Travelling to Peru, should I include Brazil in my trip? [closed]

Question

I am considering a trip to Peru. There I will visit Cuzco, Iquitos, and of course Lima. I expect to spend 12-14 days there. I am also strongly considering extending my trip up to 20 days or so and visiting Brazil, at least Rio, but possibly also São Paulo and maybe somewhere on the Amazon (not sure where yet). I'm travelling from western Canada.

1) Would it be a good idea from a timeline point of view? Or will it be too rushed?

2) I did some preliminary research regarding airfare, and it looks like almost all flights from Peru to Brazil will have to be from Lima (more time wasted travelling back and forth), and also one way tickets are extremely overpriced, sometimes even double the price of return tickets. Is it possible to obtain better prices for travel from Peru to Brazil?

3) How does the "amazon experience" in Peru compare to in Brazil? Is one "better"? Are they simply different and will I regret being so close to Brazil but not going there?

Answer 1

You're asking for opinions, which are very personal. But...

Peru has plenty to offer. You're probably flying into Lima, but not one person I've ever spoken to who has been to Lima has said it was a city worth visiting. Because of that, I skipped it on my trip this year (though I am stopping by next year).

Distances in Peru (and South America) are huge. You'll lose a lot of time moving from major Peruvian site to major Peruvian site. Adding Brazil to your itinerary will only give you less time to actually see and do things.

Yes, Rio is very much worth a visit, but as you found out, flying between Peru and Brazil is prohibitively expensive. If you want to get to Brazil on the cheap, you can take a bus via Cusco to Puerto Maldonado from where you can get to Rio Branco, which is just across the border in Brazil. From Rio Branco, you can get budget airlines to Rio or any other Brazilian destination of your choice. But, this is a time consuming process.

Yes, the Amazon experience in Peru (yes, you can visit the Amazon in Peru, too) is decidedly different (and not necessarily worse) from what you can get in Brazil. But, to get to the Brazilian Amazon from Peru either will cost you plenty of time (overland) or money (flying a complex route to get to Manaus, most likely).

My advice would be that if you can set aside 20 days, spend them in Peru and, perhaps, Ecuador. Or, if you really want some diversity, take overland transport to Bolivia.