Thorn Tree travel forum

South America FAQ thread

Zedd_at_LP writes: The countries covered by this FAQ are: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile & Easter Island, Colombia, Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands, Falkland Islands, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela. Antarctica is covered here.

LP already have some information about the region in the World Guide, and also in the Postcards section.

Then there's the LP hostel booking site which can be found here: <a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.lone... more »

Peru, Ecuador and ??????

Hi all
I'm frantically trying to save for a 5 week trip next year around May/June-ish to Peru and Ecuador and I had automatically just assumed Bolivia as well. In the last couple of weeks though I've started thinking maybe I should go to Colombia instead of Bolivia - get off the normal tourist strip a bit. I am a 32 year old girl (woman?) and will more than likely be travelling on my own. Is it safe in Colombia? I would consider myself quite well travelled, although it has always been done with someone else, the only place I have been on my own is Cambodia and I survived! Now I'm not really sure what sort of a ransom my friends and family would be able to scrap together if I get kidnapped by FARC so if this is still a likely possibility I will probably give it a miss.
Any suggestions/opinions/advice is greatly appreciated.
Cheers.
Mel.

Beach Vacation in April for a single traveler

heading to Brazil in early April and the shear size of this country is making my itinerary a tad complex.

I have roughly 3 weeks, Flying in and out of Rio so I figure between landing and exploring the city, plus returning for my flight, this will eat up 1 of the weeks.

I'm a 28 y/o single traveler and I'm really hoping to spend the majority of my time on or near a beach, but I can't decide which one/s.

My biggest concern is showing up to a beach/town that looked so nice in pictures, and described so beautiful in guide books, only to be surrounded by honeymooners and old couples.

I guess I'm just going to go ahead and state in point form what I want, hopefully you guys can give me some leads so I know where to focus most of my research on!

I'd love a place with:

-a nice beach that has a good mix of the local population and other travelers.

• a near by town with some...

Chilean holiday- reservations

I"m planning a month long holiday in Chile starting the second week in Feb. For other Latin American countries, I have usually booked a hotel in advance only for my starting point, and then taken my chances as I travelled through the country. However, from what I've read, it sounds like this might not be such a good idea for Chile since Feb. is vacation time for Chileans. I plan to head up to Iquique, and the area around La Serena, and of course around Santiago. Can anyone tell me if I really do need to book everything ahead (say about now), or will I be able to find places (midrange hotels) as I go along. Obviously, that will allow me way more flexability, but on the other hand, I don't want to end up without a place to sleep. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Hiking Fitz Roy, TDP and Ushuaia, need logistics advice

Hi, I'm leaving for Southern Patagonia in two days and there are still a couple of issues involving logistics that have me worried, hopefully someone around here can help me out. My trip is focused mainly on hiking, so everything I take with me I must carry along for the whole trip (whether hiking or commuting).

1.- I'd like to avoid checking-in my backpack, and bring it as carry-on instead. I would check-in everything that is not allowed on board, such as knife, scisors, trekking poles, tripod, and so on, in a separate bag or package. The main reason behind this is that there are a few things that I prefer to have with me at all times, like down sleeping bag and jacket, goretex jacket, camera gear, things that are very expensive to replace if they get lost and also things that you can't live without once you're there. Most other things would be checked in, including tent, cooking ... more »

Sleeping in Bogota airport

I have read on sleepinginairports.com and poorbuthappy that the best place to sleep in the Bogota airport is in front of the police counter. Is this in the international or domestic terminal, before or after picking up bags/going through security? We arrive from Houston at 10pm(ish) and fly to Santa Marta the next morning around 7am. Can someone give me a play-by-play?

Cheers!

Peru/Bolivia Itinerary help

Hi All,
Have 4 weeks in Peru/Bolivia. Am deffy doing the Inca trail. From Cusco, I plan on heading south overland and cross over into bolivia, where a must do is salar de uyuni.
Any other recommendations on stuff to do along the way between cusco and bolivia and things to do in bolivia?

Also, i've heard that the bus ride from Lima to Cusco is very scenic. Anybody have any opinions on the bus VS flight options between Lima and Cusco?

Any recos appreciated.

Thanks.

South America in 3 months...

Hey!

I'm looking at heading to S.America for around 3 months next Sep 2010.

I have to fly into Santiago as i will be arriving from Auckland. I can either fly out of Rio or Lima and I'm having trouble making my mind up!

Ideally I would love to visit Chile, Peru Bolivia and Brazil. Is this a feasible route starting out in Santiago and then ending up in Rio or will I literally spend all my time on a bus! :S

And how easy is it to get around on buses? are they frequent? safe? I will be travelling on my own with limited Spanish

I would also like to do some volunteer work as well if any one has any recommendations

Thanks for any help,

Shell.

Manaus

Hi,

I am going to Brazil in January and would like to know if there are any day trips along the Amazon from Manaus and returning. I don't have time, so only a day trip would be feasible. Also, I use a wheelchair and cannot walk. How accessible would it be to do this kind of trip.

Thanks in advance for your help.