Need Help Planning A Trip to South America

[VacationBuddy]

Hey Keny,

You don't need exact dates to apply for the tourist visa, just estimate dates. You get 90 days for a travel visa normally and as long you know what month you're traveling that's all you need.

Regarding the cellphone. if you are on a contract cellphone check with your provider whether you can use your phone abroad.

Otherwise, you can rent a a cell phone in Peru through many companies that offer national and international cell phone rentals.

If you are planning on taking plenty of pictures, the best thing to do is to carry additional storage cards as they hardly take any space. That way, you won't have to worry about finding a PC.

For Lake Titicaca, as long long as you stay on the Peru side of it, then you don't need one. But, if you're planning to travel into Bolivia and Argentina then you do need one.

As for registering with the embassy. Since, you don't know where you are staying, what you can do is register at the embassy when you get to Peru.

Vacationbuddy

[Keny536]

VacationBuddy -

Thanks for the phone advice - I will look into it!

I'm currently communicating via e-mail with the Brazilian consulate in Chicago in order to obtain a Visa. I cannot apply yet because I am still waiting for my passport in the mail (I had to renew it, it may still be a couple weeks at least). However, one of their other requirements is that they want a print out of the round trip ticket or the flight itinerary or something. However, I do not know which airport or airline I am taking yet, because I am going to go there after Peru... I do not even know the exact dates, and probably won't know the exact dates until well into June when I am on my way to Lake Titicaca. So how am I supposed to provide this information? I asked them and their response was "We do ask that you provide flight itinerary/plans of entry and exit from Brazil."

I replied back reiterating the fact that I will not have that available and explained my situation, and they have yet to reply. I wonder how strict this? Can I not give them estimates? I know you said I can, but why did they not just say that in the e-mail? It's pretty ridiculous.

I addressed the camera space issue below.

Thanks!


***UPDATE***:

I have sort of figured out how I will get from place to stay and where I will stay:

After landing in Lima, I will stay at the Loki Hostel most likely - I am still looking into transportation for how to get to the Hostel. Also, I am still deciding on whether or not to fly to Cuzco or do train/bus.

In Cuzco, I will probably stay at the Loki Hostel as well. For Machu Picchu, I haven't looked into specifically where I will be staying and what train I will be taking. For Lake Titicaca, Dos Manos will provide the transportaiton (75$ for a 3 day tour). I am still unsure of how to get to the Pantanal from Puno, but I am starting to look into that as well. I may even have to go from Juliaca > Lima > Sao Paulo and then bus it to Cuiaba or something. Hopefully this will be easier once I have finally decided on a Pantanal tour agency, so I know exactly where I need to be. (I am still leaning toward the Northern Pantanal). As for the rest of the trip, I haven't looked into it much but I don't think it should be too difficult. Hopefully everything starts coming together soon, because my schoolwork is not going to get any easier!

I'm still working on comparing Pantanal agencies - I will post again once I have made some sort of tangible progress.

Here's a few random questions:

Should I bring my laptop to South America? I assumed that I wouldn't because in case I get robbed or something. I was thinking that I just bring a couple SD cards, and not even bother uploading pictures on to the internet, but rather just bring a couple 8 GB flash drives and upload them on to there, and them empty out the SD cards. How does that sound? So all I will really need to bring is an SD card reader, flash drives, SD cards, and my camera of course.

I'm not sure if I will need batteries, my camera has a battery charger where I can just plug it in to an outlet. Will this not work in SA?




**Medical/Hygiene Help**

I need some medical help - I'm not expecting anyone to give me some professional medical advice, but just opinion based on personal experience, or links to some information.

Anyways, so I needed a Yellow Fever vaccination in order to get into Brazil. Before I could do this, I was told that I need to make an appointment for a travel consultation in order to get my Yellow Card (sort of like a passport for medical history I believe). The consultation was with a registered nurse, and it was free through my school. It lasted almost 3 hours! I thought it would be a waste of time but it was pretty informative. However, it is always nice to have a second opinion, so please let me know if you have any thoughts on what she is recommending below.

The nurse recommended a lot of different things based on where I am going:

-Yellow Fever Shot ($90) (done)
-Swine Flu Shot ($0) (done)
-Typhoid Shot (49$)
-Seasonal Flu Shot (20$)
-Hepatitis A Shot ($3) (this is recommended even if I am not traveling, so I will definitely get this done)
-TB test to see if I need a shot
-Tetanus vaccination (I don't think she mentioned this, and I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I'm reading that I should have this before going into Manu)

-Cipro - I think this is some sort of anti-diarrhea antibiotic drug that I should take if I happen to get really sick and have diarrhea and vomitting. She also recommended bringing some Pepto or Imodium.

-Malaria Medication - She is recommending I take malarial medication. She was unsure about the Malarial risk in the Pantanal, but she said that there is risk in Iguazu, but I'm not sure she knew what was she talking about as she did not seem very confident with regards to malaria. She is using some program/website called Travel Medicine Advisor to make her recommendations. She recommended taking Malarome or Lariam for malaria medication.
This is the main thing that I am unsure about, can anyone help me out with this?

Based on Google searches, I'm reading that there is about a .1% risk for malaria and Leishmaniasis in Manu, and there is almost no risk in the Pantanal or Iguazu either. Obviously these aren't medical documents where I'm getting this information from, but rather from tourists who have had personal experiences with this, and also from tour agencies.
Tourists are saying that the malaria tablets will just make you feel sick and ruin the trip, and there is no point. I should just stick to DEET mosquito repellant (30-50%?), as that will simultaneously protect me from Dengue Fever as well.

As for rabies, as long as I am sleeping with mosquito nets I should be fine, I don't think there is really a need to look into pre-exposure vaccinations for this, right?
I'm assuming the mosquito nets will be provided?

-She also recommended that I make sure that my medical insurance company is covering me when traveling abroad - to make sure that their policy applies overseas and whether it will cover emergency expences such as medical evacuation. This is what most travelers do, right? I'm going to call my health insurer soon.

-She also recommended drinking only bottled or boiled water. Will I have to buy a case load of bottled water over there? Where will I get this? She gave me a sheet with all of these tips, they even go as far to say as use bottled water to brush my teeth. Also, never drink unpasteurized milk - that makes sense.
She also said to bring some electrolyte powder patches (i.e. Gatorade) to put in your water because your body will need electrolytes even more in that part of the world.. I forget what her justification was exactly, something about the proper minerals not being in their food I believe.

Please post if you have any input on any of this! Thanks!

[VacationBuddy]

Hi Keny,

Sorry to hear that! I know how frustrating this is. If you are required to provide these details, then you can't apply for a visa. However, I am thinking that you could apply for the Brazilian visa when you arrive in Peru from the embassy there, although I am not sure how long it would take.

Try and ask the Brazilian consulate in Chicago about applying for the Brazilian visa while in Peru, and see what they say.

The laptop would be a nice addition to the trip as some hostels do provide internet so you could keep in touch by email and even skype. Do make sure not to flash your valuables and you'll be fine there.

Otherwise, the store cards are a great option to store the pictures.

In SA, the use both flat and round pins so I would suggest buying a multiple plug converter, which are quite cheap anyway.

The Tetanus Vaccination is very important and it is contracted by C. tetani bacteria that resides in rusty nails or rusty equipment.

As far as I know, the Pantanal and Iguazu Falls are areas with a recognized malaria risk so I would look into getting the tablets.

As far as mosquito nets, do bring your own as you can't guarantee the hostel will have them. There are quite light and don't cost that much.

Yes, you will need to drink from bottled water and even brush your teeth with bottled water as your stomach won't be used to the water there that's the reason.

Hope this helps
Vacationbuddy

[Keny536]

Vacation buddy – I think I will take all medical precautions – I am still researching what type of malaria medication to take. Thank you for all the feedback you have provided – I addressed it below.
**UPDATE**
Visa:
They responded back saying that they want to present the itinerary that I have + a signed notarized letter describing my travel plans.
So that should be easy enough - I'll try to get that done after I figure out a date/agency for the Pantanal, and when my passport comes back( should be next week)

Cell Phone:

I think I'm going to go with the unlocked phone - it seems the simplest option rather than dealing with Skype, because who knows when I'll have access to the internet.
So I have already unlocked my phone - now it is just a matter of putting the foreign sim card into it.

I have a few questions about this:

I have been researching companies online because there are companies that offer to give you the foreign sim card for the country even before you leave, this way you have the sim card already and you do not have to worry about buying it over there. However, all these companies charge about $2.50-$3.00 a minute. My question is, I know that when I land in Lima, I can buy a foreign sim card at the airport, but what will there rates be? Will they be significantly cheaper? If so, I will wait on buying the sim card. Also, are there any other hidden fees? If I buy my SIM card at the airport in Lima, how will they charge me? Will they ask me for my credit card information? Or will I just pay as I go?

Camera:

I think I will just buy SD cards and not take a laptop.

From what I understand, here is the differences between USA, Peru, and Brazil:

United States - 120 Volts, K Shape Outlet, 60 frequency
Peru - 110 Volts.. 220 secondary Volts, K Shape Outlet, 50/60 frequency
Brazil - 110 Volts.. 220 secondary Volts, B and K Shape Outlet, 60 frequency

This site is helping me out in determining whether or not I need a adaptor and/or converter:
(cannot post links yet, not enough posts)

Besides my cell phone charger, camera charger, and maybe an electric razor, I don't think I will need to bring any other things that would require an outlet.

Flight from Chicago to Lima:

I'm currently comparing different airlines, the best deal I have found is 344$ with Continental Airlines at despegar.com (the weird part is that Continental at other websites is almost 200$ more). The 2nd best deal I have found so far is 450$ LAN airlines based on statravel.com (I think it is a student discount), along with Continental via Studentuniverse(450$).

Transportation from Lima Airport to Loki Hostel in Lima:

I will just get Loki Hostel to send a taxi for me, I believe it is 15$

Transportation from Lima to Cuzco:

For bus, I am trying to use cruzdelsur - the website is in english, but as soon as I put my arrival and departure date and hit submit, the results are in spanish and I cannot find a button anywhere to convert it to English. I believe it's about 50-60$ though.

If I decide to fly, Taca and Star Peru do not charge much over a 100$

Transportation from Cuzco to MP:

I don't think I have much choice besides using a train for this, I have been referred several times to perurails.com - but I cannot seem to find a price or make a reservation. Every date that I put, it comes back with the result that there is no availability. Am I doing something wrong? Or is it really all sold out? I emailed them and this is what they said:

"At the moment we are not processing reservations or modifications yet because we are modifying train tickets and reservations that already where made you can check our available spaces in our web page perurail ones everything is done contact our Callcenter for more information calling to this phone number 0051-84-581414."

From what I gather, they are saying I cannot make a reservation right now. But it still doesn't explain why every result yields no availability, and why I cannot see the rates.

Travel Health Insurance:

I called my health insurer and they said I will have the exact health benefits that I have in the US, overseas - and they will only pay 80% of the cost, and I pay the remaining 20%, up to 1500$. Also, this does not cover all the things that a travel insurer would - it only covers medical expense and evacuation.

So I don't think that is good enough so I will just go with one of the following:

Statravel - 165$
Travelassistnetwork - 180$
TravelGuard - 119$
WorldNomads - 127$
It would seem like TravelGuard is the best deal, but I haven't compared the policies. I think it will take a while to compare the policies.There are a few others as well that I need to find the prices for.

Other:

Food & Drink in SA:

I think I have a firm grasp on this now - just stick to water bottles. How will I know if the dairy is pasteurized? If the fruits/vegetables have not been washed in local water? I'm assuming when I am staying at the hostels, I will have to buy food at their cafe, and then also eat out at restaurants, along with any meals the tour agency provides while I am at Manu/LakeTiticaca/Pantanal. So I guess I will just have to continually ask these questions every time I am served? Also, one thing that I don't think I mentioned is that I am vegetarian (lacto-ovo). This will probably make it more difficult! Hopefully not too much.

ISIC CARD: I'm going to obtain this from the study abroad office at my university. They require 22$ and a passport photo - it seems like I can get some nice discounts, so it couldn't hurt.

Pantanal: I'm still in communication with several pantanal agencies
Thanks for your help!

[Keny536]

PANTANAL UPDATE:

This portion of the trip seems very expensive – especially if I want to stay over a week.

Agency:

BrazilNatureTours: $1167 4D/3N north - transpantaneira

PantanalNatureTour: 1200$ 6D/5N - terrain : north – transpantaneira road (via car) + boat trip in porto jofre

JaguarEcologicalReserve – 250$ per day north – transpantaneira road (via truck) + boat trip in porto jofre

PantanalExpeditions – 350$ per day terrain: not sure yet

PantanalTrackers: 3100$ 8D/7N terrain : north – transpantaneira

FocusTours: 4000+ (too expensive) 5D/4N

Caiman: 4500+ 4D/3N (too expensive)

Dehouche: 5500+ (too expensive)

From this list – in my opinion, the obvious choice would by the second one, PantanalNatureTours – it seems that it is the most bang for the buck. I may very well do that unless someone has a better suggestion?

There is one alternative – I have been in communication with Douglas Trent, who I believe is the owner of Focus Tours – I told him that I cannot afford his tours but he offered me an alternative.

He says that if I can commit to staying for at least 2.5 weeks – he can arrange a volunteer position at one of the lodges (it wont let me post the link to the ranch because I do not have 10 posts, but it is called pousadacantoarancua) this ranch is only a few KM from the road (I think he means the Transpanteneira road) – during this volunteering – I would give English classes and also help with anything else, including taking care of tourists. I wouldn’t clean since they have maids already, but I would help “clear trails, maybe paint some rooms, who knows. You could put up English signs in the rooms about meal times, etc.”

So I don’t think it would be too bad. He would charge me 75$ for the costs he incurs in time and phone calls to set it up, which makes sense.

This sounds like a great experience - and if I had more time in my schedule, I would not hesitate to do it. I asked him if I’ll be able to see wildlife while I am volunteering and he said that I’ll be able to explore the large ranch and see its wildlife, but unless I have a car it will be hard to get out and explore other areas – there are jaguars in the vicinity but I would need to be fairly luck to spot one. I would need to get out and look for them. He said that he could also reserve several hotels for me and a rental car and I could spend my time traveling the Transpantaniera looking for wildlife. The hotels would cost about $150 including the meals – and he would charge me $250 for setting all this up. This seems like a good deal compared to the other tour agencies, but I’m going to ask for an itinerary if there is any.

So basically he is proposing “either you do a volunteer stint, spending very little money, OR, don't, and instead spend your money on a rental car and stay in a few different lodges.”

My dilemma is this: do I commit 2.5 weeks in doing the volunteering and pay very little – do some work, gain some experience interacting with the ranch and teaching them English. However, I would probably not see any jaguars, nor many other wildlife, which is one of the main reasons I am coming in the first place. Plus, I think 2.5 weeks is too long, it’s basically half my trip. I think if he agrees to bring it down to 2 weeks I can consider it more seriously. Right now, I think I would rather do the 150$ a day that he has offered or the $1200 PantanalNature tour – what do you guys think I should do?

[Keny536]

Update on my trip:

I am leaving May 17th and arriving at Lima, Peru. I am leaving July 12th from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and coming home. The tickets were bought a month ago. I’m going to start packing soon. Please let me know if you think something is unnecessary, and more importantly, if I am omitting anything. Also please let me know if I’m not allowed to bring these things on the plane, cause I have no idea. Keep in mind I haven’t bought some of these things yet, although I must do that soon. Thanks!

In no particular order, here is what I have decided to pack so far:

• Mp3 player, charger, 2 sets of headphones
• Lots of 50+% DEET of insect repellant.
• Some sort of travelers backpack
• SD Card Reader + SD cards + 8 GB flash drive
• Camera/charger
• Electrolyte powder
• Mosquito Net
• A few sets of clothes (how many sets should I bring? Will I be cold?)
• Binoculars
• Spanish – English dictionary + Portuguese – English Dictionary
• Travel pouch, two wallets
• Padlock
• 2 pairs of shoes, one for dry land and one for water
• Hand sanitizer/wet wipes
• Alcohol rub, malarial medication, cipro, pepto-bismol, Imodium, Tylenol
• Travel pillow, towel, razor
• Flash light, batteries, adapters and converters for electronics
• Sun hat, sunscreen, umbrella

That’s all I can think of right now. Is all of this necessary? I don’t know how I would fit all this into one backpack. Should I have a second bag and just leave it at the hostel?

Here is my schedule for the actual trip:

May 17th – May 21st – Lima
May 22nd – June 7th – Cusco (Machu Picchu, Manu, Lake Titicaca, Paragliding)
June 8th – July 12th – Brazil (Pantanal in Campo Grande, Rio de Janeiro, and possibly Iguazu Falls)

Things I have done:

• Shots / malaria medication (doxycycline).
• ISIC card/travel insurance.
• Brazilian Visa
• Hostel reservations for the hostel in Lima.

Things I still have to do:

• Register with the embassies in both countries.
• Make copies of my passport.
• Carefully read the lonely planet guidebook.
• Finalize the date for the Pantanal.
• Figure out how to get from Peru to Brazil
• Learn more Spanish and Portuguese (haha I am so screwed)
• Buy foreign SIM card for phone (will do this in airport at Lima/Brazil)

I think the main thing I need help with right now is how to get from Peru to Campo Grande. I’m hearing that direct flights from Lima to Campo Grande can cost $1000. I do not want to pay that much. I’m hearing cheaper alternatives if I go through Bolivia (i.e. Cusco > Santa Cruz and then bus it to Campo Grande). Can anyone help me out with more information on this? Also, if I do this, will I have to obtain a Bolivian visa?

Thanks for the help everyone – this trip will be a memorable experience!

[Ruby]

hi Keny,

If you don't mind long trips, the other alternative to flying are buses and trains.

From Cuzco (Peru) get a bus or a train to La Paz (Bolivia). From La Paz, there is a bus to Santa Cruz(Bolivia) which takes around 14 hours.

Then, from Santa Cruz you can get the train (death train) to Campo Grande (Brazil) which takes around 10 hours

[Keny536]

So from Santa Cruz to Campo Grande it will be 24 hours.. what about Cusco to La Paz?

[Ruby]

It is around 15 hours

[duncan.leung]

Originally Posted by Keny536

I will be in Brazil for much longer than a few hours!

Thanks for the visa information.

1) I do have a valid passport

2 ) It says on the website that it must be presented at the consulate 30 days after completion.. does that mean that if I fill it out now that it will be void?

3) I can just get these photographs as passport photos from Walgreens, right?

4) I'm not sure on the exact date I will leave for Brazil ... how can I do this?

I have a bunch of general travel questions - they might be stupid, but I have never done this before:

1. cell phone - how is this going to work? Am I supposed to buy a temp phone when I arrive in Peru? Or will my cell phone work there? How will I call my parents back home?

2. Camera space - I have a 12 MP digital camera that has an SD card (haven't check how much space the SD card holds), I'm sure I'll run out of space... so which alternative do you think would be smarter:

a. After the SD card is full, find a computer at a hostel (hopefully they have SD card readers or I will need to bring a USB sd card reader), and then upload the pictures on a private server on the internet and then clear the space on the SD card.

b. Buy like 5 SD cards

c. ??


3. Visas

I'm reading that an advance visa is not required for American citizens to enter Peru. But when I arrive there, I should check with the embassy or consulate of Peru.

So from what I understand, I can simply apply for a visa after I arrive in Peru, but on the other hand, a visa is required for entry into Brazil. Regarding Peru, wouldn't it be easier just to do it in advance while I am still in the United States? So I don't have to waste time going to the embassy? Or is that not even possible? I'm trying to figure out where I can do this ... I'm at the peruvianembassy website (it wont let me post the link)... but not seeing anything - is there a different link somewhere?

Also, according to travel.state.gov, I should register with the nearest U.S. Embassy if I am traveling in Peru - and I can do this through the travelregistration state.gov website .. I made an account there but when I try to add a trip to Peru, it wants my local address and phone for Peru .. I do not know this yet - am I not supposed to to do this until I arrive at Peru?

So I will only need a visa for Peru and Brazil, right? Will I need a visa for Bolivia if I am visiting Lake Titicaca? Will I need a visa for Argentina if I am visiting the Iguazu Falls (both sides)? I am assuming I will, maybe not for Bolivia - but I just want to make sure.

Hi Keny, about calling home- you could get a local SIM card and pair it up with an account from MO-Call (mo-call.com), which will let you make cheap international calls from that SIM. There's a link to initiate a live chat with the 24-hour customer service reps on the website, and if you explain your need of wanting to find a solution to make cheap calls back home while you're traveling abroad, they'll be able to explain how you can do so with MO-Call.

I hope you find a good solution that fits your needs.