For reference, I'm a 20 year old college student who's never left the US before and has been presented with the opportunity to travel this summer! I'll be working remotely for a tech company, so while I'll generally have the flexibility to go wherever I want, having consistent and reliable internet (either through wifi or cell service) during the weekdays of this trip is paramount. With that said, I'll be leaving the country in just a few weeks for Buenos Aires, Argentina, and I can use all the advice I can get! I'll ask for more general advice at the end of this post but will quickly go over my itinerary in case it provides useful context to anyone.

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Upon arriving in BA, it looks like I'll be staying in hostels both there and everywhere else on my 10-12 week journey (excluding the occasional AirBnB if necessary). I intend to spend 3-4 weeks in Argentina, beginning in BA and eventually making my way down to Bariloche. I've been told to check out San Martín de los Andes for good skiing, and I'm open to any snow suggestions as an avid skier and snowboarder! Where else in Argentina should I see? I'm looking to experience as much genuine cultural immersion, for what it's worth, so balancing the breadth and depth of each city/country I see is of utmost importance.

I originally planned on then flying back from Bariloche towards Iguazu, but several people have told me to check out Santiago while on the west coast. I don't know if I'll have time to give Chile its due diligence, but I'm open to spending a week or two in Santiago (or elsewhere in Chile) while I'm in the area. Eventually, however, I do want to see Iguazu falls before spending 2-4 weeks in Brazil. São Paulo, Florianópolis, Rio, and Bonito are all destinations on my wishlist, and I'd be happy to visit some combination of those and/or other locations while there.

I then plan on flying northwest to Machu Picchu and spending a few weeks in Peru. I've heard Lima is an okay city to visit but that a rainforest town like Iquitos is much more interesting, so the only two must-sees I've documented for Peru are the aforementioned. Please let me know if you have any other suggestions. 

Finally, I plan on heading north to Ecuador. I've also been told to check out the Galapagos and Colombia, two very different options, so any insight that helps me decide where to attend will be really helpful.

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That's the rough itinerary! Let me know suggestions for places to add, modify, and remove from this list. Again, I'm trying to be mindful of spending enough time in each city/country to make it meaningful while still seeing a good percentage of the incredible continent. Is this list too ambitious?

More generally, I'd love advice about recommended gear to carry on the trip. As mentioned, I'll spend most of my time living in hostels, so I imagine I'll have a large backpack and a daypack in each area. Suggestions for things to put in that backpack? Also, I speak moderately good Spanish, but I'm still working towards conversational fluency. I've been listening to Spanish news, music, and podcasts for the past few months, slowly but surely reviving my six years of formal training, but I have a long way to go. I'd really appreciate any insight about how to develop fluency in the language.

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Thank you to anyone who's made it this far. Any advice, both general and broad, will go a long way to help this be a safe and meaningful trip.

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tl;dr Looking for suggestions about things to do, places to go, and things to have on my 10-12 week trip to South America. Thanks!!!