travelling south america by bus?

later this year myself and a few mates are travelling around SA. we want to see as much as we can, but we're on a tight budget. does anyone know much about travelling SA by bus eg. how much, how long, how safe, how easy etc.
if anyone can help me out it'd be much appreciated!

Buses in SA are very safe, very easy and generally pretty comfortable. In cheaper countries eg Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador on average you will pay about $1 per hour of travel . . . but this can vary a little depending on the quality of bus you take. In countries like Chile and Argentina is more like $2 an hour, but the buses are super nice and comfortable. If you want to save time and see more take night buses to save traveling time. Generally the buses are pretty frequent and you can just show up at the station and buy a ticket . . . but on some busier routes and in the high season it is advisable to buy your ticket the day before. Hope that helps!

Well. I travelled basically all over SA in buses. They are generally pretty cheap. But if you are travelling long distances, like overnight, the only bus companies that do that are the delux ones and you can pay up to around $75-80 Australian (not sue what you currency is). Thats not cheap, but we had no other options,...this tends to happen in the richer and touristy countries like Argentina and Peru.... so long as you go over night then its your accommodation as well as travel expence so you can justify it that way (they also include meals).

The really cheap buses are called the chicken buses. Thats coz all the locals travel on them and they bring half a farm with them sometimes...chickens everything. This tends to happen in the poorer contries like Bolivia. I have nothing against chiken buses, but they can be uncomfy. They are waay overcrouded. Literally people sitting on the floor coz no more seats left. There were times when i could not put my feet on the floor coz someone was lying there. No joke.

As for safety. For the most part they are. But always keep eveything in your lap or between your feet. So you can feel if anyone touches your stuff. Otherwise they will get stolen without doubt. Also sometimes buses that travel at night can be held-up and everyone has there bags/valuables taken. So i suggest you keep your passport and some money hidden in your clothes not in your bag. They tend to do this on the coast and in Brazil.

I'm supposing you're from UK. To travel SA by bus might take 2 months, considering the distances between places of interest.

On countries like Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, take the best bus available, it's still cheap and you security is more important.

You could start out in Rio, Brazil then head south to Sao Paulo then directly to the Iguazu Falls. Then head east again to Florianapolis, south to Uruguay-Punta del Este then to Buenos Aires in Argentina. This could take 2 weeks of your trip.

From Buenos Aires head west to Santiago-Chile, passing thru Cordova & Mendoza and over the Andes Mountains. Once in Santiago go to Valparaiso-Viña del Mar then head north to Iquique (you can go directly over night to save time and money). There's not much to see in Iquique but from there, you can start going over the mountains again to Bolivia (Cochabamba, La Paz, Tiahuanaco Ruins, Copacabana in lake Titicaca and across the border to Puno-Peru or Juliaca).

After lake titicaca you head for Cuzco by train and spend at least 5 days including Macchu Picchu. By now you must have spent 5 weeks.

From Cuzco go to Arequipa for 3 days including Colca canyon to whatch the Condors then hed to Lima over night. After Lima head north to Ecuador maybe stoping in Trujillo, Chiclayo, Cajamarca and Mancora (in every city in Peru there are anient ruins to visit except Mancora wich is a surfing meca)

In Ecuador, go to Guayaquil, Montañitas, Cuenca, Quito. Then head north to Colombia (Cali, Armenia and Bogota) You might want to visit the Caribean before going back home (Cartagena, Barranquilla & Santa Marta).

omg its sounds like a fun trip cuz u get to go through every country i think and small towns!!!