Need Help Planning A Trip [21 Male, first time]

Hey wvDrifters,

Thanks for the info - I think you are right about not planning too much. Obviously I will not plan where to see Iguazu right now, but what about the Pantanal? Should I just show up there in Cuiaba and start negotiating with random agencies? I plan on staying there for 2 weeks, I think I should at least have an idea before I go.

I am not using a tour agency for MP, but for Manu, I researched many agencies and I found a cheap deal. However, some told me that when you are at the hostel, they find cheap deals for you.. so I am not sure what to do. For Lake Titicaca the agency also said they will do this for me, and it was only like 75$.


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 http://www.peruvianembassy.us/en.html ... but not seeing anything - if anyone can link me that would be great.

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 https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/ .. 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?

As for the Brazilian Visa, I am working on that right now, and I should have one before I leave.

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.

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***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?

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? It's pretty ridiculous.


**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!
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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 (http://www.pousadacantoarancua.com.br/) 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?
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My wife and I are travelling to Peru late this summer and I have done extensive research and already booked serveral tours. I'm not sure if someone already told you, but it is too late to do the Inca Trail. We booked two of the last trips for the month of August last weekend. You can however travel from Cusco by train to Machu Picchu, then take the tourist bus up to Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientes. We booked a 4D/3N trip to Manu thru the All Trek Cusco agency and they were very responsive and efficient, even with deposit payment. This is a bus from Cusco to Manu then back to Cusco versus the often flights in and out, so MUCH less expensive...$299 each! We also are booking the Lake Titicaca overnight stay called the CULTURAL EXCHANGE UROS - AMANTANI - TAQUILE (2 DAYS / 1 NIGHT) thru the AllWays Travel agent. I like their wording about being less touristy and that payment for overnight stay and meals on island are made directly to the family. Let me know if you want to know more. Reply to this