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Saladman posted:Does anyone have particularly good tips about safety (i.e. not getting robbed/ripped off) in South America? In particular I guess Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia (maybe Argentina?). We're not nighttime people, so are unlikely to go out to bars/clubs much-if-at-all unless we're with local friends in the few places we know people. Don't bring anything you can't bear to lose. Keep a few notes of easily-converted emergency cash - ideally $100 USD notes - salted throughout what you are carrying. Make PDFs of your passport bio page, all of your credit/debit cards and bank contact information, and any other important documents and email them to yourself. Theft is not at all unusual throughout South America, but usually of the sneak variety rather than mugging. Buses, bus depots, and markets are common venues for thieves. The tourists who tend to get robbed are the ones carrying and flashing backpacks and tablets worth more than many locals earn in a year. I haven't bothered with a money belt or decoy wallet for ages. Personally, I'd rather leave my fancy watch and tablet at home than constantly maintain vigilance about them being stolen. When the most valuable thing you carry is your passport, it's not such a big deal if someone makes off with your daypack containing a book, a bottle of water, and a change of underwear.
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Jul 26, 2015 16:19
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I still carry my laptop with me but travel websites are getting increasingly easier to use on mobile and my next trip might have me taking a 7" tablet or just upgrade my phone to a 5" model. Between my laptop and my phone those are the only valuable things that go with me. SLR cameras are kind of silly these days, they have a lot of historical cred that they've been coasting on for ages but modern cell phone cameras with anti-shake and now HDR means you can skip that too. Most valuable things I travel with these days Netbook from 2009 ($350 new) 4.7" android phone ($220 new) Shoes (Good ones from REI $89) And then irreplaceable things like Passport Eyeglasses Prescription sunglasses Everything else is just like, underwear, socks, a collared shirt, couple ibuprofren, couple of 200mg caffine pills, couple of tylenol, and 2 full sets of clothes. If the laptop got stolen, I'm out the backup of all my trip photos (I try to sync with it every 2-3 days). If the phone gets stolen you can remote-wipe it easy, and replace it with whatever local GSM phone for $100. New clothes can be bought anywhere.
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Jul 27, 2015 08:27
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I like to travel lightweight so my compact camera and my iPhone 5s are the only electronics I take. I've never needed a tablet or laptop, smart phones these days are pretty great.
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Jul 27, 2015 12:21
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Anyone know the official status of traveling to Cuba without a tour and not potentially having to face the $100,000 or whatever it was fine? Everything I've found on Google is vague or says something like goto a church in Cuba and you've done a "religious trip" or speak Spanish with the locals and you've done a "language trip". I'd prefer a 100% guarantee I won't get in trouble.
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Jul 27, 2015 17:11
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huhu posted:Anyone know the official status of traveling to Cuba without a tour and not potentially having to face the $100,000 or whatever it was fine? Everything I've found on Google is vague or says something like goto a church in Cuba and you've done a "religious trip" or speak Spanish with the locals and you've done a "language trip". I'd prefer a 100% guarantee I won't get in trouble. You won't get a 100% guarantee you won't get into trouble unless you go on one of those pre-approved trips. The fines were implemented rarely, and no one paid the max/higher values, but you would need to get a lawyer to haggle it down for you to a few hundred bucks. I don't even know if people still get those. A quick Google search of mine didn't turn up any such anecdotes post-2010. E: Actually it looks like even the licenses you needed to get pre-approved no longer are a thing since January 2015. http://triphackr.com/how-to-travel-to-cuba-illegally/ I'd still worry about posting photos of my trip to FB though. Saladman fucked around with this message at 17:18 on Jul 27, 2015 |
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Jul 27, 2015 17:16
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I'm doing five days in Costa Rica as a little vacation at the end of the month. Get in thursday around noon, leave monday at like 3. I know nothing about the country. I want to drink and do like touristy poo poo on beaches. where is your favorite place to go?
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Aug 4, 2015 15:27
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FizFashizzle posted:I'm doing five days in Costa Rica as a little vacation at the end of the month. Get in thursday around noon, leave monday at like 3. I know nothing about the country. Flying into San Jose, or Liberia? Assuming San Jose, the closest beach option is Jaco, on the Pacific coast. I don't really like it there, but a lot of people do. It's heavily developed, being the nearest beach to the capital. It's crawling with Tica hookers (prostitution is legal in Costa Rica, and it's a major destination for sex tourists), has a lot of low- to middle-brow bars and clubs and other touristy poo poo. Beaches aren't really spectacular. My favorite beach spot is Puerto Viejo, on the Caribbean side near the border with Panama. Buses leave from Terminal Caribe station downtown San Jose, and cost about $7-8 for the four-hour ride. Puerto Viejo is really Caribbean, with lots and lots of ganja and surfing. (It's one of the only places to surf on the Caribbean coast in Central America.) Rocking J's is a legendary hammock hostel on the beach there. $7/night gets you a hammock and sheets, and there is always a party going on. There are other accommodations in the town too, of varying prices and qualities. Backpackers get stuck in Puerto Viejo for weeks, or even months. Guanacaste is at the other end of Costa Rica, on the Pacific near Nicaragua. There's an international airport at Liberia, with good access to the local beaches, which are the best. Tamarindo is a surf and party town up there, and you can find a lot of chiller beaches in the area too. There's all kinds of earth-muffin poo poo you can do in Costa Rica too, like Save the Turtles or zip-lining or looking at volcanoes or massaging fair-trade coffee beans with the organic tears of vegan Gypsies. I'm more of a beach guy, so someone else will have to help with that.
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Aug 4, 2015 15:58
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Thanks. That last sentence is probably the best thing i've ever read.
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Aug 4, 2015 16:03
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I don't think you need a money belt or anything but be careful with taxi drivers and large notes. I got ripped off for 100 soles by one that "didn't have change" and exchanged my bill for a counterfeit one. Besides that I'm a dumb rear end gringo that is drunk half the time and takes no precautions and I haven't been robbed so you'll probably be ok
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Aug 4, 2015 19:43
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FizFashizzle posted:Thanks. That last sentence is probably the best thing i've ever read. Apparently United is flying into Liberia for pretty cheap out of a lot of the North East. I'm getting married down there in a few months, I'd recommend Tamarindo to anyone who wants a beach area.
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Aug 4, 2015 22:54
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gtkor posted:Apparently United is flying into Liberia for pretty cheap out of a lot of the North East. I'm getting married down there in a few months, I'd recommend Tamarindo to anyone who wants a beach area. Tamarindo would be a good place to learn to surf. Salsa Brava, the break at Puerto Viejo, is a reef break and too big for beginners, but Tamarindo actually has a couple-few surf schools. The beaches up in Nicaragua, around San Juan del Sur, are easily accessible from Liberia too. Quick shot up across the border on the Pan-Am Highway, and you're in one of the cheapest beach places to travel in the Americas.
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Aug 4, 2015 23:11
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What sort of footwear is required for the inca trail? I'm a keen hiker, I go on lots of trips (In New Zealand, so I'm used to rough terrain and no tracks) but my boots do tend to give me blisters and are heavy. Can I get away with just wearing sneakers or trainers or whatever you people call 'em. It seems debatable whether or not the ankle support is vital, as well as the water proofing.
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Aug 5, 2015 00:42
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Inca Trail is one of the wettest places on the planet, at least in December, if you're going to forego water proofing you ought to get hiking sandals
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Aug 5, 2015 01:40
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I am exploring the option of taking a trip to South America. Naturally being a noob I am thinking Amazon adventure like Indy Jones that leads to me finding buried treasure and being a King with multiple hot Brazilian concubines. What is the best way to achieve this? In seriousness, while there is Rio I'm wondering what other locations can I consider in Brazil. I know Sao Paulo is another, but I'm wondering if there's lesser touristy areas, Budget: $3000 to $4000 for one Location: Brazil, preferably with access to Amazon or other locations with a sense of "adventure!" Hotel: A place to sleep, safe Babes: Yes please, eye candy welcome Type: Looking for more of a doing trip than chilling trip, so not necessarily have to go to beaches History and Culture: Interested Tourist locales: Not particularly have to see them Gatts fucked around with this message at 01:55 on Aug 5, 2015 |
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Aug 5, 2015 01:51
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Gatts posted:I am exploring the option of taking a trip to South America. Naturally being a noob I am thinking Amazon adventure like Indy Jones that leads to me finding buried treasure and being a King with multiple hot Brazilian concubines. Rio is touristy, but as a metro area of close to 10 million, it's easy to avoid the tourist areas of Zona Sul. Don't do that unless you can function in Portuguese. São Paulo (Sampa) isn't touristy at all. Sampa and Mexico City, both well over 20 million people, vie for status as financial center of Latin America*. Skip Sampa unless you know someone there, or have an expense account. It's huge and daunting and crazy expensive. Think New York, but bigger and uglier and more dangerous. I like Sampa now, but I speak Portuguese, and work pays me to go there. I hated Sampa as a tourist. A few things to consider about Brazil. You're not getting too far off the tourist trail without decent Portuguese. Brazil is expensive, especially in the developed Southeast (Rio, Sampa, BH), and South. It's also enormous. You mention Rio and Sampa ... and then the Amazon. Rio and Sampa are reasonably close, but Manaus and Belém - the big cities of the Amazon - are several hours' flight from either. Now get over the not-a-tourist pretensions, and recognize that there's a lot for a tourist to do in Brazil. Rio is singular. Nearby Ilha Grande and Paraty, both in Rio state, are very cool. Iguaçu Falls is a natural wonder of the world. A bit south, the city of Florianópolis is a surf mecca and has your eye candy. The other direction from Rio, Bahia state is the cultural heart of Afro-Brazil, especially the capital Salvador. Places like Porto Seguro and Arraial d'Ajuda are beach spots to lose weeks. I haven't been further north, but the Northeastern states are the historical Luso-Afro-Brazilian heartland. There are passenger boats on the Amazon, plying Belém - Santarém - Manaus and beyond. People say the Pantanal, in Mato Grosso do Sul, is a better Amazon experience, even though far from the actual Amazon. If you really want a full-in Brazil experience, reserve some weeks at the beginning and get serious about Portuguese classes. People are often surprised how little English is spoken or posted outside the most heavily touristed areas of Brazil. Also, it's not a cheap country. Don't plan on a budget like you'd have in Laos or Guatemala. Prices, especially in the Southeast, are comparable to Western Europe. TheImmigrant fucked around with this message at 03:02 on Aug 5, 2015 |
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Aug 5, 2015 02:43
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Cool. Thank you for that in depth explanation, especially about learning some Portuguese and the other cities. I also didn't realize it's essentially like Europe in cost.
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Aug 5, 2015 02:48
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Gatts posted:Cool. Thank you for that in depth explanation, especially about learning some Portuguese and the other cities. I also didn't realize it's essentially like Europe in cost. It's also like Europe in size. With $3000-4000, you are not going to see more than a couple of regions. Rio - Florianópolis - Iguaçu, throwing in Ilha Grande and maybe Ilha do Mel would be one itinerary. Another one would be Rio and then north to Bahia. First trip, you need to include Rio - it's a loving fantastic city. You wouldn't be stupid to plonk down money on accommodations there for two months, basing yourself there and limiting yourself to excursions in Rio state and learning Portuguese and planning the next trip down. Brazilian Portuguese is the sexiest language spoken. Written, it looks a lot like Spanish, but sounds way different, and is more difficult. Keep in mind timing too. Rio books solid a year beforehand for New Year's and especially Carnaval. You'll pay well north of $100/night for a dorm bed at Carnival, if you can find one. The Olympics are coming up in Brazil, which will mean another massive accommodations crunch. https://www.ipanema.com has been the definitive Rio guide in English online since at least 2002. Do some reading there.
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Aug 5, 2015 03:17
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Hoplosternum posted:What sort of footwear is required for the inca trail? I'm a keen hiker, I go on lots of trips (In New Zealand, so I'm used to rough terrain and no tracks) but my boots do tend to give me blisters and are heavy. Can I get away with just wearing sneakers or trainers or whatever you people call 'em. Ankle support really depends on the person and how heavy of a pack they're carrying. If you don't use hiking boots with ankle support in New Zealand I doubt you'll need it there, based on looking at pictures of the trails. I'm planning on doing this trail--or one of the less touristy ones, rather--this November and have a pair of track shoes for when it's not raining, and a pair of sandals for when it is. I also hate hiking boots with a passion and never use them even for rough hikes in the Alps (where I live). Take a look at photos of the trail and judge for yourself though. The water proofing sounds like a pretty big deal unless you're going between May and August. E: If I twist my ankle and develop athlete's foot from the moisture, I'll post here! Saladman fucked around with this message at 10:55 on Aug 5, 2015 |
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Aug 5, 2015 10:48
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TheImmigrant posted:Flying into San Jose, or Liberia? Assuming San Jose, the closest beach option is Jaco, on the Pacific coast. I don't really like it there, but a lot of people do. It's heavily developed, being the nearest beach to the capital. It's crawling with Tica hookers (prostitution is legal in Costa Rica, and it's a major destination for sex tourists), has a lot of low- to middle-brow bars and clubs and other touristy poo poo. Beaches aren't really spectacular. Any suggestions for Costa Rica if we don't want to hang out with earth muffins or with 4 foot dreadlocks playing hacky-sack? It looks like we're going to meet my family somewhere in Costa Rica around Christmastime. The earth muffin activities actually sound pretty cool though. Is there somewhere costal with like snorkeling and diving and ziplining across active volcanos and where you can sit on the beach at night without being bothered by touts? I guess I'm looking for like a resort-type area, but not for the type of resort where a cruise ship would dock or do 'excursions' to.
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Aug 5, 2015 12:59
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Saladman posted:Any suggestions for Costa Rica if we don't want to hang out with earth muffins or with 4 foot dreadlocks playing hacky-sack? It looks like we're going to meet my family somewhere in Costa Rica around Christmastime. The earth muffin activities actually sound pretty cool though. Is there somewhere costal with like snorkeling and diving and ziplining across active volcanos and where you can sit on the beach at night without being bothered by touts? I guess I'm looking for like a resort-type area, but not for the type of resort where a cruise ship would dock or do 'excursions' to. Christmastime on the beach anywhere in Latin America is a mess. That is the busiest travel time of the year, and everyone goes to the beach. Even without international tourists, it would be insane with domestic tourism. You need to make special plans, far in advance, to travel at the end of December. Look at Guanacaste (Arenal volcano is nearby), or Nicaragua as an alternative. Flying into Liberia, CR, Nicaragua is a short trip north. It has more volcanoes than Costa Rica, fewer crowds and less theft, and is significantly cheaper. The island of Ometepe, with two perfect volcanoes rising out of Lake Nicaragua, is as close as I've been to paradise in Central America. If the Chinese go through with their canal, it won't be the same for much longer. For beaches, take your pick around San Juan del Sur. This entire area of southeastern Nicaragua is all within two hours of the Liberia or Managua airports.
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Aug 5, 2015 13:52
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Hey guys, my girlfriend and I have about $4500 saved and 10 days free to go somewhere in the next week or two. We're trying to decide between maybe doing an island in the Caribbean or something in South America. We've never been to either. We're both in our late 20s, we enjoy outdoorsy stuff, having some beautiful hikes and beaches would be great, surfing a plus, but we're pretty open to anything that sounds awesome and doable with our time and budget constraints. Any suggestions?
retpocileh fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Aug 5, 2015 |
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Aug 5, 2015 18:30
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retpocileh posted:Hey guys, my girlfriend and I have about $4500 saved and 10 days free to go somewhere in the next week or two. We're trying to decide between maybe doing an island in the Caribbean or something in South America. We've never been to either. We're both in our late 20s, we enjoy outdoorsy stuff, having some beautiful hikes and beaches would be great, surfing a plus, but we're pretty open to anything that sounds awesome and doable with our time and budget constraints. Any suggestions? With so little to tailor a suggestion for you, I'll suggest Cuba. Should be a very interesting time there - I'm planning on visiting again in a few months.
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Aug 5, 2015 18:38
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retpocileh posted:Hey guys, my girlfriend and I have about $4500 saved and 10 days free to go somewhere in the next week or two. We're trying to decide between maybe doing an island in the Caribbean or something in South America. We've never been to either. We're both in our late 20s, we enjoy outdoorsy stuff, having some beautiful hikes and beaches would be great, surfing a plus, but we're pretty open to anything that sounds awesome and doable with our time and budget constraints. Any suggestions? Where are you flying from?
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Aug 5, 2015 19:25
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spoof posted:Where are you flying from? I apologize, I should have included that. We're flying out of Los Angeles.
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Aug 5, 2015 20:01
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retpocileh posted:I apologize, I should have included that. We're flying out of Los Angeles. Skiing in Bariloche would be another option.
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Aug 5, 2015 20:05
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Peru is looking pretty good, and this blog post's itinerary seems pretty solid: http://www.ytravelblog.com/things-to-do-in-peru-10-days/ We're putting together our plans pretty quickly. We may more or less mimic that itinerary and give ourselves 14 days total to give ourselves a chance to do any extra poo poo that sounds interesting along the way, and have a little more breathing room. Looks like we'll be in Peru from the 13th to the 27th of August. Anyone have any suggestions for modifications/additions to this itinerary?
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Aug 6, 2015 16:30
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What's the best way to get around Colombia? I'm in the early stages of planning a trip, and I know I want to hit Bogota, Medellin, and at least one of the beach towns in Costa Norte. I'm okay with it taking a while as long as the experience is worthwhile and safe, but sitting on a bus for hours is out.
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Aug 7, 2015 19:49
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Well that leaves only flights but they're pretty cheap and easy. When flying with Viva Colombia make sure to get your ticket printing / luggage covered when you book because you pay $$$ at the airport. Both Medellin and Bogota airports are quite far from the places you want to be so if you don't want to pay for taxis arrive early afternoon.
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Aug 7, 2015 22:47
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The only rail in Colombia that I know of is a freight line that runs from Santa Marta to Cartagena so yeah, fly between the major cities and then collectivos and buses for smaller hops. The bus stations along the coast are way the hell away from the city centers so budget time to get there if you bus.
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Aug 7, 2015 22:58
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Hadlock posted:The bus stations along the coast are way the hell away from the city centers so budget time to get there if you bus. Wait, why are the bus stations not in the city centers? That means you have to take a taxi to and from the bus station to get where you actually want to be in Cartagena and Santa Marta and etc?
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Aug 8, 2015 10:27
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Cartagena has no formal public transportation, so the entire population is competing with industrial and commercial traffic on the same three lane road that winds from the historic port city, through a choke point three blocks wide between the castle and the water, and finally out to the edge of the city where the bus station is. It's nuts. Actually the bus station in Barranquilla is marginally towards the middle of the city, and it adds about two hours to the five hour trip between Cartagena and Santa Marta. As near as I can tell, the Caribbean coast of Colombia is experiencing a massive population boom and the transportation infrastructure is about 15 years behind where it needs to be. The bus station in Santa Marta is on the outskirts of the city as well, but they don't have a maxed out road system for the most part. It only took us about 10 minutes to get from the outskirts to the city center, but it's a tiny city as well.
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Aug 10, 2015 01:12
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Has anyone been to the Ibera Wetlands and more specifically Colonia Carlos Pelligrini? Is it a must to prebook where you stay, or can you just show up and find a place in early November?
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Aug 10, 2015 05:51
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This is a pretty specific question, but how are people buying tickets in advance for travel within Argentina without being hosed by the fake exchange rate? Like I'm trying to buy tickets to Colonia for a daytrip on the ferry, but on Seacat and Buquebus I have to select Argentina as my country (if I select Uruguay, I can only purchase tickets in the other direction) which increases the prices by ~50%. The best I can figure out is to buy two one-ways, one from each country, but this still seems kind of stupid. The tickets are like US$90 round-trip on the government exchange rate and correspondingly like $50 on the real exchange rate. On the other hand, the ferry prices for Colonia Express at dirt cheap (AR$200 round trip) but their website sucks absolute balls and I can't even figure out if they're selling the fast ferry or short ferry tickets. Also bus tickets I'm wondering the same issue: is there any way to buy them in advance online using the correct exchange rate?
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Aug 10, 2015 10:16
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After talking to a couple Argentines, it looks like you have to book pretty much everything in person on the ground to avoid crazy transaction fees. I've booked a week at an apartment in BA now so I guess I'll figure everything out on the ground the first couple days. I'm looking forward to the sanity of Chile and all of the other countries in SA whose names don't rhyme with "Menezuela" or "Fargentina". E: It's so frustrating to find cheap and great plane tickets (BA -> Iguazu -> Cordoba for AR$2600) and not being able to buy them since I can't walk in to some agency and pay cash. Flights seem to be the same price as buses which goes against everything I've read online. Like it's AR$1100 from BA to Iguazu Falls for a bus on Omni Lineas and AR$1500 from Iguazu to Cordoba. Saladman fucked around with this message at 11:19 on Aug 11, 2015 |
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Aug 11, 2015 11:06
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I'm gonna be heading up to San Pedro de Atacama in a couple of weeks and I keep hearing about how great the stargazing is - do I have to take a tour or can I just walk a few minutes outside of town and still be impressed? Also, as far as getting in from Calama, is the best option to take a taxi from the airport to the bus station and then a bus to San Pedro? I'm flying in from Santiago. Cometa Rossa fucked around with this message at 00:42 on Aug 18, 2015 |
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Aug 17, 2015 18:28
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Just how much is it raining in the san jose area of costa rica right now? Specifically west in Jaco?
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Aug 20, 2015 20:32
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FizFashizzle posted:Just how much is it raining in the san jose area of costa rica right now? Specifically west in Jaco? I'll chime in and say I was there about three weeks ago in San Jose and it was decent. La Fortuna was awful. The rainy season combined with El Niño appears to have skipped Panama but not Costa Rica. Question of my own: Is Nicaragua one of those countries where you can find cheap Spanish books for sale? So far I've seen that Costa Rica and Panama don't while Peru does.
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Aug 20, 2015 23:55
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So is El Niño rocking South America entirely? I'm flying into BA next week for a four month trip of South America, and it looks like everywhere we want to go is underwater. The outskirts of BA flooded, the desert highlands of Antofagasta have gotten like 15 years worth of rain in the past 6 months, and it's constantly raining in Machu Picchu despite it being, nominally, still the dry season. Costa Rica looks like it's getting punishing rains now too, although I guess that's normal this time of year there anyway.
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Sep 4, 2015 20:20
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Does anyone have any great ideas for what we should do between Iguazu Falls and getting to Chile (either Santiago or Puerto Montt)? This would be like for the end of September and we have ~2 weeks -- or really as much time as we want -- to get from Iguazu to "there" (wherever that is). Flights look pretty crazy expensive to El Calafate or even Bariloche, so I guess we'll take buses, but there don't seem to be a whole lot of places to stop except maybe Misiones and Cordoba which are only ~1/4th-1/3rd of the way. Any suggestions? Mendoza looks pretty boring this time of year... and we're from like the world's most beautiful vineyards (Lavaux) so we're kind of thinking Mendoza will be underwhelming.
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Sep 9, 2015 21:50
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Saladman posted:So is El Niño rocking South America entirely? I'm flying into BA next week for a four month trip of South America, and it looks like everywhere we want to go is underwater. The outskirts of BA flooded, the desert highlands of Antofagasta have gotten like 15 years worth of rain in the past 6 months, and it's constantly raining in Machu Picchu despite it being, nominally, still the dry season. In central Chile, not really, at least. I think we've still had less than average rainfall during the winter. It is raining the last 2 days, but a few rainy days in september is normal, and it's not a lot. The north is having problems, but ANY rain there causes problems.
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Sep 9, 2015 23:21
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