Salta to Lima

June 30, 2010 1:27 PM

i have about 5 days to get from around Salta to Lima to catch a flight. budget is a big issue. what is the best way to take buses from Salta to Lima? I do not have a chilean visa but I do have a bolivian visa. I am American.
posted by barbudo to travel & transportation around Lima, Peru (5 answers total)

Can't help with the transportation issues, but you are aware that Americans have to pay a $153 (approximate) "reciprocity" fee in order to enter Chile? Normally if you fly into Santiago, you pay this fee at the airport, so I'm not sure how one does this if you are crossing over by land. This is not considered a visa, per se, but since Chileans need visas to enter the USA, this is what they charge Americans for arriving into their country.
posted by HeyAllie at 2:34 PM on June 30, 2010

Also, Americans do not need a visa to enter Peru - you pay a departure tax, however - $31 for flying out of Lima.
posted by HeyAllie at 3:03 PM on June 30, 2010

Not sure why you think you need to go through Chile. You can do Argentina, Bolivia, Peru. From Salta take a bus north to Villazon on the border with Bolivia. Cross the border to La Quiaca, take a bus to Sucre and onwards to La Paz. From La Paz, up to Copacabana on Lake Titicaca and cross into Peru in Puno. From Puno, you can get a bus to Lima.

However, you are going to need to look at timings very carefully. 5 days is a very short time to be doing this, and you will spend a LOT of your time on buses, including nights. As a guide, 4hrs to Bolivian border, 13hrs to Sucre, 14hrs to La Paz, 5 or 6 to Puno & 21hrs to Lima. That's 60 hours, and the buses in Bolivia are cheap but are not comfortable.
posted by jontyjago at 3:17 PM on June 30, 2010

I had a good experience with Cruz del Sur --- it isn't the cheapest option, but it was pain-free and very comfortable. They have buses between Chile and Lima, though I'm not sure where you would pick it up from Salta.
posted by dgc at 3:18 PM on June 30, 2010

Thanks for all the answers everybody. As it turned out there was a line (Veloz Del Sur) that picked up in Salta and went all the way to Lima. Did the trip in 40 hours.
posted by barbudo at 8:50 AM on July 16, 2010