I think Salta is wet in Jan. Iguassu too, but that could be a good thing. I was thinking we would fly into Santiago, fly south for trekking in Torres Del Paine, Fitzroy & Perito Moreno, then North to Iguassu & finish with a few days in BA. Make sense?
Colombia would probably be Bogota-Coffee zone-Cartagena-Tayrona NP. I take it you preferred Argentina?
My blue-eyed, blond daughter will be nearly 17 in Jan 2021. You are not selling India in this regard!
Was it as expensive as legend suggests?
It is expensive if you want to drink. I remember thinking I wanted a glass of wine but at AUD20 , no way. I just drank my duty free vodka. I thought most other prices were comparable to London. Going in late Jan saved money too as it is low season but not all tourist attractions are open. If you want to lock in prices, then consider doing an organised tour and make your lunch, at breakfast.
Loved the place, but Norway is seriously expensive!
For context:
10 bucks plus for a coffee.
10 bucks for an ice-cream.
6 bucks for a bog standard can of beer off the shelf at a supermarket.
A grocery bill for 3 or so days (nothing fancy for 2 adults and a 4 year old) was routinely 100 - 150 bucks.
If we went out for a meal (say a parma, a pizza and a couple of beers or something similar) we were routinely dropping over 120 bucks.
About the only thing which wasnât outrageously dear (relatively speakingâŚ) was fruit & veg, and which was good quality.
Absolutely expensive compared to the other places you have mentioned but if you have the funds absolutely do it. The scenery is absolutely stunning and the people are stunning. Everywhere is like looking at a postcard. They might even think your daughter is a local 
My better half says she has only felt uncomfortable in one place O/S, and sheâs well travelledâŚNew Dehli. I didnât like the way independent tourists were targeted by touts even when we were in cafes or taxis but my partner said she felt uncomfortable the whole time. Says the rest of India was fine but New Delhi was the pits, men up in her face the moment they thought she lacked a male escort and overtly and uncomfortably perving even when I was around. That was ten years ago but a friend of my son says she copped the same visual abuse more recently even though her partner, now ex, told her to stop whinging.
I stressâŚmy better half said mainly New Dehli, and maybe Agra, but Rajasthan was OK.
Amazing country, brilliant visually.
Iâm going to Greece on Wednesday. Sunshine!
Mumbai and New Delhi are the worst places in India for women to travel IMO. Never felt really unsafe but Mrs Ace did get sick of the attention and there is no way she would travel there alone. Beautiful country though and whilst the sheer number of people can be overwhelming in the big cities and major tourist areas, it is a fantastic cultural experience
Lucky you, Iâm going the opposite and off to NZ for a week on Friday. Should be nice and warm there
I loved India. Itâs just really sad and annoying that as a female, I couldnât go anywhere alone, which I like doing whilst travelling.
Yep, youâll certainly need a weekâs worth of bathers!
You are a brave gal Em. My wife is a very seasoned traveler and still reckons India is right up there for most intimidating places for women travellers. She wouldnât let me get more than a few feet away from her.
My better half and I were musing about possible tourists destinations to revisit in Europe just yesterday and I ventured the opinion that Greece was top of my list. She agreed but said some people she knew said the austerity drive there had made it less attractive. Love to hear your opinion of the state of the Greek nation in future weeks.
I went with friends and their parents for their daughters wedding. We were travelling in packs but 2 nights out from leaving we were in Agra, which aside from the beauty of Taj Mahal was the creepiest place I went to. So I left for Delhi, checked myself into an amazing hotel and hired a guide through the hotel. Cost me a fortune but I got to see a lot which I wouldnât have otherwise.
Was absolutely â â â â â â â â myself in the car from Agra to Delhi though. The driver stopped at one stage to go into a shop and left the car running. I legit thought one of the many lurkers would jump in and drive away with me.
Greece is ok for me as I know the language and I have people there, so itâs like a second home.
I donât usually recommend it for non Greeks though, not mainland anyway. The islands are some of the most beautiful places ever. Also very tourist friendly.
Your itinerary makes sense, although I canât vouch for air connections to Iguassu from Patagonia. We travelled by road between Torres del Paine and El Calafate but in the opposite direction to your plan. It took 4 or 5 hours I think, but the scenery is good. It will still be cool in Patagonia in January but not brass monkey weather.
Iguassu will be hot no matter the weather, so some rain might be beneficial. Thereâs only the falls to see - one day Argentinian side, the next day Brazil side should be done. I believe that Brazil have recently removed the requirement for a Visa but check this out. I canât enough highly recommend that you take a boat trip that takes you under part of the falls - you donât just get wet, itâs like having the contents of a 10,000 litre water tank tipped on you!! T-shirt and shorts only!
Mendoza area has great wineries, but I havenât been there.
Iâd suggest at least 3 days in BA as there is so much to try to see.
If you are Melbourne based Latam fly direct Mel to Santiago and Iâd suggest at least a day in Santiago for sight seeing. Argentina and Colombia (less so) are big countries, so youâll need internal flights to visit most locations. The good news is that both Avianca in Colombia and Air Argentina(?) were very reliable on our travels.
Yes, I preferred Argentina, but Cartagena Colombia was a must visit.
India is an assault on oneâs senses and it can provoke a love-hate relationship with many travellers. Any serious traveller should go there once in their lifetime. However, as a male my view and from my observations when in that country, is that Indian men are by and large sleeze buckets.
Please accept this info with a dose of salt. It was 2012 and I donât know if theyâve changed. Anyway it was Base Camp Tanzania and the Pom was called Achmed, not his original name - definitely a character and organised everything for us from airport pickup on. Donât know if heâs still running it though. Our driver/guide was called Chris and he was Ace by 100 but I canât vouch for the others. Plenty of other safaris available anyway and really, Tanzania is wonderful. We found it that way anyway.
https://basecamptanzania.com/
You wouldnât want to miss the lights at those prices!
What was it you liked about Argentina @Gwilty?
FYI weâd spend quite a few days in BA, but wouldnât linger in Santiago - maybe just a day or so, including a day trip to Valparaiso for the street art (which didnât exist when we were there in 1998). I think flights from Patagonia to Iguassu would be via BA.
Youâre not wrong!
We started that trip in Finland. Having heard the stories about cost, I was surprised. It was a bit pricier than here, but not ridiculously so.
I was optimistic.
Then we hit Sweden. Then Denmark. With Norway last. Seemed things got incrementally more expensive the further West we went.
It was certainly an expensive trip, but I wouldnât change a thing!