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Cusco actually looks pretty amazing. I'll dig through this thread some more and see if it's worth the tourists. Maybe I can do it in late February/early March.
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Dec 7, 2011 15:21
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scavok posted:Cusco actually looks pretty amazing. I'll dig through this thread some more and see if it's worth the tourists. Maybe I can do it in late February/early March. Cusco is effectively closed to tourists in February. The entire tourism industry goes on vacation due to the heavy rains. I was there in December and it rained every day. I can't imagine how wet it is in February, haha. For February or March you might consider Columbia or Brazil. It would be late summer/early fall in Argentina that time of year. Hadlock fucked around with this message at 16:07 on Dec 7, 2011 |
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Dec 7, 2011 16:05
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Hadlock posted:Cusco is effectively closed to tourists in February. The entire tourism industry goes on vacation due to the heavy rains. I was there in December and it rained every day. I can't imagine how wet it is in February, haha. For February or March you might consider Columbia or Brazil. It would be late summer/early fall in Argentina that time of year. Oh, that's unfortunate. April I take it is the start of the tourist season? I don't think I'd be allowed to go to Columbia. Anywhere with a certain level of travel advisory is off limits for military R&R, but I haven't looked too far into the details yet. I'd consider Brazil, but how well would I be able to get by there on english and broken spanish outside of places like Rio, where I have no interest?
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Dec 7, 2011 16:56
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My trip to Cuba is coming up! Looks like it's going to be a bit more planned out / hoity-toity than I had originally imagined. My girlfriend's whole family + me and another friend are going so there will be 7 of us in all. For other people who have traveled to Cuba from the United States, our biggest concern right now is what to do about Money: when should we exchange currency (because you have to do it twice?) and how much of it? Will U.S. credit cards or debit cards work in Cuba? I'm guessing the answer to the second question is a resounding NO, so what are our other options to carry a week's worth of payment for things between 7 people?
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Dec 8, 2011 03:41
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NoArmedMan posted: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 9, 2011 11:25
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If I had two months of backpacking in Central America with Guatemala as a starting point, where would be some good places to go? I'm into doing pretty much anything I can.
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Dec 9, 2011 20:25
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Cometa Rossa posted:If I had two months of backpacking in Central America with Guatemala as a starting point, where would be some good places to go? I'm into doing pretty much anything I can. What are you interested in, how old are you, what is your langauge ability? I'm not going to write a novel for you, which is what my suggestions would be without knowing what interests you. Culture? Beaches? Surfing? Scuba diving? Partying? Language study?
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Dec 10, 2011 15:08
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Early 20s, comfortably proficient with Spanish, into history, beaches, ruins, wildlife, diving, partying and just hanging out/soaking the place up. Like I said, just about anything. I went to Roatan years ago and loved it, but that was at a fancy resort and if I did anything similar this time it would be the cheap way.
Cometa Rossa fucked around with this message at 03:40 on Dec 11, 2011 |
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Dec 10, 2011 20:42
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Cometa Rossa posted:Early 20s, comfortably proficient with Spanish, into history, beaches, ruins, wildlife, diving, partying and just hanging out/soaking the place up. Like I said, just about anything. I went to Roatan years ago and loved it, but that was at a fancy resort and if I did anything similar this time it would be the cheap way. Guatemala City - Antigua - Lake Atitlan - Flores/Tikal [cross to Belize] - Cayo - Belize City - Caye Caulker - Chetumal - Tulum - Playa del Carmen - Chichen Itza - Merida - Uxmal - Palenque - San Cristobal de las Casas - Oaxaca City - Puerto Escondido/Mazunte/Zipolite - San Cristobal de las Casas - Yaxchilan/Bonampak - Xela - Antigua - Guatemala City. Two months.
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Dec 11, 2011 16:23
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 If he's going for two months, there's no reason to fly into and out of the same country.
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Dec 12, 2011 01:05
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Regardless of the route I end up following, that's still a great list and has given me a lot of places to think about. Thanks!
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Dec 13, 2011 07:35
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Cometa Rossa posted:Regardless of the route I end up following, that's still a great list and has given me a lot of places to think about. Thanks! I've done that route - it's a great mix of surf and dive spots (surf is on the Pacific, dive on the Caribbean), party spots, cultural areas, mountain and beach, and ruins. Feel free to ask any questions you have about specific locations.
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Dec 13, 2011 08:49
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For those visiting Bolivia. I would recommend doing the Potosi mine tours. It is a very unique place and really shows you how hard these people work in awful conditions. Part of your tour ticket goes to the miners.  One of the 600 statues of El Tio (the devil) in the caves. He isn't there to protect the miners rather to grant them access to his riches 
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Dec 14, 2011 22:29
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So I'm heading down to Argentina/Uruguay after Christmas with around 15 days on the ground. Here is my itinerary so far. I'm welcome to hear suggestions but I already booked the ferry to BA along with the flight to Mendoza. I'm staying in the Pax Hostel in BA? Anyone have any impressions? The website for the hostel looked fine and it looked small enough. Although it was in the San Telmo district which I hear is a little sketchy. I'm also welcome to hearing suggestions for hostels to stay at in Mendoza/Cordoba/Rosario/Montevideo and possibly Punte del Este. Let me know what you think. I'd love to go to Bariloche or Iguazu but I'd rather not pay for the flight. If all goes well, I'll come on back down in the next year and see those places. Fri Dec 30, 2011 10:30am Flight to Montevideo Where: Montevideo, Uruguay Description: Flight arrivesin Montevideo 1pm Ferry to Buenos Aires Where: Montevideo, Uruguay Description: Perez Castellano, Montevideo, Uruguay 5pm Arrive at Pax Hostel Where: Pax Hostel Description: Pax Hostel Buenos Aires Salta 990, C1074AAT Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Capital Federal, Argentina Sat Dec 31, 2011 9pm New Years in Buenos Aires Where: Buenos Aires, Argentina Description: New Years in Buenos Aires Sun Jan 1, 2012 12am New Years in Buenos Aires Where: Buenos Aires, Argentina Description: New Years in Buenos Aires Tue Jan 3, 2012 10am Leave Pax Hostel Where: Buenos Aires, Argentina 3:30pm Flight to Mendoza Where: Aeroparque Jorge Newbury Description: AEP to MDZ at 3:20PM Thu Jan 5, 2012 10:45pm Travel to Cordoba Where: Mendoza Bus Station Description: Andesmar Mendoza to Cordora for 350ARS Fri Jan 6, 2012 12am Travel to Cordoba Where: Mendoza Bus Station Description: Andesmar Mendoza to Cordora for 350ARS Sun Jan 8, 2012 10:05pm Travel to Rosario Where: Cordoba, Argentina Description: El Turista - 22:05 for 143ARS Mon Jan 9, 2012 12am Travel to Rosario Where: Cordoba, Argentina Description: El Turista - 22:05 for 143ARS Tue Jan 10, 2012 8am Leave Rosario for Montevideo Where: Rosario, Argentina Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:30pm Leave Montevideo, Uruguay Where: Montevideo, Uruguay Description: Leave Uruguay
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Dec 16, 2011 07:16
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In Mendoza, stay in Hostel Lao. Book it right now. http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Hostel-Lao/Mendoza/16017?source=googleadwordshostelsbyname&gclid=CPq66_fVia0CFWgEQAodklGomQ
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Dec 17, 2011 18:52
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Girlfriend is packing for our Cuba trip like we are going on goddamn safari in Mogadishu.
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Dec 18, 2011 21:20
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kidhash posted:In Mendoza, stay in Hostel Lao. Book it right now. Thanks for the suggestion. I booked just now!
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Dec 19, 2011 00:30
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For Montevideo I'd recommend Pocitos Hostel (http://www.pocitoshostel.com/) and in Colonia, Sur Hostel (http://www.surhostel.com/). They are owned by my brother in law and a friend. Both of them are in good/nice locations and have really cool people working in them. I've stayed at Sur Hostel some months ago and everything was great.
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Dec 19, 2011 04:09
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Any goons in Cusco for Christmas?
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Dec 21, 2011 18:33
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On my honeymoon in South America. We always do a dancing theme while we travel. Our first country was Colombia and here is the video. Has Bogota, Medellin, San Gil, Villa de Leyva, Popayan, Silvia and Las Lajas in it. https://vimeo.com/34087900
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Dec 23, 2011 12:54
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I'm thinking about doing a flashpacking trip to Central and South America starting in Costa Rica and going counter-clockwise, around February. Is that a good route, or am I going to be chasing a wet season or something? I'm also having difficulty estimating how long I'll be on the road. I think two months or so is about right - is that true?
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Dec 24, 2011 06:16
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a depressed kitten posted:I'm thinking about doing a flashpacking trip to Central and South America starting in Costa Rica and going counter-clockwise, around February. Is that a good route, or am I going to be chasing a wet season or something? I'm also having difficulty estimating how long I'll be on the road. I think two months or so is about right - is that true? February is dry season on the Pacific coast, and there's very little on the Caribbean coast between Honduras and Costa Rica. What do you mean by a counter-clockwise route, and why Costa Rica? CR is the most overrated destination in the Americas. Panama has everything CR has to offer, without the mobs of people.
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Dec 24, 2011 08:17
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I mean counter clockwise as in: Costa Rica Panama Colombia Ecuador Peru Chile Argentina Uruguay Brazil and I am starting in Costa Rica because why not?
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Dec 24, 2011 10:22
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a depressed kitten posted:I mean counter clockwise as in: Waaaaaaay too much for two months. I wouldn't recommend more than Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia with two months. You realize that this itinerary would give you less than a week in each country? You'll spend the entire trip looking out the window of a bus.
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Dec 24, 2011 10:44
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a depressed kitten posted:I mean counter clockwise as in: I did these countries in one month Colombia Peru Argentina Uruguay Brazil I flew from Colombia to Peru, and Peru to Argentina, and bussed the rest of the way (through Argentina, Brazil (Rio), and south through Uruguay back to BA). I spent a lot of time (25% or more) in (or traveling to) bus stations or airports. First off, kudos on the ambitious trip. Second, those are all great countries. Some recommendations: for two months I would pick two or three countries to spend the lion's share of your time in, with perhaps a 3-4 day layover in the rest. I would spend maybe four days in Costa Rica, a night or two at most in Panama (see the canal), five-ten days in columbia (Medelin + Cartagena + Bogota), if you have the money go see the Galapagos for a week, Machu Picchu can be done in four days (skip Lima) but there's easily a week's worth of hiking to be done in the Cusco region. That's one month, not including travel days. You have about 7 travel days so far if you visit three cities in Colombia. I don't know much about Chile, but Argentina is huge, I spent two weeks just in Buenos Aires and only just started to feel settled there. Rosario is 4 hours away and Igauzu is another day's travel north, and that's just the top fifth of the country. I never even got a chance to visit Cordoba or Patagonia. Assume two weeks + 3 travel days if you're flying. Brazil is the same size as the continental US. You could easily spend a week each in Rio and Sao Paulo, not to mention the hundreds of rustic resorts between there and Uruguay. Assume two weeks + 4-5 travel days if you're bussing around, especially up and down the coast (lots of road construction on the costal highway). Uruguay is small (considering the scope of the trip) and if you've already seen Argentina you can probably pop in to all of the major coastal cities in a week if you rush it. Bus service along the coast is better than metro bus service inside most major US cities. Assume 1 week + 2 days travel. So including travel that's 82 days, or just shy of three months. To put this in perspective, you're planning a trip from Alaska to California, to Florida to New York. Make sure you plan your travel days on Sundays, everything's closed on Sundays (and major religious holidays) anyways. Christmas eve and Christmas day were dreadfully boring in Buenos Aires. Hadlock fucked around with this message at 21:48 on Dec 24, 2011 |
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Dec 24, 2011 21:46
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Hadlock posted:I did these countries in one month I'm splitting hairs here, but there's no way you can 'do' Argentina or Brazil in one month, let alone a group countries comprising the bulk of South America. You'd need six months to really explore Brazil by itself. In the end, it comes down to what kind of travel suits you. Machu Picchu takes several days, between transportation to and from, and at the site itself. Rio de Janeiro state deserves two weeks, between Rio city, Ilha Grande, Paraty, Buzios/Cabo Frio, Petropolis, Teresopolis ... quote:So including travel that's 82 days, or just shy of three months. To put this in perspective, you're planning a trip from Alaska to California, to Florida to New York. That's what I'm trying to say. Either he's going to spend a fortune on airfare (expense in South America), jetting around the continent, or spend the entire trip on a bus. Have you figured out how you'll be getting from Central to South America? The Pan-American doesn't cross the Darien Gap, between Panama and Colombia, and there are no other roads either. Unless you fly from Panama to Colombia, it will take you close to a week to get from Panama City to Cartagena or Medellin via the Caribbean coast. That crossing is a true adventure - I did it last year, coming up from Colombia - and I highly recommend it. Colombia is probably the most underrated destination in Latin America.
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Dec 25, 2011 09:39
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Macunaima posted:That's what I'm trying to say. Either he's going to spend a fortune on airfare (expense in South America), jetting around the continent, or spend the entire trip on a bus. I agree, I'm just trying to present it in a constructive way. I did (sort of) what he wants to do, but if you're going to be bull-headed like me and do it the wrong way, you might as well go anyways and not do it completely wrong 
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Dec 26, 2011 00:49
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thanks for the replies everyone. I actually was planning on hitting africa after my trip, but it looks like all of my time will be spent in south america instead. that means i have roughly six months, which sounds like a much more leisurely pace from what you all are saying and actually i plan on flying pretty much everywhere - i hear about bus robberies and stuff and i'm not really down with that
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Dec 26, 2011 03:38
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a depressed kitten posted:thanks for the replies everyone. I actually was planning on hitting africa after my trip, but it looks like all of my time will be spent in south america instead. that means i have roughly six months, which sounds like a much more leisurely pace from what you all are saying Six months for that itinerary still isn't quite leisurely, but it's no longer insane. quote:and actually i plan on flying pretty much everywhere - i hear about bus robberies and stuff and i'm not really down with that I've probably taken buses 20,000 km across Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Brazil, and Argentina in the past ten years. Never has I experienced a bus robbery, or even met anyone who has experienced a bus robbery. You hear about sneak theft of cameras and bags, but armed robberies are rare.
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Dec 26, 2011 08:09
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Macunaima posted:Have you figured out how you'll be getting from Central to South America? The Pan-American doesn't cross the Darien Gap, between Panama and Colombia, and there are no other roads either. Unless you fly from Panama to Colombia, it will take you close to a week to get from Panama City to Cartagena or Medellin via the Caribbean coast. That crossing is a true adventure - I did it last year, coming up from Colombia - and I highly recommend it. Colombia is probably the most underrated destination in Latin America. I'll be doing this later this year, can you give me the low down?
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Dec 28, 2011 13:52
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Outrail posted:I'll be doing this later this year, can you give me the low down? Panama -> Colombia, or Colombia -> Panama? Are you looking for the absolute cheapest way, or can you afford a few hundred US for a berth on a sailboat (4-5 days)?
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Dec 28, 2011 14:31
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Sorry, now it's obvious you're talking Panama -> Colombia. The trickiest part will be getting to Puerto Obaldia from Panama City. There aren't any roads linking Puerto Obaldia to the rest of Panama. Speedboats without set schedule leave from Colon City, and especially Miramar and Carti, on the Caribbean coast. You'll pay whatever you can negotiate - $50 is a reasonable rate. The trip down the coast is tough, taking 8-11 hours. You'll stop at military checkpoints throughout Kuna Yala, and they will check the zarpe (manifest) against your passport. I somehow was listed as a Colombian on the zarpe (I'm a US citizen), and I got hassled at all three checkpoints. You can also catch an Aeroperlas flight out of Albrooke airport in Panama City (not Tocumen, the international airport) for about $75. Puerto Obaldia is a total shithole. The are speedboats leaving every day, usually in the morning, for Capurgana, just across the border in Colombia. It takes about 45 minutes, and costs about $10. If you get stuck there, you can stay at Pension Cande for $5 (no extra charge for the rats with whom you'll share the room). You can also walk across the border, via La Miel. You'll hike over a hill that forms the border, and a short distance beyond is the town of Sapzurro, which has boat connection to Capurgana. Sapzurro and Capurgana are lovely little resort towns. Neither has a road connection to anywhere. For that, you'll need to take the morning boat across the Gulf of Uraba to Turbo. This is about $25, and takes 2+ hours. As with all of the boat trips, you'll likely get wet, so try to wrap your gear in plastic. I recommend a couple of days in Sapzurro and/or Capurgana, as both are really chilled-out places ideal for drinking rum and lounging on the beach. There are expensive flights from Capurgana to Medellin a few times a week. Otherwise, you'll be taking the boat to Turbo. Turbo is a fetid dump of about 150,000. There's no reason to spend any time here. The road begins again at Turbo, with connections to Medellin (about 7 hours), and Cartagena, via Monteria. If you consider the cost of accommodations and food and booze en route, it isn't much more expensive to catch an Aires flight from Panama City to Medellin or Bogota. If you have the cash, you can take a sailboat from Colon or Portobelo to Cartagena. It costs $400-500, and takes about 5 days usually. You'll sail through Kuna Yala, camp on deserted islands, and depending on your luck have an awesome skipper or a psychotic crackhead. I've heard stories of both. At any rate, I'll be wrapping up my trip next year by sailing the other way, from Cartagena to Panama. Definitely ask around at Luna's Castle or Mamallena in Panama City. Both are excellent hostels, with piles of recent information about the crossing. TheImmigrant fucked around with this message at 14:58 on Dec 28, 2011 |
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Dec 28, 2011 14:49
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Cheers. I'm actually heading north but have terrible reading comprehnsion, my stupid. I assume I can do the opposite just as easily? I'm on a tight budget but can't take any airplanes (one of the stupid rules I gave myself for he trip). The sailboat option sounds awesome, gently caress skipper awesome I want to set sail with Capt. Crackpipe.
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Dec 28, 2011 21:58
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Outrail posted:Cheers. It's a bit different heading north. If you want to do the sailboat, Casa Viena in Cartagena is the place to find a boat and skipper. If you want to take the coastal route, take a bus from Cartagena or Medellin to Turbo. You'll have to spend the night, since the boat for Capurgana leaves at 8am. It's easy to find boats from Capurgana to Puerto Obaldia. Before leaving Capurgana, get stamped out of Colombia at the DAS office, which is closed on weekends. If you're leaving on Sunday, you can get stamped out on Friday and still hang around in Colombia. Once in Puerto Obaldia, ask around about boats heading to Carti or Miramar, where the road begins. The speedboat trip is hellacious, but memorable. Once you're at the roadhead, take a bus to Colon City, and then on to Panama City.
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Dec 29, 2011 08:18
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If anyone's planning on coming to Uruguay during the summer and touring the coast I definitely recommend spending the day in Cabo Polonio. It's a small place with no electricity and beautiful sights. Unless you hate sand you should go.
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Dec 29, 2011 16:06
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Don't tell people about Cabo Polonio!!
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Dec 29, 2011 18:38
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The whole coast of Uruguay in the summer felt like the beach scenes from the movie Blow. Not the drugs part, just thousands and thousands of miles of unadulterated sandy beaches filled with small towns and young people, with no sign of commercialism anywhere, like something out of 1960's California. The closest thing to commercialism in many of those towns was walking the 10 minutes from the beach to the general store to buy a coke or Fanta. I want to retire there 
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Dec 30, 2011 00:30
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Hadlock posted:The whole coast of Uruguay in the summer felt like the beach scenes from the movie Blow. Not the drugs part, just thousands and thousands of miles of unadulterated sandy beaches filled with small towns and young people, with no sign of commercialism anywhere, like something out of 1960's California. The closest thing to commercialism in many of those towns was walking the 10 minutes from the beach to the general store to buy a coke or Fanta. I want to retire there And lots of drugs in Punta del Este.
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Dec 30, 2011 02:33
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Macunaima posted:Don't tell people about Cabo Polonio!! But if you are in the area over summer try to get there before New Years, it's meant to get crazy busy afterwards.
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Dec 30, 2011 05:12
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Does anyone know exactly how much the welcome tax is in Chile for canadian visitors? Every website tells me something different and it's loving annoying. I'm leaving on Jan 3 so everything is closed.. should I try reaching the embassy?
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Dec 31, 2011 16:42
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