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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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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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How do you guys get money in Argentina? I specifically mean for Buenos Aires and to a lesser extent also Mendoza/Cordoba, since I'd rather not carry around a months' worth of cash for two people on me. Can you pretty much trust any money changing guy that quotes you a reasonable rate? Any particularly good (or bad place) to go for this? I imagine the airport and shops at major bus stations only gives the terrible government exchange rate.
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Dec 31, 2014 18:46
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Hadlock posted:I had my best luck getting local currency out at ING ATMs in Buenos Aires. The official exchange rate is 8.5 pesos to the dollar, but the real exchange rate is 14 to the dollar, so you get hit pretty hard if you use govt exchanges. But yeah it's not insane like Venezuela where you can't use a credit card or withdraw money even in an emergency. Good tip about selling them to your hosts. I hadn't even thought about looking at CS or AirBnB for Argentina, I'd just been looki at hostels.
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Jan 1, 2015 13:25
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TheImmigrant posted:I don't know your nationality for Brazil. If you are US citizen, you can cross over for the day without a visa. (Normally you need a visa before arrival, if you're a US citizen.) There is local transport that crosses dozens of times a day. I think your info is out of date? I'm almost positive that any entry into Argentina with a US passport requires the $160 fee. e.g. https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thornt...-at-all-entries Same deal, are you sure about crossing into Brazil at Iguazu / have a link for that? Everything I've read in the past couple years about this says yes you need a visa and I can't find anything post-2013 that says otherwise. We're thinking about heading there at the end of September, but paying for a Brazilian visa and arranging it in advance sounds like a PITA when we're not planning on going to Brazil, and it seems kind of silly to go to Iguazu Falls and not go to both sides (maybe?). E: Not to be a dick but you should probably edit both of those bits out of your old post in case anyone takes it as canon. http://wanderingtrader.com/iguazu-falls/brazil-visa-for-the-iguazu-falls/ http://www.thisbatteredsuitcase.com/getting-a-brazilian-visa-in-iguazu-falls/ http://www.fodors.com/community/south-america/visa-for-brazil-side-iguaz-falls.cfm maybe some tour operator would be willing to smuggle you in but it seems not worth the risk. Saladman fucked around with this message at 14:34 on Feb 6, 2015 |
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Feb 6, 2015 14:29
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Kazak_Hstan posted:The VIP lounge in the Quito airport has a cabinet of free beers. Literally everything else about the Quito airport is gay as hell and I hope this country has a big old la revolucion. VIP lounges in most airports have free all-you-can-drink self-service booze / beer / wine + little plateaus of cheese and meat and whatever. The beer selection is usually pretty limited unless you like Heineken or Heineken though IME.
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Apr 22, 2015 17:21
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Anyone have recommendations for how to do the Inca Trail from Machu Picchu? I see these things that like only 500 spots are available per day and that they sell out months in advance, but OTOH I see websites telling us that it's best to show up on the spot in Cusco and get with some tour operator there. Like this place ( http://incatrailreservations.com/ ) is booked solid through mid-October. We're looking to go there in early to mid November.
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Apr 26, 2015 14:52
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Admiral101 posted:Absolutely do not show up on the spot in Cusco and find a tour operator. There's a ton of shifty/lovely operations and it's not easy to sift through them. I've heard a ton of stories from other people in my hostel about bad operators when I was in Cusco. Definitely book in advance. Hmm, those tours are pretty crazy costly -- $1500pp for the 4 day trail. Everywhere else I've come across has been like $500-$700 pp for the exact same inca trail itinerary (e.g. http://incatrailreservations.com/tour/inca-trail/ ) including the places Lonely Planet suggested. Do Apus Peru carry you in palanquins or something?
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Apr 28, 2015 08:07
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Admiral101 posted:The 1,500 assumes a group size of 2, which I wouldn't recommend doing (they have a board where they list "open group" treks where other people can join - if you're so inclined in doing that). Thanks, now that makes sense. So the 2pp tours they do are actually private for 2 people, while every other tour operator showing them for ±$600 just books them up and sticks you in. Paying a little premium is palatable. I did a bare bones safari in Tanzania a few years ago and envied the people on the high-end operators that were in 4x4s that still had their suspensions... this time I have a real salary.
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Apr 28, 2015 16:24
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Admiral101 posted:Actually, on a brief off-topic note: are you able to make much in the way of recommendations for safari operators in Tanzania? I'm intending to Tanzania in 2016 for Kilimanjaro/safari. I wrote this up a couple years ago after I did it to some friends of my parents. So here's a long off topic post TLDR: Check out Duma Explorers if you're not looking to go for the most budget option. If you're looking for the most budget option, I went with Basecamp Tanzania which was like 30% cheaper than the standard major operators (e.g. Leopard Tours) for our itinerary. The people I mention who went with Duma Explorers are extremely well traveled so I trust their opinion a lot. ------------------------------------------ My safari went through northern Tanzania (going to all of those parks and more), and I have nothing but good things to say about the whole experience. I felt like seven days was enough—I enjoyed every minute of it, but I was also ready to go back home by the end of the week. Our tour included 3 days in the Serengeti, one day in Ngorongoro Crater, one day at Lake Manyara, one day at Tarangire Nat'l Park, and then a day in a town in rural Tanzania. The safari carriers are all pretty similar, and almost all of them start out of Arusha, which is a 7 hour bus ride or a 1 hour flight+1 hour drive from Nairobi, which is where everyone flies into. We used BaseCamp Tanzania as our tour operator. Leopard Tours is the biggest carrier, which I heard mixed reviews about, but which has some clear upsides: mainly that they run a lot more safaris than other carriers, and the guides all keep in radio contact so they know where good viewing areas are. I had some friends who did their safari with Duma Explorers and they said their cook (Remy) and guide (Seaniel) were fantastic. The food with BaseCamp Tanzania was somewhat wanting: never-ending servings of the extremely filling, but rather tedious, macaroni & cheese and eggs. If I went again I would probably try Duma Explorers. Most tour operators are pretty flexible and will allow you to set the tour yourself to some extent, although they offer suggested itineraries for whatever X number of days you select, which is probably the best and easiest choice. The base cost is about $250/day/person for the tour itself (guide/driver + cook + car + park fees etc; plus $25-30/day tip for the driver and $10-15/day for the cook at the end of the trip). Then there are additional fees of ~$150/person/night if you choose to stay in hotels—otherwise you can just stay in camping grounds which all have running water and cold/lukewarm showers. You can alternate any number of days in a hotel vs. days in camping grounds; we stayed in a hotel one day in the middle of our tour at the recentely-renovated Serena Lodge in the Serengeti, and the hot shower and comfortable bed were extremely welcome. I think all of the hotels on the route are pretty nice, think Hilton-quality. There's also a specialty "luxury camping safari" (offered by several operators) which claims to provide a safari the way "Ernest Hemingway and Teddy Roosevelt did it." It's quite a bit more expensive even than staying in hotels the whole time, but it's supposedly extremely nice, with extravagant tents like you'd see in films. I don't know much else about it except that it's the most expensive way to do a safari. Other quick notes which you might already be aware of: 1. The time of year you go makes a big difference. We went during the "hot" dry season (December->February) which is supposedly the second best time of year, with the best being the "cool" dry season (June-October). March-May is the long rainy season, so I wouldn't recommend going there then since the animals are dispersed across the whole park, and because many park roads will be impassible. Animals are more concentrated nearer to rivers and watering holes in the dry seasons, which is, non-coincidentally, where most of the roads go. 2. The weather is beautiful there. I expected it to be hot, since we were in the "hot, dry season" in central Africa, but since that whole area of Africa is a plateau at an elevation of 3000-6000 feet, I guess it shouldn't've been too surprising that it was in the 70s every day, which was completely normal. I think I only wore shorts one day. Also, it's relatively bug free, at least in the dry season, but I'd still of course recommend taking malarial prophylaxis. 3. The entire trip was absolutely packed with animals. It's not an interesting scene every two hours, it's an interesting scene every five minutes (or every five seconds if you're interested in birds). 4. There's also an option to do a "balloon safari" which is like 2 hours in a hot air balloon over the Serengeti. It's somewhat expensive—~$500—but will give you unparalleled views of the landscape. We didn't do this, but if I ever go back I will. 5. If you enjoy hiking, most people bundle a Kilimanjaro hike in with their safari—almost all tour operators operate both safaris and Kilimanjaro hikes. Kilimanjaro is 5 days and pretty easy if you take Diamox for altitude sickness; I didn't talk to anyone who didn't summit. I didn't do a Kilimanjaro hike, though, but again if I go back to that part of Africa, I would.
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Apr 28, 2015 21:41
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Back to South America: How viable is tent camping? If we're considering trekking around the wine country of Argentina, the lake district of Chile, the Atacama, Titicaca-area, Cuzco-and-environs, Cartagena-and-environs, and Costa Rica (just in general)? This would start in mid-September and go through ~Jan 1st, and in the order written (e.g. Argentina -> Lake District -> Atacama -> ...) Is it at all worth bringing a tent and camping gear, or are hostels so cheap and safety so not good that we should just rent stuff from trekking companies the few times we -really- want to do something?
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Apr 30, 2015 17:15
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I'm also pretty confused about visa requirements in Latin America for US citizens where I'll be going. Argentina: You have to pay the $140 or whatever online, then when you arrive in the country, you show that proof and they stamp your passport. Chile: It's visa-free, unless you fly into Santiago, in which case you have to pay like $140 on arrival? Bolivia: You get one at the border, but have to pay $135 in US dollars (?) and also have a hotel reservation, a yellow fever card, and a 4x4cm photo of yourself? Uruguay: Actually free? Peru: Actually free? Colombia: Actually free? Panama: Like $5 on arrival? Costa Rica: Also free? Am I going to have any trouble without proof of onward travel? Basically I'll have a ticket into Argentina in September and a ticket out of San José, Costa Rica on like 3 January. E: On closer look, it looks like maybe only Costa Rica (at least nominally) requires proof of onward travel.. so that's convenient my flight is out of there. Saladman fucked around with this message at 11:46 on May 3, 2015 |
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May 3, 2015 11:41
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Hadlock posted:This may only work if you're a very white american with blue eyes, US passport, and a recent haircut. Check to all of those, plus blonde hair. Nice to hear though, I was afraid some SA countries might be dicks to Americans because Americans are dicks to them. I guess that only extends as far as Venezuela and Brazil (so far) though.
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May 3, 2015 20:38
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Well, we got our tixx today. Into Buenos Aires 9 Sept 2015, out of San Jose 8 January 2016. Now to figure out everything in between... particularly, how to get from Cuzco to Bogota, and how to get from Cartagena to Panama City.
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May 8, 2015 18:01
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TheImmigrant posted:Casa Viena in Cartagena is the check-in point for yachts taking mochileros to Panama. Tony with the Andiamo is probably still doing it - plan on at least $400/head, and five days. It's an awesome trip through Kuna Yala. Typically you get dropped off at the roadhead at Miramar, or in Portobelo. If you are on a tight budget, you'll need to fly or take pangas from Capurgana. I know this trip pretty well. We're not on a particularly tight budget but in any case one-way flights from Cartagena or Baranquilla to Panama City also seem to cost about that much (like $300 with Copa on a roundtrip Cartagena->PTY that we'd only use one direction of, now that I've just checked, and considering we'd have to spend 5 more nights in hostel, that'd actually save a decent bit of money). Is there some other way to do it? I'm not particularly excited about a 5 day boat trip, but I guess it's not really any different from spending 5 days on a beach either. Edit: On another note, do you have any idea on how to get from southern Peru to Bogota cheaply, besides a 70 hour bus ride with 3 changes? Those flights also seem pretty expensive (also like $500--using a fake two-way flight, all the one ways are even more). Actually all flights in South America seem pretty expensive compared to similar-distanced flights in Europe, N America, or SE Asia. Saladman fucked around with this message at 18:07 on May 9, 2015 |
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May 9, 2015 17:52
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In practice, how long are tourist visas for Americans issued for Brazil? Everything on all of their websites is contradictory, which I guess maybe is their intention as they don't want Americans going to their snowflake country. E.g. from one of their webistes: Brazil posted:The tourist visa for Americans and Canadians is valid for multiple entries, starting from the date it was issued, during the period the visa remains valid. The validity of a visa is decided by the Consul on a case-by-case basis and may vary from one day up to ten years. Yes it remains valid for several other visits during the validity of the visa. The only restriction is that you cannot stay in Brazil for more than 90 days each time you go (up to 180 days per year if an extension of stay after the 90 days are over is granted by the Federal Police in Brazil). For all other nationalities, the tourist visa is valid for only 90 days. The validity of business visas for all nationalities is generally limited to 90 days. The business visa for Americans and Canadians may have a longer duration; the decision is made by the Consul on a case-by-case basis. I would like to spend like, 8 hours, in Brazil to go to the other side of Igazu Falls, but it's absolutely not worth the $215 visa 'administrative' fee if the visa is only going to be valid for 2 weeks or whatever. My passport is valid for another 9 years and it's likely enough that I'll be back within that time that I'd spend the money now, as long as I'll actually get a 10 year visa.
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May 10, 2015 06:19
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TheImmigrant posted:If you get a Brazil visa from a consular mission in the States, it will almost certainly be for five or ten years, multiple entry. You might not even need it if it's only for Foz do Iguaçu. I haven't been to the falls in ten years now, but back then you could cross from Puerto Iguazu in Argentina without border formalities for a day trip. I'm in Switzerland, so would go to the Geneva consulate, which is still kind of a pain in the rear end (would run me ~$25 and a half day of work in the morning). My alternate plan was to try the Brazilian side on Day 1, if I get rejected, go to the Argentine side, then try the Brazilian side again on Day 2. If I get rejected again, smuggle myself across in a suitcase on Day 3. Too bad the "go over the falls in a barrel" trick only works in the opposite direction. Thanks for the tips on the Darien crossing--I think it's going to be a flight then. My Spanish is terrible (basic vocabulary, but no grammar beyond speaking French and hoping everything is the same) though my girlfriend's is passable.
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May 10, 2015 20:50
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Are there any reasonable SIM cards / carriers that work pretty well across South America, or am I going to have to buy a SIM card for every country? I'm going to be in South America for 4 months and will want 3G (or 4G if that exists anywhere outside major urban centers) and it would be nice to not have to buy 5 different SIMs. Doesn't have to be data heavy, even like 200 MB/mo would be fine, although the more the merrier. Particularly, I'll be starting off in Argentina for 3-4 weeks. People always ask the same question in the Europe megathread and the answer is 'no, you're screwed', but here's hoping SA is more modern! Or maybe the international data roaming prices are so cheap I won't care (?).
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Jun 8, 2015 18:41
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What's the best way to book hostels/bnbs/airbnbs in Argentina now? The thing with the exchange rate is a huge pain in the rear end. I'd been putting off figuring it out for the past 6 months in the vain hope the Argentine government would get its poo poo together but I guess that never happened. Dolarblue quotes 14 pesos to the dollar whereas the government exchange rate is 9. It's no Venezuela, but still. Like on hostelworld.com, are the prices quoted -- along the lines of $20pp/night -- in the real exchange rate or the government exchange rate? $40 a night (for two) seems like a crazy amount of money to spend per night for housing in Buenos Aires; it's not even that much more in London. On the other hand, $26/night (for two) seems more like it. What I can't figure out though, is how to securely book rooms online and not pay the 50% "government mismanagement" surcharge. I'm also looking into finding something on AirBNB and to pay people in USD, but for this I'm not sure if I should haggle the prices or if they're already given in real dollar values (i.e. is their price lower if I pay in sweet, sweet US$ instead of pesos)? Also I'm not super psyched about bringing a month worth of dollars and carrying it around with me the whole time in Argentina. Is it pretty easy to get US$ at normal exchange rates in Colonia or in Foz do Iguacu? Or is it pretty easy to get Uruguayan Pesos and Reals and then exchange those for Argentine pesos at a reasonable exchange rate*? We're going to be traveling for 4 months, so making Argentina 50% cheaper than list-price is a pretty big deal to us. *Dolarblue.net only cites Euro and USD... so maybe most backstreet traders won't accept Uruguyan and Brazilian money at good exchange rates? Honestly I'd even be OK getting something the equivalent of like 12:1 (using US$ equivalents). Saladman fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Jul 15, 2015 |
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Jul 15, 2015 18:44
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TheImmigrant posted:Many ATMs in Uruguay dispense USD. Don't know about Foz, but you can certainly get USD in Ciudad del Este, along with anything else imaginable. I don't know how safe it would be though, or whether you can still get dollars from ATMs in Paraguay. I only have an American passport, making Paraguay a hassle/expensive. Brazil too actually. I guess I can send my girlfriend over as a money mule if necessary. So the best bet is probably to AirBNB anywhere in Argentina with long stays and ask if they have US/Euro cash discounts?
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Jul 15, 2015 20:38
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TheImmigrant posted:As got Airbnb, book a shorter stay, then negotiate something longer directly with the host. Airbnb has steep fees, and you'll both save money by negotiating an extension of the stay outside of Airbnb. What I'm not sure about on AirBNB though, is are the prices already quoted in US$? I checked out the prices in Caracas and they list like $20/night, instead of $500/night like they would at government rates. Anyway, it sounds like a good idea to book shorter and work with them for additional nights, I hadn't thought about doing that. Thanks, hadn't heard about that for Ciudad del Este... although I'm not sure why I'd go except to "cross a country off the list" (which isn't something I really care about).
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Jul 16, 2015 12:34
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Does anyone have particularly good tips about safety (i.e. not getting robbed/ripped off) in South America? In particular I guess Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia (maybe Argentina?). We're not nighttime people, so are unlikely to go out to bars/clubs much-if-at-all unless we're with local friends in the few places we know people. Anything we should worry about taxi drivers or whatever that we wouldn't normally be accustomed to doing in North Africa or wherever? Are money belts and fake wallets worth the precautionary hassle, or are they just going to be an uncomfortable annoyance? I see people suggesting this poo poo for people going to Rome and Paris, which is insane, but I'm not sure if the same thing goes for Cusco and Bogota. I wasn't worried about it, but reading about the incidence of bot flies and typhoid, I came across a bunch of people saying they got robbed in Peru.
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Jul 26, 2015 16:09
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huhu posted:Anyone know the official status of traveling to Cuba without a tour and not potentially having to face the $100,000 or whatever it was fine? Everything I've found on Google is vague or says something like goto a church in Cuba and you've done a "religious trip" or speak Spanish with the locals and you've done a "language trip". I'd prefer a 100% guarantee I won't get in trouble. You won't get a 100% guarantee you won't get into trouble unless you go on one of those pre-approved trips. The fines were implemented rarely, and no one paid the max/higher values, but you would need to get a lawyer to haggle it down for you to a few hundred bucks. I don't even know if people still get those. A quick Google search of mine didn't turn up any such anecdotes post-2010. E: Actually it looks like even the licenses you needed to get pre-approved no longer are a thing since January 2015. http://triphackr.com/how-to-travel-to-cuba-illegally/ I'd still worry about posting photos of my trip to FB though. Saladman fucked around with this message at 17:18 on Jul 27, 2015 |
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Jul 27, 2015 17:16
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Hoplosternum posted:What sort of footwear is required for the inca trail? I'm a keen hiker, I go on lots of trips (In New Zealand, so I'm used to rough terrain and no tracks) but my boots do tend to give me blisters and are heavy. Can I get away with just wearing sneakers or trainers or whatever you people call 'em. Ankle support really depends on the person and how heavy of a pack they're carrying. If you don't use hiking boots with ankle support in New Zealand I doubt you'll need it there, based on looking at pictures of the trails. I'm planning on doing this trail--or one of the less touristy ones, rather--this November and have a pair of track shoes for when it's not raining, and a pair of sandals for when it is. I also hate hiking boots with a passion and never use them even for rough hikes in the Alps (where I live). Take a look at photos of the trail and judge for yourself though. The water proofing sounds like a pretty big deal unless you're going between May and August. E: If I twist my ankle and develop athlete's foot from the moisture, I'll post here! Saladman fucked around with this message at 10:55 on Aug 5, 2015 |
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Aug 5, 2015 10:48
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TheImmigrant posted:Flying into San Jose, or Liberia? Assuming San Jose, the closest beach option is Jaco, on the Pacific coast. I don't really like it there, but a lot of people do. It's heavily developed, being the nearest beach to the capital. It's crawling with Tica hookers (prostitution is legal in Costa Rica, and it's a major destination for sex tourists), has a lot of low- to middle-brow bars and clubs and other touristy poo poo. Beaches aren't really spectacular. Any suggestions for Costa Rica if we don't want to hang out with earth muffins or with 4 foot dreadlocks playing hacky-sack? It looks like we're going to meet my family somewhere in Costa Rica around Christmastime. The earth muffin activities actually sound pretty cool though. Is there somewhere costal with like snorkeling and diving and ziplining across active volcanos and where you can sit on the beach at night without being bothered by touts? I guess I'm looking for like a resort-type area, but not for the type of resort where a cruise ship would dock or do 'excursions' to.
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Aug 5, 2015 12:59
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Hadlock posted:The bus stations along the coast are way the hell away from the city centers so budget time to get there if you bus. Wait, why are the bus stations not in the city centers? That means you have to take a taxi to and from the bus station to get where you actually want to be in Cartagena and Santa Marta and etc?
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Aug 8, 2015 10:27
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This is a pretty specific question, but how are people buying tickets in advance for travel within Argentina without being hosed by the fake exchange rate? Like I'm trying to buy tickets to Colonia for a daytrip on the ferry, but on Seacat and Buquebus I have to select Argentina as my country (if I select Uruguay, I can only purchase tickets in the other direction) which increases the prices by ~50%. The best I can figure out is to buy two one-ways, one from each country, but this still seems kind of stupid. The tickets are like US$90 round-trip on the government exchange rate and correspondingly like $50 on the real exchange rate. On the other hand, the ferry prices for Colonia Express at dirt cheap (AR$200 round trip) but their website sucks absolute balls and I can't even figure out if they're selling the fast ferry or short ferry tickets. Also bus tickets I'm wondering the same issue: is there any way to buy them in advance online using the correct exchange rate?
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Aug 10, 2015 10:16
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After talking to a couple Argentines, it looks like you have to book pretty much everything in person on the ground to avoid crazy transaction fees. I've booked a week at an apartment in BA now so I guess I'll figure everything out on the ground the first couple days. I'm looking forward to the sanity of Chile and all of the other countries in SA whose names don't rhyme with "Menezuela" or "Fargentina". E: It's so frustrating to find cheap and great plane tickets (BA -> Iguazu -> Cordoba for AR$2600) and not being able to buy them since I can't walk in to some agency and pay cash. Flights seem to be the same price as buses which goes against everything I've read online. Like it's AR$1100 from BA to Iguazu Falls for a bus on Omni Lineas and AR$1500 from Iguazu to Cordoba. Saladman fucked around with this message at 11:19 on Aug 11, 2015 |
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Aug 11, 2015 11:06
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So is El Niño rocking South America entirely? I'm flying into BA next week for a four month trip of South America, and it looks like everywhere we want to go is underwater. The outskirts of BA flooded, the desert highlands of Antofagasta have gotten like 15 years worth of rain in the past 6 months, and it's constantly raining in Machu Picchu despite it being, nominally, still the dry season. Costa Rica looks like it's getting punishing rains now too, although I guess that's normal this time of year there anyway.
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Sep 4, 2015 20:20
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Does anyone have any great ideas for what we should do between Iguazu Falls and getting to Chile (either Santiago or Puerto Montt)? This would be like for the end of September and we have ~2 weeks -- or really as much time as we want -- to get from Iguazu to "there" (wherever that is). Flights look pretty crazy expensive to El Calafate or even Bariloche, so I guess we'll take buses, but there don't seem to be a whole lot of places to stop except maybe Misiones and Cordoba which are only ~1/4th-1/3rd of the way. Any suggestions? Mendoza looks pretty boring this time of year... and we're from like the world's most beautiful vineyards (Lavaux) so we're kind of thinking Mendoza will be underwhelming.
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Sep 9, 2015 21:50
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I really don't understand how the Dolar Blue works. Every time I've changed money, I've gotten way better rates than listed on http://dolarblue.net/. Like, I changed $1100 at a rate of 15.4 pesos to the dollar and 16.8 pesos to the euro, both of which are better than the listed rates for venta (15.1 and 16.7), and this was off Calle Florida when we went up with someone we found muttering "cambio cambio cambio". We then proceeded to -spend- all that money, so it was 100% legit bills and properly counted etc. God it's annoying that 100 pesos is the largest bill though.
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Sep 15, 2015 22:56
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On the topic of spending all that money, does anyone have any particular suggestions for El Calafate or Ushuaia? We've got three full days in both places, two weeks from now, and so far we can really only figure out to do with one day in each (Petito Moreno glacier, and then the Tierra del Fuego park). Anyone have any great tips for that?
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Sep 16, 2015 01:26
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Sumptious posted:Has anyone spent around three months in South America? I'd like to go for about that amount of time and was wondering what would be a rough estimate the of cost if one was to stay in hostels, eat basic meals and mainly travel around via bus. I'm in the midst of a four month trip around South America and we've budgeted out around $1500/mo/ea (for two) for Argentina and then up from Chile to Colombia. Then we bought tickets to El Calafate and Ushuaia which absolutely wrecked our budget, but it wasn't really a red line either. Beyond that $1500 seems fine for Argentina if you're exchanging at the blue rate (currently like US$1=AR$15.8, vs. US$1=AR$9.4 if you use an ATM in the country). I think Venezuela is impossible at the government rate now unless you're a millionaire anyway. We had to cross it off anyway since they now no longer give visas on arrival to American citizens... and their government is DPRK levels of hosed up.
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Sep 18, 2015 19:17
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Hey King Metal, is pretty much everything back to Chile that's not in Illapel? We're thinking of going to Valparaiso in like 2-3 weeks to hang out there, but aren't sure if everything's normal yet (or even how to check). It seems like it should be, but you never know when an earthquake has cracked the main road into town or whatever.
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Sep 22, 2015 20:43
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Since this thread has gone on a Chile trend, has anyone been up to the Damas Island area near La Serena? If I go there in mid/late October, will I see the poo poo out of Humboldt penguins, all the penguins I can handle? I find a lot of stuff online about this place, but very little about how it varies from season to season. It's full of penguins in summer (although this year it sounds like they might largely starve to death thanks to El Niño :'( ), but what about mid-spring? Any other penguin-filled areas would be nice tips too, if people know decent locations from early Oct to early November on the central Pacific coast. The closer the better, and the less boating required the better too.
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Sep 29, 2015 02:27
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I feel like a lot of money could be made in Chile and Argentina by informing homeowners that insulation and double paned windows have been invented and are readily available in mass quantities.
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Oct 8, 2015 17:18
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This is kind of a long-shot, given that this thread only gets like four posts a week, but: is it possible to catch a trip directly from Calama to the Salar de Uyuni, or do you -have- to go through San Pedro de Atacama? We want to rent a car, which basically has to be done (and returned?) in Calama, but then taking a bus back to San Pedro to catch our Uyuni visit seems like a hassle. Any alternatives welcome. Taking the package tours each day in San Pedro is a little less ideal (and also more expensive, though convenience / free will are the bigger reasons for wanting to rent a car).
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Oct 12, 2015 01:19
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I know no one replied to this before, but holy poo poo San Pedro de Atacama is so much better with a rental car than with the total rip-off tours. I don't know why 99.9% of the tourists who go there don't rent cars/trucks, because you see so much more and have so much more freedom, and then everywhere you go it's private, instead of shared with the other 30 people on your bus.
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Oct 23, 2015 11:32
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I might have asked this before and forgotten the answer, but is there any reasonable way to buy one-way international flights in South America, particularly Peru and Colombia, e.g. Lima to Bogota? Like a one-way flight from Cusco to Lima is exactly half the cost of a two-way ($150/$300), but a flight from Lima to Bogota is $583 one-way or $237 two-way ???
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Oct 25, 2015 00:58
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Yeah, I ended up finding Viva Colombia. What a goddamn steal, half the price of anyone else even with all the tricks in the book. VC nickel and dimes the poo poo out of you, but still way worth it. For Patagonia, rent a car for touring around areas, then take buses or flu in between if you want to spend the whole 3 weeks down there (eg 5 day rental in El Calafate, then bus to Rio Gallegos, maybe not rent a car there, then bus to Ushuaia or wherever in between...). The tours are crazy expensive and sometimes youll just want to photograph some guanacos or do your own thing. e: actually if you're a single traveler the expeditions are cheaper than renting, but if you have money or are outgoing enough to get people to split it with you, the car is always better, and everything is accessible by rental pretty much except hiking on glacier Perito moreno, if that was something you really wanted to do
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Nov 5, 2015 23:19
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