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 »

Money exchange

Hello all,

I would like to check if it is popular/esay to get change for Australia dollars to AR$? in BA, and some other smaller town, like Puerto Madryn, Iguazu, Salta, El Calafate and Ushuaia?

or do i need to change AUS to US dollars first, before i leave my home town?

Thanks

Trip report

Recently returned from 9 days in Argentina.

Flight--thought I had a deal with RT tickets from NYC for $340 including taxes but others on flight had tickets for $273.

Customs--best prices for whisky were at Mexico City; best prices for tobacco products was at BA airport. And you can shop Duty Free store in BA after you walk thru Customs. Also--why are Barbie dolls in Duty free store $65?

Money--3.1 Peso per dollar at NYC; 3.2 in Mexico;3.3 in BA airport; 3.8 to 4.1 in downtown BA. ATMS were hard to find on Sundays.

Hotel--Stayed at Hotel Waldorf--$50 a night which is more that I usually spend but it was very convenient. You can walk 40 to 45 blocks in any direction to see just about anything. Walked so much that I actually saw a fat girl and a building with paint on it--takes a lot of walking to see either.

Tango--first time I ever heard/saw a band with 6 accordian play... more »

Some Salkantay questions

Hi all,

yeah, yet another Salkantay Treck question! :)

I have read a lot about this treck here on TT to make up my mind whether we should do the classic Inca Trail or the Salkantay Treck. Given what I read, my partner and I have now decided on the Salkantay Treck.

But I still have a few quite specific questions:

1) The Route
I saw some itinerarys that hike for a few days and then join the Inca Trail. Some hike to Aguas Calientes and bus up to MP... I'm a bit confused about this.... does the actual route differ from one company to an other?

We would like to hike all the way to MP, and definitely NOT take the bus up.

2) The Price
Also, many of you quoted a price of around 150 to 200 US, but online it's around 350 to 400. Is that only because you pre book it online?

We'll be in Peru in around June 2010 and aren't really in a rush, we'd be happy to hang around for a... more »

Salkantay Trek Information Needed

My girlfriend, myself and another couple are interested in hiking to Machu Picchu via the Salkantay trail. I am looking for detailed information about the hike itself. Specifically how hard it is and whether or not a semi amatuer hiker could be able to handle the distance. How strenuous is the hike, how far, elevation change, etc., anything that you feel would be important information would help greatly. The female member of the other couple has knee problems FYI. ANY time you could spare to provide me with some information would be greatly appreciated.

THANKS, craig

Online Bus Tickets

Hi,

My friend and I have bought a one-way ticket to Buenos Aires and we know that we have to have proof that we will be exiting the country if we want to be allowed into Argentina in the first place. I want to book a bus ticket from Bariloche, Argentina to Osorno, Chile. All of the sites that I have found that offer this route ask for a D.N.I. and a C.U.I.T. and will not let me continue any further in the booking without these.

We are leaving in a couple days and we NEED a bus ticket out of Argentina. At this point it could to anywhere. Do you know of any bus companies that allow you to book tickets online if you are a tourist that is not in South America. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks :)

DIY MACHU PICCHU

My friend & I are heading to Peru in August 2010. We would like to do the Machu Picchu treck. Can we do it on our own? I'm not one to book a tour. I'm thinking we can buy out permits over there and hire a man and an animal to carry out bags who will travel with us.

Any ideas? Or are we best to book a tour?

Where's best for three night on the Uruguay coast?

I have three nights on the coast of Uruguay in Feb. I'm not certain Punta del Este is what I'm looking for, but Punta Diablo seems it might be too far afield if I just have three days. Any recommendations for somewhere nice and beachy maybe closer to Punta and Montevideo?