Not sure how many people are interested, but I always like to read other people's trip reports when planning a trip and wish more people who ask questions would return and report after their travels.

We are a mid aged, mid budget couple of travelers and visited Colombia along with Ecuador and Chile this trip (reports on those branches to follow). We don't party/ shop/ tan. We only speak "tourist level" Spanish and it was our first time in these countries, although we have made several other trips to other countries in Latin America. We are country people at home, but on our travels usually enjoy a range of country and city time. We don't have to see all the sights, we like just seeing how people live their lives.

We started out with 4 nights in Bogota staying in a hotel on Avenida Jimenez- pretty much the border between the old town and the cbd. Avenida Jimenez looks like a big busy road on maps, but as it is mostly a bus route and closed to private traffic in that section it was not at all bad, and quite suitable for walking by the long water feature. We felt comfortable there day and night but we are not party people and go home after dinner. We had easy access to all that the old town has to offer as well as to the pedestrianised Septimazo and the cable car up the hill. We liked access to "3rd wave" coffee shops (branches of Arte y Pasion and Contraste coffee lab) nearby. We also loved fresh juices from street carts around town. The highlight of our time in Bogota was a walking tour with the original Bogota graffiti tour. Our guide, Jay, was so knowledgeable, likeable, organised and passionate it was a privilege to go along. We learnt a lot about both graffiti and Colombia- he just wishes that people would stop watching "Narcos" on Netflix. We also visited the gold museum, the Botero museum (excellent and free with well displayed European masters as well as lots of Boteros), strolled the Septimazo its full length, walked to the base station for the cable car (guidebooks say this is sketchy but it felt fine during the day, tons of uni students around, and our hotel said it was fine) up the cable car to the church/gardens/view on top. We took tons of photos in Bogota and felt very happy to be there. We wished we'd had a little longer (we never made it to the more upmarket parts of town to the North), and particularly wished that we had been there on a Sunday (when many of the roads are closed and you can bike around areas that are otherwise hard to access). - A great stay in Bogota!

We then went to Villa De Leyva- it takes a long while to get there - took us close to five hours including getting to the bus station, which means it's too far for a short trip, but not really worth a longer one. We had a lovely place to stay in a traditional courtyard building and the staff could not have been kinder (no English, but we could all get by). The town is attractive but VERY touristy (mostly Colombians), we had some OK food here but also several meals that were the worst of our trip. We wandered the surrounding countryside, terracotta house etc. A lot of the surrounding countryside is pretty dry and barren. We were pretty underwhelmed by what we had anticipated that we would really enjoy. If you are fit and well acclimatised, then the hike and park Iguaque might be worth visiting for some Altiplanos landscape and frailejons. Overall felt like we had spent time here that could have been better spent elsewhere, especially given the time taken to get here and back from Bogota.

After returning to Bogota, we flew to Cartagena. It has a totally different feel to elsewhere in Colombia. We stayed in a charming Airbnb in Getsemani - great spot close to Plaza Trinidad. Old town and Getsemani both very photogenic. It is touristy but considering that we were there over Semana Santa it was not terrible. Lots of choices of all kinds of cuisine. If someone only has limited time I would prioritise Bogota and Medellin, but if you can fit Cartagena in it is a unique place with a distinctive Caribbean vibe.

From Cartagena we flew to Medellin for four days. We stayed in an Airbnb in the Laureles- Estadio area. It was a nice neighbourhood, leafy, lots of restaurants and cafes, easy access to the metro and the football stadium. We did a walking tour with Zippy tours in Comuna 13. I 100% recommend a visit to Comuna 13 but was very disappointed with Zippy tours especially compared with our walking tour in Bogota. It had too many people, our guide was rushing the whole time, lacked knowledge or enthusiasm for the subject matter, finished up well before the other group even after having spent ages at her family juice business. I didn't use them but suggest Casa Kolacho would be a much better choice. Comuna 13 itself was great and we enjoyed our time there a lot more once the tour had finished. We also liked riding the cable car from San Javier metro. We were so impressed with the changes that theses infrastructure projects have bought to disadvantaged communities. It gave the whole city a really positive outlook and so much better than just increasing policing. We also enjoyed Parque San Antonio (Botero's two peace birds - whole and bombed), the sculpture park, Park Arvi, Museo de Antequioa, city centre, the botanic gardens (Iguanas) and surroundings (more street art). If you have any interest in wholesale markets you will enjoy plaza Minorista (great for a juice or street food) - lots of photo opportunities . We didn't fit in a Real City tour (either of the central area, or even better the one to Moravia)- said to be excellent. We didn't get to visit El Poblado (where many gringos stay and play), or a football game (although we sure heard the crowds), and there are more cable cars popping up everywhere that we would have wanted to ride and nor could we fit a trip to Guataupe and La Piedra. Medellin would be top of my list for a revisit to fit these things in next time. It also seems to be growing in popularity with expats and just has a great feeling of positivity and welcoming visitors after such a tragic past.

After Medellin we flew to Armenia for a visit in Salento. We stayed in a hotel on the edge of town, close to the view point. Salento was also very pretty but very touristy (we saw more gringos and heard more English here than anywhere else), but tons of Colombians too who are enjoying being tourists in their own country again. There are a few activities that are almost obligatory- visiting and hiking Valle de Corcora, visiting a coffee farm, Filandia etc. We had two of the best dinners of our trip at a tiny restaurant run by a lovely Venezuelan lady on Cr4 (forget the name) It would be nice to strike out on your own for walks etc but it is very hilly. In Valle de Corcora, conventional wisdom has you taking an anticlockwise route so that the palms are the grand final, however we preferred the opposite as the palms look much more impressive from below than above and you can tackle the climb to la Montana when fresher. We had a very pleasant stay although it wasn't really my kind of place. The countryside here is beautiful, and I imagine that the coffee towns while not so charming would provide a much more interesting look at people living life. I believe that you can access some longer hikes into the national park which could be worthwhile. So I recommend either more rural or less, but not getting sucked into the "popular colonial" villages.

All in all we found our trip a great first visit to Colombia, it was very affordable, we always felt safe, we appreciate that the trail while well trodden by backpackers, certainly hadn't succumbed to mass tourism yet, and recommend a visit sooner rather than later.

Hi -

In the initial stages of planing a long trip around South East Asia and was hoping to get some ideas and thoughts from you (this forum has always been so useful!).

Some background information: we are a couple in our early to mid thirties, we are very active, are very very comfortable riding mopes (including in extremely windy roads), usually like a mix of food, culture, nature and architecture (but then again, who doesn’t?!), and truly don’t like overly touristic places or being trapped in party central towns overrun by loud tourists. I was recently in Bali and, despite my worst fears, loved it. I stayed about 20 minutes away from Ubud (by mope) thanks to suggestions from this group, took a long scooter self-guided tour around the island (Munduk-Singaraja-Kintamani) and then spend 4 days in Amed diving, swimming and trekking (also took a day mope trip to Sidemen). It was great.

I’m now trying to plan my way around Vietnam and Cambodia, before returning to Indonesia for a more extended period in Lombok. Ideally, we’d like to avoid overnight stops or even 2 night stops - would prefer to base ourselves for a bit longer in fewer locations and maybe take scooter trips from there. Also, since we are planning a long trip, we don’t want to burn out quickly or become too exhausted.

So far I’ve got (please forgive how preliminary this is!)

• Hanoi (sounds like a fascinating city!) - maybe 4 to 5 days? Longer? What do you think? I keep reading very conflicting suggestions!
• Bai Tu Long Bay - Should we base ourselves somewhere nearby to explore the area? Visit on a day trip from Hanoi? Suggestions very welcomed!
• Would love to explore a bit of Northern Vietnam and learn more about the ethnic minorities in the area, but finding it hard to plan. I’ve seen Mai Chau, Mu Cang Chai, Bag Ha… Any idea for a good itinerary? Ninh Binh? Still trying to figure it out!
• Return to Hanoi and trains to Hoi An (so I honestly can’t figure out whether we’d love it or hate it - would love to hear about your experience!).

Here is where it gets even more confusing - how should I get to Cambodia? Should I fly? Take a bus across Laos? Thoughts and experiences would be much welcomed! If we skip Hoi An I guess we could just do Northern Vietnam for about 2 weeks (?) and then fly into Cambodia.

In Cambodia I’m thinking maybe a week around Siem Reap, but fear it might be a bit like Ubud town (chaotic, excessively geared towards tourism). Is it possible to stay in a nearby town instead and then travel to Siem Rep for groceries/food/unforeseen necessities? Any recommendations? Other places in Cambodia I should visit? Battambang? Kampot maybe? Sorry this is so preliminary and messy! Just looking for ideas at this point :)

Finally I guess a short stop at Phnom Penh for food and more contemporary history, as the cheapest flights to Indonesia depart from there - although I could depart from Siem Rep if needed.

Also, I should probably add we must stay at places were there is either wifi available or good phone signal, as we work at a distance and must connect at least for a bit everyday!

Namibe Airport – City Centre:
Note there are no taxis available at the airport. Arrange transport before or try hitching.

Namibe Sights:
I liked the relaxed vibe in this desert beach town. From the train station it’s an easy 1 km walk along the beach to the “Independencia” – a large shipwreck.
Towards the other side you get to the port passing along the nicely restored government buildings on a higher road or on a lower road along the beach. On the higher section there is the old “Teatro” which a South African friend of mine should have restored some years ago but as nobody got the job it still looks the same – like a UFO landed straight in Namibe. Fortunately while roaming building there were a bunch of kids roaming the place as well, unfortunately there were some drunks inside and it’s literally full of shit and garbage. So watch your step but it’s still a cool place.
10 km north of town (reachable by minibus) you’ll reach Bairro Saco Mar where you’ll find people catching and selling fish on the beach, some smaller shipwrecks and the Puerto Minero now back in business again.

Namibe – Lubango:
Busses: I walked to the Macon bus station in the morning and bought a ticket to Lubango, Kw 1’900, 4h. There are different departures during the day. There are also different bus companies and smaller buses, doing the trip for Kw. 1l’500.
The drive up to “Serra da Leba” shortly before reaching Lubango is something of an eye catcher reminding you of being in Switzerland rather than in Angola.
If you after the overall picture you need to access the view point a couple of km inland. The bus won’t pass through here.
Train: The train should leave Namibe on Wednesday mornings at around 9.00 hours and reach Lubango towards 15.00 hours. Tickets are sold in the morning of the departure and cost Kw 850 for both 1st and 2nd class.

Lubango sights in & around the city
Cristo Rey and the Hollywood style sign board LUBANGO is on a hill overlooking Lubango. You get here with a minibus, Kw 150 from the city centre (or walk) dropping you at Shoprite. From there catch a small taxi, Kw. 200 per seat / Kw 1’000 per car all the way up to Christo Rey.
Tunda Vala: 24km from the city centre along a beautiful lonely tar road with farmsteads and beautiful rock formations. Where the road ends you’ll be rewarded with great views. Get here with a good motorcycle taxi (one with a larger engine). I think I paid about Kw 3’000 return.
Serra da Leba Viewpoint: 40km from the city centre on a tar road. Bear left before you reach the first bend.
Back in town: There was a lame mini fun fair at the Expo area and a car & motor race going on when I visited which was quite fun. Sometimes the police stopped you from walking and no car was in sight for minutes, at other times no one stopped you and cars raced by in crazy speed.
There is also an out of place looking KYAMI shopping mall in town.

Lubango – Ondjiva – Santa Clara/Oshikango, Namiba border:
Macon busses do the trip daily in about 8h. The price is around Kw 5’000. In theory they should start at 07.10 hours. In reality it’s always late for hours and definite reservations can’t be made until the bus has reached, normally around 10-11ish. Sometimes they can communicate with the bus and ask how many seats are free, sometimes they don’t know.
More important is that with the given delay you won’t be able to pass the border to Namibia on the day of travel which means you need to overnight in Santa Clara. I am sure there is a possibility but there are much better options in Oshikango, where you’ll also find supermarkets etc.

Smaller busses leave from in front of the Macon bus station in Lubango but they were over packed and didn’t offer much space for my legs. Therefore I decided to hitch to the border and found a nice 4x4 Pick-up right away at the same place. The car owner only went till Onjiva (45km before the border) and asked for Kw 5’000. The ride at high speed took us around 4.5h but the driver stopped in an area called Mongua for me to have a look at various tanks from the civil war rusting finally away in peace.
From Ondjiva cramped minibus brings you in about ½ hour straight to the border in Santa Clara.
Where you exit the bus you’ll find some moneychangers on the street who will exchange your Kwanzas into Namibian Dollars. Don’t arrive with large coffins of money :)
From here it’s about 250m to reach the border. Avoid people following you and offering to help you.

Cross the border into Namibia and spend the night there if you can manage. At Oshikango there are many good options. I would recommend the rather posh Sun Square Hotel, single N$ 350 / USD 25, breakfast included.

Now it’s the time to visit Angola as international tourists are as rare as wild lions, the country became affordable and people are curious and helpful. Enjoy Angola.
Roger

I’m currently in Morocco and will travel overland to Mauritania at the start of March. I’m planning on doing the iron ore train, spending a few days around Atar/Chenguetti/Terjit and then probably heading to Nouakchott for a couple days before heading back up to Dakhla. I’ve read mixed things about the prevalence of malaria in certain regions of Mauritania. Should I be taking malaria pills during the trip described, or are they only necessary in the far south of the country near the Senegalese border? Also, if I do need them, what’s the easiest way to get some? I’ve taken Malarone in the past but brought it with me from the US and it seems hard to find at Moroccan pharmacies, as there is no malaria here.

Punta Arenas:
There are “collectivos” (shared taxis) running inexpensively through town and note that many streets are one way for their entire distance. Apart from the stuff mentioned in the LP (museums, cemetery etc.) I would like to add one museum. It’s called the Museo Territorial Salesiano Maggiorino Borgatello. Ave Bulnes 3016. Tel. +56 612 221 001. Tue – Sun 10.00 – 12.30 / 15.00 – 17.30
Here you will find information about the now extinct indigenous people, the protected areas, the fauna (plenty of stuffed animals), flora, history and landscape of the Magallanes.
Money exchange: Fair rates at any of the 3 exchange offices all close to one another in the center of town a bit down from Plaza de Armas.

Next I headed to Puerto Natales. As the busses where already pretty booked with a long queue ahead of me in the morning I decided to hitchhike to Puerto Natales which was again fairly easy.
Take a collective to Tres Puentes (it’s where the ferry from Porvenir arrives) and head up the main road for about 600m to the Shell petrol station. Half an hour’s wait followed a 2h speed-drive in a huge 4x4 pick-up.

Puerto Natales:
Accommodation: Patagonia Swiss House (ex Casa Cecilia – same owner)
Calle Tomas Rogers, 60. City Centre, 2 min walk from Plaza de Armas.
Tel. +56 612 412 698 / Email: swisshousehostal@gmail.com
Swiss owner Werner Ruf runs the place with dedication for 27 years now.
Book via phone, email, booking.com or Airbnb in English, German or French.
10 rooms are available including the best breakfast in 5.5 weeks of travelling in Chile!
Single room with shared bathroom: US 39 / with private bathroom US 75
Double room with shared bathroom: US 56 / with private bathroom US 82
Triple room with private bathroom: US 96
Breakfast is served from 6.00 to 09.30am onwards so that you can leave with a full tummy by bus early morning. Juice, eggs, ham, cheese, cereals plus fresh homemade wholesome bread, yoghurt and milk. Any further wishes?

2 recommended Day trips include:

Full Day Paine Tour, 10 – 12h with Extremo Chile:
www.extremochile.com / Email: carlos@extremochile.com
Carlos Flippi: Cell +56 985 481 545. Carlos is an energetic and outgoing tour guide who works independently for already six years.
(By accident I spoke with his former boss who runs a big tour company here and he would be more than willing to take him back anytime - however Carlos is now dedicated to his clients only and wants to give them one of the best individual services available in the area.)
He hasn’t got an office in town anymore but will meet you for details there if you wish.
You’ll find all necessary information for their often tailor made trips on the website including prices.
They offer Hiking – Horseback Riding – Moutain Biking – Kayaking and animal watching.

I went with them on a day trip with very interchangeable weather so hiking up to the “Base of the Torres” wasn’t an option. Therefore I choose the Full Day Paine Tour.
Prices per pers.: 1 pers. US 330 / 2 pers. US 190 / 3-4 pers. US 135 / 5-8 pers. US 115.
The tour lasts 10 – 12h, starting around 7am with a couple of hours hiking time at various places like the Lago Grey Area (3h up and down to the Ferrier viewpoint or an easy hike through the Lenga forest, 1.5h), up to the Condor’s viewpoint at Pehoe to marvel at the beautiful Cuernos (mountains), approx.. 1h20’, to the look-out for Salto Grande, approx. 30’ and at a salty lake with flamingos.
Some tours are open for other people to join and they are generally done in small groups.
We saw low flying condors, guanacos, foxes, flamingos and nandus plus some gauchos with their flock of sheep.
Included are: private transport, a professional guide (Engl./Spanish), a driver and extensive snacks.
Not included: Park entry fees CLP 21’000 / US 31. Bring some extra water and maybe 2 additional sandwiches.
Not included but possible to arrange:
Lago Grey Navigation to the glacier, approx. 2h (while the others go for a hike in the area. Ask Carlos for information and prices once you book your day tour.

My secret tip for my next visit:
If you bring patience, time, money and dedication you may want to go for puma watching which I haven’t done unfortunately but this will be my number one priority on my next trip.
A pro-photographer told me that he spent some 5 days with a guide in the mountains and has seen them from really close with incredible photos.

Navigation to the glaciers – Daytrip with Turismo 21 de Mayo:
Eberhard 560, town center. Tel. +56 61 261 44 20 or 23
www.turismo21demayo.com/en / Email: info@turismo21demayo.cl
In the morning you’ll board one of their fast catamarans at Puerto Bories for a daytrip spent mostly on water cruising up the fjords (navigation time 2.5 – 3h each way) with some time on land for a walk and enjoying lunch at the rustically Perales estancia (ranch) where more photo opportunities await.
On the way you’ll pass beautiful landscapes, remote estancias like Ultima Esperanca (last hope), Margot and Perales, view condors, noisy cormorants and sleepy sea lions squeezing on tiny rocks. Marvel at Mount Balmaceda with its glacier and after approx. 3h of cruising time you’ll walk the last kilometer on a hiking trail to see the best viewpoint of the Serrano Glaciar. On the return trip (same way) you’ll stop at the remote and beautiful estancia Perales for an Asado (BBQ lunch with lamb, chicken and potatoes). Here you’ll be greeted with more photo opportunities of old trucks, sheep and a remote beach before cruising back to Puerto Nateles.
Until August 2019: US 95 per pers. / September 2019 onwards, US 100 per pers. Kids 2-12 pay half price.
Included: 1 coffee or tea in the morning / one whiskey on ice in the afternoon / lunch
Not included: Further drinks or snacks on board.
Critics: The catamarans take plenty of people and the sitting space rather confined around various large tables. No seat reservations. Information is over loudspeakers or by young volunteers on board. It’s without doubt a very beautiful day trip but quite expensive for what it offers for such a large number of visitors.

The same company offers a variety of other day and multiday trips, visit their website for further details.

Puerto Rio Tranquilo (PRT):
I hitch-hiked over the boarders from Los Antiugos to Chile Chico and later took a bus to PRT.
Be warned: There are certain busses like the one I took which are reserved for locals living in the area. Busses are large vans so space is limited. They will sell you the ticket 5 min or less before departure. And while there were about 8 foreigners hoping to hop on the bus only 5 seats were left.
RPT is a small town and very much focused on business.
The cheaper accommodation options include:
La Melita. Tel. +56 995 919 332 / and Don Kicho. Tel. +56 995 919 332.
Both are close to the church and the tourist office. They offer a bed for roughly CLP 10’000 on a shared base but owners were a bit grumpy. Only Spanish is spoken.
Residencial Darka (mentioned in LP). Tel +56 991 265 292. It more than doubled its prices and had grumpy owners. CLP 24’000 for a tiny room with 2 beds (sharing a room wasn’t possible).
On a positive note: The small tourist office was very helpful and the 2 ladies really friendly as were the young volunteers at the Catholic church offering a chat, a cup of mate or a film in the evening.

There are more and more tour operators now offering more or less the same stuff.
Capilla de Marmol is the town’s main bread winner – see below
But various other tours are on offer like a hike on Glaciar Exploradores (don’t go for the glacier, it’s rather unspectacular and flat but the many ice caves make for cool pics. Due to the weather I finally didn’t go.
Another option is the long and tiring day trip to the Laguna de San Rafael Glacier (note the minimum distance between boat and the glacier is 500m. Due to the change in weather I also didn’t go there.