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Not once have I ever been asked for proof of forward travel, but as a disclaimer I look like Generic White Guy Tourist #7983 with a valid US Passport
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May 3, 2023 22:26
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Yeah, we went Panama - Peru - Bolivia - Argentina - Uruguay - Argentina - Paraguay - Brazil - Ecuador - Panama - USA - Australia, and I don’t think we were ever asked for proof of onward travel. But again, we’re a middle-aged white couple with Australian passports, so we aren’t exactly an overstay risk for those places.
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May 3, 2023 23:35
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Thanks, that's helpful to know. I might just book the final December flights home to the UK from our final destination (probably Brazil) in advance, so that if asked we have something to show we'll be moving on eventually.
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May 3, 2023 23:56
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I'm currently on a S American tour. I'm from the USA. Went to Colombia, Brazil, and Argentina so far. Going to both Colombia and Brazil they asked for proof of onward travel at the airport. Colombia they actually looked up the flight ticket I gave them or typed it up on their computer at least . It seems less likely down here but I did have it cause me problems once in another part of the world so if the country has it on their list of requirements I usually use this site https://dummy-tickets.com/ It costs 5 dollars and they generate a real ticket with a real verifiable ticket number thats good for 3-4 days I think. Maybe unnecessary in latin America but worth the 5 dollar insurance for me.
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May 4, 2023 15:24
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Boola posted:I'm currently on a S American tour. I'm from the USA. Went to Colombia, Brazil, and Argentina so far. Going to both Colombia and Brazil they asked for proof of onward travel at the airport. Colombia they actually looked up the flight ticket I gave them or typed it up on their computer at least . That's neat, I've spent way too much time making fake plane tickets and hotel bookings for bullshit like that / for visa applications. At least I got good at using Acrobat Pro.
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May 5, 2023 10:37
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Saladman posted:That's neat, I've spent way too much time making fake plane tickets and hotel bookings for bullshit like that / for visa applications. At least I got good at using Acrobat Pro. I usually just open an old reservation in the Gmail web interface then edit the HTML as needed and print that out. My wife is Colombian and we've been going back and forth to Bogota for over a decade now. We almost always fly around on one-ways (because we suck at sticking to plans), and the first few years no one ever asked me for proof of onward journey... but the last couple years they started getting serious about getting my return flight info. The first time they wouldnt let me check in without proof I bought a Spirit flight from Bogota to LAX while at the ticket counter, then immediately cancelled it for a full refund as soon as I was checked in.
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Jun 21, 2023 18:46
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My wife and I are headed back to SA for a few months. We'll be flying to Lima next week and then up to Colombia late-July(ish). We both speak Spanish fluently; my wife is Colombian and we previously lived in Bogota for 5 years before coming back to live in the US. She has plans with a friend at the end of July in Colombia... but I'm gonna skip that part and let them have some girl-time. So, I have a week at the end of July by myself with no plans or constraints. I'll be in Lima at that point, but can fly just about anywhere within reason... though I'll need to get back to Medellin early August. Everyone's first response seems to be Maccu Picchu. That sounds like a good idea, but I generally hate the crowds of the most well-known tourist traps. I'm a big fan of ruins though... but having been to quite a few of the big ones, I consistently find the smaller less-known ones to be a better experience. There are tons of other ruins out there, so I kinda get the feeling ill be tired of ruins by the time I get to this week of the trip anyway. So, thoughts? What are some cool options to go do for a week? Hibajubwa fucked around with this message at 23:34 on Jun 21, 2023 |
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Jun 21, 2023 19:24
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Hibajubwa posted:My wife and I are headed back to SA for a few months. We'll be flying to Lima next week and then up to Colombia late-July(ish). Not sure if this is your jam, but Northern Peru has some less famous but interesting ruins that don't get many visitors. I thought Kuelap was cool, near Chachapoyas. It's a distinct, pre-incan culture. There's also some sites as you go south of there down the coast, near Chiclayo. There's also good hiking and mountain beauty not too far north of Lima in Huaraz area. Maybe salt flats in Bolivia? Thesaurus fucked around with this message at 05:44 on Jun 23, 2023 |
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Jun 23, 2023 05:41
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Has anyone been hiking out of the Huaraz area in Peru? How was your experience?
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Jun 30, 2023 00:40
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:Has anyone been hiking out of the Huaraz area in Peru? How was your experience? Went there last October, what exactly would you want to know ?
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Jun 30, 2023 16:47
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Chikimiki posted:Went there last October, what exactly would you want to know ? How was the weather/hiking conditions? I understand October is something of a shoulder season, between the dry and wet seasons. What hike did you do? I'm thinking about the four day Santa Cruz hike. How was the scenery? What operator/guide service did you go with and would you recommend them?
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Jun 30, 2023 17:11
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:How was the weather/hiking conditions? I understand October is something of a shoulder season, between the dry and wet seasons. Weather-wise it was very nice, though it was supposed to be the start of the rainy season we had exceptionally dry weather for end of October. This also meant there were less people on the trek and a few agencies already had closed down. YMMV. We did a few acclimatization day hikes (very important!) before doing the Santa Cruz trek: Laguna Wilcacocha, Laguna Churup and Pastoruri Glacier (little hiking but nice scenery and a good altitude training). Santa Cruz has really amazing scenery, totally worth it. Although you can do the trek by yourself if you are experienced enough, by bringing your own equipment or renting stuff in town (Montañas Magicas is a good adress), we went with the guided tour from our hostel. Can't remember the name unfortunately, but it wasn't one of the big names in the guidebooks. For the price we paid it was really worth it, you have a guide, donkeys to transport your stuff and tent, and a cook that prepares plenty to eat every day. I'm guessing that if you go for the more reputable tours you get better equipment, English speaking guides, smaller groups, etc. but for us the basic package was fine. Not the easiest trek we did but really doable if you're reasonably in shape and acclimatized.
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Jul 1, 2023 17:44
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Chikimiki posted:Weather-wise it was very nice, though it was supposed to be the start of the rainy season we had exceptionally dry weather for end of October. This also meant there were less people on the trek and a few agencies already had closed down. YMMV. Awesome. So you booked the trek once you got there? In my experience in Latin America, that’s usually the way to go if you don’t want to be massively overcharged. Of course, this time I’ll be on a shorter schedule than I was as a backpacker in years past, so hopefully it’s easy to just walk in and book something for after you do the accilimitization hikes.
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Jul 1, 2023 17:59
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:Awesome. So you booked the trek once you got there? In my experience in Latin America, that’s usually the way to go if you don’t want to be massively overcharged. Of course, this time I’ll be on a shorter schedule than I was as a backpacker in years past, so hopefully it’s easy to just walk in and book something for after you do the accilimitization hikes. Yeah we booked it once we were there, after having done the acclimatization. We checked out a few agencies that were recommended by our guidebook, and while they seemed very good they were about 4 times more expensive.
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Jul 2, 2023 16:43
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We’ve made our way up to Huanchaco and are now surfing the days away. Its a nice little town and the wave at the pier is great for our nonexistent skill level. We stopped in Huaraz for about a week. Hiked up the Churup trail. It was rough… lol. That was my first time hiking above 14k ft, and man can you feel it. Then we got got by something we ate and spent 2 days sick in our apartment. We’re probably gonna spend another week or so here surfing and chilling. Then my wife flys up to Cartagena for her girl’s trip and I’m left to my own devices… I’m thinking about flying over to Iquitos and taking the slow boat down the Amazon to Leticia. From there I can catch a flight up to Medellín and meet back up with the wife. 3 days on a terrible ferry in the jungle is somehow appealing to me.
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Jul 10, 2023 14:29
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Hibajubwa posted:
I have a friend who did this and took it all the way to brazilian coast. It wasn't a good time lol
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Jul 12, 2023 19:46
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Hibajubwa posted:We’ve made our way up to Huanchaco and are now surfing the days away. Its a nice little town and the wave at the pier is great for our nonexistent skill level. I did that last year from Leticia to Iquitos. It was an interesting experience, I would do it again in a heartbeat but it's definitely not for everybody. You get to see the local life along the Amazon river, beautiful sunsets, lots of jungle... But on the other hand you spend several nights in a hammock, close to dozens of other people, the food is terrible (though there are snack vendors) and don't get me started on the bathrooms lol If you have any questions about it shoot!
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Jul 13, 2023 10:33
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:I have a friend who did this and took it all the way to brazilian coast. It wasn't a good time lol Chikimiki posted:I did that last year from Leticia to Iquitos. It was an interesting experience, I would do it again in a heartbeat but it's definitely not for everybody. Haha, the bathrooms! I’m just assuming that I’m gonna smell incredibly ripe when I get off the boat, because showering seems non-viable based on the videos I’ve watched. My wife is currently vacillating between being horrified at the idea, and deeply amused by it. She’s pretty happy to not have to go either way, so it works out. We’ve spent time in Leticia and Puerto Nariño previously, so its not a total unknown to me/us… the last trip was a mosquito laden sweaty adventure that my wife hasn’t been particularly eager to repeat. That last trip ended with us being the worst smelling I think we’ve ever been. We landed in Bogotá where my MIL and a cousin picked us up for a 2-hour car ride out to a family trip at a ranch-house outside the city. That was my first real introduction to my wife’s mom… lol. Anyway, I fly to Iquitos on Tuesday the 25th and then I get to figure it out from there. I fly out of Leticia on the 31st which should give me plenty of time to do the boat trip and then take a decent shower in Leticia. One current question is: should I take my laptop? Or should I send it with my wife? I need it for work, and I’d like to have it for those non-boat days in between. I won’t see my wife again until the 2nd, so there are 3-4 days of work I could do while in Leticia/Medellín. My wife thinks its gonna get stolen on the boat, or that the risk of such isn’t worth those work days. Thoughts?
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Jul 22, 2023 22:06
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Hibajubwa posted:
I wouldn't risk it, many locals warned us of pickpockets on the boat - it is quite an opportunistic environment, what with having roughly 100-200 people in an open room full of hammocks, lots of stops along the route and no way to secure valuables. Also, very few tourists so you tend to stick out. We basically slept above our backpacks, which we put locks on (despite there not being anything of value), and with our passports and phones in a neck wallet that we were wearing. Not the most comfortable, maybe overkill, but it gave us some peace of mind.
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Jul 24, 2023 10:45
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I ended up taking the 1-night ferry instead of the slow boat. I went to the slow boat port in Iquitos and checked everything out, then did the same at the ferry port… and maybe I’m just an old spoiled gringo now, but after I saw both the decision was immediately clear. The ferry ride was pretty great overall. Pretty comfortable with a nice deck out back to hang out and watch the forest pass by. Sunset and sunrise were amazingly beautiful and the night sky was completely clear so the stars and milky way were incredible. The ferry company has some really lame rules that they adhere to strictly. Laughably so sometimes. I arrived to the port at 1:58pm and they told me the gate opens at 2pm. They made me stand outside the gate for those 2 minutes, which I found hilarious. Then at night on the boat they don’t allow you to be outside on the deck after 8pm for “security”. But the bathrooms were outside, and the stars were amazing, so I just happened to have to pee a lot all night. I felt bad for the guy that constantly had to yell at me to go inside… but that rule sucks, leave me alone. Totally not his fault so I was always as nice to him as possible. Apparently the other boat from the same company didn’t have that rule (and sold beer?). A Spanish girl on board was showing us pics of her boyfriend’s trip a week previous on the other boat wherein they were on the deck all night having a great time. Maybe its just luck of the draw with the captain or security officer or something, who knows. I would definitely do it again though. Such a beautiful trip. Exiting Peru was a nightmare. Their whole immigration system was down, so we ended up having to get a stamp from the police, which required them to send our info back to Iquitos (via Whatsapp, lol) to check our status. Once cleared they stamped our form which we took back to the immigration guy who was taking photos of each passport to do the process later, then just stamping our passport and letting us go. I was the third person to reach the office from the boat and the process took over 2 hours. Did I mention its loving hot and humid in Santa Rosa? Lol. The Peruvians were very unhappy about this, to the point of getting in actual fights with each other in the little immigration office. Not with the immigration officers, but with each other. Good times. Now I’m finally in Colombia. I love Colombia, especially after 5 weeks in Peru. But I’m very biased, my wife is from Bogotá and I lived here for 5 years previously… so it feels a bit like home. A couple more days doing random jungle stuff, then I’m off to meet the wife and friends in Medellin. I can’t wait to eat bandeja paisas every day there.
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Jul 29, 2023 21:24
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Badass. How were the mosquitos?
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Jul 31, 2023 20:43
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Thesaurus posted:Badass. How were the mosquitos? Nearly non-existent. It was a bit crazy. I didn't have any bites until the last day down there. Last time I went a few years back there were black buzzing clouds of those bastards. We bathed ourselves in repellent and still got hammered on all day everyday. It also didn't rain a single time on me during my whole week in the Jungle. From Iquitos to Leticia, not a drop.
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Aug 4, 2023 18:39
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Hibajubwa posted:Nearly non-existent. It was a bit crazy. I didn't have any bites until the last day down there. Yeah same here last September, apparently it was the end of the dry season locally. I guess it really depends on when you go there.
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Aug 4, 2023 20:21
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 This time I'll ask before buying them though, because that did give me some cocnerns last time. How's the situation on the ground nowadays, in terms of covid (I guess nobody gives a poo poo) and crime specifically? I'm the type of moron that would walk around downtown Johannesburg alone (before the recent deterioration, at least) but still, murder rates that are literally 50-100 times higher than here give me pause even though obviously they don't just shoot up tourists. The general idea is still the same, fly to Roatan, take the ferry after a few days of diving, catch a bus to Guatemala. Then use local tranport to go to e.g. Tikal, Atitlán, Agua volcano, etc. Generally DIY and not organized tours. Going to eat in normal non-touristy places. Not planning on renting a car. Am I likely to be eaten by grue? Edit: Well never mind! I just went to check the weather and news before finally booking the flights and there are massive protests in Guatemala including blocking all major roads. It will probably calm down but I don't think I want to shell out for the tickets nad then pray I can actually make it to/from the airport. Fuuuck. Booked a trip to Costa Rica instead... for the entire of December. That's more than I want to spend PTO so I'll probably "work" for a week or so hopefully somewher by the beach. I'm guessing 3 weeks will be still too much in CR so I might catch a flight somewhere nearby like Colombia or Equador to check out for a bit. Boola posted:I'm currently on a S American tour. I'm from the USA. Went to Colombia, Brazil, and Argentina so far. Going to both Colombia and Brazil they asked for proof of onward travel at the airport. Colombia they actually looked up the flight ticket I gave them or typed it up on their computer at least .  well replying to this so I can find it later because my usually photoshop forgery is sure as hell not verifyiable.Airlines must love these guys. mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 00:00 on Oct 10, 2023 |
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Sep 24, 2023 19:34
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I posted a couple of pages ago asking for advice, so just thought I'd give an update. We set off on our trip a lot later than planned due to a death in the family, and ended up going to Mexico first of all, from mid August. We were there quite a while and had a really good time. We went to Guadalajara, Sayulita (as we know someone who lives there), Oaxaca (which was probably the highlight, Monte Alban is really cool), Mérida and Valladolid. Mexican people were super friendly and seemed really happy that we were there, and the food was fantastic (if a bit repetitive, hope you like tacos). After Mexico we went to Bogotá, Medellín and Cartagena in Colombia. We enjoyed it but much preferred Mexico. Highlights included drunken tejo in Bogota and the district 13 tour in Medellin. We're in Peru now, and heading to Chile on the 25th. We absolutely love Peru. We ate loads of good food in Lima, Huacachina and Paracas were fun day trips, we flew over the Nazca lines which was really cool. We spent a bit of time in Arequipa which we really enjoyed. We made lots of temporary Peruvian friends there getting hammered at a craft beer festival, and did a trek in Colca Canyon which was cool - the climb out was really tough but we managed, and it was well worth it. We're in Cusco now, and finished the 4 day Inca Trail trek yesterday. We were really lucky with the weather, and the trek was brilliant. Machu Picchu was cool but as someone said, some of the other ruins were well worth seeing too. The 'optional' one by the last campsite in particular was really cool. We got to Machu Picchu really early so got to enjoy it for a bit without massive crowds, and did Wayna Pichu as well. The rest of our group who didn't said that while we were doing that Machu Picchu itself filled up with people so much that they couldn't even find places to stop so the guide could talk, so it seems like Wayna Pichu is definitely the way to go. The only real issue we've had with the altitude is getting the runs... great fun when you only have squat toilets for most of the Inca Trail. We're heading to Puno tomorrow night and have a homestay planned there on the lake. Other than that the only things we have definitely planned are our flight to Chile on the 25th, the W trek in patagonia - we're doing it self guided towards the end of November but have all the accommodation etc. arranged - and the perito moreno glacier trek. We do intend to visit Mendoza, iguazu falls and fly home from Rio just before Christmas but haven't firmed any of that up yet. There was lots of discussion about proof of onward travel - we had to show something before being allowed to board our flights from Mexico to Colombia and from Colombia to Peru... Immigration at the destination countries didn't give a poo poo though. We'll use the dummy tickets site someone linked (thank you!) before we fly to Chile just in case, as we'll probably be dipping in and out of Argentina by bus as we make our way south. Overall so far we've had a great time!
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Oct 19, 2023 23:02
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The Aguamoose posted:We set off on our trip a lot later than planned due to a death in the family, and ended up going to Mexico first of all, from mid August. We were there quite a while and had a really good time. We went to Guadalajara, Sayulita (as we know someone who lives there), Oaxaca (which was probably the highlight, Monte Alban is really cool), Mérida and Valladolid. Mexican people were super friendly and seemed really happy that we were there, and the food was fantastic (if a bit repetitive, hope you like tacos). How do you get around, in Mexico and other places? Rent a car, public transport or hired local guides with transport? I'm now trying to plan something outside of Costa Rica. I was considering Colombia but a bit discouraged by your reports, plus return tickets in December are like $250 - not horrible, certainly, but kind of silly when I'm flying to CR from Europe for less than $500 in the first place. So yeah cheaper but then I'd have to be during a pretty fixed time window and take up the time from something else. Still, as I'm completely inexperienced with the region, what would make sense around there for a week-10 days or so?
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Oct 22, 2023 22:39
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The Aguamoose posted:
Sounds like a great trip, making me nostalgic for my travels. Perito merino is great, I don’t know if you’ve booked the ‘short’ or ‘long’ trek on the glacier but the short was great, it felt like sufficient time on the glacier.
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Oct 23, 2023 08:40
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mobby_6kl posted:I loving love tacos! And I rarely eat Mexican food since it isn't as abundant here. All of these are possible; in touristic areas it is easy to rent a car, lots of local guides will offer to include transportation, and buses are cheap and go everywhere. quote:I'm now trying to plan something outside of Costa Rica. I was considering Colombia but a bit discouraged by your reports, plus return tickets in December are like $250 - not horrible, certainly, but kind of silly when I'm flying to CR from Europe for less than $500 in the first place. So yeah cheaper but then I'd have to be during a pretty fixed time window and take up the time from something else. I'd stay in the general area around CR. Guatemala and Nicaragua I've heard good things about, though as usual, take care to follow the news a bit. Guatemala also has lots of Maya ruins if you're into that. No idea about Panama, there are supposedly some nice areas but it seems a bit underwhelming compared to the other neighbouring countries. While I love Colombia, I'm not sure a 10 day stint from CR is worth it: the country is huge and transports are very long. Unless there is one specific area you'd want to stay in for a week (for example the Caribean coast or the Coffee region) I feel your time is better spent in Central America.
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Oct 23, 2023 10:49
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I don't think I'm in much of a position to give advice as I'm only a short way into my trip, but don't be put off Colombia just because we liked Mexico more. If anything I wish we had had more time there so as to be able to explore a bit and not just visit the 3 cities (aside from a couple of day trips). But because we had the Inca Trail booked in advance we had a bit of a time limit. To go into a bit more detail about Colombia, we found that in general Colombians seemed a bit less keen on us being there than Mexicans and Peruvians, but when Colombians were fun and welcoming they were REALLY fun and welcoming. My wife and I are both very food motivated and Colombian food didn't really float our boats. It was all really good quality but quite plain. We're spice fiends so that was a big reason we preferred Mexico. In Mexico to get around we took a couple of flights, a couple of coaches and locally just used buses and colectivos. They were cheap and often quite fun. I wasn't tempted to rent a car. The public transport was good enough that it didn't seem necessary and though I'm sure it's fine in touristy areas I would have been a bit nervous about getting shaken down by cops for doing something wrong (I had just read a travel book called On the plain of snakes by Paul Theroux and that happened to him a couple of times). I think my wife booked the short perito moreno trek, so I'm glad to hear it's sufficient length!
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Oct 24, 2023 01:58
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Columbia is great and we go back there every couple of years. My best friend lives there with his Colombian wife and now their kid too. He seems to bounce between Cartagena Medellin and Bogota equally. Might be going down to Cartagena for Christmas to hang with him and meet his kid. I was in Medellin in uh summer '22 for a week it's a very developed county in the big cities and tapers off once you get about an hour outside of the city Mexico is awesome too.. If the locals tell you to not go somewhere, just avoid that area. We had an airbnb in cdmx (before airbnb got awful) and the host was like, when you leave, turn left and go to the main Street, don't go right and ESPECIALLY don't go down this alley *points*. Ok. So we didn't and everything was fine
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Oct 24, 2023 07:54
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I've been all over Panama since one of my best friends lives there; been out there four times for 10-15 days each time... which is well more than enough time to thoroughly cover Panama, although I spent probably half of that time in Panama City itself. I still haven't been to the Pearl Islands -- the ones just south of Panama City in the Pacific -- but I've been everywhere else in a normal Panama travel itinerary. It's really quite nice and it has AMAZINGLY changed in the past 15 years, but consequently, it is pretty expensive and the scenery not quite as extraordinary as in nearby countries, except for the very expensive to reach archipelagos on the Caribbean side. The rainforest and mountains are meh in comparison to CR. Sailing in San Blas is incredible and nowhere else offers that experience, but it's going to be like... $350/day/person (min 3 day) and would require somehow finding another boat to join, which is not typically arranged by the charter companies (though may be possible; we went as 4 and chartered the whole boat). Boquete and Volcan Baru are also nice but there are imo better-to-visit coffee plantations elsewhere (eg. Medellin) and neater volcanos (Masaya in particular, although it's not a high volcano). Bocas del Toro is really nice too, although you can have a somewhat similar experience in Lake Nicaragua out of Granada. Bastimentos Island nearby is extremely nice but would be somewhat boring as a solo traveller, at least for me. Panama City is a lot of fun and the downtown area is SUPER nice -- in 2008 when I first went, all the buildings still had bullet holes and were collapsing, now it's all like... frozen yogurt places and boutique hotels and swanky rooftop non-chain restaurants. The airport there is huge so if you do transfer through Panama City, it's absolutely worth spending 2-3 nights actually in the city. But yeah I would say Panama is pretty meh for backpackers, especially backpacker+solo travel, with only Boquete and Panama City and *maybe* Bocas being good for backpackers. It has a few more cool options for higher-priced travel and a lot of nice places for couples travel, but it's not a top pick for either nature or history -- although CR is even more boring for history, having literally nothing of historical interest. ("Hey check out our National Theater, pride of San Jose, which looks like a random average building in Europe." -- ok, it may be quite interesting for non-Europeans/people who have never been to Europe.) E: Also yeah, AirBnB sucks now... it's still worth checking but it's gotten so much worse in the past 3 years. I'm mostly back on Booking.com now, or even direct booking with hotels/aparthotels, which is something I hadn't done in years. Maybe in Latin America all AirBnB owners haven't gone ridiculous with like $150 "cleaning fees" + $100 "service fee" for every rental. Saladman fucked around with this message at 09:05 on Oct 24, 2023 |
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Oct 24, 2023 08:47
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I am going to be in Peru for a while for the classic Machu Picchu trip and have a couple days to kill, and I’m thinking of doing a flyover of the Nazca lines. Does anyone have a recommendation for a tour company or anything I should know? I’m going from Lima and it’s expensive but I’m more concerned about the ~7 hours of driving so I’d probably fly from one of the closer airports to avoid going all the way south. Or if it’s not really worth the time / effort I’d love any day trip recommendations from either Lima or Cusco.
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Oct 31, 2023 04:05
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No particular recommendation, but we did really enjoy doing Nazca lines. In part I think that's because neither of us had been in a tiny plane like that before, but we thought it was worth the money and effort. We did it with AeroNasca and the pilot seemed good, he made sure both sides of the plane got a good view of all of the main lines and the copilot explained where everything would be etc. However we did fly from Nasca itself rather than what you are suggesting. We took the overnight bus to Nasca from Lima, took the flight, lazed around for the rest of the day and then another overnight bus to Arequipa. Nasca didn't seem worth hanging around in. You can do day trips from Lima with Peruhop, there's one which picks you up super early, visits Paracas in the morning and Huacachina in the afternoon, and takes you back to Lima late that night. Paracas involved a boat trip to see loads of seals and penguins, and a pictograph on a hillside older than the Nasca lines. Huacachina is an oasis amidst massive sand dunes and you take dune buggy rides and sandboard down the dunes. It was pretty good but a very very long day among a lot of other tourists. If you are taking buses from Lima to Cusco then I think rather than doing that as a day trip you can incorporate it into your journey through Peruhop... With hindsight we probably should have done that.
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Nov 2, 2023 00:50
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We did the overnight trip to Huacachina, and that was a lot of driving. I don’t think the Paracas stop was worth it, unless you’re really into seabird colonies. The nasca line was interesting but it’s only a glimpse from far away from the boat. It seems PeruHop organise Nasca flights from Huacachina as part of the overnight trip so that could be an option if you’ve the time. Lady Gaza fucked around with this message at 07:58 on Nov 2, 2023 |
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Nov 2, 2023 07:54
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Thank you both for the insight. We decided to skip the oasis and the wildlife and just take a flight from Paracas with Nazca flights. I’ll report back with how it went after our trip, really looking forward to Peru.
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Nov 2, 2023 13:31
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Have a great time. We loved Peru. We're currently in Valparaiso, Chile, and heading to Mendoza in Argentina tomorrow. Chile is very cool so far, in some ways it has a much more European feel than the other counties we have been but is still different enough to be exciting.
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Nov 2, 2023 22:01
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Can't remember if this was mentioned to you specifically but late December is the beginning of the Very Rainy Season, particularly in Cusco, so be careful of scheduling dates
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Nov 3, 2023 03:01
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Thanks, I realized it was the rainy off season but wasn’t really planning anything special until your comment prompted me to look into it more. I already planned to book any day trips and such from inside the country so we can be flexible on days. I purposefully booked overnight outside of Machu Picchu so we will have two shots at a clear day. I read mornings are typically best.
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Nov 3, 2023 03:40
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There's so much moisture there that (when I went, 5 days before new years) it was just shrouded in low hanging clouds of humidity that would pass over the city continuously. I think I hung out at this overview point for like 2 hours looking for a break in the weather fake edit       apologies this camera predates sensors to tell if you're taking it in landscape or portrait mode and imgur's rotate feature sucks now IIRC if you show up after noon a lot of the fog will have burnt off. I recall showing up 5 min before the park opened, and when I got in, the fog was so dense you couldn't see across the road, but by noon most of it had burnt off. These photos aren't in chronological order but maybe you can imagine the fog burning off in these personally I kind of like it with a bit of fog, gives it a lot more drama
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Nov 3, 2023 05:19
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| # ? May 2, 2024 11:56 |
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The Aguamoose posted:Have a great time. We loved Peru. We're currently in Valparaiso, Chile, and heading to Mendoza in Argentina tomorrow. Chile is very cool so far, in some ways it has a much more European feel than the other counties we have been but is still different enough to be exciting. Might be a bit late but Mendoza absolutely rules as a destination. I would really, really recommend getting out of the town to visit a bodega if you like delicious food and amazing wine. Monteviejo was a fun visit, the building is a bit like a Craig Daniels era bond villain headquarters but it was a nice tour and great wine. Upmarket California style I'd say. La Azul is much more rustic and cheaper but equally great food and probably more 'Argentinian'. There's also going even more upmarket and you can visit 7 fuegos in the Vines if you want to drop a few hundred dollars on a meal. More touristy/historical the monument to the army of the Andes is quite impressive and reachable by taxi.
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Nov 3, 2023 18:15
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