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Before anyone jumps on me, I did see this similar thread, but the OP there hasn't actually set a destination, and I have some more specific questions. I'm going to be traveling to Puerto Vallarta from DFW in early August this year. This will be my first time ever traveling outside of the United States, and only my second time flying on an airplane. I am 27 years old. So lets get some things covered first. PASSPORT: I applied for my passport towards the beginning of June, and hopefully it is approved and sent to me before my flight. (I realize this is cutting it close a bit, but I wanted to go before school started up again at the end of August. When I check my status, it says its being processed still and to call them with the tracking number if its within two weeks of my trip and I haven't received it yet. I'm not too worried about this as I paid for the faster shipping option. Should I be concerned with anything else? LANGUAGE: My major at university is Spanish Language, and I am very nearly fluent. I am white but I am always told by my spanish-speaking clients at my job that my accent is very good. I can hold conversations and talk around words that I may not know. Oftentimes spanish-speakers will ask me which part of Mexico I am from. I want to teach ESL to adults after I graduate, so one of my reasons for taking the trip is to practice more and get a feel for a different culture. MY GIRLFRIEND: My girlfriend is a Mexican woman living in Tepic. (Yes she is real, I'm not an idiot). The original plan was to meet her in Tepic, but flying out there was going to be a pain in the rear end because I'd have to fly to Mexico City and wait forever before flying back up north. I can only get 5 days off from my job, and I'd be damned if nearly two days of my trip was spent just on a plane. However, she suggested we go to Puerto Vallarta instead. For one thing, I could get a direct flight to PV for the same price as to Tepic and the flight is only going to take 2.5 hours. She has also been wanting to get out of town for awhile herself. Furthermore, she previously lived in Puerto Vallarta for about 4 years so she is still familiar with the area. While I'm going to defer to her experience, if any of you goons has knowledge of great things to do or "well-kept secrets" or whatever, I'd really appreciate hearing about them. GET TO THE loving POINT: Ok ok, so here's the point - like I said I've not traveled outside the US before and I have a lot of basic questions. Plane Flight: This is the second time I will have flown on a plane. The first time was when I was when I was like 14 for a school trip. I didn't really have to worry about making the arrangements Give me general advice here because I basically know nothing. What should I do about taking money with me? Cash or Credit? Traveler's Checks? (And do checks cost extra?) I've received mixed answers from my Mexican friends. Montezuma's Revenge - Do I really have to worry about this? Traveling with medicine - I have a prescription for a controlled substance (Vyvanse, its for ADHD). How should I handle taking this with me? I would also like to purchase Zithromax (azithromycin - its just antibiotics) to take back with me. What do you recommend in terms of phone usage? I've been told I should tell my carrier (AT&T) before I go and set up a plan just in case. I really don't plan on using my phone too much but my family (rightly) insists on me being able to contact them in case of an emergency. Any cultural Don'ts I should look out for/avoid? I am probably leaving a lot of essential things about, but because I don't know them I really don't know what to ask! So general advice on traveling would also be greatly appreciated!
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Jul 6, 2015 20:52
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has anyone ever told you that you have Ad&d? I can Internet diagnose you with one post. More seriously : traveller's checks: no, they are not used or accepted anywhere without a time machine back to 1995. Changing cash is also almost always a terrible idea if you don't want to get terrible rates. ATMs give by far the best exchange rate, but often there is a "per use" fee of $3 to $5, so you don't to be pulling out $20 twice a day, just go like once or teice for the entire trip and get a bunch each time. Also make sure your ATM card will work (tell your bank you're going to Mexico) and check on the back if it had a symbol for Plus or Cirrus (sp?) networks. Going down with a single bottle of amphetamine or whatever prescription is fine, as long as it has your name on the bottle and you haven't moved it into plastic baggies. Montezumas Revenge: probably not but some people get sick from eating local food more than others, so hard to say without knowing yourself. Tap water is safe to drink (generally) throughout Mexico but in case you're worried you can go bottled. For such a short trip I doubt it matters. Phone use: try not to use it, but for such a short trip it's not worth getting a sim. Make sure to have your data turned off or you might gently caress yourself with a $300 phone bill. International plans usually blow, but it's possible Mexico is a special case. . Saladman fucked around with this message at 12:13 on Jul 7, 2015 |
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Jul 7, 2015 12:11
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Thanks for giving me a serious answer.
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Jul 7, 2015 21:09
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