Thorn Tree travel forum

Welcome to the South America branch!

Welcome to the Thorn Tree's South America branch.

The countries covered by this branch are: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile & Easter Island, Colombia (note spelling), Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands, Falkland Islands, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela.

We hope you find plenty of useful information about travelling to South America here. It is highly recommended that new users check out the some of these useful FAQ threads on this branch before posting a new thread:

• Brazil FAQ thread
• South America FAQ thread

Brazil Frequently Asked Questions

For the benefit of everyone dropping by the Brazil branch for the first time, please read this FAQ first. And I hope there can be some sort of way to moderate the thread to keep it updated and clean. I know there are some AWESOME regular contributors here who enjoy giving advice; I feel this thread can really help to condense the information available.

I'll go first, with some general thoughts from the South America FAQ. Many thank to Apollo for starting that thread and for a great idea. Hopefully we can have a similar thread for Brazil.

1) Use the "Search" function to find out if someone has already asked your question. Many questions have already been asked before, and regular contributors to the forum get tired of answering the same thing over and over again.

2) Read a few pages of posts. The most frequent... more »

Santa Cruz Trek - any suggestions for a reliable tour agency to use?

Hi there,

I'm hoping for some suggestions on tour companies that you have had a positive experience with in the Huaraz region. I'm planning (hoping) to do the Santa Cruz trek December 21-28th (somewhere around there) and am not sure how to book ahead of time and who to book with... many website links aren't working so I'm finding it a bit of a challenge. We're planning on staying at the Lazy Dog Inn before or after the trek.

Thanks for your help!
T.

Hosterias in Southern Patagonia near Punta Arenas

I'll be flying into Punta Arenas with my girlfriend in late march and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations about hosterias in Southern Patagonia.

hostels Puerto Natales & camping Torres del Paine

Hello,

I have 3 questions:

I´m heading to Puerto Natales next week and have been looking for hostels on the internet. Has anyone been to Backpacker El Refugio and Backpacker Kawahkar? How are they? Some suggestions?

I´m also planning to do the W trekking at the end of next week. Is it easy to buy dehydrated food in one of the shops there, cause I´ll be camping. It´s in fact not possible to find that kind of food in Bariloche & Puerto Varas.

And If you know a good address where I can rent camping gear, that would be great.

Thanks a lot,
Paula

galapagos multisport

Hi I have been looking into a trip in early june or late may 2010. I have been looking at some of the so called "multisport" options, with some hiking, mountain biking and kayaking. I am interested if anyone has either done one of these options or has any information about them. I guess i dont want to be stuck on a boat all day with short stays on beaches and rather be out doing something whilst watching the wildlife, although a lot of these trips seem to be closer to the larger settlements and might be able to be done independently.
thanks
ben

Single rooms in Rio de Janeiro

We are two ladies from Sweden traveling Brazil in January. We do need help finding single rooms in Rio from the 2 of January. Is there any private rooms avaliable? The hostels just have doubles and we really do need a low budget alternative. So greatful for your help!

Getting US dollars to exchange in Venezuela!

Hi! I've read a lot of info on these forums about the black market exchange rate in venezuela etc. But I can't find info on this.

Currently in santa marta and heading to venezuela soon. I have limited us$ in cash, some euros and about $450 in traveler cheques. How can I get more us$ in order to benefit from the black market exchange rate in venezuela?

Should I take colombian pesos with me and exchange at the border, or exchnage those for us while still in colombia?

Anyone know if there are any atms in santa marta dispensing us$?

Any advice much appreciated!

Jungle experience near Leticia

In march next year I will be travelling (by myself) through Colombia, also thinking about visiting Leticia. About that a few questions (speak reasonable spanish, so no english speaking guides needed):

• Is the jungle near Leticia worth visiting if done already jungle tours in countries like Venezuela and Ecuador, also considering that march will be rainy season?
• If going I just wanna show up in Leticia, will it be possible to get decent budget accomodation and good tours (which I have to join, because I'm travelling by myself)? Recommendations about budget ho(s)tels and tours?
• Which area will be best to visit compared to price/quality: PNN Amacayacu, Puerto Narino, Rio Yavari (I don't really care about luxury, atmosphere and experience are much more important)?
• Also thinking about going to Puerto Narino by myself, will I be able to do good tours there (it might be more diffi...