Hello all!
I'm a 23 year old male from the UK, planning a two and a half month solo trip through South America from the end of May to mid-August next year. I had originally planned to spend 5 months doing this, but have decided to spend half of that time in Central America. I feel like I don't have nearly enough time to explore such a huge continent, and feel a little lost as to where to begin. I think it would be better to focus on a handful of countries, as opposed to seeing just a little of a lot of countries, and I am leaning towards Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and maybe Chile and Argentina.
Would people suggest limiting myself to say, 3 countries, so I can see more of them? I think this may be the best option, particularly as I would like to do some volunteer work which would mean staying in the same place for at least a month. I am thinking of flying from Panama into Cuzco (if possible), then traveling through Bolivia and into Brazil, where I would spend a month or so. I should have a budget of about $3000 to $4000.... does any of this sound feasible?
This is starting to turn into a bit of a ramble, but basically I am just looking to get some ideas from people of how to spend my small amount of time in this fascinating continent.