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I'm talking about a different island than the Galapagos. It's just a small island a boat ride away (you gotta fly to the real islands). I just forgot the name of it and searching for budget or alternative Galapagos doesn't give me much.
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Sep 28, 2011 04:04
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Miike posted:I'm talking about a different island than the Galapagos. It's just a small island a boat ride away (you gotta fly to the real islands). I just forgot the name of it and searching for budget or alternative Galapagos doesn't give me much. Sounds like Isla de la Plata. Haven't been there, although my mother has.
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Sep 28, 2011 05:08
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Miike posted:I'm talking about a different island than the Galapagos. It's just a small island a boat ride away (you gotta fly to the real islands). I just forgot the name of it and searching for budget or alternative Galapagos doesn't give me much. Yeah. Try searching for "poor mans galapogos"
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Sep 28, 2011 06:59
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There are a few places over there that call themselves the poor man's galapogos. One is the Paracas islands off Peru south of Lima about and hour west of Ica. I did an early bus from Ica to the coast and the boat tour and had time afterwards to get a bus to Lima and arrive at a reasonable hour of night. I don't remember the cost but it wouldn't have been more than $100 for the boat. You get to see penguins and sea lions (maybe seals too?) and lots of birds. It'd be nothing to the galapogos and I was more impressed by the Valdez Peninsula in Argentina (quite a bit more expensive but not galapogos prices). That said you do get to go pretty close while still being in the boat and they are cool animals. If you're in Peru why not but I wouldn't fly to SA for it.
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Sep 28, 2011 16:33
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Peninsula Valdez is a stunningly beautiful place. Apparently the weather can be horrible on the Atlantic coast but when I was there it was great and it looked like you could see a thousand miles, the skies were that clear. Sea Elephants (the little one was born a few seconds before)  and  Penguins  And great whalewatching (get there early) 
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Sep 28, 2011 20:23
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Thanks for the info guys, I'll head over to Isla Plata soon. Does anybody have any experience with homestays in Ecuador, Peru or Bolivia? I think it would be a cool option to improve my Spanish and understand local culture a bit better. I've been looking into couchsurfing too for that.
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Oct 3, 2011 21:38
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I am planning to do the Inca Trail while I am in Peru. Has anybody here done this? Any company recommendations?
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Oct 5, 2011 06:24
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Desert Fox posted:I am planning to do the Inca Trail while I am in Peru. Has anybody here done this? Any company recommendations? I went with Gap Adventures (now renamed G Adventures apparently) and had a pretty good time. It was basically luxury camping with lunches set up ready for you during the day and your campsite all set up and ready at the end of the day when you get to your daily checkpoint. Our guides did make us get up at like 3.30am on the final day so that we'd be at the front of the queue for the final leg to the Sun Gate, so we could watch the sun rise in the best spot. This may or may not be a good thing in your mind, but we sure as hell got there first.
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Oct 5, 2011 11:11
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I have some more questions. Does anybody have any advice on travel insurance? I have done some research, and all the plans that I have come across include coverage for trip cancellation, and baggage loss, etc. I don't need any of that. I just want to have medical insurance in case I get hurt and need to be medevac'd back home. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
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Oct 7, 2011 08:40
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I'm going to cycle through Central & South America over the next couple of years and having to buy bottled water constantly sounds like it will get How is the drinking water in general? I know it's a huge area and if it helps answer I'll probably be starting in Baja California and heading south.
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Oct 24, 2011 22:28
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Tap water is okay in some Mexican cities (e.g., DF, Guadalajara, Merida) and Panama City. I drank it in Medellin without problem, but I have a cast-iron stomach. It's not advisable anywhere else until maybe Buenos Aires.
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Oct 25, 2011 20:58
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Well if he's doing it for years his stomach better adapt quickly enough! Tap water is generally fine in considerable urban centers in Argentina/Uruguay/Chile. I mean, when I lived there I filtered the stuff (although I still do it now in Europe, so there you go) but it generally should be passable. Theres been a lot of improvement in this regard in recent times, so as long as you're in a semi-developed area you should be alright unless you have an incredibly sensitive stomach (in which case don't go to Latin America anyways since you won't be able to have all the good food). Don't they have waterbottles with built in filters and such nowadays? Get some of those I guess.
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Oct 25, 2011 23:14
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Desert Fox posted:I have some more questions. I use World Nomads, which is very cheap and covers medical evacuation and repatriation. It's intended more as a supplement to existing medical coverage though. https://www.worldnomads.com ISIC and International Youth ID cards both come with extremely minimal insurance plans too. But considering they cost about $30 it's a useful backup plan.
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Oct 28, 2011 05:00
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A buddy and I are thinking about spending Christmas and New Years in Costa Rica hiking around. Right now we're planning on starting off at the Manuel Antonio beach area, then heading up to the Nicoya peninsula, afterwards head to la fortuna (arenal volcanoe), stay the night and ride horses the next day to Monteverde. After that make our way to San Jose and the next day do the Pacuare whitewater rafting trip, next day head to Drake Bay, and cap it off with NYE in Jaco or San Jose. I've never been to Costa Rica, so I have no idea if all of that is actually feasible or not within a ~10 day trip. Can anyone who's actually been to Costa Rica share some info on what you did, what the general atmosphere is like, things I should know before I go, etc?
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Oct 30, 2011 19:11
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MatCauthon posted:A buddy and I are thinking about spending Christmas and New Years in Costa Rica hiking around. Right now we're planning on starting off at the Manuel Antonio beach area, then heading up to the Nicoya peninsula, afterwards head to la fortuna (arenal volcanoe), stay the night and ride horses the next day to Monteverde. After that make our way to San Jose and the next day do the Pacuare whitewater rafting trip, next day head to Drake Bay, and cap it off with NYE in Jaco or San Jose. I've never been to Costa Rica, so I have no idea if all of that is actually feasible or not within a ~10 day trip. Can anyone who's actually been to Costa Rica share some info on what you did, what the general atmosphere is like, things I should know before I go, etc? Holy crap that's way to many destinations for for 10 days. Pick 3 at most. CR looks small distance wise but the traffic and road conditions make any trip an all day affair. Even more so if you are using the bus system. Also keep in mind that xmas/nye is not only a holiday but it's summer break for CR schools. Most hotels in CR jack their prices WAY up for the Christmas holiday and things get booked up fast. If you want to raft the Pacuare, one of the rafting companies will pick you up at one location in the morning and drop you off in a different spot that night. They have shuttles running from 4 or 5 different parts of CR each day. So you get your rafting trip and free transportation to your next location. They watch your bags at their facility luggage while you are on the river. I can't remember their name though.
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Oct 31, 2011 21:47
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I'm flying into Buenos Aires from 11/7-11/14. Completely on a whim, so I don't have time to make many arrangements. But I love being spontaneous and exploring! I have a couple questions: 1. What is the easiest and cheapest way to travel from the airport to downtown? 2. Once downtown, what's the hostel situation like? I want to find a place to stay right away (I get there in the morning) then start wandering. I'm not picky about quality but I want to feel safe (female traveling alone, may not meet up with my friend who is already there until the next day). 3. What are some places close by (less than a day's travel) that are worth visiting? I love everything: outdoors stuff, clubs, beaches, museums, you name it. 4. Edit: nm, tap water question answered above. 5. Is it common to have wifi? Like at hostels, restaurants and such. 6. What are some really goddamn weird foods common in South America? I love trying crazy foods. Like guinea pig! Thanks!!
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Nov 1, 2011 03:56
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I think I paid $25 usd for a taxi to the Obelisk area in Dec 2009. The exchange rate might be better now, it was at it's highest in quite a while when I was there. I stayed at https://www.aboutbaireshostel.com - Viamonte 982 - Buenos Aires for about two weeks spread over two seperate occasions, their staff is mostly female except for one chatty guy (probably not there anymore) and some timid old man that doesn't speak a lick of english. I was really happy with the place. It's a 2 minute walk from the center of town/obelisk with good subway access and several pedestrian streets, and close access to ATMs that can access american banks (a big problem in BA, I noticed). Also there's a laundromat right around the corner. There are some absolutely giant clubs in BA. Plan to eat dinner around 11 and get to the club well after midnight. People don't start going home until 5 or 6 am. Food: Steak is SO CHEAP there. You will eat very, very well.
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Nov 1, 2011 04:49
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OK FOLKS posted:I'm flying into Buenos Aires from 11/7-11/14. Completely on a whim, so I don't have time to make many arrangements. But I love being spontaneous and exploring! I have a couple questions: I pretty much just did this but only for like 4 days (and I never got to go to a bariloche so do that). 1. Outside customs they have taxi booths you can get a cab at and it is highly recommended to do this. I think it's like AR$170 for a trip from the airport to anywhere in the city. It'll be like a 40+ minute ride depending upon traffic. 2. I stayed at El Sol Hostel de Recoleta in Recoleta. It wasn't the nicest hostel I stayed at in Argentina but it's location is great (Marcelo T. de Alvear 1590) and the Dutch guy who runs it is way cool and made dinner a few nights. Also we traded my Kindle case for a taxi ride to the airport. Everyone spoke English and at least one employee was from the US. There is a pretty good parrilla right next door to it too. 3. Recoleta is a pretty nice district. It has the cemetery, modern art museum, shopping, and is pretty safe I think because I never got robbed there. Palermo is also relatively nearby and home to 2 of the city's 3 Mexican restaurants. Every Monday night at like 7 or 8pm (get there early for tickets and booze, try the Fernet and coke) at the Ciudad Cultural Konex (Sarmiento 3131, Buenos Aires) there is something called La Bamba de Tiempo and it owns. AR$35 for a ticket and AR$35 for a liter of beer or a liter of fernet and coke. You could do a day trip to Montevideo, Uruguay but I'd grab/make a friend to do that. It was pretty neat. You don't need a ton of money there; everything is super cheap. I exchanged US$50 and my friend and I ended up blowing quite a bit of it in a confitería. I did not need a 500 Uruguayan peso bill. There is also El Tigre nearby, which is like a river town but it wasn't that neat. You take the train to it and tickets were like AR$1.70 or something stupid cheap. 5. Lots of places advertise wifi but it only seems to work sometime. I was never in a hostel that didn't have wifi though. 6. Eat steak. All of it. Also there is a pizza place called Kentucky.
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Nov 1, 2011 18:09
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This is all great advice, thank you! Should I reserve a room at a hostel ahead of time? Or is it common that they have openings this time of year? I read somewhere that downtown BA is relatively small, in that you could walk across it in a half hour. I walk all the time at home anyway, so is it safe to say I can hoof it to most places I want to check out? One more question: I'm thinking of maybe using a couple days to hit up the beach. What are the best ones nearby? I understand it's quite a ways to travel (over 100 miles?) but am still seriously considering it. Also,  STEAK
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Nov 1, 2011 23:06
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I always reserved on hostelworld.com before I went down, sometimes the day of, but they charge a service fee. Hostels I stayed at always had extra room (as far as I could tell) so you might not have to reserve, but I like to play it safe. I walked down Santa Fe from the hostel to Armenia and Guatemala (an intersection) for ice cream and it took like an hour. As far as I could tell it was still downtown-like and pretty crowded. This was during the day. At night I'd still take a cab and travel in a group because it is a big city. Nearly everyone I met travelling in Argentina had stories of getting mugged in Buenos Aires, mainly near the San Telmo district. You can definitely walk around Palermo, Recoleta, and Congresso (watch out for protests!) during the day at least. I can't help with beaches, sorry. The most wet I got was in Iguazu Falls and they didn't allow swimming.
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Nov 2, 2011 02:29
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Maybe the part called Microcentro is relatively small( 1km x 2km), but you can say that most of the city is part of the downtown ( or at least most of the places tourists tend to visit). Keep in mind that the city of Buenos Aires is only a small part of the whole metropolitan area. Regarding beaches , I think the best and closer ones are in Uruguay, like Punta del Este. But the weather it's still pretty cold and windy this time of the year.
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Nov 2, 2011 05:09
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TheDeesProject posted:I always reserved on hostelworld.com before I went down, sometimes the day of, but they charge a service fee. Hostels I stayed at always had extra room (as far as I could tell) so you might not have to reserve, but I like to play it safe. Hostelbookers.com is the competition to hostelworld and they don't charge a service fee but sometimes they don't have all the hostels and sometimes the prices are different. You can use hostelworld/bookers to check out ratings and reviews of hostels without booking there. Google for get contact details and you can ring or email to book if you want. The most important thing to check in reviews is how many other reviews the guest has left because peoples' first few times in hostels can be more about their expectations than the place. edit: and the date they stayed, ie. "Not enough showers due to renovation" from a year ago probably isn't relevant any more. FWIW I stayed at Terrazas Estoril in the centre of BA twice (this time last year) and loved it but some people prefer to stay in the Palermo area. Destroyenator fucked around with this message at 09:47 on Nov 2, 2011 |
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Nov 2, 2011 09:37
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Destroyenator posted:FWIW I stayed at Terrazas Estoril in the centre of BA twice (this time last year) and loved it but some people prefer to stay in the Palermo area. I went to hostelworld.com and booked a bed in what looks like an awesome hostel right in the heart of the city with a great roof-top patio, and lo and behold it's Terrazas Estoril! I feel so much more relaxed now knowing that for at least the first 3 days I'm there I have somewhere to sleep. It's funny how things work out sometimes. I was at a Skrillex show last night with a former coworker, and he works with a group out of Buenos Aires! We made introductions via email and they're going to show me around! Sorry for all the exclamation points (!!!!), I'm terribly excited  Edit: Just got an email back from Pablo in BA: "Just an advice – be prepared to eat!" OK FOLKS fucked around with this message at 18:42 on Nov 2, 2011 |
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Nov 2, 2011 18:37
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Just booked a 13 day trip to Peru  On the way back, I have a 14 hour layover (4am-6pm) in Panama City -- is that enough time to go check out the canal/etc? Anyone know how far/taxi or bus cost might be (plus anything else interesting I should check out?). Also flying into Lima -- it looks like getting to Cuzco (Machu Pichu area?) seems like a real task -- either a 24hour bus ride, or like a $300 round-about flight (although locals get the flight for $40 it seems from my limited reading?) - Anyone done this and want to provide some specifics?  so excited!
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Nov 6, 2011 08:55
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I'm from Venezuela, born and raised in Caracas. I don't know why anyone would visit Caracas, but if anyone has questions about it, I'd do my best to represent my hometown. Aside from that, don't misjudge Venezuela. Yeah the cities are horrible hellholes for the people living there, but the rest of the country can be pretty awesome. The people are usually nice, things can be very cheap if you know how to avoid getting ripped off, and it has everything you could want from a trip to nature. Deserts, the most amazing beaches ever, cold mountains, plains with our own variation of cowboy, and almost dystopian cities for those who don't value their lives that much. Also, our women are goddamn hot. Seriously, it is almost worth staying. Hirez posted:Just booked a 13 day trip to Peru Oh man, Peru is awesome, have fun and eat a lot of horrible rats (they are delicious).
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Nov 8, 2011 20:19
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Me and a mate are travelling to Ecuador for a month or so starting early January. Our plan is basically to land in Quito and spend a week there and around there before heading to the coast, to languish in Guayaquil or try for the Galapagos islands if we feel adventurous. Money is obviously a concern but the time off work is more valuable to us, so we want to do as much as possible in the month we have out there. If any goon has advice about particular activities/places to go to or avoid that would be great, or any general tips about how to get by in the country.
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Nov 8, 2011 22:19
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Everyone seems to be in Bolivia at the moment, any goons in La Paz? Has anyone heard anything about the Darian gap recently? I'd love to hike it (with a bunch of people and/or a guide) but I'm not so keen on getting my leg blown off by a homemade landmine or shot so...
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Nov 19, 2011 19:27
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Outrail posted:Has anyone heard anything about the Darian gap recently? I'd love to hike it (with a bunch of people and/or a guide) but I'm not so keen on getting my leg blown off by a homemade landmine or shot so... Forget it. Seriously. Landmines aren't the issue; guerrillas and malaria and impenetrable jungle are issues. If you're looking to travel between Colombia and Panama, there are ways to do it relatively cheaply. I went overland along the Caribbean coastal route from Medellin -> Turbo -> Capurgana -> Sapzurro -> Puerto Obaldia - Miramar -> Panama City in March, 2010. It took about a week, and transport cost just over $100. Accommodations and food were extra, obviously. If you're intent on the Darien, there are a couple of flight options out of Panama City to stations in Darien Province. The Pan-American Highway ends in Yaviza, and resumes in Turbo, Colombia. I've heard the Panamanian military in Yaviza will stop people trying to set out from there on foot. Dead/kidnapped/lost gringos are huge headaches for the Panamanians.
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Nov 21, 2011 19:49
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Just wondering, what would be a rough daily budget for Sao Paulo/Rio, Buenos Aires and Lima/Cusco? Assuming say, a coffee in the morning, a cafe lunch (just a sandwich and drink) and an average restaurant for dinner (just main meal and a drink)... And a random entrance fee to something touristy once a day. Exclude accommodation from the above - just looking at budgeting food/drink/other costs.
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Nov 22, 2011 00:22
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Here's a post of mine from upthread (february) My trip included stays in Rio, Buenos Aires, Lima and Cusco (also: Bogota, Rosario, Florinopolis and 5 days on the Uruguay coast). I imagine the exchange rates are more favorable now considering the economy.Hadlock posted:I averaged $32/day after travel expenses over a period of 30 days in five countries in Dec 09/Jan 10. I guess if I had gone out drinking every single night I would have spent more than that, but you can eat/sleep/travel pretty comfortably on that. Hadlock fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Nov 22, 2011 |
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Nov 22, 2011 01:10
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TJO posted:Me and a mate are travelling to Ecuador for a month or so starting early January. Our plan is basically to land in Quito and spend a week there and around there before heading to the coast, to languish in Guayaquil or try for the Galapagos islands if we feel adventurous. I was in Ecuador about 6 weeks ago. Absolutely loved Banos. Took a jungle tour which was cool and got to play with monkeys in a rehabilitation place. There are a bunch of impressive waterfalls which you can check out on a bike or as we did by renting a buggy. There is a bunch of treks to do and really high viewing points and a volcano. Also there is this awesome restaurant called "Ayuhuasca" it looks very backpackery, but the owner and chef studied at a NY culinary school and his food is amazing. I mean where else do you get a Philly cheese steak-like sandwich with pesto, sun dried tomatoes, fresh spinach on a fresh ciabatta bread. In Quito we stayed in a Hostel near the Historic Center called "Melanie" it was $12 for a private room with bathroom with decent wifi and cable tv. One of the better deals we found in Quito.
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Nov 22, 2011 02:47
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Hadlock posted:I imagine the exchange rates are more favorable now considering the economy. NoArmedMan posted:Assuming say, a coffee in the morning, a cafe lunch (just a sandwich and drink) and an average restaurant for dinner (just main meal and a drink)... And a random entrance fee to something touristy once a day. 50 usd will net you about 220 pesos I supose, which is plenty to cover food, travel and tickets to museums etc. If you decide to go clubbing/drink expenditure will increase, especially since you pretty much have to go to one of the better clubs unless you're fine with being a tourist (i.e "rob me" sign).
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Nov 22, 2011 19:18
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Hirez posted:Just booked a 13 day trip to Peru I'm in Cuzco at the moment, first day here actually. I took the plane here from Lima though, since I'm only in country for 8 days. I recommend you spend the cash for the airplane, and use the extra time to acclimate to the high altitude before you go running around looking at everything. I'm in fairly good shape since I've been in the military for close to a decade, but I can still feel the effects hitting me (loss of breath by going up a flight of stairs, headaches, etc...).
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Nov 23, 2011 12:01
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I heard there is an advisory due to potential unrest near Cuzco - have you heard about any of that stuff? Sounds like overblown hype over some hippies wanting to protect Macchu Picchu.
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Nov 23, 2011 23:33
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a depressed kitten posted:I heard there is an advisory due to potential unrest near Cuzco - have you heard about any of that stuff? Sounds like overblown hype over some hippies wanting to protect Macchu Picchu. Nope, haven't heard a thing. I just came from the central plaza in Cuzco, and there's nothing out of the ordinary.
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Nov 24, 2011 00:01
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Whatup goons, my friends and I were thinking about going somewhere for vacation. None of us have ever been to South American and we thought it would be a cool trip to take for a week. Admittedly, we don't know too much about the various cities in that part of the world. Some ideas that were thrown around were Quito, Cuzco or Buenos Aires. These are cities that other friends/family have stayed at and enjoyed. I apologize for posing such a broad question, but for a group of three, mid-20s students (well, two medical students and one medical information technology representative) what are your thoughts on visiting these locales? Obviously since we only have a week of vacation allocated we would only be able to visit one of the cities. Our vacation time is at the end of December (last minute, I know), though a cursory Kayak search yields relatively reasonable airfare. Please, if you have any opinions/experiences with regards to these cities - or think we should go somewhere else! - your input would be much appreciated. Thanks!
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Nov 26, 2011 09:17
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Unexpectedly, I have an extra 6 days in Buenos Aires. As its unexpected, flights to Iguaza or Patagonia are really expensive, anyone got tips for day trips to fill in the extra time?
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Dec 6, 2011 12:19
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You can pick up a 10am bus from the main terminal and be in Rosario by 2 or 3pm, it's a really relaxing ride down a rather flat stretch of road. It's a city of one million, but you can walk from one end of town to the other in an hour (as I found out one night after leaving the bar...). I really liked Rosario; even though it was a "big city" it was a lot more relaxed and didn't have the constant rumbling noise that a megacity like Buenos Aires has. Also, Rosario is swarming with stunningly beautiful college-age women.
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Dec 6, 2011 18:49
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So I'm going to have 15 days R&R coming up in late spring/early summer with a free ticket to (almost) anywhere in the world, and I've been looking at Spain, but I really want to go somewhere in Central or South America. I mostly want somewhere near nature with places to hike and still have places to socialize with locals. I'd prefer not to need to rent a car. I'd also like to avoid heavy tourist areas. I know enough spanish to get around comfortably, but I plan on travelling by myself, so preferably somewhere that safety isn't a question. Any recommendations?
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Dec 7, 2011 14:16
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Do you want coastal, mountains, beaches? Rainforest or jungle? Hot or cold? Brazil alone is the size of the continental US. Argentina prides themselves on being the most like Spain of all the south american countries, so maybe you could start there. The Peru/Cusco trip is going to give you lots of hiking options, but your time frame means you'll be going there in peak tourist season. Safety shouldn't be a problem, and the whole continent runs on taxis and minibuses; renting a car there would be an exercise in frustration.
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Dec 7, 2011 14:38
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