Need Help With My Peru Trip [Male, 21]

I am still researching my trip.

I am still in the beginning phases of planning out my trip to South America this Summer. I am going to be graduating mid-May. I want to leave late May or early June of 2010, and stay there for about 5 weeks.

Here is an update of my trip:

Ok, so at least I have something decided. This part of the trip is finalized.. for now.

Chicago > Lima > Cuzco (all flights)

From Cuzco, (after Machu Picchu) I will meet up with a travel agency to do one of their tours through Manu. The question I am trying to answer right now, is which agency?


Here are my 5 options based on researching:

1. http://manuperu.com/

Manu Nature Tours: Manu Cloud Forest Lodge & Manu Lodge (5, 6, 7, or 8 day options) - price not listed, emailed them asking for information on prices.

This seems like a very good site and it seems like they know what they were doing, if price was not a consideration, this would definitely be my first or second choice.

2 atalayaperu.com/peru-tours/02-rainforest.php

Atalaya Peru

There are a couple of different options here:

Either the "Manu Park" 8d/7n tour (PRICE $ 970.00 PER PERSON + s/ 150.00 Park Entrance)

or the

*Manu & Tambopata National Park 11d/10n tour ( PRICE $1840.00 + S/150.00 ENTRADA PARQUE*)

This also seems like a great site and would be in my top 2 if money was not a factor.

This is where I need help, It seems like the latter is too expensive, is it worth it? I need help in comparing the two trips on this website, and also comparing the trips on this website to that of #1. Although it is difficult without knowing the pricing of #1, but any help is appreciated.

3. Pantiacolla

Cloud Forest, Lake Salvador & Otorongo, Macaw Lick and Pantiacolla Mountains (9days) in and out by bus (emailed for price)

www.pantiacolla.com/index.php…

This one seems a little longer than a few of the other ones, but that may very well be because bus transportation is used. This could also mean it is cheaper, which is good. Although I'm not very impressed with this website, I'm still unsure if it is really going to make a significant difference which tour agency I choose.

4. Perutravels

perutravels.net/peru-travel-guide/tours-manu…

*Manu Reserved Zone Tour (8d / 7n) (1000$*)

This site seems very cluttered, but it seems cheaper than the others, assuming the cost of a single person doesn't shoot the price up.
5. SAS
http://www.sastravelperumanu.com/english/manu-price-information.html

There are several different Manu trips, but I am not sure which one is the best deal.

What do you guys think?

One concern with some of these tours is that the price is assumed based on two people traveling. I doubt that I will get a person to accompany me, so hopefully the prices don't shoot up too much. I will work on getting the pricing based on my situation, but what do you guys think about the tours in general? Which one would you guys recommend?

After Manu, I will be back in Cuzco, and I am still deciding on whether or not I will go to Lake Titicaca. I definitely wanted to do it at first, but after seeing some videos online, it seems like it's a great lake, and it's definitely going to be a great experience living with the natives.. but I don't know if it is for me. It's a good place to relax, but I don't really see anything besides the lake. Assuming I skip Lake Titicaca, I want to go to the Pantanal from Cusco, and then to Iguazu, and then end my trip in Rio. I will continue planning this, but I want to get the Peru part of my trip finalized first. You guys say that I don't need a guided tour for Machu Picchu, so there really isn't much planning to do there right? I just want to get the Manu trip finalized. Reply to 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 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.

Thanks! Reply to this

fleet - thank you for the info regarding safety in Peru!

As for the phone, I will look into that, thanks! I addressed the camera space issue, please see below.

***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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Fleet – I think medically I will take all the precautions necessary! I am still deciding which type of malaria medication I should take, thank you for your input.
As for rabies – I meant that the mosquito nets would protect me from bats, who carry rabies – would this be true?
I addressed many other things below – thank you for your help!
**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:
http://www.magellans.com/store/util/ElecWiz?Args=

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 http://www.cruzdelsur.com.pe/inicio_2.php - 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 www.perurail.com 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!
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Other invaluable things to take, Alcohol rub, Wet wipes always have small change on you in small towns, they never have change and large notes are a nightmare to break, I found my most used item is a travel pillow, remember the climate is from one extreme to the other here so a full range of clothing for any climate, Good boots is a must. If you are traveling on guided tours most of your hostals provide mosquito nets, ask your guide, they are easily bought here if you think you need one. If you need wet gear ect it is available here and is much cheaper than the U.S. You can also buy all your sun creams bug repellents, calamine ect here. Drink coca tea for altitude sickness when you get to Cusco, its available everywhere or chew the leaves, it really works. Reply to this