Is it cheaper to buy a roundtrip or two one-way tickets?

For international flights to South America, a single roundtrip ticket on a major carrier is almost always cheaper and offers more protection during delays or cancellations.

Which month is the cheapest to fly to South America?

May and October are consistently the cheapest months, as they fall between the peak summer and winter holiday travel seasons.

Finding Cheap Flights to South America

Use Google Flights with the 'Explore' feature to track prices across an entire continent rather than specific cities. Book your tickets 3 to 6 months in advance, specifically looking for midweek departures to avoid weekend surcharges.

Set up price alerts. Enter your departure city and your destination country into Google Flights. Turn on the 'Track Prices' toggle. Do this for multiple hub cities like Bogota, Lima, and Santiago, as flying into a major hub is often cheaper than flying directly to a secondary tourist destination.
Use the 'Explore' tool. If your dates are flexible, go to Google Flights and select the destination as 'South America.' The map view will show you the cheapest airports to fly into from your home city. This often reveals hidden deals into hubs like Panama City or Lima that you wouldn't find searching city-by-city.
Leverage budget hubs. Flights to South America are often cheaper when you break them into two tickets. Find a cheap long-haul flight to a major hub like Bogota (BOG) or Sao Paulo (GRU), then use a regional low-cost carrier like LATAM, Avianca, or Sky Airline to reach your final destination.
Check budget airline routes. Look at carriers like JetBlue, Spirit, or Copa Airlines. Copa, based in Panama, often has the most competitive pricing for connections throughout the continent compared to legacy carriers.

Is it cheaper to buy a roundtrip or two one-way tickets?: For international flights to South America, a single roundtrip ticket on a major carrier is almost always cheaper and offers more protection during delays or cancellations.
Which month is the cheapest to fly to South America?: May and October are consistently the cheapest months, as they fall between the peak summer and winter holiday travel seasons.