Mr Burns said:
Vegas was great for the first day then it gets boring the same with Hollywood.
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Travelling the WORLD - Advice needed please
- Thread starter Weezle
- Start date
Vegas was great for the first day then it gets boring the same with Hollywood.
rrruss
Wandering Seagull
If you come to Argentina, look me up in Buenos Aires. I'll be here until Christmas then going to Patagonia and the mountain areas for a while before deciding on our next move.
Travelling in South America is cheap until you get to Argentina then the prices of transport rocket, but so does the quality.
It's easy to follow the "gringo trail" around most of South America but it's also easy to get off it easily too. A bit of Spanish goes a long way and the further from the backpacker routes you get, the more you need it (except in Brazil of course!).
Russ
Travelling in South America is cheap until you get to Argentina then the prices of transport rocket, but so does the quality.
It's easy to follow the "gringo trail" around most of South America but it's also easy to get off it easily too. A bit of Spanish goes a long way and the further from the backpacker routes you get, the more you need it (except in Brazil of course!).
Russ
The Mole
Well-known member
I want to join in with those who sing the praises of Latin America. I took 4 months off to travel there five years ago - and only scratched the surface.
My favourite country is Brazil - so much to see there - including football!!!
My highlights (apart from watching the internet in San jose whenwe beat Plymouth to get promoted) would be Iguazu, Ihla Grande, the Inca Trail (I know it's a cliche) and above all the Galapagos Islands). I then went to Cuba later that year for a conventional holiday and loved it .
Six months may seem like a long time, but it'll fly - I wouldn't try to see everything.
Above all, enjoy it - try to avoid the obvious places. And if you do go to South America, take a couple of weeks to do a Spanish course, then you'll be able to communicate with the locals.
My favourite country is Brazil - so much to see there - including football!!!
My highlights (apart from watching the internet in San jose whenwe beat Plymouth to get promoted) would be Iguazu, Ihla Grande, the Inca Trail (I know it's a cliche) and above all the Galapagos Islands). I then went to Cuba later that year for a conventional holiday and loved it .
Six months may seem like a long time, but it'll fly - I wouldn't try to see everything.
Above all, enjoy it - try to avoid the obvious places. And if you do go to South America, take a couple of weeks to do a Spanish course, then you'll be able to communicate with the locals.
rrruss
Wandering Seagull
4 months in Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina flew by. It's nice to have settled somewhere for a while but the feet are starting to itch after 2 months in the city now.
Mr Burns
New member
South America is the only contenitent (excluding Antartica) I've yet to visit. Its never appealed to me for some reason. Still gotta go some day though.
- Thread starter
- #26
Thanks for all this really useful advice. rrrus, i will definitely look you up when i get to Buenos Aires - how come you stopped there?
Could any of you please let me know what the best way to take my money is as well. Should i take travellers chteeques, or just leave the money in the bank and withdraw it as necessary? Are any bank accounts better than any others for this to avoid commission or get a better exchange rate?
Also, what's security like in Youth Hostels? Do you get your own locker? I'm just wondering whether it's worth me taking my ipod with me or if this should be left at home?
Thank you all again? I'll certainly PM some of you for some more info on some of these areas once i've worked out exactly where i'm going!
Could any of you please let me know what the best way to take my money is as well. Should i take travellers chteeques, or just leave the money in the bank and withdraw it as necessary? Are any bank accounts better than any others for this to avoid commission or get a better exchange rate?
Also, what's security like in Youth Hostels? Do you get your own locker? I'm just wondering whether it's worth me taking my ipod with me or if this should be left at home?
Thank you all again? I'll certainly PM some of you for some more info on some of these areas once i've worked out exactly where i'm going!
Brixtaan
New member
1) don't come back
2) leave Andrea behind
2) leave Andrea behind
Brixtaan
New member
Weezle said:
Are you f***ing mental? it's what they were invented for!
Gully
Monkey in a seagull suit.
Love South America. Would add Bolivia to the list of countries to visit, lake Titicaca, La Paz, Jungle, Altiplano and salt flats (which I didn't get to visit).
If you do get to Peru then try to visit the Nazca Lines, pretty amazing, Colca Canyon (condors) plus the Uros Islands on lake Titicaca not far from Puno.
If you do get to Peru then try to visit the Nazca Lines, pretty amazing, Colca Canyon (condors) plus the Uros Islands on lake Titicaca not far from Puno.
bhaexpress
New member
Depends what you're looking for. Canada and the US I know quite well and although there's a lot to see it's spread over a wide area so you'd spend a lot of time travelling and really not seeing that much. Also, I would suggest that there's not that much difference in the culture to ours.
I think there could be more interesting places to visit if adventure is what you're looking for.
I think there could be more interesting places to visit if adventure is what you're looking for.
JJ McClure
Go Jags
Try this website. It's written by a friend of mine who's very well travelled and done it all on a budget.
Travel Independant
Personally I loved Thailand, although it's obviously not the best place to go if you want to avoid the crowds. My trip to Africa last year was utterly amazing, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia are all fantastic, but there's some big distances involved. The USA is great with so much to see and so many different landscapes, but is obviously pricey, if your going there then west coast to the rockies is best. Not been to South America, but my brother spent six months touring there and loved it.
Travel Independant
Personally I loved Thailand, although it's obviously not the best place to go if you want to avoid the crowds. My trip to Africa last year was utterly amazing, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia are all fantastic, but there's some big distances involved. The USA is great with so much to see and so many different landscapes, but is obviously pricey, if your going there then west coast to the rockies is best. Not been to South America, but my brother spent six months touring there and loved it.
having visited around 45 countries worldwide
I can thoroughly recommend India with onward travel to China and south east asia. As someone else has said, your money goes a long way in these places.
imo, lonely planet do the best guide books, and Trailfinders are the best and most experienced people to get your round the world tickets from.
I can thoroughly recommend India with onward travel to China and south east asia. As someone else has said, your money goes a long way in these places.
imo, lonely planet do the best guide books, and Trailfinders are the best and most experienced people to get your round the world tickets from.
I won't do a list of recommended countries, as you're getting loads of those, but to answer two other points:
Money. You can get cash out in almost any country in the world with a credit or debit card. It's by far the easiest way, as you aren't tied to carrying large sums around. Take some travellers cheques too, as back-up. US$ not £. I'm sure some banks have better charges than others for this, your best bet is to look at an independent online money site for advice.
Tickets. While the freedom of buying flights as you go appeals, there are some excellent RTW tickets worth checking out. These typically allow you unlimited stops in a year or so, so long as you keep going in roughly the same direction and ultimately finish where you started. They're far cheaper than buying each flight separately. You can change any of the flights as you go by contacting the airlines direct, so you're not too tied down. For example the Star Alliance group, which covers Virgin, Singapore, Thai Airways, United etc, have such a ticket. You should contact a specialist place like Trailfinders with a rough idea of itinerary and get some quotes.
Money. You can get cash out in almost any country in the world with a credit or debit card. It's by far the easiest way, as you aren't tied to carrying large sums around. Take some travellers cheques too, as back-up. US$ not £. I'm sure some banks have better charges than others for this, your best bet is to look at an independent online money site for advice.
Tickets. While the freedom of buying flights as you go appeals, there are some excellent RTW tickets worth checking out. These typically allow you unlimited stops in a year or so, so long as you keep going in roughly the same direction and ultimately finish where you started. They're far cheaper than buying each flight separately. You can change any of the flights as you go by contacting the airlines direct, so you're not too tied down. For example the Star Alliance group, which covers Virgin, Singapore, Thai Airways, United etc, have such a ticket. You should contact a specialist place like Trailfinders with a rough idea of itinerary and get some quotes.
Trufflehound
Re-enfranchised
Time to blither on about travel guides.
Choose your guidebook for each country, rather than sticking with one series throughout, like Lonely Planet. The only region in which LP are genuinely better than the competition seems to be in Asia, in particular Southeast Asia. But even then, having spent three years on a backpacking trip around that part of the world, only the Thailand LP stood out above the competition for me, mainly because the original author Joe Cummings really knew his stuff.
In Indonesia I think Bill Dalton's Indonesia Handbook (Moon Publications) is far superior to LP. (If you go to Indonesia, try not to look Danish by the way.)
My biggest beef with LP writers is that they don't seem to like local food (apart from Joe Cummings), whereas I love to try new things wherever I go. The Sri Lanka and Philippines guides were the worst offenders in the 90s, but maybe they've improved in subsequent editions. There's a danger that if you follow LP's recommendations too much you end up just eating bland shit with all the other unadventurous travellers.
As for other regions, in Africa Bradt are fairly knowledgable. In South America I'm not really qualified to say having only been to Ecuador, but I hear good things about Footprint.
As a series overall I'd lean more towards Rough Guide than LP.
Avoid Let's Go like the plague. They are written exclusively by Harvard students, who by and large have little clue about the world.
*shameless plug alert* But in "on the beaten path" areas such as Europe and North America, Fodor's are the best because they use writers who live locally, have in-depth insight, and know the best places to go. People like *ahem* me for example
Money - agree with bhafc99. Get cash advances on credit cards from most places, but take a stash of travellers cheques as a back-up - American Express US$ cheques are the most universally accepted.
Choose your guidebook for each country, rather than sticking with one series throughout, like Lonely Planet. The only region in which LP are genuinely better than the competition seems to be in Asia, in particular Southeast Asia. But even then, having spent three years on a backpacking trip around that part of the world, only the Thailand LP stood out above the competition for me, mainly because the original author Joe Cummings really knew his stuff.
In Indonesia I think Bill Dalton's Indonesia Handbook (Moon Publications) is far superior to LP. (If you go to Indonesia, try not to look Danish by the way.)
My biggest beef with LP writers is that they don't seem to like local food (apart from Joe Cummings), whereas I love to try new things wherever I go. The Sri Lanka and Philippines guides were the worst offenders in the 90s, but maybe they've improved in subsequent editions. There's a danger that if you follow LP's recommendations too much you end up just eating bland shit with all the other unadventurous travellers.
As for other regions, in Africa Bradt are fairly knowledgable. In South America I'm not really qualified to say having only been to Ecuador, but I hear good things about Footprint.
As a series overall I'd lean more towards Rough Guide than LP.
Avoid Let's Go like the plague. They are written exclusively by Harvard students, who by and large have little clue about the world.
*shameless plug alert* But in "on the beaten path" areas such as Europe and North America, Fodor's are the best because they use writers who live locally, have in-depth insight, and know the best places to go. People like *ahem* me for example
Money - agree with bhafc99. Get cash advances on credit cards from most places, but take a stash of travellers cheques as a back-up - American Express US$ cheques are the most universally accepted.
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Mr Burns
New member
Weezle said:
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Man of Harveys
Well-known member
Trufflehound said:But in "on the beaten path" areas such as Europe and North America, Fodor's are the best because they use writers who live locally, have in-depth insight, and know the best places to go. People like *ahem* me for example
What have you written for them then? Don't be modest!
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I'm off for my RTW trip in 3 months. STA Travel have been incredibly helpful so far and have sorted me out with a RTW air ticket for around £1200. You can change flights for £50 a go. I'm doing USA, Canada, Tahiti (Moorea), New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, China and then the Trans Sib to Moscow. The Japan part is not part of the ticket but I really want to go so am taking a seperate ticket for that. Airasia.com are incredibly cheap for flighst around Thailand etc.
I'm away for 10 months (just in time to get back for our promotion challenge in League One).
So far, Rough Guides have been great for me. I'll be taking US T/Cs and credit/debit cards. STA Travel are also great for hostels, train/bus passes, mobile phones etc etc.
Have a great time!
I'm away for 10 months (just in time to get back for our promotion challenge in League One).
So far, Rough Guides have been great for me. I'll be taking US T/Cs and credit/debit cards. STA Travel are also great for hostels, train/bus passes, mobile phones etc etc.
Have a great time!
Mr Burns
New member
Definately use a Nationwide debit card. I won't go on about it but is a huge difference. ie Thailand 60 baht for T/C, 68-69 baht on Nationwide.Deadly Danson said:
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Trufflehound
Re-enfranchised
Man of Harveys said:
I wrote the 2006 updates for half their "Holland" guide and a part of their "Belgium" guide - that's where I have local insider's knowledge of...
eastlondonseagull
Well-known member
Weezle, you're a lucky bugger, am very jealous.
I got made redundant a few years back and planned to travel for three months b4 hitting Oz for a year. I ended up travelling through Southeast Asia for a year, and had three weeks in Oz! Best thing I've ever done
Booked single flight to OZ with two stopovers via Trailfinders. Flew to Hong Kong initially, then did it all overland until got to Singapore. Flew to Bali from there, and then Bali to Sydney. Got single flight back via Austria on return for £399!
SE Asia is amazing, as no doubt everyone else on here has told you (have not read thread, soz).
I had a month in China, six weeks in Thailand, a month in Laos, six weeks in Vietnam, a month in Cambodia, another month in Thailand, a month in Malaysia, two months in Borneo and then a bit over a month in Indonesia. It's f***ing ace!!
Fave country was Laos, spent Christmas in 40C basking on the banks of the Mekong in the far south of the country (the 4000 Islands) and then had new year in Hanoi, northern Vietnam, where it was 5C - that kind of summed up how varied the whole region is!
Local transport's all part of the fun, sitting for 12 hours on a bus with chickens, car engines and deep-fried tarantulas on your head. No joke.
If you go to Sabah, in Borneo, make sure you visit Uncle Tan's wildlife camp on the Kinabatangan river, amazing stuff seeing crocs, orangutans, proboscis monkeys, kingfisher and god knows what else in the wild.
God, there's too much to write about here, but PM me if you want any more info.
Cheers!
I got made redundant a few years back and planned to travel for three months b4 hitting Oz for a year. I ended up travelling through Southeast Asia for a year, and had three weeks in Oz! Best thing I've ever done
Booked single flight to OZ with two stopovers via Trailfinders. Flew to Hong Kong initially, then did it all overland until got to Singapore. Flew to Bali from there, and then Bali to Sydney. Got single flight back via Austria on return for £399!
SE Asia is amazing, as no doubt everyone else on here has told you (have not read thread, soz).
I had a month in China, six weeks in Thailand, a month in Laos, six weeks in Vietnam, a month in Cambodia, another month in Thailand, a month in Malaysia, two months in Borneo and then a bit over a month in Indonesia. It's f***ing ace!!
Fave country was Laos, spent Christmas in 40C basking on the banks of the Mekong in the far south of the country (the 4000 Islands) and then had new year in Hanoi, northern Vietnam, where it was 5C - that kind of summed up how varied the whole region is!
Local transport's all part of the fun, sitting for 12 hours on a bus with chickens, car engines and deep-fried tarantulas on your head. No joke.
If you go to Sabah, in Borneo, make sure you visit Uncle Tan's wildlife camp on the Kinabatangan river, amazing stuff seeing crocs, orangutans, proboscis monkeys, kingfisher and god knows what else in the wild.
God, there's too much to write about here, but PM me if you want any more info.
Cheers!