel (averaging $25/night), sit-down restaurants and cafes ($20/day), and local transport ($8/day). The price gap between the cheapest city (Cusco at $41.70/day) and the priciest (Buenos Aires at $130.28/day) is worth planning around. All prices on this page are in USD.

Private room rates vary across the 6 stops. The cheapest beds are in Cusco ($18.77/night) and Lima ($8.64/night), while Buenos Aires ($17.51/night) and Medellin ($10.51/night) sit at the top. Restaurant meals and cafe dining average $19/day for the route. Cusco is the cheapest place to eat at $11.46/day, while Buenos Aires runs $42.99/day for sit-down restaurants and cafes. Inter-city ground transport for the full route comes to $2094 to $2833, with the option of faster trains and direct routes. Adding it up: 45 days of private rooms, restaurant meals, local transport, and inter-city travel comes to roughly $2489 to $5322 before international flights, with room for comfortable upgrades.

This route works because the cities complement rather than repeat each other. The jump from Buenos Aires ($130.28/day) to Cusco ($41.70/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 $58.88/day in Cartagena up to $130.28/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.