I thought Malaria is only a problem in the lowlands. The Mosquito that carries the Malaria virus (I think) only lives at low elevations. Machu Pichu is at a height of over 8000 feet. I will have to research this again.
Tango,
You may be right about the mosquitos being in the lowlands. I know that the mosquitos are not supposed to be an issue in Cuzco, but that Macchu Pichu is a bit lower in elevation. It may be high enough to not be a problem for malaria, but it is definitely in the middle of the jungle and there were lots of creatures biting us there. I'm assuming that the altitude makes it cold enough at night so that you don't have mosquitos.
In any event, carry something with lots of DEET and use it frequently.
Rhinochaser
You may be right about the mosquitos being in the lowlands. I know that the mosquitos are not supposed to be an issue in Cuzco, but that Macchu Pichu is a bit lower in elevation. It may be high enough to not be a problem for malaria, but it is definitely in the middle of the jungle and there were lots of creatures biting us there. I'm assuming that the altitude makes it cold enough at night so that you don't have mosquitos.
In any event, carry something with lots of DEET and use it frequently.
Rhinochaser
Someone in an earlier post mentioned taking US dollar coins for tipping on the LatinPass run. I took 20 coins on my trip to Peru and Ecuador and these were greatly appreciated. I recommend it. I used the coins exclusively for tips and it made it easier than trying to keep paper dollars handy or try and figure out the correct amount of local currency. Most people had never seen one and several times I saw people gather around the recipient to check out the gold coin.
Mark and I saw the same post and we brought dollar coins, but we found people universally indifferent to them. Tried to dump a bunch on a taxi driver in Panama and he refused to take them.
In Quito an excellent choice for someone to show you the sights and provide all your transportation needs contact Guillermo Valencia. He can be reached via cell: 09 815-847, home phone: (593-2)395-863, or email which he admits he doesn't check every day: [email protected]
Guillermo gave Toppshelff and I a wonderful and informative 2 day tour of Quito and surrounding areas. He also took us to the actual Equator museum which is next to the glitzy tourist Equator site. We never would have seen the "real equator"! Guillermo also took us to relax at his home while we had to wait for our flight and introduced us to his wife Christina. He speaks excellent English and is working very hard to improve his French. His transportation will handle 1-7 passengers as he has access to a regular Taxi and a 7 passenger van. I feel that I have a true friend in Ecuador now that I have met Guillermo. Anyone with questions feel free to email me!
Guillermo gave Toppshelff and I a wonderful and informative 2 day tour of Quito and surrounding areas. He also took us to the actual Equator museum which is next to the glitzy tourist Equator site. We never would have seen the "real equator"! Guillermo also took us to relax at his home while we had to wait for our flight and introduced us to his wife Christina. He speaks excellent English and is working very hard to improve his French. His transportation will handle 1-7 passengers as he has access to a regular Taxi and a 7 passenger van. I feel that I have a true friend in Ecuador now that I have met Guillermo. Anyone with questions feel free to email me!
We just completed the 500K run thru Central America. It was easy thanks to all the help
here!
Just a few items (which are mostly repeats):
1. itinerary: MIA-MGA TA514 (as NICA) , MGA-SAL TA514 (separate seats,tickets and
boarding pass), SAL-GUA GU960, GUA-SJO CM400,
SJO-PTY LR653, and an earlier CCS-AUA Aeropostal flight.
2. Our TA514 flight from Miami was late, so we arrived in SAL at 6:35 for the 6:25 GU960
departure. GU960 was loaded and waiting for us at the next gate...That felt great.
3. CM400 on Friday was a new plane as opposed to the "old" plane that many flew on. In fact, all the flights were on newer planes than I usually fly on in the U.S. - Great service/nice clean planes.
4. GUA departure tax. This has been discussed several times and we avoided it. If you are staying less than 24 hours make sure the immigration agent writes "Transito 24 hours" on the stamp in your passport and point it out to the airline agent when you check in to leave. You can avoid the $20 tax that way. The immigration agent was a bit confused when I showed him the post-it note with "Transito" and our departure tickets. But there was an nice supervisor right there that explained it to him. Of course, we spoke
no Spanish ;-(
5. Panama... They stacked us up at immigration and made everyone buy the $5 tourist cards from the airline and fill them
out. I saw it mentioned here but they didn't mention it on the flight or anyplace until you showed your passport.
6. I had a lot of trouble getting the LP FF#
on the boarding passes. The Miami agent didn't want to but finally changed all the MIA-MGA-SAL-GUA flights to have the LP+# instead of TA+# and GU+#. Copa and Lacsa refused saying it was exactly the same to have CM+LP# and LR+LP# . I had called reservations etc many times to get the record
straight for the number. The LatinPass membership book seems to imply that 5981...
is a special number that each airline will
forward directly to LatinPass but no one verified that for me , so I hoped to have the
LP# on each document.
It was a great trip and we met many helpful and friendly people. The hotels were great (well the hotel in Florida on the return was
the worst...terrible restaurant and ... ;-) )
here!
Just a few items (which are mostly repeats):
1. itinerary: MIA-MGA TA514 (as NICA) , MGA-SAL TA514 (separate seats,tickets and
boarding pass), SAL-GUA GU960, GUA-SJO CM400,
SJO-PTY LR653, and an earlier CCS-AUA Aeropostal flight.
2. Our TA514 flight from Miami was late, so we arrived in SAL at 6:35 for the 6:25 GU960
departure. GU960 was loaded and waiting for us at the next gate...That felt great.
3. CM400 on Friday was a new plane as opposed to the "old" plane that many flew on. In fact, all the flights were on newer planes than I usually fly on in the U.S. - Great service/nice clean planes.
4. GUA departure tax. This has been discussed several times and we avoided it. If you are staying less than 24 hours make sure the immigration agent writes "Transito 24 hours" on the stamp in your passport and point it out to the airline agent when you check in to leave. You can avoid the $20 tax that way. The immigration agent was a bit confused when I showed him the post-it note with "Transito" and our departure tickets. But there was an nice supervisor right there that explained it to him. Of course, we spoke
no Spanish ;-(
5. Panama... They stacked us up at immigration and made everyone buy the $5 tourist cards from the airline and fill them
out. I saw it mentioned here but they didn't mention it on the flight or anyplace until you showed your passport.
6. I had a lot of trouble getting the LP FF#
on the boarding passes. The Miami agent didn't want to but finally changed all the MIA-MGA-SAL-GUA flights to have the LP+# instead of TA+# and GU+#. Copa and Lacsa refused saying it was exactly the same to have CM+LP# and LR+LP# . I had called reservations etc many times to get the record
straight for the number. The LatinPass membership book seems to imply that 5981...
is a special number that each airline will
forward directly to LatinPass but no one verified that for me , so I hoped to have the
LP# on each document.
It was a great trip and we met many helpful and friendly people. The hotels were great (well the hotel in Florida on the return was
the worst...terrible restaurant and ... ;-) )
Original Member
billhallNY -
In MGA did you get off the plane and get back on? If so, how tight was the connection?
In MGA did you get off the plane and get back on? If so, how tight was the connection?
Can anyone tell me if my membership of Distancia gives me automatic membership of Latin Pass,been a member for 3 years.Or does one have to sign up for LP seperatly.Was hoping to do the million miler,but guess I've blown it if sep'registration is needed.Thanks,Jabulani
FD: No we didn't get off the plane. I made 2 separate reservations and had different seats assigned. I got the boarding passes for all 3 flights (MIA-MGA, MGA-SAL, and SAL-GUA) in Miami at checkin. No one asked for the 2nd leg boarding pass, so I asked 1 of the stewards and he took the airline portions out to the agents.
I believe the stop in MGA on TA514 was about 1/2 hour for cleaning and getting a "new" set of passengers. We were the only ones connecting so there were a lot of people getting off and a whole new set getting on.
I believe the stop in MGA on TA514 was about 1/2 hour for cleaning and getting a "new" set of passengers. We were the only ones connecting so there were a lot of people getting off and a whole new set getting on.
I can't believe I found out about this promo so late. I use flights to Central America several times a year and hope I can still do this at such a late date. Will try for 500K the second or third week of June, leaving and returning from SFO. Even if the price is higher, still worth it.
I'd prefer an itinerary without BOG -- would welcome any suggestions...
Would also appreciate info on: 1) which countries require pre-arranged visas; 2) what are the letter codes for ticket classes that qualify.
Wish me luck...tomorrow I call my travel agent.
I'd prefer an itinerary without BOG -- would welcome any suggestions...
Would also appreciate info on: 1) which countries require pre-arranged visas; 2) what are the letter codes for ticket classes that qualify.
Wish me luck...tomorrow I call my travel agent.
I am ready to leave for the final 500,000 on Saturday, June 3rd. As I had to delay my trip, I had the tickets reissued with the new dates. I heard rumors that Taca Peru is flying again. Has this been confirmed ?? I need to know as this will require a change of plans (again !!)
Since I seem to have started the rumor that Taca Peru is flying internationally all I can say is that I saw no evidence of this from the boards in the Lima airport 8 days ago. And SAETA was definitely closed up in Quito, Guayaquil, and Lima.
Well, I am finally taking the plunge and doing the remaining flights to bring me up from the 500K bonus to the 1M bonus. I still need to do Aces, Aeropostal, Taca-Peru and Aces for Saeta, so I will be flying in and out of Lima to Quito, Guayaquil and Cuzco, no doubt arousing the suspicion of Ecuadorian immigration officers like Satori. Punishing schedule, as it involves two nights in a row at LIM airport, but that was the cheapest way to do it that I could find. A few questions:
1) If I fly into Quito in the morning, go into town and back to Lima in the evening, is there anyway I can avoid the USD25 airport tax? (same question for Guayaquil)
2) Online booking engines list the "Gran Hotel Savoy" in downtown Lima with cheap rates of USD30 and complimentary airport transportation. Has anybody used this hotel and, if so, what did you think of it? I understand it is in Central Lima, rather than Miraflores or San Isidro, but as I will be arriving at 7pm after a long transatlantic flight and take a flight the next morning at 6am, location is not a prime consideration. An alternative I am also considering is the Gran Hotel Bolivar, more expensive (USD80) and apparently in the middle of nowhere but also with complimentary airport transportation.
3) Am I right in assuming that if you are in transit from a domestic flight in Peru onto an international flight, you still have to pay the USD25 international departure tax?
4) Conversely, if you are in transit from international to domestic, do you have to pay the domestic departure tax?
5) Any suggestions as to what to do with a day in Guayaquil (arrive at 5.30 am and departs same day at 10pm)?
6) Does anybody know of a 'day hotel' in Guayaquil (and possibly Quito)? I don't mean anything sleazy by that but rather a place where you can hire a room to rest and have a shower during the day rather than the night. With two nights in a row at Lima airport, I could certainly do with a place to rest during the day.
1) If I fly into Quito in the morning, go into town and back to Lima in the evening, is there anyway I can avoid the USD25 airport tax? (same question for Guayaquil)
2) Online booking engines list the "Gran Hotel Savoy" in downtown Lima with cheap rates of USD30 and complimentary airport transportation. Has anybody used this hotel and, if so, what did you think of it? I understand it is in Central Lima, rather than Miraflores or San Isidro, but as I will be arriving at 7pm after a long transatlantic flight and take a flight the next morning at 6am, location is not a prime consideration. An alternative I am also considering is the Gran Hotel Bolivar, more expensive (USD80) and apparently in the middle of nowhere but also with complimentary airport transportation.
3) Am I right in assuming that if you are in transit from a domestic flight in Peru onto an international flight, you still have to pay the USD25 international departure tax?
4) Conversely, if you are in transit from international to domestic, do you have to pay the domestic departure tax?
5) Any suggestions as to what to do with a day in Guayaquil (arrive at 5.30 am and departs same day at 10pm)?
6) Does anybody know of a 'day hotel' in Guayaquil (and possibly Quito)? I don't mean anything sleazy by that but rather a place where you can hire a room to rest and have a shower during the day rather than the night. With two nights in a row at Lima airport, I could certainly do with a place to rest during the day.