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Hey DD, anywhere you'd recommend for New Years in Colombia? I have 2 mates coming from Australia for a couple of weeks but I've read Medellin and Bogota are completely dead.
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Dec 2, 2009 01:26
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Adnar posted:Hey DD, anywhere you'd recommend for New Years in Colombia? I have 2 mates coming from Australia for a couple of weeks but I've read Medellin and Bogota are completely dead. Definitely stay away from Bogota and I would guess Medellin too. I flew to Bogota on January 1st last year and the city was dead until February. Tons of people go to resort towns/cities like Cartagena or their fincas. Bogota was dead for at least a few weeks after new years too. All of my favorite clubs were closed along with tons of restaurants. I remember Cartagena had a huge electronic festival with big names like David Guetta and Armin Van Buren last year. I would just keep checking http://www.tuboleta.com http://directorio.pegateya.com/osc/index.php/index.asp, and http://www.planb.com.co/ until you see some festivals listed on new years and then go there. On a side note, right now is approaching the best few months to be in Colombia. You definitely have to stick around. I personally went to Feria de Manizales in January and the Carnaval in Barranquilla and had one of the best weeks of all my time there. The festival in Cali is supposed to be pretty great too! -Cali Fair (Spanish: Feria de Cali), held in Cali from December 25 to New Year's Eve. It is famous for its Salsa marathon concerts attended by renowned Salsa bands. There are horse riding parades (Spanish: cabalgatas), masquerades and dances groups. -Manizales Fair (Spanish: Feria de Manizales) celebrated in the city of Manizales the first weeks of the year. Costume groups in fancy dress take over the city. A congeniality coffee queen is elected and bullfighting (Spanish:faenas) takes place. -Riosucio´s Carnival (Spanish: Carnaval de Riosucio) held in Riosucio, Caldas from January 2 to January 8 each two years. It's famous because rescue past traditions with a mixture of art, music and customes by groups called Cuadrilas, drinking the traditional Guarapo (drink based on fermented maize) carried in Calabazos. During the carnival, the image of a cool and happy devil is exhibitted. -Carnival of Blacks and Whites (Spanish: Carnaval de Negros y Blancos) held from January 4 to January 6 in Pasto. Its origins date back to the Spanish rule times when slaves were allowed to celebrate on 5th and their masters showed their approval on 6th by painting their faces black. On these days they either put grease or talcum powder on their faces. -Barranquilla's Carnival (Spanish: Carnaval de Barranquilla), with a century long recorded history it holds the second largest carnival parades in the world after Rio de Janeiro's. The Carnival of Barranquilla was proclaimed by UNESCO, in November 2003, as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral Intangible Heritage of Humanity, during Olga Lucia Rodriquez carnival queen year. edit: My friend just posted this link on youtube. It's from last year's feria de manizales! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0JdJ9joG5k R2ICustomerSupport fucked around with this message at 22:30 on Dec 2, 2009 |
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Dec 2, 2009 02:58
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What's the outlook on Manaus, Brazil? DustingDuvet I think you are correct, all of s.america is too big for my plans. From what I can tell, it's an easy ride from Venezuela to Manaus, but it's muddy road south, with no direct route (except by air) to brasilia. Is the road to La Paz any better? I'm thinking about making a short loop through Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador and back up to Colombia
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Dec 2, 2009 05:03
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CatchrNdRy posted:hmm maybe i should have considered that statement more carefully. i haven't been here that long and have till before Christmas. It's alright in Quito, but I can help but compare it to Salvador, brazil, which is a hard comparison for any place. i haven't gone on any day trips and done anything except work at the volunteer center and chill with my host family and drink with the other dumbass americans. Its been about 3 years since I was last in Ecuador. I liked Quito a lot but I remember it could get a bit boring if you don't know what to do. I would suggest some activities like visiting the Women's or Men's prison, wandering around the old city, the teleferico, any of the big parks on a sunday,visiting some of the markets, making sure you try every fruit juice, etc. I also really enjoyed the love music (andes music, salsa, etc.) There are also some really great restaurants, both fancy and not. The Hilton has an awesome buffet with lots of traditional Ecadorian food. There's an amazing burger place called G-Spot that makes the best cheesesteaks. As far as Banos goes, its great for adventure activities and about 3-4 hours by bus from Quito. There is great hiking to some beautiful water falls, mountain biking 60km to the jungle, white water rafting, ATVs for rent, Bungee jumping, rapelling down water falls, etc. Its known for its volcano and hot springs which are nice, but really nothing special. I stayed at Plantas y Blanco but really any place is decent. Other day/weekend trip possibilities that are no more than 1-3 hours from Quito that I would reccomend are: -Mindo (cloudforest) -Otavalo (market) -Papallacta (hot springs)
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Dec 2, 2009 17:42
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Hadlock posted:What's the outlook on Manaus, Brazil? I hope you like poor conditions. Manaus was nothing like the other Brasilian cities I've been to (well, Fortaleza was somewhat closer to it than the others). It's extremely humid and hot. There's a lot of poverty and the standard of living there is particularly low, but if you're ok with that, go ahead. Keep in mind you may need a yellow fever vaccine; the mosquitoes may also carry malaria. In terms of nightlife I didn't explore that, but from what I hear, it's lacking. One plus is that you have the potential to explore the Amazon, which may or may not be up your alley.
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Dec 3, 2009 01:09
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roflcopter thief posted:In terms of nightlife I didn't explore that, but from what I hear, it's lacking. I haven't been to Manaus, but every sizable city in the Peruvian Amazon that I have visited has had an amazing nightlife, with Sunday usually being the day that everyone goes out to rage it. I personally prefer partying in the jungle to partying in Lima, or anywhere in the States for that matter.
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Dec 3, 2009 21:22
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Just booked all my flights to south america  one section of my trip I will be in Columbia for around 3 weeks, visiting Bogota, Medellin and Cartegena for a week each. The plan is to take a bus between the three cities, starting in Bogota and finishing in Cartegena. Can you sort these busses out through your hostels? Or just track down some tourist information type thing?Also Im after some advice as far as hostels go in these places. Im interested in staying at the party/social hostels that are close to it all.. When my mate went to Bogota he stayed at DN Hostel which he says was good but abit far from zona rosa, which is a good party spot. Lonley Planet suggests Platypus so at the moment its a toss up between the two. For Medellin Casa Kiwi looks the goods... anyone been there or have some suggestions? For Cartegena Im looking at staying at either Media Luna Art Hostel which was recommended on here, or somewhere from the LP guide... Also if anyone knows any good places to get a tattoo done in Buenos Aires, Rio or in one of the abovementioned cities
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Dec 4, 2009 05:57
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dave diggler posted:Just booked all my flights to south america Buses: hostels will probably have recommendations on particular lines they like, and may or may not be able to grab you a ticket. Otherwise roll up to the bus station and buy one yourself. Could also look into taking domestic flights as well. I think it cost me like $80 to fly from Cali to Bogota booked the day before the flight because I didn't really feel like another 18 hours or whatever on a bus. Hostels: One of the best hostels I've ever been at was Crazy Croc or whatever in Bogota. Drank heavily with a bunch of people every night I was there, tons of fun. Taxis are cheap as hell too, so no worries really if you aren't right in the zona rosa or anything.
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Dec 4, 2009 08:02
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DustingDuvet posted:Its been about 3 years since I was last in Ecuador. I liked Quito a lot but I remember it could get a bit boring if you don't know what to do. I would suggest some activities like visiting the Women's or Men's prison, wandering around the old city, the teleferico, any of the big parks on a sunday,visiting some of the markets, making sure you try every fruit juice, etc. I also really enjoyed the love music (andes music, salsa, etc.) yeah me and another american I work with are probably going to Banos this weekend. I haven't heard of Papallacta I'll consider it, thanks,for the suggestion. I was more complaining about the day-to-day unremarkablness of south Quito. Which I realize is the worst Quito and why I chose to volunteer here in the first place. I know there are a ton of day trip type things. Today is Quito Day, so I hope the party in Centro Historic turns out well.
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Dec 4, 2009 17:15
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Will anyone else be in Rio for New Year's?
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Dec 6, 2009 04:19
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Nfcknblvbl posted:Will anyone else be in Rio for New Year's? Just booked my flight(s). I'll be in Rio for New Years. Shoot me your info and we should meet up. Will anyone be in Buenos Aires for Christmas?
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Dec 7, 2009 02:29
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send me an email to darrin.donze (at) gmail
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Dec 22, 2009 21:29
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email sent. anyone in Buenos Aires between now and Dec 29? or the first half of January?
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Dec 24, 2009 03:13
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throwing in a recommendation for the restaurant Siga la Vaca in Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires. 63 pesos, including a bottle of wine or a jug of beer and desert per head, all you can eat of the most amazing parrilla/barbeque, every cut of every meat cooked to perfection and accompanied by the best salad bar. amazing value. plenty more recommendations too but i just got back home after about a 60 hour ordeal on the back of an endless night in la paz so i don't really have the energy right now. fairly standard stuff. great trip though.
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Dec 24, 2009 13:01
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Has anyone been to Panama City? I am probably going to travel there in less than a month and would love an overview of the nightlife.
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Dec 31, 2009 04:58
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I've heard Panama City is a bizarre soulless shithole with hundreds of giant, empty conos and office buildings and not much else. But that's just second hand. Just got back from Feria de Cali and Manizales, spent NYE in Cali. Cali was a bit meh, but Manizales is probably just about my favorite place in Colombia, what a great week.
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Jan 7, 2010 19:35
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Adnar posted:I've heard Panama City is a bizarre soulless shithole with hundreds of giant, empty conos and office buildings and not much else. But that's just second hand. I heard Panama City is really nice so I guess I will have to find out. It's such a cheap flight to get there and then a cheap flight back to Colombia so it makes sense to go there. Man I am so jealous of you. That's why I stayed month in Manizales last January! This may sound strange but did you happen to notice that Manizales was overrun with teenagers? What did you do during the feria? Did you stay at the Mountain House? I agree Cali is a bit disappointing though many people seem to disagree.
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Jan 7, 2010 19:48
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Saw a bullfight, day tour to the top of Nevada de la Ruiz, drank litro pokers all day and night (along with lots of free Guarpo!), coffee shows, concerts and made tonnes of friends who were genuinely outgoing and people always wanted to speak to us in English (not that I really like that) but for my 2 mates who came directly from Australia for just 3 weeks and don't speak a word of Spanish it was good. Didn't stay at the Mountain House as we only booked about 5 days before we arrived but an amazing place called Hostal Palogrande 50 meters of Ave Santander. 7 days for (during feria) 245mil per person for private rooms in a really nice clean place, I'd recommend it to anyone who goes there the lady (Maria) who runs it was amazing, like the mother I never had. One of the best hostel experiences I've had (out of 100s!)
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Jan 7, 2010 20:20
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I just booked a one way ticket to Quito, Ecuador. I will make it down to Colombia and if/when I am ready to leave I will fly to Panama and travel in Central America. I am super excited right now!
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Jan 12, 2010 06:26
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DustingDuvet posted:Has anyone been to Panama City? I am probably going to travel there in less than a month and would love an overview of the nightlife. I live on the outskirts of Panama City and have my whole life. Adnar has it about right - it's pretty awful, and mostly just getting worse. There really aren't that many attractions, especially not the cultural kinds. Don't get me wrong, I love it here - but I'm pretty off the grid. I try to avoid going downtown whenever I can. The nightlife is... there. The big clubs are charging upwards of twenty dollars to get it in now, and most of them charge 4-5$ for a beer (which is 50 cents in the store). I avoid them like the plague. There are some okay bars, but nothing that special. Beers are usually 2-3$ in bars (expensive by my standards), and the music is most likely going to be awful. Casco Viejo, the old part of town, has some upper-end (mostly expensive) bars and restaurants, the most popular of which is Luna's Castle/Relic, where all the feral backpacker sorts go. I guess if I had to choose one I'd say go there. For me the real charm of Panama City is its variety of very good and very cheap restaurants. The nightlife... naw. It's too expensive and overblown now and people have gotten too greedy. I recommend going to Bocas del Toro if you want good nightlife and interesting/fair-priced restaurants and bars.
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Jan 13, 2010 01:44
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DustingDuvet posted:I just booked a one way ticket to Quito, Ecuador. I will make it down to Colombia and if/when I am ready to leave I will fly to Panama and travel in Central America. I am super excited right now! if you wanna volunteer for a bit Quito I can give you contacts on where I was. Other than its still probably as inexpensive as when you went a few years ago.
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Jan 13, 2010 02:00
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Gloot posted:I live on the outskirts of Panama City... Thanks for the information. I am disappointed to hear because I had only been hearing great things about the city lately. CatchrNdRy posted:if you wanna volunteer for a bit Quito I can give you contacts on where I was. Other than its still probably as inexpensive as when you went a few years ago. Thanks for the offer. I will let you know if I have some interest in volunteering once I get there and am settled.
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Jan 14, 2010 04:39
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Does anyone have anything to say about Belem, Brazil? I'm going to be there for 10 days starting Wednesday. Most importantly, is it walkable? Is there any food I need to try?
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Feb 1, 2010 02:28
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I've been in the planning stages of a South American trip for the last couple months. I've read this thread, Wikitravel, and all sorts of other forums for information and I have an idea of what I plan on doing. I still have a bunch of questions if anyone wants to help me out. I'm 22 years old, will have a degree in Marketing/Spanish, and I would say I am pretty much fluent. I have all of June and July to travel and will have about $3000 saved up. My plan so far is to fly into Medellin, Colombia, stay at a hostel or hostels for a week, and then fly out to possibly Quito. From there I'd want to somehow hit up Banos, Cuenca, and fly to the Galapagos. I want to eventually get to Peru to see Lima, Cuzco, and the oasis city in the desert. I don't think I will have the money to see both Machu Picchu and the Galapagos, but I might book an Inca Trail reservation if I can find one under $500. At some point I want to cross over into Bolivia and live like a king, see the salt flats, Lake Titicaca, the Amazon, and pretty much anything else I can do there. The big overarching things I want to do here are see the Amazon and the Andes and eat terrific local food. I chose these countries because they would be the least expensive but also have great things to see and do. It will also be a great help to my Spanish skills. I would be open to other ideas and other countries though, specifically Chile and Argentina The big thing my family worries about is safety. I'm traveling solo and my family is scared shitless of me being in Colombia alone. They are worried that I will not be able to get a hold of anyone if something happens and that I make an obvious "target" at about 6-4, 280 lbs. They used to work in El Salvador and Dominican Republic back in the 90s and it seems they think the rest of the Spanish speaking world will be just like those places. I know that safety has improved but I can't help but be a little nervous. I would mainly limit my time in Colombia so that my mother can sleep easier, but I am more excited for Ecuador/Peru anyway. I'm really only flying in there because of the low price. When people travel solo, is it easy to hook up with other travelers in hostels to go out with? I'd rather have a group of people than go it alone. I also plan on Couchsurfing. I'll have two months and about $2500 for two months after plane tickets so let me know all of your "can't miss" spots. How do my ideas sound? How structured should I make my trip? What places in those countries should I make sure not to miss? Will I be able to travel by bus safely in these places? If I have a big backpack will I be a "target"?
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Feb 3, 2010 19:10
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Anyone who voluntarily goes after a 6'4 280 pound man is loving retarded when there are plenty of scrawny guys (me) and single girls traveling down there. Realistically though, crime isn't that huge of a problem there. I know people who have been robbed down there, but I can only think of one guy who got injured in any way, and that's just because he was drunk, got punched during a robbery, and fell down. Your family's fear is overblown by far. Medellin of today is not Medellin of the 80s. That said, Bogota and Cali were still some of the sketchier places that I traveled, but overall, it isn't that bad. With your budget, you might want to cut down your plans a bit. $2500 could be quite tight for doing Inca trail or Galapagos. You also need to pay for a visa to go to Bolivia which can cut down on the cost effectiveness. Lake Titicaca is on the Peru/Bolivia border, so you can still see that as well. For being a budget, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia and probably your best bets though; Argentina or Chile are more expensive. Peru is definitely my favorite of the three countries though. It's really easy to travel around there as well. Taking a loop from Lima, down to Huacachina (the oasis place,) and then over to Cusco (and Machu Picchu, whether on the Inca trail or not,) and then down to Puno (on Lake Titicaca,) and then onwards to Bolivia or back up to Arequipa or Lima is very easy. I never made it to the Amazon, but you can get to there from Cusco, or from some of the places in Ecuador. Hostels are great, and very very easy to meet people in. I was solo down there for a couple months, and made friends in probably 9/10 hostels. There are always people willing to go out for 50 cent beers and have fun. Structure stuff roughly, as in have an idea of what you want to do in an overarching plan just so you don't have to rush to see something you really want to see, but leave the day to day details up in the air. Always nice to be able to stay someplace a couple extra days, or to get the gently caress out of town when it sucks. Most of the buses are safe, the worst that will happen is theft. Don't be stupid with your bag and you won't have a problem. Sometimes the buses crash off of mountains but mostly they're just scary as poo poo with no ill consequence. You might be a target of some kind with a backpack, but eh, not a big deal. As for the Inca trail, I went with Perutreks, had a great time, and so did other people I met who went with them. Looks like it's $465 for this year, all inclusive. The food was sooooo good too. Hope some of this helps. edit: also, get an ISIC card, it saved more than it cost just for the Inca trail. And no, it doesn't really matter if you aren't a student anymore, they're very lax giving them out. kalicki fucked around with this message at 20:22 on Feb 3, 2010 |
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Feb 3, 2010 20:16
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Man A: Speaking Spanish is a fantastic way to get the most out of your trip, and if you're any good people will be genuinely amazed and excited by you speaking to them in their language. It also makes getting from A to B soooo much easier - and haggling is more fun as well! I actually specialise in selling Peru and Ecuador, but it is high end so I'm probably not very useful for helping out with backpacker costings. However, I would just say beware of trying to cram too much into too little time. Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia in 2 months? It's a HUGE place and not only is there a lot to see within each country, there's are some really big distances if you're not flying. I think that you can kiss Galapagos goodbye - cruises are super expensive. The first time I went was 2 years ago, when the $ was 2:1 to the £ (so super cheap to travel) and it still cost me nearly $2000 for 7 nights on the cheapest boat. You've also got your airfare ($400~), transit control card ($10) and national park entrance fee ($100). The Amazon is also expensive to get to and stay in, but there might be some more backpacker style options that I don't know about, so you'll have to look into that. One thing that I am constantly reminding my clients is that you go to the Amazon for the Amazon experience, not because you are guaranteed to see tons of animals every day. So don't go there with a massive check list expecting to tick it all off. Cuenca is absolutely poo poo on a Sunday - completely closed up, so avoid being there then. It's an ok city, pretty, but nothing super special unless you like buying Panama hats (which I do!). Banos - keep an eye on this before you travel. The British Foreign & Commonwealth Office are currently advising against all travel to the area as good old nearby Tungarahua volcano is rumbling again. When it gets going it can cause serious landslides etc. In fact, when I went to Banos 2 years ago I ended up having to hike over a mountain with a 20kg backpack because a landslide had blocked off the road in to the town (and I am not a fit hiking person). Machu Picchu is pretty cool, and if you don't do the Inca Trail then climb up Huayna Picchu for some amazing views looking down on Machu Picchu. Steep and slippery climb, takes about 2hours to go up and back again and access is limited to 400 people split over 2 time slots - so you have to go early morning to bag a slot. Lima is pretty drat boring and I wouldn't spend more than a night there. If you are there for longer, the coast is quite pretty but I think a trip to the Erotic Pottery section of the Larco Herrera museum is a must. Foodwise, you have to try guinea pig just to say you did - but it doesn't taste any good. Alpaca on the other hand is delicious and should be eaten at every opportunity (llama is not good, so avoid that). Security wise just don't flash your camera about, keep your money stashed in various places around your body. Shoulder bags that you can hang just in front of your body are much easier to keep an eye on than backpacks. Scan copies of all your important documents and email them to yourself and family. I also have colour photo copies but if you have a copy on email, even if all your stuff gets nicked you can still download a makeshift copy. Finally, in Peru you do need to bear in mind the altitude as people do get sick so it's really important to slowly ramp up, acclimatising, rather than flying in from sea level and then doing the Inca Trail. Drink lots of water and coca tea - which tastes like poo poo but does seem to help a little. Whatever you do I'm sure that you will have an amazing time. For everyone: my top tip for travelling is to get a little USB multi card reader. This is great because when you're trying to upload lots of photos in some lovely internet cafe, you don't really want to have your camera on display hooked up to the computer where someone could easily nab it. Also, the card reader seems to be a lot faster. Took one on my last two trips and I'm never going back to cables - so much easier!
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Feb 3, 2010 22:19
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Man A posted:I've been in the planning stages of a South American trip for the last couple months.... I don't think I will have the money to see both Machu Picchu and the Galapagos, but I might book an Inca Trail reservation if I can find one under $500. I just got back from Colombia and Peru about two weeks ago (along with some other countries). If you book your train ticket now, you can get a trainride from cusco to aguas calientes (the bus station to machu picchu) for about $120. Or you can take the bus (4 hrs, good roads) to Ollytampbo (sp?) for about $3 and pickup the train there to aguas calientes for around $60 round trip. I couldn't find any tickets last minute from Cusco to AC so I had to do the Ollytambo->AC route. The park entrance fee itself is only about $35 USD. Nobody ever mentions this, but Machu Picchu isn't actually in the middle of nowhere (anymore), there's a bus that will drive you right to the park entrance (at the top of the mountain) for $14 round trip from AC, which is litterally across the river from Machu Picchu. You don't have to blow $500 for an inca trail reservation to go see it. You can do Machu Picchu in a day and still sleep in your hostel in Cusco that night if you plan it right. You'll regret not seeing Machu Picchu for the rest of your life otherwise. I never once felt unsafe taking a bus in Colombia or Peru. I had blond hair and blue eyes (with a fair complexion) so I stood out more than other people, but most people treated me as a curiosity and wanted to know where I was from. They're also a lot more accepting of letting you carry your bag onto the bus rather than stow it underneath. Central america is a crime ridden shithole compared to south america - i.e. theft and danger isn't a huge concern. Bogota was my favorite city and I had no qualms about walking around after 11pm in the la candelaria centro neighborhood. Other travelers told me all sorts of horror stories from every city on the continent but all the victims were females either traveling alone or a pair of females. People in Colombia and Peru are generally very happy with their lives and friendly people on the whole. re: altitude sickness - this is my advice - stay for 4+ days in, and then fly out of bogota (8,600 ft) to lima. Try and get a connecting flight to Cusco within 12 hours to Cusco (12,000 ft). This allows your body to gradually adjust over a week or so before tackling Machu Pichu. Also: cusco centro is hilly as all hell, moreso than San Fransisco, so you'll appreciate the extra lung capacity Bogota's thin air provided you. re: backpack theft - get one of these: http://www.rei.com/product/786932 yes it's tiny, but it will fit in the overhead bin of a marcopolo/busebus bus, counts as carryon for the airplane, and you can stuff it underneath the seat in one of the smaller transit vans. There's also only one zipper into the main compartment, meaning less locks to fuss with. It IS big enough for all your stuff, and I even brought a useless ceramic water filter (takes up as much space as a rolled pair of jeans - buy bottled water it's cheaper for only two months) and a spare nalgene water bottle (two tshirts worth of space). It's also made of heavy duty cordoba nylon that isn't going to tear and need repair halfway through your trip. This was my daypack http://www.rei.com/product/778466 which has the advantage of using a mechanism that thieves can't figure out how to open (it allows for simple one handed open/close though). It also doubles as a stuff sack/pillow. Re: (insert city here) is absolutely poo poo on a Sunday - Most cities are basically vacant on Sundays. Expect to walk twice as far for a coke/advil and wait twice as long for the bus. Plan your travel days around Sunday so you're not missing anything on the other six days. re: other ideas and other countries -Chile and Argentina: Argentina is huge - HUGE - and you're looking at easily a day and a half bus travel from Santiago to Buenos Aires. Rosario is "only" a city of 1 million with excellent nightlife and has less of the "mega city" vibe of BA. If you're going that far south, it's worth calling up American Airlines and talking to their international travel rep. Since I was flexible on dates, they were able to get me a round trip ticket from Dallas-Miami-Bogota with a return of Lima-Miami-Dallas, and then set me up on the "Visit South America" oneworld package http://www.oneworld.com/ow/air-travel-options/single-continent-fares/visit-south-america which can cut your airtravel expenses down significantly. I traveled 12,500 air miles over 12 flights for a smidge less than $2000 after taxes. Also: Stay out of Lima. I got lost for three hours during rush hour and still managed to see the entire city (worth seeing) in 12 hours. Hadlock fucked around with this message at 07:45 on Feb 4, 2010 |
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Feb 4, 2010 07:43
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^^^^ Sounds like you were lucky enough to just miss all the flooding in Machu Picchu. For anyone else who is travelling to Machu Picchu, the word that we are getting from our guys out there is that they are having to redo large sections of the train tracks in to Aguas Calientes and that it'll be unusable for another 7-8 weeks. We're pretty wary of this and not even considering booking clients to travel out there until May. Just something to bear in mind if you're heading to Peru in the near future.
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Feb 4, 2010 20:00
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Man A posted:I've been in the planning stages of a South American trip for the last couple months. I've read this thread, Wikitravel, and all sorts of other forums for information and I have an idea of what I plan on doing. I still have a bunch of questions if anyone wants to help me out. Rather than go to Banos, you should try Mindo. Its way cheaper and there is probably just as much outdoors activities (10-13 ziplines for $10). On the way back you can hit up the Mitad Del Mundo too, just ask the bus driver's assistant when you should get out. Man A on a totally unrelated note, I happened to read your college football thread, and that other college football Goon wanted to talk to you in his thread. look at me, im a D1 football messenger. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3228423&pagenumber=8#lastpost
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Feb 5, 2010 07:28
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Can anyone say anything about Costa Rica? I'm going there with seven friends for a week for spring break. We're spending about half of the time at a hostel (http://www.vistaserena.com/) near Manuel Antonio, and then the other half at another hostel (http://arenalbackpackersresort.com/) near Arenal. We want to get a little bit of beach time, but are also interested in all of the activities they seem to have, like canopy tours, horseback riding, whitewater rafting, etc. Does anyone know what the best way to carry money around is? I'm told that a lot of places will take the dollar, but I'm a little nervous just carrying around a bunch of cash. Also, for transportation we are reserving minibuses as per this website: http://www.anywherecostarica.com/transportation/ground-transfers/scheduled-shuttles Anyone have experience with them or any other kind of transportation? Thanks in advance!
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Feb 6, 2010 19:05
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^^^^ I changed currency into Costa Rican colones. If I remember right, the cash point in Manuel Antonio is actually not in town and you have to either taxi/bus/or slog it up the hill to find this bank seemingly in the middle of nowhere. I think it's near the old passenger plane restaurant, if that helps. In La Fortuna I think there were a few banks with ATMs. The public buses are fine and generally much cheaper than any tourist service. For example there's a tourist shuttle from Tortuguero to La Fortuna which was $45, I did it by public bus (admittedly 7 bus changes) and it cost under half of that. However, one thing to bear in mind: the roads in CR are poo poo. Really poo poo. Prepare to have the life bumped out of you. Manuel Antonio is pretty drat touristy (as is Costa Rica in general), but I actually really enjoyed the national park and saw loads of stuff there. Go early in the morning. Lots of the bars/restaurants have good happy hour cocktail deals if you're looking to drink. Also, don't get your hopes up about seeing Arenal volcano - it was one of the top things on my list to see in Central America, explosions etc. but it was shrouded by cloud both nights I was there, and according to the locals it's pretty commonly unseeable. In La Fortuna there is an amazing hot river; rather than go in the expensive hot springs, ask a taxi driver to take you to the hot river where the locals go and enjoy it for free. A bit of a scramble to get in, but lovely once you're there.
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Feb 6, 2010 20:14
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I am currently planning to spend 10 days in Peru this June thanks to this thread! I'm looking to spend a majority of my time in the vicinity of Cusco. It's going to be my first time travelling alone internationally, so I'm quite excited! I might be travelling with a friend of mine, but they are not sure on that yet. Any advice that has not already been posted in here yet, or any Peru/Lima/Cusco specific advice would be appreciated!
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Feb 15, 2010 07:47
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I would spend 1 night in Lima, 3 days in Cusco/surrounding region, and the rest on a 5-7 day inca trail hike. Wear shoes with good ankle support, Cusco is both very hilly and there are no level sidewalks anywhere (all cobblestone) and can screw up your ankles. I never thought I'd miss level concrete sidewalks in my life.
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Feb 15, 2010 07:59
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John Adams posted:I am currently planning to spend 10 days in Peru this June thanks to this thread! I'm looking to spend a majority of my time in the vicinity of Cusco. It's going to be my first time travelling alone internationally, so I'm quite excited! I might be travelling with a friend of mine, but they are not sure on that yet. Definitely take a good few days in Cusco before you start doing any trekking as you need to be careful to acclimatise. Try coca tea, tastes like poo poo but helps with altitude sickness. If you are doing the Inca Trail you will need to prebook as there are only 500 permits a day and they sell out fast. If you are in the Sacred Valley then try to hit Chinchero market on a Sunday. If you're not doing the Inca Trail, stay the night in Machu Picchu and go to the ruins early morning or late afternoon, when most daytrippers are arriving/leaving by train. If you're doing some souvenir shopping in Cusco expect to haggle a lot. Get a taxi or join a tour that goes up to Sacsayhuaman - pretty cool massive Inca site with ridiculously large stones.
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Feb 15, 2010 20:17
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If anyones planning a trip to Colombia soon it's worth having a look at http://book.aires.aero/ for really cheap flights. I've given up on buses lately as I've been flying for half the price. I came back from Barranquilla yesterday (to Bogota) for 1,000 pesos (50c) + tax. For the Inca trail keep in mind it's now closed untill April because of the floods so it might be very heavy booked and a lot more expensive for a while after.
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Feb 17, 2010 16:12
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I'm thinking of doing a spring break trip from like March 10th to March 23rd in Nicaragua and Guatemala. I'm planning on flying into Managua, staying in Nicaragua for a week, busing through El Salvador to Guatemala, staying there for a week and then flying out of Guatemala City. Am I stretching myself too thin? Would I have a better experience if I just stayed in either Nicaragua or Guatemala for two weeks? What are the highlights that you guys think I absolutely cannot miss in these countries? Any other tips? I haven't booked it yet (waiting on a friend to decide if he's coming or not), so I can still change plans if I get a lot of strong recommendations in a particular direction. A lot of the reason for this itinerary is the really cheap ($340 airfare) into Managua and out of Guat City, so cheap is the word.
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Feb 17, 2010 21:13
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Thanks for the advice and suggestions guys! It's much appreciated, guys!
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Feb 18, 2010 00:10
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Adnar posted:If anyones planning a trip to Colombia soon it's worth having a look at http://book.aires.aero/ for really cheap flights. I've given up on buses lately as I've been flying for half the price. I came back from Barranquilla yesterday (to Bogota) for 1,000 pesos (50c) + tax. That is insane. I am going to Bogota on Thursday after a month in Quito and my flight costs $300 one way. I hope to make up for that with cheap flights within Colombia. Where in Colombia are you living?
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Mar 1, 2010 21:01
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I'm in Bogota for another 2 weeks. Don't talk to me about international flights.. I'm going to Buenos Aires and it's just silly.
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Mar 2, 2010 19:39
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Adnar posted:I'm in Bogota for another 2 weeks. I paid $650 r/t from Bogota to Buenos Aires last year...and don't forget there is a tourist visa fee now  Nuts.
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Mar 2, 2010 21:55
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