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Pretty Boy Floyd posted:I'd prefer to keep my lodging under $50 a day. Airbnb has a lot of stuff at around $30/night – that's kind of my target. I like to visit places and just get a feel for them. I'm not into super touristy poo poo. My idea of traveling is a book, maybe a map of the city with some interesting spots starred on it, and just me walking around eating, drinking, talking to people. I like museums, but a lot of them are not worth the time. I'm currently pondering hanging out in Santiago for a day or two, heading up to Elqui Valley for a few days, then coming back down before flying to BsAs. I've also been told Valparaiso is cool. What's nightlife like in Santiago? in Valparaiso? I like La Serena/Elqui Valley. It's about 7ish hours to La Serena by bus. There's plenty of places to hang out, walk around and eat in Santiago. And you can take a bus to Valpo/Viña for around $6, about 1.5 hour bus ride. You can do "free" walking tours in Stgo (and Valpo) http://freetoursantiago.cl/portada.html Free to join, just tip the guy at the end. That will give you a good overlook of Santiago Centro. Sounds like you can figure out what to do from there, but I'd hit up places like Cerro San Cristobal (big hill in middle, it's a park), barrio bellavista and brasil can be hit up for some nightlife, or stroll through in the day. There are other nice little neighborhoods too, that are less traveled.
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Jan 15, 2015 18:14
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Leopold Stotch posted:Thanks, and what if I wanted to just hire a taxi at the airport to drive me to Puerto Lopez? How much Spanish do you know and how much of a gringo are you? I don't mean to be offensive but if you appear to them to be an idiot gringo they will take your money and leave you somewhere that isn't P Lopez.. Obviously, every driver is gonna tell you something different, but there are dozens of taxis and I'm positive a few will be willing to take you anywhere in the country for a decent amount of cash. If you aren't lucky just tell them to take you to the terminal and just take a bus. It's SO bad. It's tolerable.
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Jan 15, 2015 20:32
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It's going to be significantly more expensive to make a taxi driver to a 6 hour drive than to get a bus ticket that will probably cost $10
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Jan 15, 2015 21:25
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Tight Booty Shorts posted:How much Spanish do you know and how much of a gringo are you? I don't mean to be offensive but if you appear to them to be an idiot gringo they will take your money and leave you somewhere that isn't P Lopez.. Obviously, every driver is gonna tell you something different, but there are dozens of taxis and I'm positive a few will be willing to take you anywhere in the country for a decent amount of cash. If you aren't lucky just tell them to take you to the terminal and just take a bus. It's SO bad. It's tolerable. Only a little Spanish, and yeah, I'm an idiot gringo. Not offended. I'm spending a month in Ecuador to hopefully improve both of those factors, but I won't be there on day 1.
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Jan 15, 2015 21:30
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Leopold Stotch posted:Only a little Spanish, and yeah, I'm an idiot gringo. Not offended. I'm spending a month in Ecuador to hopefully improve both of those factors, but I won't be there on day 1. Cool. I can suggest one other thing- taking these private vans. They are a fraction more expensive than a regular bus ticket, but they stop a lot less and are cleaner and a bit faster. Look for "furgonetas a puerto Lopez desde Guayaquil" in Google and figure out some addresses and numbers. Fortunately all these vans, terminals, and airports are all on the same area of the city, so getting around shouldn't be too hard.
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Jan 15, 2015 23:29
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Honestly just do the bus thing. A taxi to the bus station costs $3 and takes less than 5 minutes. I walked out of the airport, the first two taxis asked for $10 and $5 because gringo, the next guy did it for $3. Got to the bus station, bought a ticket for $7 and was on a bus a hour later. I know pretty much no Spanish. I did this 3 days ago.
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Jan 16, 2015 01:33
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There are also buses that run nonstop to Montanita every couple of hours, and from there it's a $10 cab ride to Puerto Lopez.
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Jan 16, 2015 04:48
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I'm going to Cancun on Feb. 7th for a wedding and am arriving a week early to do some travelling beforehand. We were going to rent a car, go and spend a day or two at Chichén Itzá, then drive to Tulum, spend a few days there and then head to Playa del Carmen for the wedding (plan to arrive on Friday, Feb. 13th). We want to see some Mayan ruins, visit some cenotes and spend some time on the beach. Is there anything I'm missing that we should try and do/see?
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Jan 16, 2015 11:16
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Random question. I'm in Jaco right now. Last night I was offered sex for $100 because I was "cute".... Anyways I respectfully declined. Basically is that the standard rate or what? Also she was loving hot. Oh well.
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Jan 16, 2015 16:25
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Thanks everyone for the GYE -> Puerto Lopez tips.
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Jan 16, 2015 16:30
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A Man and his dog posted:Random question. I'm in Jaco right now. Last night I was offered sex for $100 because I was "cute".... My guess is that prostitutes have an incentive to flatter their marks, but maybe I'm wrong and you're exceptionally cute.
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Jan 16, 2015 20:51
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This stripper said I was cute and offered me a lap dance 
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Jan 16, 2015 21:30
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To be honest I actually asked her what her fee was ( just wanted to know a starting point). Her response: "Well since you cute I'll go for $100." I'm guessing she would rather go with a young dude then some old man. Anyways yeah.
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Jan 16, 2015 23:45
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$100 is probably her regular rate. She was loving with you.
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Jan 17, 2015 02:52
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Pretty Boy Floyd posted:$100 is probably her regular rate. She was loving with you. It's prob what she tells everyone. I would hav haggled it down to $20.
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Jan 17, 2015 07:08
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Any advice for someone going to Carnval in Rio for the first time? I have lodging locked down, my Portuguese is conversational (or at least good enough for me to get around without any serious frustration), and while I'm aware that there will be stuff going on anywhere, I'm still curious if there's anything that I absolutely, positively shouldn't miss.
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Jan 18, 2015 03:45
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I'm frantically searching for chicharron sandwiches in Orange County. I'm addicted. I miss $4 jamon serrano and chicharron sandwiches. I ate them every day in Lima, but it still wasn't enough.
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Jan 18, 2015 07:04
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spoof posted:I probably missed you already here, but the W in Torres del Paine is great. Perito Moreno glacier near El Calafate is great. Glaciares NP in El Chalten is great. You don't have time for all of those. I wasn't really impressed with Ushuaia and TdF, especially since it took so damned long to get there by bus from El Calafate. If you're going to go, fly. The NP is kind of cool, and you can see penguins but it's kind of a checklist destination. Depending on your budget, flying AEP -> FTE (Perito Moreno, bus to TdP, TdP, bus back to El Calafate) -> USH (TdF NP, penguins) -> AEP might be a good, time-efficient itinerary. Adding Glaciares NP out of El Chalten would be another 3-4 days which it sounds like you don't have. Yes, I was already gone by the time you replied, but thanks nonetheless. Just got back from the trip and had a really great time. Patagonia was definitely one of the highlights. Eventually we spent one week down there, flying there from Buenos Aires and then back again. We spend four days in El Chalten and two in El Calafate. El Chalten in particular we really liked. It's just a small town but with a really good vibe to it and a surprising number of nice small bars and restaurants. At least enough for those few days. What's really nice is that you just walk out of town and arrive at hiking trails immediately. Perfect for long day trips. El Calafate we found to have less character, but visiting Perito Moreno was really cool of course. The W we obviously didn't do, but I heard many people say that the scenery around there and around El Chalten is pretty similar, albeit the latter much cheaper and a bit less crowded. Anyway, we were really happy with how it worked out. The rest of our trip was spent in Buenos Aires, Uruguay for a few days at the beach, in and around Mendoza and Santiago de Chile. Saladman posted:How do you guys get money in Argentina? I specifically mean for Buenos Aires and to a lesser extent also Mendoza/Cordoba, since I'd rather not carry around a months' worth of cash for two people on me. Can you pretty much trust any money changing guy that quotes you a reasonable rate? Any particularly good (or bad place) to go for this? I imagine the airport and shops at major bus stations only gives the terrible government exchange rate. This might be a bit late, but... it's like people have already said. You go to Florida street and there's a lot of people just shouting "Cambio! Cambio!". You walk up to someone you think looks trustworthy and ask for their rate. Check http://dolarblue.net/ for the "official" unofficial rate so you know what you should theoretically get. You will get less. Ask around a bit, but the rate probably will not differ much. Good to know though: they prefer $ 100 bills most, so you'll get a worse rate with $ 20s. What we did was change $ 100 once and then spend the money. Didn't run into any trouble and then went back with the rest of our dollars to the same place. It's at least a little bit of assurance that the place is trustworthy. Now for Mendoza I have a really good suggestion: ask at your hostel where the cambio place is. It's at the main shopping street, something something Martin. There the guys will be standing right in front of a small mall. Instead of changing at one of these guys, walk past them and enter the mall. You'll find a Western Union there and they also change dollars to peso's, but at a far better rate. I don't know what the deal if there, since the blue market is technically illegal, but I've heard that the cambio guys outside actually change the dollars they get from tourists at that very Western Union and earn on the differential. Juanito posted:Valparaiso is rough at night. I highly don't recommend it for anybody to be out and about. Worth checking out, but I'd try to stay in Vina del Mar if you want to be in the general area. I highly disagree with this. Especially if you stay in a hostel on one of the main tourist hills, I think Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepcion. Valparaiso has much more character than Vina del Mar and I'd suggest doing it the other way around: stay in Valparaiso if you want to visit Vina. It's only a 15-20 bus or train ride away anyway.
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Jan 19, 2015 14:40
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In Banos now, this place is awesome. The bus rides from the coast were not. Anyway it gets a bunch of hate in this thread but I liked Montanita for what it is worth. Take it for what it is, serious partying at night and an ok beach during the day. If thats not your jam, don't go there, but nothing wrong with partying sometimes. For comparisons sake, I liked it a lot better than the party backpacker scenes in Europe and SE Asia. Less 19 year old aussies chugging vodka, puking, and having sloppy dorm hook-ups, more dancing until the sunrise.
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Jan 19, 2015 14:41
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What's the cheapest way to get to Bariloche from the united states? I'm thinking fly to BA and then a local airline south from there? I can't find anything cheaper than $400 using Google flights but that doesn't typically cover regional airlines.
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Jan 20, 2015 00:55
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Taking a bus from BA would be cheaper or check prices at aerolineas.com.
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Jan 20, 2015 05:20
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Bus from Buenos Aires to Bariloche would be one long rear end ride... probably at least a full day (24 hours) If you have time to spare it's cool. If you have a short amount of time, find a flight. But $400 is probably about the cheapest you'll find to there unless you get lucky. You can watch despegar.com King Metal fucked around with this message at 01:06 on Jan 22, 2015 |
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Jan 22, 2015 01:00
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Well my buddy got invited by a local Colombian girl to spend Carnival at a resort in San Andres which blew our whole timeline out of whack. The plan was to fly in to Bariloche and buy motorcycles using the favorable exchange rate and head south and back north again. Not super psyched about motorcycling across 900 miles of pool table flat ranchland to Bariloche.
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Jan 22, 2015 01:54
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Hadlock posted:Well my buddy got invited by a local Colombian girl to spend Carnival at a resort in San Andres which blew our whole timeline out of whack. I think you'll need a carnet to export from Argentina, which is why no one exports.
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Jan 22, 2015 02:42
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We were just going to unload them for (hopefully) 80% of their value in BA or whatever the local town is for cash and call the difference a rental fee.
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Jan 22, 2015 09:52
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Quick, I got seven days off starting today and I am thinking of heading to Argentina tomorrow. Any goons down there? I am a fluent Spanish speaker.
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Jan 26, 2015 17:12
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Animal posted:Quick, I got seven days off starting today and I am thinking of heading to Argentina tomorrow. Any goons down there? I am a fluent Spanish speaker. Iguazu is usually near peak flow in January. Good time to go, and nearby Misiones has cool Jesuit missions to visit.
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Jan 26, 2015 19:24
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TheImmigrant posted:Iguazu is usually near peak flow in January. Good time to go, and nearby Misiones has cool Jesuit missions to visit. Iguazu is in my to-go. I am an enthusiast photographer, any more recommendations for that?
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Jan 26, 2015 19:25
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If you are in Misiones, another place to visit is Mocona Falls. It's not popular as Iguazu but it's in a bigger natural reserve and not that exploited. http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/SA/Argentina/Misiones/Mocona.htm Another place if you are interested in nature photography is the Ibera Wetlands in Corrientes province.
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Jan 26, 2015 19:59
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Animal posted:Iguazu is in my to-go. I am an enthusiast photographer, any more recommendations for that? About photography, no. I definitely preferred the Argentine side of the falls, where you can get much closer. The Brazilian side has a good panoramic overview for photos, but you'll want to spend more time in Argentina. Cloudiness and rain might be issues, so give yourself a few days if you're looking for high-quality shots. For accommodations, Puerto Iguazu in Argentina is much more pleasant the Foz, on the Brazilian side. Foz is a city of several hundred thousand, pretty seedy in places. Puerto Iguazu is more like a sleepy village, maybe 30,000 or so. Argentina is also much, much cheaper than Brazil right now. I don't know your nationality for Brazil. If you are US citizen, you can cross over for the day without a visa. (Normally you need a visa before arrival, if you're a US citizen.) There is local transport that crosses dozens of times a day. Also bear in mind the airport fee for EZE (international airport for Buenos Aires). I think it's up to $160 USD if you are US citizen, and is not figured into the ticket price. If other nationality, it varies. You'll want to confirm this, but last I knew there was no fee to fly into Montevideo, and usually fares into MVD are comparable. The Buquebus makes frequent crossings of the Plata, and Uruguay is worth visiting anyway.
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Jan 26, 2015 20:26
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TheImmigrant posted:About photography, no. I definitely preferred the Argentine side of the falls, where you can get much closer. The Brazilian side has a good panoramic overview for photos, but you'll want to spend more time in Argentina. Cloudiness and rain might be issues, so give yourself a few days if you're looking for high-quality shots. Have the bridges on the Argentinian side been fixed? I was there back in late August and they hadn't been repaired since the serious rain that had fallen a couple of months earlier. Because of that, and the price, I only went to the Brazilian side, and stayed in Foz for 3 days.
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Jan 26, 2015 20:59
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You mean the walkways? those are made to fall off when the water reaches certain level and are put back in place when the river lowers to normal.
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Jan 26, 2015 21:23
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G-Hawk posted:In Banos now, this place is awesome. The bus rides from the coast were not. I'm in Puerto Lopez for just under 2 more weeks taking spanish lessons. I love it here, it is quiet and dusty as gently caress. Lots of dogs and roosters sounding off at night, but you get used to it / earplugs. My evolving plan is to go to Banos for 4 or 5 days before I leave. Are there any practical alternatives to the buses from the coast? I figured I'd have to take one back to Guayanquil, and then a second to Banos area? And why so bad, just long and cramped?
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Jan 27, 2015 00:47
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I'll be in Monterrey, Mexico for a conference next week. Managed to add two days off to my trip. Any suggestions on what to do in or around Monterrey? Wikitravel is starting to make me feel scared about this area of Mexico.. 
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Jan 27, 2015 13:19
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Funny Bunny posted:I'll be in Monterrey, Mexico for a conference next week. Managed to add two days off to my trip. Any suggestions on what to do in or around Monterrey? Wikitravel is starting to make me feel scared about this area of Mexico.. Monterrey isn't so bad. It's not so great either - kind of reminds me of Houston. It's relatively affluent Mexican city, with a lot of Pemex money. Not sure if I'd want to travel outside of the city, as that is prime narco territory around there.
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Jan 27, 2015 13:41
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Got back from Cuba and Mexico on Saturday. Trip report! Had to spend 3 nights in the Cancun area before we could fly to Cuba. Total waste of time and in hindsight should have just gone through DF even though it would have cost more. Havana was pretty cool, but getting in was a bitch. I was interrogated by 5 or 6 Cuban officers, and they ran my camera and film through an x-ray machine 5 times because they thought I was an undercover journalist (because professional journalists use cheap old film cameras!). There are all sorts of additional costs associated with getting in... entry tax, visa tax, exit tax, $25 taxi to and from the airport (no buses). It adds up to over $100 additional per person. Old Havana is great at night, but all of Havana is miserable during the day. We had an awesome room in the old stock exchange. There are tons of old Americans dressed like Ernest Hemingway and photographing Cuban street people as if they were flora and fauna. There are tons of conmen, touts, and people dressed up in traditional costumes asking for money to take photos with them. Edible food is hard to find, but there are a few good restaurants (304 and Eutemio). We had a good time exploring the literary history and wandering the less touristed areas, but until it becomes cheaper I'd recommend just going to Old San Juan instead of Havana. Mexico City is awesome and was way better than I imagined. Amazing food; great museums, art and cafes; nice neighborhoods; friendly people; perfect weather. We spent a week in DF and never got bored. All the missing persons posters are a little unsettling. Teotihuacan was much cooler than Chichen Itza, which felt like a crowded outdoor gift shop. US customs and immigration did not give a poo poo about me going to Cuba. I even had my passport stamped going in and out of Cuba. Considering there was an official US Government jet on the runway in Havana and that my bank confirmed my ticket purchases for Cuba, I think it's safe to say that there is no travel ban.
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Jan 27, 2015 16:26
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Smeef posted:Got back from Cuba and Mexico on Saturday. Trip report! Nice report, thanks. What did you do around Cancun? Not much of a fan of Cancun itself, although the Yucatan is one of my favorite regions of Mexico. Agreed that Chichen Itza is way overrated though.
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Jan 27, 2015 16:39
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TheImmigrant posted:Nice report, thanks. We didn't do much of anything, really. We got into Cancun late so just crashed near the bus stop. The next day we went to Chichen Itza and stayed the night, which was a lot more time than Chichen Itza needed. By the time we got back to Cancun, it was too late to do much of anything, and we flew to Havana the next morning. The Cancun airport is pretty miserable. Immigration took over 2 hours, and we heard from someone else that it once took them 6 hours.
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Jan 27, 2015 18:03
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Smeef posted:We didn't do much of anything, really. We got into Cancun late so just crashed near the bus stop. The next day we went to Chichen Itza and stayed the night, which was a lot more time than Chichen Itza needed. By the time we got back to Cancun, it was too late to do much of anything, and we flew to Havana the next morning. Stayed the night at Piste, adjacent to the ruins? There's not much going on there. Valladolid is much better, if you can arrange early transportation (not that difficult). quote:The Cancun airport is pretty miserable. Immigration took over 2 hours, and we heard from someone else that it once took them 6 hours. CUN is usually a painless experience, although they don't always manage the flow very well. Any specific favorites to Mexico City? How was the pollution while you were there? Any misadventures with taxis?
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Jan 27, 2015 19:19
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Leopold Stotch posted:I'm in Puerto Lopez for just under 2 more weeks taking spanish lessons. I love it here, it is quiet and dusty as gently caress. Lots of dogs and roosters sounding off at night, but you get used to it / earplugs. Likely, unless you can take a bus to Manta --> Quito --> Banos. Quito to Banos is a pleasant 4-hour trip with some spectacular mountain scenery from what I remember.
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Jan 28, 2015 00:06
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