Friends for travel in South America :-)
Replies: 8 - Last Post: Nov 17, 2012 12:19 AM Last Post By: lucapal
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Friends for travel in South America :-)
I'm new to TT :-) loving the forums...I'm travelling to South America end of jan/ beginning of feb... Starting off in Rio for the Carnaval then heading down to Argentina... i have a rough plan of places I want to see etc but its all a rough guide and don't mind changing plans.
I'm a 23 year old female from the UK so ideally I would like to find someone else from the UK and preferably female. Maybe if there are enough replies we could go as a group... would be more fun :-)
I am thinking about doing some volunteering along the way to keep costs down and I will be completing a TEFL before I go. I also wouldn't mind going to a language school or spending more time with locals to pick up Spanish.
I am planning to go for a minimum of 3 months with a budget of around £1000 a month, If I spend less I am considering going on to visit SE Asia after I have finished South America.
If anyone else is interested in travelling South America with me, please get in touch and we can start getting to know each other :-)
1
just out of interest, how much are you paying for accomodation in rio during carnival? i plan on doing a similar sort of thing but im scared off by the prices im being quoted for hostels, so was thinking more sao paolo and then hitting rio for after carnival when the prices are alot more affordable.from the looks of it prices seem to be between £450 and £800 !!
2
Good luck on your trip, you will love South America!!!Weather is going to be hot for February so bring warm cloth. If you make to Argentina on summer time, you should go to the beach places (Mar del Plata or Pinamar). You should definitely visit Patagonia, Mendoza and Cataratas at Iguazú.
In the meantime, you should play JetPot Travel Slots (www.jetpot.com), you will find both "Rio de Janeiro" and "Patagonia" as their featured destinations and is a fun way to start experiencing your journey ;)
Kind regards!
3
A couple of pointsDon't expect to be able to volunteer to 'keep costs down'
Unless you have very specialist and in-demand skills you will be paying them...often considerably more than a travelling budget.
Don't expect to be able to pick up TEFL work either..unless you have the right visas for working,time to stay in one place for several months,at least some command of the local language and in many cases some teaching experience as well.
5
Agree with #3 re TEFL as work. Unless you're going to be in one place for say, 6 months, there isn't much point. You'd be better to save the $ you would have spent on the course, and put it towards your trip.If you're thinking about using your TEFL in a volunteering situation you can check out http://volunteersouthamerica.net and see if there is anything that would suit. Most will require a minimum time commitment, and usually some contribution to costs. Again, with only 3 months for the whole trip, you have to ask if its worth it? Not only for you, but for the kids / people you'll be teaching.
What might suit better is places where you can 'work for your keep' on http://www.helpx.net and http://www.workaway.info. They are generally private individuals or small businesses, and you can often stay for just 2-4 weeks.
You will meet plenty of people on the way - no need to tee up travel buddies before hand! Enjoy!
6
thanks for all your replies:-)I know the carnival will be expensive, I am thinking about enjoying it in Salvador instead of Rio. I have spoken to a friend who did it last year and said it wasn't as expensive as people said. It is only a rough idea and I can change if I find it is going to be too expensive.
I know my budget won't last long in Brazil which is why I am planning to spend more of my time in areas which are cheaper like Bolivia, Peru and Columbia. What about my budget... Would you say it was enough for the rest of South America?
I had a feeling that the TEFL course would be a little useless seen as I am not planning to spend enough time there. I will complete one anyway as I plan to head to SE Asia after so would come in handy then as I would stay there longer as it would be cheaper.
I know I will meet people there but I just feel a little nervous about going to a country on my own where I don't know any Portuguese. I then think to myself what if i don't meet anyone...
7
Your budget is absolutely fine for the other countries you mention in Sth America. What you over spend in Brazil you can probably make up for in Bolivia. If it were me, I'd go for Carnival in Rio and another week before or after on the coast south of Rio, and then leave.The comment still stands re TEFL in SEA - unless you're going to spend 3-6 months in one spot, then it's prob not worth it. It's not the sort of thing you can do for a couple of weeks here or there. In Vietnam we were invited to come to a class and just do some conversation with the students, but no TEFL required for that, and it was just one of those things that happened. I guess if we had been in town for a few weeks and had offered to help out with some free classes they would have loved it, but again, no TEFL required and no cost savings would have been made. If you're going to invest in TEFL, do it when you're planning to head somewhere for a long period of time.
