Originally Posted by
VidaNaPraia
Well, I can speak about Brazil. Those three months (May, June, July) are winter in the south and rainy season in much of the northeast. Rio has nice temps and less humidity than other times of year, good for sightseeing but not great for the beach. Even in major cities, internet connections can be slower than you might expect or be used to. Brazil, and particularly a Rio, may not be the easiest to stay on a budget of any kind.
I would agree with this poster on Brazil. The internet is not good (but serviceable) and one would assume you would want to live in a major city (so you could have a chance to visit other parts of the country). Any decent place will be expensive. Unless you speak Portuguese and know someone you won't be able to find any cheap apartment on the informal market. Maybe you could try some of the other cities outside of Rio and São Paulo.
Brazil is expensive and tickets to other countries or parts of the country are not cheap. I lived a few hours north of Rio and had grand plans when I moved there to visit every country in South America and all over Brazil but never ended up further than Rio because tickets are expensive and getting anywhere takes so long you eat up too much time sitting on a bus just getting to the airport or other city.
If you simply wanted to relax (if you are a beach type) and not be determined to try to visit other parts of the country you could go to the Northeast. Things are much cheaper up there and there are beaches. The crime is higher but I wouldn't worry that much about it.
Otherwise I would suggest picking a country with a more competitively priced air network or good internal road network if you are determined to travel. My brother took buses around Chile and said it was easy. PTY gives you a lot of options if you can pay to fly around.