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Pretty Boy Floyd posted:Just snagged a $381 ticket from Dulles to Santiago for the end of January and returns in April. I don't really intend to return in April, I just needed to be able to book the ticket. If I were to return to the states in June, will COPA be willing to adjust the ticket for a fee?
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Nov 30, 2014 19:08
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Pretty Boy Floyd posted:Just snagged a $381 ticket from Dulles to Santiago for the end of January and returns in April. I don't really intend to return in April, I just needed to be able to book the ticket. If I were to return to the states in June, will COPA be willing to adjust the ticket for a fee? Don't do this if you're not savvy enough to know what you're doing and have a plan. Change fees for established airlines are ridiculous as Juanito mentioned. Also, Copa's customer service is a laughably bad time sink and doesn't offer 24/7 support iirc, so get on the phone ASAP.
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Nov 30, 2014 19:32
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I don't have any idea when I'm leaving, because if I do a wine harvest I'll be there until perhaps June, but if not then I could leave anytime between then and April when my ticket is currently booked. So it's not like being on the phone now is helpful. If the fees are wacky, I'll just no show and buy a one way back, because $380 is definitely beating any on ways down there now. Am I missing something?
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Nov 30, 2014 20:08
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Gaff Tape posted:I just bought flights for a solo trip to Ecuador from 12/24 - 12/31. I have never done the holidays by myself before and wanted to take a week to decompress after a crazy year. Montanita sucks really bad. Go to puerto Lopez for cool day trips into isla plata or into Ayamoe for the chilliest little beach town slash nature reserve. E: unless partying and drinking and seeing trashy people is your thing.
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Dec 1, 2014 16:29
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I've got a nine-day vacation (Saturday through the following Sunday) coming up at the end of January, and unlike the last year's worth of vacations (to Thailand, Prague/Budapest, and a Colorado dude ranch respectively) I don't have any inspirations about where to go. Two of the recommendations I've been given are Costa Rica and Brazil, so I'm in the process of researching those, and I'd be happy to hear some opinions here as well. I travel so I can bring back interesting stories and photos; I like walking around cities taking pictures of things, outdoors activities like rock climbing and kayaking, and eating things new and different. I'm not on an especially tight budget, either. Kind of an open-ended request for information, I know, but like I said, I currently lack inspiration.
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Dec 11, 2014 03:47
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Kylaer posted:I've got a nine-day vacation (Saturday through the following Sunday) coming up at the end of January, and unlike the last year's worth of vacations (to Thailand, Prague/Budapest, and a Colorado dude ranch respectively) I don't have any inspirations about where to go. Two of the recommendations I've been given are Costa Rica and Brazil, so I'm in the process of researching those, and I'd be happy to hear some opinions here as well. I travel so I can bring back interesting stories and photos; I like walking around cities taking pictures of things, outdoors activities like rock climbing and kayaking, and eating things new and different. I'm not on an especially tight budget, either. Nine days in January, look at a split between Rio de Janeiro city and Ilha Grande, three hours away in Rio state. Rio city has the best urban rock climbing in the world. Ilha Grande is paradise on earth. Take a bus from Rio's rodoviária to Mangaratiba or Angra dos Reis, and catch a ferry to Vila do Abraão. Brazil is super expensive these days, so bear that in mind. I'm not a huge fan of Costa Rica (it's okay, like drinking N/A beer is okay when you're thirsty), but it's definitely cheaper than Brazil. Rio is at least as expensive as Paris or even London if you're on USD, especially in January. Don't underbudget for Brazil.
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Dec 11, 2014 04:00
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Thank you, I will look into those places. Never heard of Ilha Grande so that could be interesting. As a note, I speak a small amount of Spanish (and I've been meaning to expand this, so preparing for a trip would be encouragement) but no Portuguese at all. I got by on my other overseas trips without knowing the languages, but I stuck to areas that catered to tourists.
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Dec 11, 2014 11:24
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Kylaer posted:Thank you, I will look into those places. Never heard of Ilha Grande so that could be interesting. As a note, I speak a small amount of Spanish (and I've been meaning to expand this, so preparing for a trip would be encouragement) but no Portuguese at all. I got by on my other overseas trips without knowing the languages, but I stuck to areas that catered to tourists. Brazilian Portuguese is like slushy Spanish. Very recognizable when written, although pronunciation is a LOT tougher. There's surprisingly little English spoken in Brazil, although most foreign tourists don't speak a lick of Portuguese and love it. It sounds like spoken sex. Ilha Grande is an island just west of Rio city. It's covered in thick Atlantic rainforest, and has one of Brazil's best beaches at Lopes-Mendes. It's pretty undeveloped, and gorgeous. It gets a lot of tourists from Rio for the new year, but is otherwise tranquil. Nine days isn't much for a continental-sized country like Brazil. Rio city has enough to keep you busy the entire time, especially if you're into rock climbing. Iguaçu Falls is an incredible sight too.
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Dec 11, 2014 12:07
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So I'm gradually reading through this megathread, but figured I'd ask for some direct input from whoever's still following this thread: My girlfriend and I are planning to spend a little under 4 months starting like Sept 1st through Christmas. We should be in California for Christmas, so even though weather is maybe better in the other direction, we'll be starting south and going north. Anyway, one working itinerary idea was (with bolded things places that are necessary to go to for personal reasons, but timing is flexible except for the endpoint) Flying down to Buenos Aires and then working our way around, probably something like: September, Month 1: Argentina and Chile Buenos Aires (7-10 days) Cordoba (4-5 days; is it worth stopping in Rosario at all since it's on the way and adding a couple days in there, i.e. 7-10 days for this leg? Maybe mid September is not the best time of year for this countryside...) Mendoza (4-5 days) Valparaiso (4-5 days) Santiago (7 days, visiting a friend) Month 2: Peru-wards [Something cool in Chile or Argentina I have not thought of, 7-10 days] Lima (5 days, visiting girlfriend's distant family) Cuzco (7-10 days) -- presumably we should fly here Iquitos (5-6 days) -- worth it? Month 3: Quito (5-6 days) Galapagos (5-6 days) Panama City (7-10 days, visiting a friend) Bocas del Toro (5-6 days, relax) Southern Costa Rica (some eco tourism or something, 7-10 days) Month 4: Yucatan (7 days) Mexico City (7 days, visiting a friend if she is living there at that point; otherwise will skip) San Francisco (5-7 days, my family, Christmas) Boston (4-5 days, visiting friends) Fly back to Europe I'm looking and this itinerary looks a little too packed and also fairly expensive just for getting around, at least from Peru on. Maybe we could cut out Ecuador and the Galapagos and spend more time somewhere in Peru (and maybe somewhere between Lima and Cuzco to avoid taking what I guess is a reasonably expensive flight). To be honest I thought 3 months would be a pretty solid amount of time to go through western and southwestern South America at a relaxing pace, but this looks pretty busy and this doesn't even touch Colombia, Bolivia, or Brazil or the other countries in SA that I didn't really have any interest in after reading travel guides. Mostly we like scenery and daytime life (markets and whatever), trekking, and old ruins. The cities listed on the itinerary are more as of bases of travel for the area, and not to spend all 10 days actually in Cuzco for instance. Iguazu Falls is probably amazing too, but not worth the $500pp and hassle it would cost to get there, get the Paraguayan and Brazilian visas, and see it from all angles. We're in our late 20s but are not particularly interested in nightlife or partying or hanging out with the OP and his topless Swedish girls in the desert hostel smoking weed and drinking mate. (We'll go out and party with friends in Santiago and Panama City, which will be enough.) Our target budget's about $8k/ea including airfare (which looks like it'll be about $2500 for everything on some back-of-the-envelope calculations). I'm looking into specifics for all these general regions now, but if anyone has any large suggestions it'd be very appreciated, like will I regret it for the rest of my life not going to the salt flats and praying for rain?
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Dec 14, 2014 03:23
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Lol @ spending more than 2 days in Lima. Rosario is pretty cool if I could do it over again I'd spend 4 days there. When I was there I crashed a wedding and had a pretty good time. That was just one day. It's a compact but interesting city of 1 million.
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Dec 14, 2014 04:58
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7-10 days in Panama City seems crazy. You know someone there, but it's not an interesting place really. The canal is cool, the city was different for me, but that's cos I'd just biked through the rest of Central America, but way too much time. Mexico City on the other hand should definitely not be skipped. Fantastic place!
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Dec 14, 2014 06:12
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Lima and Panama City are to visit people, and for all of the posts the point is not to spend them in the cities but also in the area around. I spent 7 days in "Panama City" a few years ago with the same person and it was awesome (like 5 days actually in Panama City and 2 at a nearby beach town). Pretty much any place in the world can be fun if you know people there, dude.
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Dec 14, 2014 10:04
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Bocas del toro is not all that great and was super expensive.
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Dec 14, 2014 20:31
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Rolled in to Cartagena and holy crap the old city is crazy expensive! I mean, for Colombia. I has filet mignon for $16 can't complain. Really glad to be headed to Santa Marta though. Got down to Boca Grande (the "hotel peninsula") and was walking along the beach, had not one, not two but three guys hassling us to buy beer coke and hookers from them. I've been all over and that's the pushiest I've seen ever.
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Dec 15, 2014 07:24
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Gaff Tape posted:I just bought flights for a solo trip to Ecuador from 12/24 - 12/31. I have never done the holidays by myself before and wanted to take a week to decompress after a crazy year. This post was a long time ago, but I spent a week in Montanita, and I wished I would've spent it in Puerto Lopez instead. The day or two I spent in Puerto Lopez was miles better than Montanita. If you're interested in getting drunk with white people and buying lovely weed, Montanita's a good place. I found a nice quiet hostel on the north side of town called Mama Cucha. If partying's your thing, Iguana Backpackers (also just north of town) is crowded and full of Europeans to drink with until 5am.
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Dec 21, 2014 00:45
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I'm going to be in Lima from December 22 to January 4, to see family. It's been an eternity since I was there, so I'm at a bit of a loss as to what I could do during that time... and if things are even open/active during the holidays. I know the usual "get out of Lima after a day" stuff, I'm just wondering what are some close-by activities I could look into that would work spontaneously, since I expect the family stuff to be somewhat chaotic. Bonus points if it involves nature and/or wildlife.
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Dec 21, 2014 14:20
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unsanitary posted:This post was a long time ago, but I spent a week in Montanita, and I wished I would've spent it in Puerto Lopez instead. The day or two I spent in Puerto Lopez was miles better than Montanita. I took your and the other poster's advice and decided to go for Ayampe instead. I have a nice room on the beach and the place looks super laid back. Not looking to stay up all night - I can do that anywhere here in NYC. Thanks! Will post a trip report after of course.
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Dec 22, 2014 03:24
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I have two trips coming up and this thread has been very helpful! I'll be in Ecuador in January for a month to learn spanish, and like the poster above me I will be avoiding Montanita and probably going to Puerto Lopez instead. Great and timely advice! More immediately, I am going to the Dominican Republic in a week, flying into Santiago (STI). We arrive at 3:40 AM on the 27th, and I need to arrange a car with a reputable service/driver for the 3 hour car ride to the Samana peninsula. Any experience or advice in doing so? My spanish is poor to nonexistent, which limits what I can arrange by phone.
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Dec 22, 2014 15:24
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Mango Polo posted:I'm going to be in Lima from December 22 to January 4, to see family. It's been an eternity since I was there, so I'm at a bit of a loss as to what I could do during that time... and if things are even open/active during the holidays. How close is close? If you can get to Pisco, there's Huacachina and the Islas Ballestas. The Islas Palominas are much closer to Lima and have sea lions, Peruvian boobies and comorants. The fountains at Parque de la Reserva in Lima are neat just after dusk when they're lit up. Saladman posted:
The Galapagos are amazing, but I think outside of your budget. The flights alone are ~$500. If you're heading out that way, you'd want to spend an 8d/7n cruise there. Here's a site with last-minute prices. Funny Bunny posted:I'm heading to South America for five weeks around Christmas and New Years, flying in to Buenos Aires and back from Santiago de Chile. The plan is to spend four weeks in Argentina and Uruguay and then one more week in Chile. Why only one week in Chile? Argentina is simply the main destination and the main reason I visit Chile is to visit a friend who lives there. The four weeks of traveling in Argentina will be together with a friend. 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.
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Dec 23, 2014 20:50
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Anyone done a road trip in southern Mexico? I'm going to rent a car in Cancun, San Cristobol de las Casas, or Oaxaca City and then drop it off in DF a week later. Is there enough to see with a car in Yucatan that it's worth adding that extra huge length to the trip? Are there any particularly cool spots worth checking out in Chiapas or Oaxaca that would otherwise be a pain in the rear end to get to?
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Dec 24, 2014 01:19
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Smeef posted:Anyone done a road trip in southern Mexico? Yes. You need your own transport for Ruta Puuc, a string of little-visited ruins in the Yucatan peninsula east of Merida - I've done it on motorcycle. Calakmul looks awesome too. You'll likely have some hassles in Chiapas, where kids block roads and shake down motorists - especially foreigners - for 'tolls.' Be prepared for a huge deposit to rent a car. My last one in Cancun was nearly $1000. You'll get it back with safe return of car, but it will be blocked on your credit card for at least a week. You'll also pay a big surcharge for one-way rental from Cancun to DF. Also beware Mexican police, who are known to shake down foreigners in rental cars. Chiapas and especially Oaxaca are full of out-of-the-way spots worth visiting. Remote Chiapas villages can be rather unfriendly to outsiders, but Oaxaca is paradise.
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Dec 24, 2014 02:26
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TheImmigrant posted:Yes. You need your own transport for Ruta Puuc, a string of little-visited ruins in the Yucatan peninsula east of Merida - I've done it on motorcycle. Calakmul looks awesome too. You'll likely have some hassles in Chiapas, where kids block roads and shake down motorists - especially foreigners - for 'tolls.' Will I have to drop a huge deposit if I book through Kayak? How much are the 'tolls'?
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Dec 24, 2014 02:54
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Oaxaca is loving baller, do not miss. My friend's dad lived in Monterrey, his advice was say "iguana?" (aduana is spanish for "customs"), play it cool, and pull out the equivalent of $10 usd. If you know a little spanish ask if you can pay your ticket now since you are from out of country. Typically you just pay the game and life goes on. The bar tender at the watering hole we frequented in Cartagena said that if you get caught with illict substances just pay the iguana of 50,000 COP ($20 usd) so that seems to be about par for the course. I did get patted down FOUR different times walking around Cartagena's old town after midnight on my last night. Luckily I did not have any reason to pay them off. Honestly for the cost/hassle of renting a car you could probably negotiate a fixed daily rate for a taxi for the few places that don't have a tour bus headed that way. I bounced all over Chiapas for about a week no problem on bus/combi/taxi, but I never did get off the gringo trail. If you do get down to Chiapas, yes those ARE howler monkeys, and no that is not a tree falling over.
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Dec 24, 2014 07:48
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Smeef posted:Will I have to drop a huge deposit if I book through Kayak? How much are the 'tolls'? Not sure if Kayak requires such a large deposit. You can usually get through a roadblock (which is rarely more than a bunch of kids stringing a rope or chain across the road) for ten pesos, which is less than a dollar. Cops will hit you for significantly more, especially if you are speeding or drunk or otherwise in an irregular situation. I wouldn't really recommend Cancun-DF in one week, now that I read your initial query again. Cancun to DF is at least 24 hours of driving. Main highways in Mexico are quite good, but there's an enormous amount to see between Quintana Roo and DF, and a week is definitely not enough. A week isn't even enough for discrete areas like the Yucatan, or Chiapas or Oaxaca states. If you are leaving from DF, I think flying into Oaxaca City would be the best bet - it's not even a half-day drive to DF from there, and you can focus on Oaxaca state while ending with a couple of days in DF (which itself merits at least a week, in a perfect world).
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Dec 24, 2014 16:17
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TheImmigrant posted:I wouldn't really recommend Cancun-DF in one week, now that I read your initial query again. Cancun to DF is at least 24 hours of driving. Main highways in Mexico are quite good, but there's an enormous amount to see between Quintana Roo and DF, and a week is definitely not enough. A week isn't even enough for discrete areas like the Yucatan, or Chiapas or Oaxaca states. If you are leaving from DF, I think flying into Oaxaca City would be the best bet - it's not even a half-day drive to DF from there, and you can focus on Oaxaca state while ending with a couple of days in DF (which itself merits at least a week, in a perfect world). I agree, Oaxaca to DF would probably be a good choice. Or if the flight isn't booked flying in and out of Cancun is usually pretty cheap and there's lots to see in the Yucatan. I'm going to be in Cabo for 5 days in January. Already have 2 days of Scuba and a day of snorkeling with whale sharks booked. I figure we will do a day and maybe some drinking in San Jose del Cabo too. Any can't miss things to see or recommendations for bars and restaurants?
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Dec 24, 2014 16:55
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I didn't plan on spending any time in Cancun or Yucatan unless there are some ruins that can't be missed. We're flying into Cancun then flying round trip to Havana. To save time, I was thinking of then flying from Cancun to Oaxaca City or San Cristobol de las Casa, then going overland up to DF. We're somewhat flexible on how much time we have. I posted earlier asking how much time we should spend in Cuba. Now I'm thinking just 3-4 days. Clearer tentative itinerary: Jan 10 – arrive to Cancun Jan 11 – fly to Havana Jan 12 – Havana Jan 13 – Havana Jan 14 – fly to Cancun, then to Oaxaca (could fly via DF instead of Cancun if there are no same-day connections) Jan 15-19 – explore Oaxaca. I was recommended San Jose del Pacifico and Mazunte by a friend. Otherwise I don't know much about Oaxaca. Everyone just says it's great. Is it picturesque? A big party? Are there lots of funky, cool towns? Jan 20-24 – DF Jan 24 – fly out of DF I do want to see some Mayan ruins, however, and it seems that skipping Chiapas and Yucatan means missing ruins. Would it be possible to do an evening tour of ruins near Cancun on our first day? We arrive in the early afternoon.
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Dec 24, 2014 16:59
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I think the good ruins are a bit far away from Cancun to try to see the day you fly in. What are you looking to see/do overall in Mexico? Personally I liked the Yucatan, but I know it isn't for everyone.
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Dec 24, 2014 17:13
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If you're looking to relax on a quiet beach there's a smaller touristy town called Akumal just south of Playa del Carmen. Super chill.
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Dec 24, 2014 17:45
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Smeef posted:I didn't plan on spending any time in Cancun or Yucatan unless there are some ruins that can't be missed. We're flying into Cancun then flying round trip to Havana. To save time, I was thinking of then flying from Cancun to Oaxaca City or San Cristobol de las Casa, then going overland up to DF. Yucatan Peninsula (referring to the entire peninsula - there is also Yucatan state, along with Quintana Roo and Campeche states on the peninsula) is a traveler's paradise. It has the highest concentration of Maya ruins anywhere. My favorites on the peninsula are Coba (about two hours south of Cancun, near Tulum) and Uxmal. Ruta Puuc has several sites, and is best accessible by private vehicle, as public transport is spotty out there. Calakmul is supposed to be spectacular (I haven't been yet), but also requires your own transport. Chichen Itza is the most visited of all the Maya sites, too much so, in my opinion. Tulum is a minor site in a spectacular setting, on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean. Tulum is also a very popular beach destination, where with a bit of luck you can still rent a relatively cheap beach hut. Palenque is by far the most extensive site, in the northern part of Chiapas. Flights from Cancun to Oaxaca City or Chiapas (San Cristobal doesn't have an airport - you'll need to fly into Tuxtla Gutierrez) will be routed through DF, and expensive. quote:We're somewhat flexible on how much time we have. I posted earlier asking how much time we should spend in Cuba. Now I'm thinking just 3-4 days. No offense, but you're being too ambitious here. Even assuming two weeks, I wouldn't include more than two regions. Flight days eat up at least half the day between check-in, flying time, and airport transfer. Cuba merits at least a week, and certainly its own trip. You can fly to Havana from Mexico City, Merida (GREAT city in Yucatan state, well worth visiting), or Cancun (Cubana out of Cancun is the cheapest option). Oaxaca is a big and diverse state. Inland, at places like Oaxaca City and San Jose del Pacifico, there's a lot of indigenous culture. The coast is more of a party scene, with a lot of surfers. Puerto Escondido is the biggest town down there, and home of the Mexican Pipeline. It has a lively backpacker scene, about half hipsters from Mexico City, half foreign backpackers (many of them surfers, lots of Spaniards, Argentines, Israelis, and French Canadians). Mazunte, Zipolite, and Puerto Angel are nearby smaller beach towns. All have a heavy hippie vibe to them; Zipolite is famously nudist. Transportation between Oaxaca City (the interior) and the coast is long and arduous via tortuous mountain roads, if you don't take one of the flights between Oaxaca City and Puerto Escondido. Further down the coast, Huatulco is a planned resort area, meant to be more environmentally friendly than Cancun. It never really took off, and is kind of soulless. quote:I do want to see some Mayan ruins, however, and it seems that skipping Chiapas and Yucatan means missing ruins. Would it be possible to do an evening tour of ruins near Cancun on our first day? We arrive in the early afternoon. Nope. The nearest site to Cancun is Coba, which is more of a DIY kind of site. Chichen Itza has scads of trips out of Cancun, but it's three hours each way, and trip leave in the morning. You really need to whittle down your itinerary. Cuba plus Yucatan would be more than enough to fill out two weeks (you could reasonably see Palenque on this itinerary too, as there are lots of overnight buses from Merida, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum), or else Oaxaca or Chiapas plus DF area would be comfortable itineraries for that amount of time too. There's an outstanding site near DF at Teotihuacan, which is Aztec, not Maya. Oaxaca state has a few sites too, the best of which is Monte Alban. Chiapas has what is easily the best Maya site at Palenque, as well as minor ones such as Tonina. Be aware that Chiapas does not have any great beaches worth mentioning, whereas Oaxaca, Yucatan, and Cuba all do. davey4283 posted:If you're looking to relax on a quiet beach there's a smaller touristy town called Akumal just south of Playa del Carmen. Akumal is super unfriendly to Mexicans too. It's expensive, isolated, and doesn't offer much but a vanilla experience to North American families who want to hang out with other North Americans. TheImmigrant fucked around with this message at 21:28 on Dec 24, 2014 |
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Dec 24, 2014 21:17
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TheImmigrant posted:lots of great stuff Thanks. This gives me a better idea of what I'm trying to bite off here, and also reminds me that I don't want to spend the majority of my trip in transit. If we were to basically split the trip into Havana and DF, is there any way to throw in a ruins trip that isn't a total tourist trap? We're not really into beaches or the backpacker circuit. We're both like big, dirty cities, so throwing in Oaxaca or Chiapas or whatever was more due to so many people telling me that we had to go there. So maybe a new and much simpler itinerary: Jan 10th – fly into Cancun Jan 11th – fly to Havana Jan 17th – fly to DF (or Cancun -> DF if it's cheaper) Jan 24th – fly out of DF I could even get away with sacrificing seeing ruins if I can put together literary tours of Havana and DF. My partner is obsessed with literary history, and my suspicion is that the two cities have tons of old writers' houses and haunts.
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Dec 24, 2014 22:01
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Smeef posted:Thanks. This gives me a better idea of what I'm trying to bite off here, and also reminds me that I don't want to spend the majority of my trip in transit. DF plus Havana would be outstanding. There are no ruins in Cuba (unless you consider La Habana Vieja to be ruins, which isn't a stretch), but Mexico is rich with them. Teotihuacan is the nearest site to DF, but gets very busy. If you were limiting things to DF and Havana so far, I'd suggest flying to Villahermosa, which is the closest major airport to Palenque (two hours by bus), for a couple of days. I'm sure you could find a Palenque package in DF. Doing it yourself, Interjet will fly roundtrip DF-Villahermosa for around $200 USD. Palenque is also fairly touristy, but the site is large and isolated enough that the other tourists don't ruin the experience. The town of Palenque is about 10 km from the ruins, and not particularly attractive. There is a site in the forest adjacent to the ruins known as El Panchan, where a lot of budget travelers stay. I'm not crazy about the El Panchan, which is lousy with dirty bonghead hippies in dreadlocks and clown pants, getting hosed out of their minds on mushrooms. Still, it has a lot of services for Chiapas, which has waterfalls, Sumidero Canyon, and Lacandon villages. As for big, dirty cities, DF and Havana fit the bill. DF is one of the most underrated cities in the world. The air is awful (2200 meters in a natural bowl, bad pollution), but it's the kind of place that's instantly likable. DF one of the best cities in the world for eating, and extremely cosmopolitan and culturally rich. Havana is one of the most atmospheric places I've ever visited. This more than makes up for what Havana lacks: namely, food, value, commerce. Food in Cuba is some of the worst I've experienced, and I've been traveling around the world regularly for 18 years now. It's relatively expensive (more so than Mexico for what's available, which isn't very much), but really sleepy in terms of commerce. I'm sure that's slowly changing, but it doesn't feel like a metro area of several million. quote:So maybe a new and much simpler itinerary: They do, both of them. Havana has a well-trod Hemingway trail, as well as a rich domestic literary history. I recommend José Lezama Lima to get a feel for Havana. Mexico City has just as much literary history, if not more, than Havana does. The first section of Roberto Bolaño's "Los Detectives Salvajes" evokes the city well - it's the kind of place where writers refer to individual streets, as with Paris. DF has been the home-in-exile to famous authors from all over Latin America. Many of them were fleeing right-wing regimes in South America, as Mexico and especially the capital have long been refuges for artists from South and Central America. Mario Vargas Llosa once broke Gabriel García Márquez's nose at a movie theater here, while the latter was in exile. In Coyoacan (southern suburb which is one of the highlights to Mexico City), you can visit Trotsky's last home, where Ramón Mercader ice-picked him, and Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera often visited him. TheImmigrant fucked around with this message at 23:01 on Dec 24, 2014 |
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Dec 24, 2014 22:51
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TheImmigrant posted:DF + Havana Awesome. DF and Havana it is. Can't thank you enough. I'm sure I'll have more specific questions for the thread once I plan this out more.
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Dec 24, 2014 23:11
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Havana's great, but keep in mind there's virtually no nightlife like south and latin america. Everything is shut down by midnight.
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Dec 25, 2014 18:29
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This is a great place to stay in DF: http://www.casadelosamigos.org/en/ (if you're doing the hostel thing, that is). I wonder how long it would take to get bored of that city? I didn't realize that there were any cities that you'd need more than a week to see just the major sites. That is, I didn't realize that til day 5 of my week there, when I hadn't seen even half of them.
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Dec 25, 2014 18:42
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Look for accommodations in Condesa or Roma in DF. Both are central, with lots of bars and restaurants. Condesa especially has great Art Deco architecture. In Havana, casas particulares (private homes) are the way to go. I usually stay here, on Paseo Martí in the middle of Habana Vieja, but it looks like they are booked far out. There are lots of other casas around, of varying quality, but almost always better value and quality than hotels.
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Dec 25, 2014 18:56
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If you do manage to see any ruins in Mexico I would say go to Palenque and also from there do a day trip to Yaxchilan. I spent two weeks in the Yucatan and Chiapas and it was the highlight. Uxmal was nice, but not as cool as the others. I wasn't a fan of the Tulum ruins, especially after Palenque/Yaxchilan. Would have liked to have seen more of San Cristobal but I got hospitalised for some gastrointestinal problems.
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Dec 26, 2014 15:03
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Lady Gaza posted:If you do manage to see any ruins in Mexico I would say go to Palenque and also from there do a day trip to Yaxchilan. I spent two weeks in the Yucatan and Chiapas and it was the highlight. Uxmal was nice, but not as cool as the others. I wasn't a fan of the Tulum ruins, especially after Palenque/Yaxchilan. Emphatic yes to Yaxchilan and Bonampak. There are a lot of outfits in Palenque and San Cristobal that organize trips to both sites, often tied in with onward travel to Flores (city nearest Tikal, in Guatemala). Yaxchilan and Bonampak are way out in the Chiapas jungle, near the Guatemala border. (Fun fact - Chiapas was once part of Guatemala, and culturally still has more in common with Guatemala than the Mexican heartland). Tikal is far and away the most impressive Maya site anywhere, but probably too remote for a two-week DF-Havana itinerary. It's a tough day of travel from Chiapas to Flores, at least a full day at Tikal (preferably two), and another full day back to Palenque or San Cristobal. Flying to Flores from Mexico is prohibitively expensive, unless there are currently special deals from Cancun.
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Dec 26, 2014 15:32
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Yaxchilan took like a whole freakin' day to get to, but the whole "going down the river by boat to the ruins" and then wandering around ruins built deep in to the hillside full of giant spiders and bats had a very Indiana Jones feel to it, highly reccomended 
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Dec 27, 2014 03:27
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Well, we might be scrapping Cuba and just going off to one of these remote ruins anyway. A lot of the flight dates we wanted for Havana are already booked, and prices around the same time have skyrocketed, making it neither cheap nor (more importantly) convenient for us to get there. THANKS OBAMA 
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Dec 27, 2014 03:33
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Anyone had any experience with Interjet? I tried to book a flight with one card, and their payment system said the number was too long (it wasn't). I booked with another card, and it declined the payment twice. I looked online, and apparently they have a history of charging people multiple times and then refusing to refund them. I tried calling them to no avail.
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Dec 27, 2014 17:53
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