South America

[dodo]

As far as safety goes, one of the older tour guides we read listed Rio along with the four Bs you don't want to visit:  Basra, Beirut, Belfast and the last I can't remember.  We didn't have any problems but maybe that was due to all the training we had from studying in Belfast!!!

Belmullet ?

[AbbeySider]

Some great advise on this thread. Hope to do South America early next year

[Croí na hÉireann]

KT, u could do Cuba in 2 weeks but obviously u'd be missing out. We did a good tour when we were there, stayed in Havana, Vinales, Pinar Del Rio, Santa Clara, Trinidad, Santiago de Cuba and Baracoa. The best places were Santa Clara, Trinidad (which are near each other and not too far from Havana) and Baracoa (which is right at the most easterly part of the island). Our flights with Air France in 06 via Paris were about a grand and we spent roughly the same again over the 3 weeks. The way Nakata describes is the best way to see Cuba. Book your first night with a hotel and then stay in Casas from there on. The hotel staff will sort you out with a Casa, in fact they'll be tripping over themselves to help you out as they'll get sorted by whoever u end up staying with. When you're moving from town to town the Casa will ring up a Casa in the next town, tell them what time your bus will arrive at & they'll be there with your name on a piece of cardboard to welcome u off the bus. One thing to be wary of is taxis in Havana, they will try to scam u. Some of the ones pulled on us were:

It's $25 in from the airport (well it was when we were there anyway), after arriving at our hotel he points at me, says "Twenty Five" then points at the to be Mrs. Croí and says "Twenty Five". So we argued the toss for a minute and then he goes, "Ok, ok, thirty five for two", knew he was full of it then. Unfortunately I didn't have exactly $25 on me so I threw $30 at him and went into the hotel. He was more than happy as that makes a huge difference to their week.

They'll try and fill the taxi and do multiple drops from the airport, bus station, etc. Agree a fare in advance.

They'll often say that the meter (cheapest way) is "non functione". Agreed a fare with one fella after he said this and then once we started to move he pulled the sun visor down over the meter. When we got to our hotel I bent down to read the fare on the meter and gave him slightly more. He looked at me as if to say "where is the rest?" to which he got a response of "meter functione".

Dog eat dog...

[ludermor]

Any of you ever been o a club in Cuba call La Cave ( or something like that) . Met a guy once who went to it and he said it was the best club he was ever in, DJ box carved out of the cave wall, the venue itself a natural cave. Tried to look it up but got a load of different places!

[Croí na hÉireann]

Ok lads, back for the recommendations, will be spending 4 nights in Cusco before heading off on a Jungle tour so a good spot required here to sleep off the jetlag & acclimatise, then the trip goes on to Arequipa, Puno, La Paz and will prob follow give her dixie's tour guide then as it takes in what we want to see whilst cutting down on flights. Not gonna bother with the Nazac lines as it's out of our way and haven't heard great reports, good but not great. What's peoples views on the Colca Canyon? Have heard mixed reports...

[stevo-08]

Croi,
We stayed  in novotel in cusco, see link below. Stayed there for a few nights before heading off on the inca trail, and then for another 4 nights after i think. Hotel was fine and in a good location, dont know about costs cos it was part of an overall honeymoon package we booked.

http://www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-3254-novotel-cusco/index.shtml

as for colca canyon, well we absolutely loved it but maybe that's cos we were lucky to see about 30 condors gliding just a few metres above our heads. An amazing sight. But I also know another couple who could just about see 1 condor in the distance on their trip, and left disappointed. So you do need a bit of luck with that trip.

enjoy

[The Blegard]

Croi, my jolly later this year is a toss up between Bolivia and Cuba. Going by flight prices I'm veering towards Cuba, though these discussions have me thinking to hell with the prices, head to Bolivia. Maybe you or anyone else who's been to Cuba before could  give me an insight into Havana and Cuba in general. If that's were I decide to go I'd be looking at a 3 weeker, avoiding the resorts, taking in Havana and maybe Caracus, or Dominican Republic.
[/quote
Been to and worked in both Havana and the Dominican Republic for a spell. Loved both. Cuba is very special. Havana is everything people say it is. When in DR I stayed in La Romania and Juan Dolio which is not far from Santo Domingo. All the tourist areas are in the north of the island. You have to go to SD and see the cathedral. They dug a tunnel from the back of the alter to  Cardinal Alarvere gaff just for John Paul II when he came visiting. When in the DR the opposite behaviour of JP is the fashion however.The town was founded by Christopher Columbus's brother so if you like proper Spanish architecture then look no further

[Ulick]

For Cusco I couldn't recommend the Ninos Hotel enough. It's basically an old colonial style house based around a sun trap of courtyard, spotlessness clean and comfortable, great and helpful staff, very central location and best of all it's a non-profit organisation with all proceeds going to run an orphanage and provide meal for children in poverty. If you are feeling more adventurous or want to get away from it all for a day or two, they can organise a pony trek to their 'hacienda'.

Only stayed in Puno the one night in a dodgy enough hotel, so couldn't recommend anything there. My advice would be not to hang around there too long, though the pisco sours are good.

In Arequipa you could do worse than treat yourself to a bit of luxury at the Libertador. They do regular deals on their website. I think they were looking something in the range of $200 a night when we rang them, then checked their website and they had deluxe rooms for $90 a night. Either way, this is five star treatment unseen in so called five star hotels back here. Couldn't recommend it enough though don't use the laundry service. Good shopping in Arequipa  but not as cheap as Cusco. Got myself a beautiful, hand made chess set for about $8.

In La Paz there are a lot of hit and miss hotels. Think we went through two or three before getting a booking in the Wild Rover Hostel. A cosy little spot with a lot of friendly faces and good for recommendations on things to do. For night-life in La Paz you are spoilt for choice but a favourite spot of ours is Diesel Nacional, a bar which seems to be built from recycled aeroplane and car parts. Pretty cool and laid back, jumping at weekends.

[AbbeySider]

I just got granted a two month sabbatical from work so ill be hitting South America in August with herself! I have wanted to see it for so long, I just cant wait. There is some great info and help on this thread, fair play guys. 

Ill probably be posting a few questions in the next few weeks 

[AbbeySider]

True to my word I have a couple of questions for anyone who travelled in South America..

1 - Did you get shots (injections, not the alcoholic variety) and course of malaria tablets? Do you know of any good value and if it is cheaper to go to your doctor or a tropical clinic? Is Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Hip and Tetanus all you need as I heard stories of the tropical clinics pushing lots of needless injections on top of the regular courses?

2 - Did any of you try any overland tours by Gap-adventures or Tucan Travel? Would they be recommended?
Im looking and a few 40-50 day tours and it seems to be great value. Any reviews im reading about Tucan Travel are very positive. With Tucan Travel...
For a Budget Tour of Peru, Bolivia, Argentina & Brazil (Incl Rio) (trip also in Reverse)
(60% camping, 40% hotels & hostels, Not Including Inca Trail & Excursions which are Surplus and Optional)
(includes possible upgrades to Cabin from Camps)
48 nights/49 days €1,450 + $600
(add €390 for Inca Trail etc)

The camping would be tough, especially 60% of the time but you can upgrade to cabins and hostels for €5-€15 per night (but id guess you could find cheaper on your own bat)...
Also I like the idea of the overland expeditions as you can pay and do excursions you want to do and wouldnt be totally tied down to the tour group as you have more freedom. Any thoughts?