What are the best European cities to fly from to reach South America? Which European cities have the most connections? Which South American cities have the most connections? And what are the cheapest connections?
This article covers the best connections for flights between Europe and South America. All listed connections are direct flights. While some cities have more connections than others, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are cheaper. Generally the shorter the distance the cheaper the flight, although this isn’t always the case. Sometimes its cheaper to fly from a second European city without a direct flight rather than fly directly from one of the cities below, even on the exact same flight. It doesn’t make sense, but that sums up the flight industry.
European cities with the most connections to South America
MADRID🏆
10 countries, 17 connections
ARGENTINA – Buenos Aires, Cordoba
BOLIVIA – Cochabamba, Santa Cruz de la Sierra
BRAZIL – Salvador, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro
CHILE – Santiago de Chile
COLOMBIA – Bogotá, Cali, Medellín
ECUADOR – Guayaquil, Quito
PARAGUAY – Asunción
PERU – Lima
URUGUAY – Montevideo
VENEZUELA – Caracas
AMSTERDAM 🥈
7 countries, 10 connections
ARGENTINA – Buenos Aires BRAZIL – Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo CHILE – Santiago de Chile COLOMBIA – Bogotá, Cartagena ECUADOR – Guayaquil, Quito PERU – Lima
🇸🇷 Suriname – Paramaribo
PARIS 🥉
6 countries, 8 connections
ARGENTINA – Buenos Aires BRAZIL – Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo CHILE – Santiago de Chile COLOMBIA – Bogotá
🇬🇫 FRENCH GUIANA – Cayenne PERU – Lima
LISBON
2 countries, 7 connections
BRAZIL – Belem, Fortaleza, Natal, Porto Alegre, Salvador, São Paulo
🇻🇪 VENEZUELA – Caracas
LONDON
5 countries, 6 connections
ARGENTINA – Buenos Aires BRAZIL – Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo CHILE – Santiago de Chile COLOMBIA – Bogotá PERU – Lima
FRANKFURT
3 countries, 4 connections
ARGENTINA – Buenos Aires BRAZIL – Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo COLOMBIA – Bogotá
BARCELONA
3 countries, 3 connections
ARGENTINA – Buenos Aires
🇨🇱 CHILE – Santiago de Chile COLOMBIA – Bogotá
ROME
2 countries, 3 connections
ARGENTINA – Buenos Aires BRAZIL – Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo
South American Cities WIth The Most COnnections From Europe
The above 8 European cities connect to 24 destinations in South America. Below are the South American cities with the most connections to Europe.
1) Buenos Aires + São Paulo – 7 connections
2) Bogotá + Rio de Janeiro – 6 connections
3) Santiago de Chile – 5 connections
4) Lima – 4 connections
5) Caracas, Fortaleza, Guayaquil, Quito + Salvador – 2 connections
Cheapest flight connections from Europe to South America
As previously mentioned, generally the shorter the distance the cheaper the flight. That makes flights from Colombia and Brazil generally the cheapest. There is no one destination which is or will always be cheapest as the prices of flights are fluctuating all the time. I’ve heard it said before that every single people on a flight probably paid a different price for their ticket. That being said, the two destinations below are generally the cheapest cities to fly to from Europe.
BRAZIL – São Paulo COLOMBIA – Bogotá
Where to find the cheapest tickets
Personally, I use a combination of Skyscanner and Kiwi, and always compare their prices to the airlines own website. You can often find cheaper flights on flight aggregators if you take carry-on only, but aggregators often don’t include checked baggage or charge more for checked baggage than if you bought the ticket directly on the airlines website including a checked bag. It takes a lot of time to find the cheapest flights.
I hope this guide has helped your South America planning!