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 »

View OF Corcovado Mountain and Christ statue

Hi Guys,

I'm about to visit Brazil on my honeymoon and will be going to Rio de Janerio, I've been looking at trips up Corcovado mountain and Sugarloaf mountain but am having trouble finding out how exactly you get a view of both (see picture in link).

http://clotildetavares.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/corcovado.jpg

Is this photo taken from a helicopter? Or is there some other mountain behind Corcovado that you can view this from.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Paul

Inca trail... which is best???

HI,
I have booked a tour with dragoman in march to do the Inca trail.
They are giving me the option to do either

the Classic Inca Trail that requires the permit
This original Kings route is a 4 day trek, which passes through cloud forest and dramatic mountain scenery. It ends at sunrise on the last day as you trek to the Sun Gate for your first views of magnificent Machu Picchu

OR

Their own Community Inca Trail which is described below
This unique trekking route travels through spectacular scenery along the other side of the valley, passing through Inca ruins and staying in remote villages. Youll be hiking unspoiled trails used only by local villagers and Dragoman passengers, avoiding the crowds of the Classic route. You will also being staying within local communities that benefit from the treks and will help out on hands-on community projects. This is the real Andes,... more »

NYE on The Galapagos

My friends and I have booked an 8 day cruise which set off from Santa Cruz on the 1st Jan and as such we were hoping for some advice about where we should be for NYE. Is there anything to do on Santa Cruz or NYE or is there something better nearby? Any suggestions and tips would be very much appreciated.

cuzco/ machu pichu trip

I am planning a trip to Cusco and Machu Pichu in january 2010. Can anyone recommend a good travel company/ guide service to help me with bus tickets and train tickets there? Also a good guide in MP? I am planning to stay in Cusco first 2 days and then on to MP for two to three days. I am from Alaska and have never been to South America. I would like any suggestions that anyone may have. Thanks for your help.

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