The Rough Guide to First-Time Latin America

Polly Rodger Brown And James Read

Description

The Rough Guide First-Time Latin America tells you everything you need to know before you go to Latin America, from visas and vaccinations to budgets and packing. It will help you plan the best possible trip, with advice on when to go and what not to miss, and how to avoid trouble on the road. You'll find insightful information on what tickets to buy, where to stay, what to eat and how to stay healthy and save money in Latin America. The Rough Guide First-Time Latin America includes insightful overviews of each Latin American country highlighting the best places to visit with country-specific websites, clear maps, suggested reading and budget information. Be inspired by the 'things not to miss' section whilst useful contact details will help you plan your route. All kinds of advice and anecdotes from travellers who've been there and done it will make travelling stress-free. The Rough Guide First-Time Latin America has everything you need to get your journey underway.

Informations

• Publié par: Apa Publications
• Date de parution: 01 février 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781848365759
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 15 Mo

Extrait

ROUGH

GUIDES

THE ROUGH GUIDE to FirstTime Latin America EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

About this book

First-Time Latin Americais not a guidebook: it’s a planning handbook to read before you go, and has been divided into five main sections.

Thecolour sectionintroduces Latin America, with inspired ideas of what to see and experience on your trip.

Thebig adventuretackles the nuts and bolts, with advice on buying your ticket, budgeting and packing, as well as how to get around and what to expect from life on the road in Latin America.

Where to goincludes profiles of 20 countries in Central and South America, plus Mexico, giving you an opinionated taste of what they hold in store, along with suggested highlights.

Thedirectoryis crammed with useful addresses, websites and phone numbers for everything from tour operators to volunteer organizations.

The book concludes with a comprehensive indexand all thesmall print, including details of how to send in updates and corrections to this book.

This third edition published February 2010

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TIME ON EARTH

OTHER ROUGH GUIDES INCLUDE:

MAP

GUIDEBOOK

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GUIDEBOOK

GUIDEBOOK

PHRASEBOOK

The publishers and authors have done their best to ensure the accuracy and currency of all the information in The Rough Guide toFirst Time Latin America, however, they can accept no responsibility for any loss, injury, or inconvenience sustained by any traveller as a result of information or advice contained in the guide.

TheRough Guideto

First-Time Latin America

written and researched by Polly Rodger Brown and James Read

www.roughguides.com

Colour section

C

on

1

Introduction ............................... 6 Preparing for your  big adventure.......................... 9 Reasons to go.......................... 11

The big adventure

17

1 Planning ............. 19your route 2 Visas, tickets and  insurance ............................ 45 3 Studying, volunteering and  working ............................... 55 4to go ......................... 65 When 5........ 74 How much will it cost? 6 Guidebooks and other  resources ............................ 82 7to take ....................... 93 What 8first night................... 104 Your 9shock.................... 111 Culture G Getting around .................. 127 H Accommodation................ 145 I Staying healthy ................. 157 Jin touch ............... 173 Keeping Kand safety............... 179 Crime Lhome ................... 194 Coming

Where to go

199

Mexico & Central America Mexico ................................... 201 Belize ..................................... 207 Costa Rica ............................. 211 El Salvador............................. 216 Guatemala ............................. 220

t

en

t

s

Honduras ............................... 224 Nicaragua .............................. 228 Panama.................................. 232

South America Argentina .............................. 237 Bolivia .................................... 243 Brazil...................................... 248 Chile ...................................... 255 Colombia ............................... 261 Ecuador ................................. 266 The Guianas........................... 271 Paraguay................................ 276 Peru ....................................... 280 Uruguay ................................. 286 Venezuela ............................. 290

Directory

295

Discount travel agents ........... 297 Online booking agents ........... 297 Specialist tour operators........ 298 Volunteer organizations.......... 301 Health .................................... 301 Official advice on international  trouble spots ..................... 302 Responsible tourism .............. 303 Travel book and map stores... 303 Online travel resources .......... 304 Specialist Latin American  resource centres ............... 304 Travel equipment suppliers .... 305

Travel store

Small print & Index

Whitewater rafting, ChileWoman wearing traditional clothes, Cusco, Peru

309

311

| C O N T E N T S

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3

G u l f o f M e x i c o

IN | TRODUCTION

MEXICO & CENTRAL AMERICA

A T L A N T I C O C E A N

HAITI

Cancún

Veracruz Chetumal JAMAICA Belize City Oaxaca Belmopan Bay Islands BELIZE C A R I B B E A N S E A GUATEMALA San Pedro Sula Quetzaltenango HONDURAS Antigua Tegucigalpa EL Guatemala City NICARAGUA SALVADOR San Salvador Bluefields Managua Lago de Nicaragua Granada Puerto COSTA RICA Panama Limón Colón City San José PANAMA C O L O M B I A David

Metres 3000 2000 1000 500 200 0

4

CUBA

Mérida

Chihuahua

|

500 km

Mexico City

Guadalajara

M E X I C O

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

0

Ciudad Juárez

Monterrey

P A C I F I C O C E A N

San Luis Potosí

T r op i c o f C a n c e r

U S A

Tijuana

La Paz

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SOUTH AMERICA A T L A N T I C O C E A N Barranquilla Caracas Cartagena PANAMA Ciudad Bolívar Georgetown Medellín VENEZUELA Paramaribo G Bogotá U Cayenne Y A SURINAME N A C O L O M B I A FRENCH Cali GUIANA San Agustín Quito Macapa ECUADOR Chimborazo Manaus Belém Guayaquil a s (6310m) n a z o Rí o A m Iquitos Leticia

0

São Luis

1000 km

E q u a t o r

Fortaleza

Huascarán Natal Trujillo Pôrto Velho (6768m) B R A Z I L P E R U Recife Lima Cusco Aracaju Illimani Lake Titicaca (6402m) Trinidad Brasília Arequipa Ilhéus B O L I V I A La Paz Diamantina Sucre Corumba Arica Campo Belo Iquique Potosí Grande Horizonte Vitória Antofagasta Concepción São Paolo Campos Salta PARAGUAY E Rio de Janeiro L I Santos H Asunción T C Corrientes Curitiba r o p i c o f C a P A C I F I C p r i c o r A R G E N T I N A n Florianópolis O C E A N Córdoba Santa Fé Pôrto Alegre Valparaíso URUGUAY Río Grande Aconcagua Rosario Santiago (6959m) Montevideo Buenos Aires Concepción Mar del Plata Bahia Blanca Valdivia Puerto Montt A I N Isla de Chiloé O G A T L A N T I C A T O C E A N A P Falkland Islands/ Río Islas Malvinas El Calafate Gallegos Metres Straits of Magellan Stanley Punta Arenas Ushuaia 5000 South Georgia Cape Horn 4000 2000 1000 500 200 0

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 Introduction to | I N T R O D U C T I O N | First-Time Latin America The extreme variety and beauty of Latin America’s landscapes and the extraordinary vitality of its people have always attracted travellers looking for experiences that will enrich and even change their lives. And the sheer diversity of the region is such that it has something to offer almost every taste, whether you’re looking for a short relaxing break to get away from it all, or a long adventure full of exciting challenges and new encounters. You may find yourself sipping caipirinhas with the beautiful people on Copacabana beach; salsa-dancing the night away in the steamy nightclubs of Cali; or searching for leatherback turtles by moonlight on the shores of the Caribbean. If it’s adventure you’re after, you could be trekking through the high Andes to the lost Inca city of Machu Picchu; searching for rare wildlife in the immense rainforests of the Amazon; or riding on a cattle drive with the gauchos of Argentina. Neary a these actîvîtîes are afordabe even or www.roughguides.com traveers on a tîght budget, because most o Latîn Amerîca îs înexpensîve compared to Europe or the Unîted States (though generay a more expen- sîve pace to trave than Arîca or Asîa). Managed careuy, your money wî go much urther than ît does back home. Unsurprîsîngy, a growîng number o adventurers rom a over the word are vîsîtîng the regîon, and there’s now a we-estabîshed “Grîngo Traî” înkîng 6 the maîn attractîons în each country, wîth many cîtîes and towns home to a îvey traveers’ scene.Thîs îs nowhere near as întense as on the backpackers’

 Lapa, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

traî în Asîa, however, and one o the joys o trave în Latîn Amerîca îs that ît’s rereshîngy easy to get of the beaten track and vîsît paces that as yet see ew or no tourîsts.Thîs becomes even easîer î you earn a îtte Spanîsh - the one anguage that înks the overwhemîng majorîty o the regîon (pîck up some Portuguese î you’re traveîng în Brazî).You’ be abe to speak to and understand amost everyone you meet, makîng ît possîbe to engage the oca cuture and peope în a way that (uness you are a brîîant înguîst) you just can’t do on a trîp to other contînents. It’s the peope themseves, and theîr dîverse and compeîng îestyes, that are perhaps the greatest attractîons o Latîn Amerîca. For though the regîon may înîtîay appear to have a reatîvey unîorm cuture, în act each country îs made up o a dîverse and compe- îng bend o îndîgenous, European and Arîcan înluences; the product o Latîn Amerîca’s compex and extraordînary hîstory. Even wîthîn îndîvîdua coun- trîes, regîona dîferences în human experîence can be remarkabe, rangîng rom bankers workîng în geamîng hîgh-rîses to semî-nomadîc trîbes hunt- îng or theîr next mea wîth bows and arrows. The sheer exuberance o daîy Indigenous people, Ecuador

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The Amazon | I N T R O D U C T I O N Of all the natural wonders of Latin America, none has captured the world’s imagination more than the Amazon Basin. Almost as large as Australia and extending from its heart in Brazil across the border to cover great expanses of | Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela and the Guianas, the Amazon is the largest tropical rainforest and by far the most biologically diverse ecosystem on earth, home to a staggering variety of plant and animal life. Through this immense forest habitat, fed by innumerable tribu- taries, flows the mighty River Amazon itself, a vast river-sea that carries about a fifth of the world’s running fresh water. You can experience the astonishing Jaguar natural beauty of the rainforest first hand by visiting one of the numerous national parks in the Amazon. Travelling by dugout canoe, you can see an extraordinary range of wildlife:macawsandtoucansflyingoverhead;monkeyschatteringin the treetops; turtles and cayman crocodiles basking on sandbanks; pink river dolphins hunting piranha fish in the river. With luck, you may even see an elusive jaguar, tapir or giant anteater. Despite its immense size, the Amazon rainforest is disappearing at an alarming rate. If current rates of deforestation continue, scientists fear it could be completely destroyed within the next few decades, fuelling global climate change and representing the loss of a vast and irreplaceable repository of genetic resources. By visiting the rainforest, you may be contributing to its conservation, as ecotourism can help local people earn a living withoutdestroyingtheecosystem.

îe îs exempîied by musîc that wî accompany you îke a soundtrack wherever you go, rom the pusatîng samba o Brazî and reggaeton în the www.rou C g a h rî g b ui be d a e n s. t c o om And that Latînthe hauntîng panpîpes o the hîgh Andes. spîrît îs relected în the ood: the iery heat o Mexîcan chîîes; the înten- sîty o Coombîan cofee; the exquîsîte bee o Argentîna; the sensatîona seaood o Peru; and the deîcîous tropîca ruît juîces you can sampe amost everywhere you go. O course, trave în Latîn Amerîca can aso be a dîsquîetîng experîence. It’s not unusua to be shocked by your irst sîght o a sprawîng sum and upset by your irst encounter wîth a manourîshed chîd beggîng or change. Many irst-tîmers are dîstressed by the chaos and squaor o some Latîn Amerî- 8 can cîtîes and by the oten desperate poverty. Some get rustrated by the sometîmesabyrînthînebureaucracythatcancompîcateeventhesîmpest