Travel Options to 2019 Dakar/Peru/etc

[Mosel Bikes]

Thinking about a trip to South America in January, would like to take in some of the Dakar (which is entirely in Peru this time) and also see some of Peru and Chile, away from the Dakar, especially scenery and wildlife. Up to a month's stay. Just me (missus dog sitting)
Never been to South America before and would be grateful for any steer or advice regarding travel options and possible hire/use of a bike for part of the trip whilst over there. Also anything in general I should think about.
Quick searches I've done are return flights London-Paris-Lima and Lima-Amsterdam-London @ £545 and car hire for a fortnight at £300.
I might be missing a trick however and would welcome suggestions that might broaden my options.

Muchos grassyarse, Mike

[diggermanbob]

Mike there is a guy on the forum Eliot forsey , he took an xt660 to South America to follow the Dakar he might be able to help ,

[Mosel Bikes]

Thank you kind sir.

[gbags]

Hi Mike,
The wife and I are going in a month so we’re pretty current.
Our best flight to Santiago in Chile so far is Alitalia for £473 but we’re still looking.
Motofreight will air freight your bike out to Chile or Colombia for £1,500 one way. This obviously won’t make sense if you’re only going for two weeks but will if you’re out for two months.
UKGSer has quite a few people who are either there now or know more.
Have a great time and perhaps we’ll bump into each other in Peru.
Graham

[Mosel Bikes]

Thanks Graham - very helpful.
can I ask what site/agent/other you use for looking for flights?
Yes, I've already decided not to take my bike, as it's more a general trip than a bike adventure trip (still having surgery on my shoulder which separated last April - badly!) so not looking for anything heavy or off-road oriented. I'll most likely just hire somewhere.
Have a smashing trip and hope to catch up with you on the road sometime.
Mike

[gbags]

Hi Mike,

We bought through World Airfares, who we found through cheapflights.co.uk

The agent was called Mario and his direct line is 0203515604. Don’t use Andrea, she’s no good.

We checked for a few days, going back again and again to wait for a good price.

Have a great time and send some photos to ABR.

Graham