Hi! Just a bit about my self for the beginning - I'm Stefan, Polish, 26. Have lived in Ireland for about 3 years, saved enough to travel the world Me and my friend (Tomas, 29) are starting our around the world trip in the middle of Nov. First destination is Caracas.

What I have read on your web is not the best place for the beginning … Well, I really want to see the Roraima Mountain and Angel Falls, that is why I'm flying to Venezuela first. Caracas is unfortunately the only option. I found a guy called Thomas on the lonelyplanet and he seems to be very helpful, He has his own travel company over there and does both trips that I want to do.

However I want to do it obviously as cheap as possible. I have plan for Roraima already but I'm not sure about Angel Falls. Anyway… I want to ask you what you recommend to get from airport in Caracas to bus station. That guy Thomas offers

"…pick up at the airport, airport assistance, transfer from the airport to the bus station, assistance at the Bus Station and overnight bus ticket to Cuidad Bolívar" for US$50. It's not that bad I think (includes the ticket price) but can be cheaper

What I read on your website is:
"If you can get to a subway station, you can get to the airport. Simply take an underground ride to the Gato Negro station, surface, and catch one of the many comfortable buses that pass by the airport. You'll be dropped on the highway outside the twin terminals, where a few hundred meters later you'll find yourself checking in at the counter." (Caracas Should Be Nuked)

That's the way back but I believe that the other way around should be as simple as that.

I arrive at 4pm. A bus from Caracas to Ciudad Bolivar is at 10pm I think. That gives me plenty of time to get to the bus station. I will have no BsF so is there any ATM on the airport? I read on your web that you didn't find any but there should be one by now…what you think?

By the way we speak no Spanish at all… not good but we will tray to manage without it. Also will try to learn a bit while traveling in South America.

we are landing in Caracas on Monday, I hope that we get the bus tickets to Ciudad Bolivar without booking them in advance…

Thank you in advance!

Stefan

Craig's Response:

Yeah, Caracas is just about the last place I'd recommend to anyone; you're wise to avoid it. Venezuela is going to be a tough country for you and your buddy to cut your teeth on — expect a lot of stress (and a lot of talking with your hands). You'll need to be very cautious with your things and yourself. I know it sounds silly, but remember, don't consume things (even cigarettes) from people while traveling on the buses. I know of a fellow who had a lovely 10-hour conversation with someone unassuming en route to Caracas, was given a little individually wrapped sweet (drugged, of course), and woke up at the station without anything. If you can avoid it, never place your stuff under the bus, it's vastly safer with in inside, even if you lose a bunch of leg room and you have to argue with the bus people — it's worth it not to worry about it as the doors below are opened at every stop. And bring something warm for the buses, they're wicked cold!

Venezuela is going to be a wacky, wacky place for currency (give this a read, if you haven't already: http://travelvice.com/archive/2007/04/black-market-dollars.php). Even if you don't find an ATM at the airport, there will be a money exchange. My problem with the airport was that I was trying to get rid of Venezuelan currency, not collect it. And while money exchange booths will be more than happy to give it to you, they won't take their national currency back.

What if I told you that most every traveler who bought the exact same hot dog paid a different price for it? If your bolivars were dispensed by an ATM, you got the Chavez exchange rate, and you'd be paying about US$0.93 for your wimpy piece of "meat." Same goes for travelers checks. But what if I told you my hot dog cost me US$0.59—close to 40% less than yours?

The best part about using the money booth is that you can make them give you small denominations of notes. You'll frequently encounter people in Latin America that won't take $5 for a $0.50 transaction, etc. Get them as small as possible.

Venezuela is about the last place I'd recommend anyone pull money out of an ATM (the only one I've ever come across like this). Chavez is an ass, and has really screwed up the system of money there. If you can get dollars before you leave instead of Euros, all the better. Make sure they're in mint condition, and printed recently (dollars will have an issue date on the bills). If not, Euros will still do.

You'll honestly be a lot better of trading money on the black/gray market, not pulling it out of an ATM. Even if you get ripped off in the exchange by a crappy rate, you'll still be doing better than pulling cash out of an ATM. Don't do this at the airport, however. Exchange money with the booth or use an ATM to give yourself maybe $30-50 in spending money, and worry about it when you get to your destination outside of the city the next day. I strongly recommend you ask on the LP Thorn Tree what people are getting on the streets these days for a dollar or Euro, and always accept, count, inspect, and pocket the money you'll be receiving BEFORE you hand over your dollars or Euros (this isn't rude, it's expected).

If you need to ask someone for directions in the airport or elsewhere, do it with someone neutral (who isn't going to be able to profit off you).

Ultimately, you'll need to walk out of the airport and over to the highway. I believe I recall walking over an elevated walkway above the highway, so you'll certainly want to catch a ride on the side of the road that's closest to the airport. Look for the elevated walkway, and brush off anyone that wants to shove you in a taxi or tells you they don't pick people up from there. Never listen to taxi drivers.

Take a look at this Google Maps image. The highway is right there, and you'll be going off to the west on your bus (I believe I read "UCAM"-branded buses leave every 30 minutes, or when full).

"Gato Negro" is very simple to say, and most should recognize where you want to go. The bus will take you like 40 minutes or an hour to arrive near the metro station. Sit up front and get help from the driver as to when you should get off.

Do you know the name of the terminal you'll need to reach as your final destination in the city, and how that terminal connects with the Metro? (If you haven't seen it already, Caracas' Metro map: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Mmap1vg1.gif)

There are two inconveniently located and exceedingly unsavory public bus terminals serving Caracas. For travel to destinations west of the city, buses leave from Terminal La Bandera. The Terminal del Oriente serves destinations to the eastern part of the country.

More resources on the bus terminals: http://wikitravel.org/en/Caracas — http://www.lonelyplanet.com/venezuela/caracas/transport/getting-there-away#349744

If you want to arrange your tours on the cheap, I'd certainly wait until you arrive to do so (doubly so if you aren't crunched for time). Certainly NEVER put a deposit down, or agree to stay with the guide before you'd shopped around in town. Venezuela is a far cry from the European standards of travel by booking things via the Internet and making reservations. Such things are generally not needed. Thorn Tree can be a useful tool, but also contains savvy people (like Thomas) who know that lurking there for potential Euro-spending customers is worth their time.

Good luck to you guys, let me know how it goes!

//craig in thailand
Sept 14, 2009

Craig,

I have been reading your travelogue with extreme jealousy/inspiration. Next month I leave for a month long backpacking trip through Peru. Given that you have spent a considerable amount of time in the country, I have a few questions for you. Are there any places in Peru that you haven't been that you wished you had visited? Is Mancora worth the trip, and is the surf any good in May/June? Any particular safety tips for the solo traveler in Peru? Is a month too short or too long for Peru? Would I be better off spending some time in Ecuador or Bolivia?

Best,

Parker

Craig's Response:

After talking with Tatiana, I've got some great places that you should try and visit. The month of May will be wonderful weather in the highlands, and I certainly suggest spending the bulk of your time within them (and outside of dumpy coastal cities such as Lima).

If you've only got 30 days, I suggest staying within Peru, otherwise a trip up to Ecuador would be my strong suggestion (though such a thing will push you around too much on a one-month itinerary).

I assume that you'll arrive in Lima, as well as that you'll be doing the Cuzco/ Machu Picchu thing. Depending on your budget, I might suggest two things regarding that:

1. Perhaps flying to Cuzco and back from Lima
2. Taking the harder, most interesting and exhilarating route to the top from Cuzco:
http://travelvice.com/archive/ 2006/10/machu-picchu-on-shoestring.php
http://travelvice.com/archive/ 2006/10/sneaking-into-machu-picchu.php

Tatiana and I would give these locations strong consideration:

• Huancayo (with a visit to neighboring Torre Torre) — situated west of Lima — don't forget to eat the famous papa a la huancaina
• Huaraz in the Central Highlands
• Cajamarca in the Northern Highlands
• Chachapoyas in the Northern Highlands, with a daytrip visit the the ruines of Kuélap

Those locations, plus plenty of drinks and smiles in Cuzco should be more than enough for any single month in Peru.

Mancora isn't worth the trip. Leave it for last, and if you've time and desire, jump up there from your last stop in the northern highlands — it'll be a 17-hour bus ride from Mancora back to Lima. The town swells for holiday makers, then bottoms out for the rest of the year. Over-priced restaurants and some hotels built along an ugly, busy highway (the great Pan-American). Waves are beginner level (mostly mush really), though something might start to pick up in May (Peru's winter months — May-Oct — are when the winds and waves grow stronger).

As for security, keep your wits about you. Lima is a tough city, with loads of taxi crime. Suggested reading:

• Never Trust an Idling Taxi Driver
• Taxi Protocol In Latin America

Use your own locks at hostels, keep your eye on your bag, and watch out for people on buses who crawl under your seat to slash the bag that you might keep by your feet on the long-distance bus rides.

Good luck!

//craig in israel
April 19, 2009

I read your post on lockable zippers and realized you gave up using a pacsafe. while i love mine, it is heavy and i use it rarely.

I am thinking I might need to replace my pack. i have a 65 liter from REI right now. what kind do you use? what kind have you found to be the best for extended travel? i.e. months, years.

Craig's Response:

I just replaced my fiancée's pack with a new one from Lowe Alpine, purchased in the U.S.

The TT Tour 70 is a nice, robust pack of European build quality — I'd certainly suggest it — though the price of backpacks in the States isn't particularly friendly.

I'm currently using a (year 2007) Kelty Redwing 3100. I'm quite happy with a 50-liter pack, but it's a serious downsize from your current 65-liter capacity. The Lowe Alpine is certainly the superior of the two.

http://www.lowealpine.com/eng/products.php?catid=14&type=man

Cheers,

//craig in israel
April 21, 2009

Homosexuality is considered a mental illness by the Turkish military, disqualifying the male from duty. But the catch is that this 'physiological disorder' must be proved with explicit, pornographic photos of the individual engaging in homosexual relations.

I know you went through a camera mishap a while ago and tend to stay up to date on the best travel cameras… Anything currently on your ideal camera list that'd be in the 300 range?

I have a DSLR but it's bulky and not good in cities as it marks me as a tourist and is insanely steal-able. So I like having a good point and shoot for always keeping in my pockets for general picture taking. I had an Olympus 1030, which is supposed to be water/shock/temperature-proof to various degrees, but finally succumbed to water in Rio (ridiculous as I didn't even go all the way in).

The *-proof features are nice, but I'm starting to wonder how much they matter. I don't plan on doing any more swimming with it for a while (though it is a nice feature, and makes things easier when swimming alone on beaches but wanting my camera with me). You ever look at any of the waterproof models? The new canon d10 looks excellent, but doesn't arrive until may.

Any thoughts on what the current perfect point-and-shoot for travel is?

Craig's Response:

The best camera you can own is the one that you'll carry with you. There's no sense in folks buying expensive cameras when they're just going to leave them at home.

That being said, travel camera for me is different than for most people. You're in a position that I myself wish I could be in. That is, to have a dSLR and a point-and-shoot. Your reasons are totally valid (the beach is an excellent example), and I've thought about the difference between a landscape/telephoto camera with high dynamic range and a bar cam (for high risk areas and spontaneous snapshots) often.

Because you've already got a dSLR, that means you can relax the requirements of your backup point-and-shoot (such as letting go of features like auto-bracketing, etc). Big bonus.

I too took note of Canon's D10 announcement a week or two ago. I was thinking it'd be study enough to sit unused at the bottom of my pack as a backup.

I personally think the Canon PowerShot or SD models are the quite excellent bar cameras, but I've broken so many of them that I can't recommend them for full-time travel cameras. You really need something with a casing that protects both the lens and LCD. Speaking of, have a look at my big comment here: http://travelogue.travelvice.com/bulgaria/high-dynamic-range-travel-photography/ — there's some info that describes how to add advanced features to a normal Canon point-and-shoot, turning the thing into something very useful.

Frankly, if I were in your position, I would actually have a friend or family member buy a used Canon PowerShot or SD off eBay and FedEx it down to you. Having gone through three cameras in Latin America, I know that you'll be really screwed on purchases locally, and know that you shouldn't have to invest much more than $200 in something that's just a backup.

And don't use DHL, they're a shady bunch and will almost certainly charge you import taxes that'll cost as much as the camera. FedEx is the way to go.

Travel safe,

//craig in turkey
March 2, 2009

I was staying with a CouchSurfing host in Izmir (Bornova) in February 2009, when his (age twenty-something) flatmate disclosed that he'd gotten his girlfriend pregnant. They'd discussed and decided to terminate the pregnancy.

The cost at a "good" clinic in town: approximately 500 Turkish lira (around US$300 at current exchange rates).

Having traveled in the country for over two months, I can attest that the following Web sites offer up quite accurate time and availability information for both modes of transportation. Though the sites are primarily in Romanian, they both sport English language translations, directly linked to below:

Train Schedule for Romania: http://www.infofer.ro/default_engleza.asp?lng=2

Bus Schedule for Romania: http://www.autogari.ro/index.php?lang=UK

If you're taking an international train into or out of Romania, the German rail Web site bahn.de conglomerates regional train information (moderately accurately).