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Anyone thinking about going to Peru and is in reasonable fitness should consider hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu if budget and time permits. Trudging through the Andes checking out random Incan ruins was a completely loving awesome experience. You get to see in Machu Picchu the combination of all the technologies and religious themes the other ruins have and it really hits home how cool the place is. The dry season (May to September) is the only time I recommend it, but you'll need to book several months ahead of time with an agency as there's limited trail spots. Alternatively, there's the Salkantay trail. You don't see as many ruins, but it's slightly cheaper, readily available for booking and apparently you can have horses carry your stuff. Either way, hiking your way just makes the whole thing an experience that taking a train and bus just doesn't do justice.
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Oct 21, 2010 08:19
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I'd like to spend 3-6 months in South or Central America to practice Spanish and see the world. I'm a Croat, proficient in English and somewhere between beginner and intermediate in Spanish. Ideally I'd work and get paid, but I would also consider a volunteer position. With my physical ineptitude and lack of specific skills I don't know what I could do except teach English. Maybe some sort of media work, if I manage to overcome the language barrier. So, any advice on how should I start looking for an opportunity? Is there a country you would recommend? Or perhaps even a specific job or an organization? I guess I'm looking for an affordable and interesting environment, a town or a city rather than a village, a place where it's easy to make friends...
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Nov 4, 2010 02:23
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Will leave for San Jose, Costa Rica on Dec. 10 and fly out on Dec. 17th to San Salvador. I am planning on renting a car in SJ and driving to Orosi Valley and farther north to the Volcan Arenal National Park. Any good beaches that anyone recommends? I have a friend who has been living in Costa Rica for a year and he loves it.
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Nov 13, 2010 18:32
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It seems I'll be going to Brazil for a week. This was totally out of the blue - I found out about the opportunity and ran (almost literally) to the Brazilian consulate in Toronto to apply for a travel visa. Specifically I'm flying into Rio (GIG) and then traveling to Buzios, where I'll be staying at a beach house that's ridiculously far out of my income bracket but has been offered for free. I've had time to do zero research, so I apologize if I'm asking anything that's easily discoverable. I just have a couple quick questions for anyone who knows the area: 1. Any diving within an hour or two of Buzios that's worth the time? If so, recommended dive ops? 2. My ride from the airport to Buzios is covered, but the return trip is a little more complicated. I have a free and safe ride to the airport, but it'll put me there 10 hours before my flight. My other option is to make my own arrangements - are there reasonable (and safe) ways for an obvious tourist who speaks no Portuguese to get to the airport for a late-night flight, or should I just suck it up and pack a couple extra books? Also, any recommendations on things to do or see in or around Buzios are appreciated!
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Nov 16, 2010 14:20
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Uppa posted:
Why not accept the free ride into Rio, leave your bags somewhere like a hotel, and spend your time wandering the city. Then you can catch the "Real" bus to the airport later on. The bus to the airport drives around every 30 minutes along Avenida Atlantica. It can be hard to recognize and there is no declared bus stop. The bus stops upon hand signal. The fare to the International Airport is 6 Real per person. R2ICustomerSupport fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Nov 16, 2010 |
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Nov 16, 2010 17:46
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Expanding upon the bus chat, there's a blue commuter bus (with yellow accents) that goes between the bus station and the two air ports. Maybe that's what DustingDuvet is referring to, but I recall it being closer to 11 reals. It also goes down the main avenue that the red line follows down towards copacabana. About 1/4 of the people on the blue bus spoke english which really helped me find where I was going. Rio is not a place you want to arrive in at night, alone when it's raining. I've never felt so turned around in my life, and I have a generally good sense of direction.Uppa posted:obvious tourist who speaks no Portuguese Definitely bring a phrase book. I picked up one of those 30-40 page "essential phrases" books. Err- actually it was this book here except I think the cover on mine was purple. This one is blue for some reason. Flipping through the "look inside" it appears to be the same one. Buy this book. It is really good; I managed to get a really good haircut on new years' eve 2009 using the phrases in there "just a trim please" and "not too much off the top", to give an idea of the breadth of phrases it covers for a traveler. The book was originally printed in 1962 or something like that, but there's a reason why they keep printing that one. For $5 it is totally worth it, and is tiny enough you can always find space for it. It got me through a week in Rio and made me some very good friends on the beach at new years. I always heard how Portuguese was a sort of mutation of Spanish. Don't believe them. Immersing yourself in Portuguese after three weeks of Spanish really brings the phrase "it's greek to me" to life. What little Spanish you know will be useless there.
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Nov 17, 2010 05:53
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Hadlock posted:
What? Portuguese is definitely very close to Spanish, to the extent that brazilians can often communicate with other southamericans by just speaking portuguese at them while they're spoken to in spanish. Three weeks of spanish wouldn't do you a whole lot of good in a spanish speaking country either. But if you are at all fluent/competent in Spanish portuguese will be pretty easy for you.
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Nov 17, 2010 06:04
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My experience was that Portuguese is an entirely different language to a non-native speaker. I'd spent three weeks in Spanish speaking south america with no formal Spanish training (I live in Dallas so you pick up some just living in the area), getting around just fine. I was able to very roughly read and pick up some key words in Spanish conversations around me, but as soon as I crossed the border into Brazil I was back to square one, having to re-learn everything. Maybe I have poor language skills when it comes to Portuguese, but that was my experience while I was there for a week.
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Nov 17, 2010 06:22
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Written wise it's pretty similar to Spanish but even to a intermediate Spanish speaker it's almost loving Russian. I find most Portuguese speakers can understand Spanish, just don't expect to understand their response!
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Nov 17, 2010 11:51
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I was able to fumble my way around with the little spanish I knew, numbers are more or less the same, but knowing the different pronunciation keys will help you notice words that sound roughly the same but are spelt completely differently (eg. caliente/quente)
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Nov 17, 2010 11:55
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Adnar posted:Written wise it's pretty similar to Spanish but even to a intermediate Spanish speaker it's almost loving Russian. I find most Portuguese speakers can understand Spanish, just don't expect to understand their response! Really? I have to wonder what you consider intermediate then. I think anyone with enough of a grasp on spanish to understand the non-easy dialects (argentinian, chilean, etc.) will pretty easily understand portuguese.
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Nov 17, 2010 15:52
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If you basically know zero Spanish, how long would one of those immersion schools take to get you up to speed conversationally? Can you even go knowing almost no Spanish? My friends and I had an argument about this for like 20 minutes tonight. Also, has anyone done one? I was looking at them during the argument and apparently you can go to them in Guatemala for under $1,000 a month with room, board, meals, and like 25 hours of instruction a week.
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Nov 19, 2010 03:10
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I'm planning on backpacking through some of northern Central America in February with my wife for 2.5 weeks. We don't have an itinerary set in stone but as of right now it looks like this: Cancun -> Belize City -> Tikal -> Antigua -> Santa Ana or Acajutla? -> Copan -> Puerto Cortes -> Belize City -> Cancun We will fly into Cancun because its cheap and then bus the rest of the trip (except Puerto Cortes to Belize City, which will be by ferry). Our plan is to just bus to Belize City as soon as we get off the plane in Cancun, which will be tiring but nice to get all of the travel out in one day. Spend a couple days at each city listed (maybe cut one or two?) and take a break and relax for a day in Cancun before flying back to the US. How does this sound to those of you who've been around these areas? We are both fairly experienced travelers but have never been to Central America. If you have any suggestions, recommendations or comments, please let me know!
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Nov 22, 2010 20:39
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Hi guys, I intend to go from Rio to BA then all around South America ending in Mexico to fly home back to England. At the moment I have just over 4 months planned as the time frame, with only the flight there, flight back and a month at a language course in BA as a top up booked. I am a capable Spanish speaker having spent a year in Madrid, so I foresee no problems getting around and chatting to people. My question is how easy is it to bus from place to place with public travel. I hate booking things, I am just going to rock up with a vague notion of when I should be moving on. Browsing web sites and chatting to people seems to imply I may have some difficulty, one of my friends did that bus tour around South America where you jump on and off. But I have no interest doing that and would rather travel on my own. Anyone know if this is possible or any problems I may run into? Any other pieces of advice would be appreciated  Thanks x To Ribsauce: Entering a country and starting a high intensity course from 0 knowledge of the language will take 2-4 months to build up to a solid level of conversation. Note: you must immerse yourself fully in the language, which can be hard to do. If you do not immerse but continue the high intensity courses you are probably looking at 4-6 months. It depends on the person really, once you have learnt 1 language the 2nd 1 is easier, especially if they are similar. I think generally it is regarded as 6 months to learn a language to a level where you can work a basic job.
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Nov 22, 2010 21:31
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sacred posted:My question is how easy is it to bus from place to place with public travel. I hate booking things, I am just going to rock up with a vague notion of when I should be moving on. It's very common and easily done by most travelers. People rarely book them using travel agencies like in SE Asia. If you're going to a big city there are often buses leaving every hour or two. You don't need to book in advance except during the holidays. If you do your research you will find many bus companies have websites where you can even purchase tickets in advance. Don't forget about flying because in some countries it can be cheaper than a bus.
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Nov 23, 2010 01:11
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sacred posted:To Ribsauce:
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Nov 23, 2010 01:23
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Rio to BA by bus is a very long journey (both inland and costal routes), make sure you have lots of stops scheduled to break up that trip. Rio to Chuy (Uruguay border town) is ~22-26 hrs by bus. But yeah, I'm not even sure if you can reserve tickets more than a few weeks in advance. There's plenty of excess capacity, compared to say international air travel which usually books up way in advance. On most of my long-haul routes I usually had two seats to myself to stretch out in. I never had to wait more than 45 min for a bus to anywhere in 4 weeks of traveling, just walking up to the ticket counter, and I was picky about what bus lines I rode on... but I didn't go very far off the beaten path.
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Nov 23, 2010 03:16
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sacred posted:I intend to go from Rio to BA then all around South America ending in Mexico to fly home back to England. Are you planning on skipping lots of countries, or taking a big flight at some point? The entire route is definitely doable by bus, with the exception of the Darian Gap, where you'll have to fly or take a ferry. You don't need to book buses any more than a few days in advance, except maybe around really busy periods/holidays. We spent 7 months going from BA to Guatemala, all by bus, and never booked more than a day or two in advance (in Argentina). Almost everywhere we just rocked up and got on a bus. Have you given lots of thought to how long you've got vs the number of countries you want to see? You're travelling an absolutely vast distance, and I don't think 4 months is enough to do it all. 4 Months sounds like a good amount of time for doing Buenos Aires -> Bogota, but I definitely don't think it's enough time to do all of Central America as well.
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Nov 23, 2010 03:38
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Also it doesn't hurt to look at the price difference to first class busses. I got my upgrade for free (Iguassu > Sao Paulo) so I have no idea what the difference was, but drat it was a comfy ride in a chair that could double as a living room armchair. At least until the bus broke down some time around 2am 
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Nov 23, 2010 04:42
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Thanks guys. Had wondered why people had been saying to me about transport being difficult and couldn't really believe it. I am aware of the distances and by the fact that my budgeted days will probably be completely wrong. Have 7 days from leaving Rio to get to the border with Uruguay, and 8 days to cross Chile :P From the South to Bolivia. Guess I better add a week in there ;x To Kidhash: In terms of South America I intend to go through (Bra, Arg, Chi, Bol, Per, Ecu, Col, Ven) with no flights just land transport. Removing the month I intend to stay in BA I have given myself 68 days to do the above. Edit: Ok now going 134 days! 105 days in South America, so 75 days to get from Rio to Central America 7 months, you must have spent time relaxing in places and doing it properly, just won't have the time or money  At the moment I have set $63 a day to get by on. Which currently includes everything I would do on a day to day basis. i.e. food transport accommodation. How much were you spending a day on average on the above? How could you ever fly! Can't wait to see the Pacific for the first time having crossed it all by land. Then reaching central America, and then finally the end. Be glorious!
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Nov 23, 2010 19:27
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What's the point of rushing like 20 countries as opposed to just thoroughly exploring 1-3? You could spend years in brazil without running out of things, for example.
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Nov 23, 2010 21:16
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sacred posted:Edit: Ok now going 134 days! 105 days in South America, so 75 days to get from Rio to Central America We were spending an average of about $30/day each, so your budget is plenty. Timewise, you don't have nearly enough time. Maybe look at some guidebooks, figure out what it is you want to do, then choose a few countries to see. Trying to see all of South America in 2 and a bit months is crazy. We did Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia in 3 and a half months, and we were definitely rushing towards the end, because we had a flight booked to get to Panama.
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Nov 23, 2010 21:21
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sacred posted:Thanks guys. I am sure you took into account visas but depending on where you are from you may need a visa for Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, and Paraguay. These all cost money (some US$100+) Also if you haven't really traveled before extensively maybe you don't realize how quickly you will need to travel to cover that many countries. Why not buy a one way ticket to South America and just buy your ticket home after your time is up from whichever country you end up reaching. Maybe you will be happy traveling that quickly or maybe you will prefer to go more slowly once you're on the road. Plus if you're on a tight budget you should know that the actual traveling part is a big expense that's going to cost a lot if you travel so quickly.
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Nov 23, 2010 21:32
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sacred posted:At the moment I have set $63 a day to get by on. Which currently includes everything I would do on a day to day basis. i.e. food transport accommodation. Including bus fare from BA to iguazu to Rio, to montevideo back to BA again (if I did it again I would F-L-Y for only 20% more, saving three solid days), staying in hostels every night except one, and including round trip taxi fare at 4am to the hospital in BA (about $40usd I think - running a fever of 104, the hospital visit was free though), I averaged $66/day, with an average of $12-15/day of food and $13/day for hostels. I definitely didn't feel like I was skimping on anything, but I wasn't a big spender either. If you took out the tourist wallet rape of machu picchu and bus fare I would guess $25-35 a day on average for a very comfortable time.
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Nov 24, 2010 03:54
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Hadlock posted:If you took out the tourist wallet rape of machu picchu and bus fare I would guess $25-35 a day on average for a very comfortable time. We did a 4-night, 4-day trek/bike to Machu Piccu including all transport, meals, accomodation, entry/park fees, and the train back, for about $220.
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Nov 24, 2010 05:19
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It was probably just culture shock after visiting Bogota and Lima; Cusco seemed as expensive as Rio. $220/trip is still $55/day which is pretty high considering the total distance traveled, although cheap overall if you really think about it, and totally worth it. But I've spent less per day at overpriced beach touristy towns (in the off season) like Galveston and Port Aransas (Texas Goon checking in) and that includes the bar tab -- and that's in America. But maybe I'm just a cheap rear end 
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Nov 24, 2010 10:30
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That's why I'm not looking forward to going back home in a few weeks  I'm so used to everything here being a lot cheaper than it is in USA. One night at a bar at home could easily equal what I spent in Bolivia for a bed/food/drinks for a week. At least I didn't go directly from Bolivia to home, it was hard enough for me going from Bolivia to Argentina.Also I'm about to go on my first 20+ hour bus ride from Salta to Puerto Iguazu with two bus changes  At least I have a good seat and a bunch of devices charged to full to keep me busy and a bed at a snazzy hostel booked as a reward at the end Now for a question about Iguazu- Is the Brazilian side of the Iguazu falls worth sneaking over to or is the Argentine side awesome enough to make me not want to sneak over? I'm an American so I'd need a visa for Brazil.
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Nov 24, 2010 18:06
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I don't understand how you guys can deal with the buses in South America. While they're decent, there are always crashes and it's usually not that much more expensive to fly. Anyway, as usual, I'm getting ready to head down to the jungle in a couple weeks. I'll be in the Yurimaguas, Peru and the surrounding region from December 8th through January 24th. If anyone is going to be traveling in that area (Alto Amazonas/San Martin) wants to meet up and grab a beer or something, hit me up with a PM.
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Nov 24, 2010 18:47
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Tomato Soup posted:That's why I'm not looking forward to going back home in a few weeks I know what you mean about the price differences, I got so used to the currency being worthless that when I went from Bolivia to Brazil I ended up paying 10 Reals for 1 bloody red bull and it took me a couple minutes to realise just how much that actually cost. The Brazil side of Iguassu is definitely a shorter day, no fancy little train rides, and I'm not sure if there's a jet boat that leaves from that side either. For the most part you're looking at the Argentine side from a bit of a distance and getting an all encompassing view, instead of an up close look from above. However, there is one really awesome platform on the Brazil side, which is under (not directly) one of the bigger falls, and above the others, and all across it is a constant spray and a thunderous wind, it's awesome. This guy: 
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Nov 24, 2010 20:43
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billy cuts posted:I don't understand how you guys can deal with the buses in South America. While they're decent, there are always crashes and it's usually not that much more expensive to fly. Really? Every time I looked at internal flights (with the exception of Colombia, where Aires has super incredible deals), it was at a minimum, twice the price of taking the bus, and obviously the bus includes meals and a nights accomodation...
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Nov 24, 2010 22:34
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Tomato Soup posted:Now for a question about Iguazu- Is the Brazilian side of the Iguazu falls worth sneaking over to or is the Argentine side awesome enough to make me not want to sneak over? I'm an American so I'd need a visa for Brazil. Everyone I talked to who had done both said the Brazilian side was better. I didn't do the Brazilian side due to time, but if I had to compare the two, the Argentinian side was like standing half an inch above your bathtub drain with the faucet running at full roar, while the Brazilian side is more like standing on the edge of the tub, looking at the drain. Actually my first impulse was to compare the Argentinian side to the inside of a vacuum cleaner simply because of the noise and proximity to it, particularly the devil't throat portion. Re: trains and visitor center on the Argentinian side; I sort of felt like I was at Disney World's Animal Kingdom with all the majestic views and flowing water everywhere; infographic signs and picnic spots. The brazilian side is more like a nature park trail that happens to butt up against the back side of Disney World.
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Nov 25, 2010 03:11
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Can anyone tell me about Aracruz, Brazil? Also is 900 a month of their money good enough if you are provided free housing?
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Nov 25, 2010 18:26
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Tomato Soup posted:That's why I'm not looking forward to going back home in a few weeks Where are you changing buses? 2 changes for that trip seems excessive.
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Nov 25, 2010 19:22
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I'm so nervous about getting caught and being forced to pay for a visa/fee/whatever that I probably won't even try to sneak over anyway but thanks about the info! I do plan on coming back to South America someday to visit the countries that I skipped including Brazil and I can see the Brazil side then.hecko posted:Where are you changing buses? 2 changes for that trip seems excessive. It was a direct bus sold in three parts and I got tickets for all 3 so I figured I'd be changing buses, I totally forgot to ask when I bought the ticket and the last ticket had a fancier class of service printed on it. The parts were Salta-Corrientes, Corrientes-Posadas, Posadas-Puerto Iguazu. I took Flechabus and it was very comfy and the food they provided wasn't too bad
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Nov 26, 2010 00:36
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Would anyone who did a spanish immersion class with little to no previous knowledge of spanish be willing to answer some questions from me? Preferably one in Guatemala although anywhere is fine, the major concern I guess involves the little to no experience. thanks
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Nov 30, 2010 01:55
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Astian posted:Well this information is a bit discouraging. A lot of people said the same sort of things about Cambodia though, and I ended up loving it. Still, I'll keep other countries open as options. Hey, I don't know if you're still thinking about Bolivia, but most of what has been said above about it is indeed accurate if a little harsh. There are some really crappy things about Bolivia (the weather and the altitude in particular) but I found the people to be generally pretty pleasant and agreeable. Also, the food is great, even if it isn't at Peru levels of dollar-a-plate deliciousness. Having been all over Bolivia I can heartily recommend living in Sucre. I couchsurfed with an expat there and she seemed to be doing fine. Altitude was not at all an issue for me in Sucre, and I was totally hosed at La Paz's height. It's a lot safer than most Bolivian cities and it's absolutely beautiful. Santa Cruz may stand out within Bolivia for being the country's economic hub but it's infamously boring. PM me if you have any questions about Bolivia ! I'd hate to see somebody pass it up without getting the whole story.
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Dec 6, 2010 02:30
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The main problem for me with food in Bolivia was that it got me really sick I was too scared to eat at local restaurants after that. But yes, it's got good food but you have to look a bit and make sure it's safe (no uncooked veggies and such). I miss saltenas in Bolivia, they were loving amazing. Go for the fried ones, I liked them better than the baked ones. As for the altitude, take it easy until you're acclimatized and even then don't act like you're at sea level. I played 5 a side soccer in La Paz with my hostel and it pretty much killed me because I was trying to run around like I was at sea level. Add buses and the roads to the crappy things of Bolivia, I actually dreaded travelling to a new place because that'd mean I'd have to take the bus. Now I hate you for reminding me of Peruvian food, so good and cheap. I'm in Uruguay now and just spent more on street food+a coke than I did for a set menu in Peru and the set menu tasted a lot better than this chorizo. And I fly back home in exactly a week I don't want to leave yet!
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Dec 6, 2010 19:19
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Anyone have recommendations for boating from Panama to Colombia? I've heard a popular route is from Colón to Cartgena just wondering if anyone here has done it and if it's worth it opposed to just flying. Also, any love for Venezuela? I'll be in Panama with an ultimate destination of Trinidad and I plan on getting to Colombia (boat or fly) and mucking about there for a while and then flying out, or making my way east into Venezuela and spending some time there and boating to Trinidad. I'll admit I'm kind of ignorant about Venezuela but figure it's worth looking into. I've heard great things about Colombia though so that's tempting.
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Dec 9, 2010 09:09
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As my second-ever backpacking trip, I'm going to Costa Rica to practice Spanish. I'd like to book an open jaw flight from another location in central America. The question is, should I fly out of Panama or Belize? Also, how do I convince my family I'm not going to be kidnapped, murdered, or both?
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Dec 9, 2010 23:03
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barbudo posted:Hey, I don't know if you're still thinking about Bolivia, but most of what has been said above about it is indeed accurate if a little harsh. There are some really crappy things about Bolivia (the weather and the altitude in particular) but I found the people to be generally pretty pleasant and agreeable. Also, the food is great, even if it isn't at Peru levels of dollar-a-plate deliciousness. I've been delving deeper and have almost negotiated a contract in Bolivia, for the lovely salary of 6.70 an hour, but what the hell. Colombia was my first choice for a while, but the set up costs don't fit my budget, and Bolivia still seems great no matter the downsides, many of which seem to fit with the cons of living in Cambodia which I've had no problem with. I'll definitely PM you as I come closer toward the move, and I've found a couple locals here in Phnom Penh who've lived in Bolivia, so I will not be arriving uninformed. Altitude sickness still scares me, but I'm assuming after a week or two I'll be okay. If not, there are other cities, countries, and continents.
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Dec 10, 2010 00:24
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