[kerouac]

I'm currently looking through some guides, and I was wondering what resources were most beneficial for you guys through your trips through South America? Do you have any suggestions for guide books, web sites, forums?

Any suggestions on cheap travel within South America?

I'm currently planning on flying into Panama City, taking a bus to Medellin, check out some parts of Colombia, then head over to Argentina & Chile, then Brazil, then back to Colombia, and who knows from there...

[speakeasy]

When are you rolling out?

I've found that you can pretty much get anything you need online without the need for heavy guidebooks to carry along. Wikitravel is often pretty good and it's frequently updated by new travelers since it's editable. Bootsnall.com is probably the best site out there for independent travelers that need info. Maybe couchsurfing.com to hook up with some locals before you get to town. I think Lonely planet is pretty good too if you want to buy a book with everything laid out in front of you. You might also want to consider the Rio for Partiers guidebook. I wish I'd picked that up so I could've hit the ground running better.

[The_CEO]

Here are some basic links I've got bookmarked (re: Arg & BA).
I used to carry Lonely Planet + Rough Guide in the late 90's...
Since then i just print out or photocopy a few pages and travel light...

http://www.timeout.com/buenos-aires/
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/buenosaires/
http://argentinastravel.com/

[kerouac]

I'm planning on heading out hopefully by mid-January. I found a one-way ticket to Panama City from LAX for $200, which is a pretty sweet deal. The only thing is, after Panama City, all the flights look like they will be about $500 or so.

BTW, where do you find Rio For Partiers? It looks like the Brazilian government forbade them from selling the ebook. Anybody have the pdf?

[Lumiere]

(12-25-2009 06:59 PM)kerouac Wrote:  

BTW, where do you find Rio For Partiers? It looks like the Brazilian government forbade them from selling the ebook. Anybody have the pdf?

A friend of mine wrote and published that book.

He told me over a beer in Rio recently that the Brazilian government banned the book because of one paragraph in it describing a certain kind of Brazilian women (popozudas) and decried it as promoting sex tourism. It's a bullshit lawsuit.

If you like you can order it from amazon or you can buy a copy directly from the guy who wrote it over a beer when you arrive. He lives in Ipanema. I can put you in touch if you PM me.

It's the best book written about partying in Rio.

P.S. It will cost you more to get a free PDF. The back of the book has tons of coupons for free drinks and other discounts . Using them alone saves you more money than the book costs.

[speakeasy]

http://www.rioforpartiers.com/english-pu...html#order

Hey, where did you find that sweet Panama City deal? I might be heading down there before spring.

[Roosh]

You can still order that book online. Where is it banned?

http://www.austriantimes.at/news/Around_..._is_banned

[kerouac]

It's off kayak and through Mexicana on January 13, but I think that price exists on a few days. It's a bit of a bitch though. The layover in Mexico city is like 5 hours. I'm going to call up Mexicana and see if they'll let me stay in Mexico City for a few days, that would make the deal even better Also, from Panama City to Medellin is $15 by bus

[El Viajero]

When I have free time I like to browse http://blogsearch.google.com/ to find blogs about the countries I am going to by other like minded travelers.

Other great resources (some have been mentioned)

-http://wikitravel.org/en/

-CouchSurfing.com (the trick is to view a city's group where the best tips are laid out, i.e. http://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=910 for example

-Find an expat forum/newspaper/magazine for the country you are going to, i.e. http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/ or http://www.thearepa.com/ for instance

-Browse usual travel forums like http://boards.bootsnall.com/?sid=1110512...dc17843869 or http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/fo...forumID=22

[El Viajero]

I think you also mentioned you plan on taking a bus from Panama City to Medellin. That cannot be done.

[kerouac]

(12-25-2009 07:56 PM)jmb Wrote:  

I think you also mentioned you plan on taking a bus from Panama City to Medellin. That cannot be done.

Ah you're right. Thanks for the heads up

I just googled this, it might be a good alternative.
Sailing to Cartagena from Panama

I think it would add something different to the backpacking mix, although I dunno if I can stand 5 days at sea on a sailboat...

[The_CEO]

i think in the scheme of things, 5 days out of your life on a sailboat from cartagena from panama, would be a pretty cool experience to have

on the other hand, have you seen Dead Calm?

[kerouac]

(12-25-2009 08:44 PM)toddh Wrote:  

i think in the scheme of things, 5 days out of your life on a sailboat from cartagena from panama, would be a pretty cool experience to have

I think it will definitely be a memorable experience-- as long as I don't die at sea.

But so far I've been reading up on the passage and it seems to be pretty good depending on the boat one ends up getting on.

I'm just imagining the culture shock of being at sea for 5 days and then showing up in a bustling city. I think that in itself will be worth it. I think just the fact that I'm thinking about it so much must mean that it will be worth it.

As for the rest of the trip...

Have any of you guys gotten any sort of pass to get around South America? Or have most of you stuck to taking the luxury buses I keep hearing about?

[Kona]

(12-26-2009 02:25 AM)kerouac Wrote:  

I think it will definitely be a memorable experience-- as long as I don't die at sea.

I think that would be a blast.

When you reserve, just ask to be on the same trip as some females.

I don't want to sound like someone's grandpa, but be sure to check the boat's licensing, safety certificates and captains history. I don't know what the requirements are in that part of the world, but any decent captain should be happy to show you whatever documents he has.

Don't take the ones called the "Karma" or "Good Karma" I saw on that website. That's what rookies name their boats.

Aloha!

[Lumiere]

(12-25-2009 07:43 PM)Roosh Wrote:  

You can still order that book online. Where is it banned?

Just Brazil.

[playa_with_a_passport]

I don't condone piracy but on Bit Torrent sites(BTjunkie or The Pirate Bay ) they have pretty much every Lonely Planet, Froomers, Fodor, Lets go, etc guide book that has ever been printed in PDF format.

Instead of carrying 10 pounds of books, you carry only one and use a thumb drive or laptop to get the info you need on demand.

[rickyvogas]

I'll be planning for a vacation to South America and especially Brazil so just wanted to know about it more so that I could out my trip well in advance and have no problems later on. I am glad to have so many suggestions. I think the vacation's going to be a great one along with my friends.