Rand-friendly and visa free
W ITH the rand
performing better than
the currencies of most
South American countries,
nine of which are visa-free,
the region is a no-brainer
destination for South African
travellers.
With the exception of
Suriname, Colombia and
Bolivia, the continent is free
of entry restrictions for South
Africans, doing away with a lot
of pre-trip inconvenience and
the substantial expense. In
addition, the rand is currently
stronger than currencies of
all destinations except Brazil,
Bolivia, Suriname, Peru and
Ecuador.
A South African online travel
news service recently punted
Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia
as the South American
destinations easiest on the
local purse, and we put this
view to tour operators active
in the local market. None of
them picked up the baton on
the latter two destinations,
preferring to focus on Brazil,
Argentina and Peru.
Travel Vision, according
to sales & marketing
manager, Annemarie Lexow,
specialises in Brazil, where
it has a ground-handler
assisting with tailor-made
requests. Here Rio de
Janeiro is an itinerary must
for its beaches, Manaus for
access to the Amazon, and
the spectacular Iguazu Falls,
which straddle the border with
neighbouring Argentina.
“Argentina is most definitely
a favourite,” comments
Annemarie. “Buenos Aires is
not called the Paris of South
America for nothing. It has
an old-world charm with ultramodern
hotels and amazing
restaurants.” She further
recommends Mendoza in the
wine region and Bariloche for
its lake crossings into Chile
and magnificent glaciers.
Cosmos Holidays is
also recommending a
Brazil/Argentina escorted
combination – the Best of
Brazil & Argentina. Janine
Pienaar, sales & marketing
manager for the Globus Family
of Brands, says it includes
three nights in Rio de Janeiro,
two nights in Iguazu Falls and
three in Buenos Aires, from
an attractive R27 990pps,
including internal airfares and
taxes.
Trafalgar’s practice of
securing rates well ahead
of departures, additionally
benefits South Africans.
Says Alan Cook, manager
Latin America: “Trafalgar
prices and pays in US dollars
because it’s the most stable
of currencies and we get the
best value for our money.
We lock in our
pricing a year
in advance and
offer a rand
guarantee so no
matter what the
rand is doing,
South Africans
are assured of
the same pricing
in rands for their
tour.”
The tour
operator
typically sees
South Africans
combining
several South American
countries on a 12-day trip
because of the distance to
travel. Chile, Argentina and
Brazil is a popular mix or,
at the minimum, Brazil and
Argentina. Alan says pricing
on flights is fairly attractive to
South Africans and with Brazil
declaring open skies, there
are a lot more
options to get via
São Paulo to the
rest of continent.
From a cruising
point of view,
Janine Pretorius,
owner of Encore
Cruises which
represents
Regent Seven
Seas, reports
that the cruise
line’s most
popular South
American
segments are
Lima in Peru to Buenos Aires,
and Buenos Aires to Santiago
(San Antonio) in Chile, around
the southern tip of the
continent.
Here, value is offered in the
form of all-inclusive cruise
fares, with a wide selection
of free and unlimited shore
excursions.
Fortress above the clouds
THE Peruvian fortress of
Kuelap, in the Andes at
3 600m, is a fascinating
alternative to Machu Piccu
and one that Curiosity Travel
is marketing in a nine-day
Rainforest package from
Lima, selling at just under
R25 000.
Here are the ruins of a
pre-Colombian settlement
some 2 500 years old. The
location has only recently
become accessible by a
cable car that takes 35
minutes to travel to the top.
Highlights of the package
include a hike from a
rainforest lodge to the
Gocta Waterfall, one of
the highest in the world, a
visit to the Leymebamba
Mausoleum and Museum
with 300 recently excavated
mummies, and in Lima,
the Larco Gold Museum
with its thousands of Inca
treasures.
The package includes
four-star accommodation,
breakfast daily, five lunches
and four dinners. The trip
involves a considerable
amount of hiking.
Adventure from hard to soft
IF THERE’S one South
American country that should
be visited as a ‘stand-alone’
destination, it’s Peru.
Development Promotions
represents G Adventures
in South Africa, and Elisna
Bergset, brand ambassador,
enthuses: “Peru is custodian
of one of the biggest bucketlist
attractions on the planet
and that is Machu Picchu.
Then of course we have the
enigmatic Amazon! Peru
hosts the second largest part
of the Amazon after Brazil.
Peru also has the famous
and mysterious Nazca Lines,
making this country a mustsee
for anyone who considers
themselves a real traveller.”
Travel Vision’s Annemarie
Lexow emphasises the
importance of booking Inca
Trail permits well in advance.
“It is becoming more difficult
as the Peruvian tourism
authority has limited the
number of permits issued
per day worldwide. Clients
can only visit the citadel [of
Machu Picchu] either in the
morning or afternoon. I would
recommend that clients try
and secure morning visits,
due to the altitude.”
The Lares Trek is an
alternative to the Inca Trail,
says Annemarie, and although
slightly steeper, is equally
rewarding and offers beautiful
scenery.
For an Inca Empire/Amazon
combination with a difference,
Avalon Waterways offers a
three-night cruise from Iquitos
along the mighty river into the
jungle aboard the small but
luxurious Delfin III. There’s
guided sightseeing each day
with a local naturalist in Lima,
Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu,
Cusco and the Peruvian
Amazon.
Trafalgar’s Alan Cook
says the tour operator’s
programmes in South
America tend to be more
cultural than adventurebased.
“But we do offer, for
example, a high-speed boat
ride up the river to Iguazu
Falls and even go behind the
curtain of water. It’s dramatic
and exciting.”
Costa Rica, he says, is a
country dedicated to soft
adventure. “We have float
trips, zip lining, white-water
rafting, horse-back riding and
even hanging bridges.”
Elisna agrees: “Costa Rica
is any adventure traveller’s
dream – it has hiking trails
through dense and somewhat
uncharted forests, you can
kayak through mangroves,
surf exceptional waves, take
exclusive night walks to see
the jungle in a completely
different way, zip line over the
forest, river raft and swim
underneath waterfalls.”
Cosmos offers a
programme called Gateway
to Costa Rica. Comments
Janine Pienaar: “Pura Vida,
Costa Rica’s motto, means
‘pure life’ or even ‘real living’
– and that’s exactly what you
will experience on this trip to
paradise found between the
Pacific Ocean and Caribbean
Sea.” Active volcanoes, coffee
plantations, rainforests,
cloud forests and diverse
wildlife and plant life can be
discovered on this eight-day .
Less time, better views
FOR departures from
January 2019, Trafalgar
has reduced the number
of days it spends in Rio de
Janeiro on all its tours that
start in that city.
The same number of
experiences and welcome
reception on the first
evening continue to be
offered, but the four days
have been reorganised into
three, to give guests more
value at the beginning of
the programme and less
waiting time.
In addition, Trafalgar
has secured ocean-view
rooms for its guests at
the Windsor Maramar,
giving guests the chance
to enjoy dramatic,
floor-to-ceiling views of
Copacabana Beach and
beyond to Christ the
Redeemer and Sugar Loaf
Mountain.
Tag on a Galapagos cruise
AVALON Waterways combines
four-night Galapagos cruises
with two South American
countries – Peru and Ecuador.
The cruise segment is done
aboard the recently refurbished
Treasure of Galápagos with
accommodation in an outside
stateroom. In the company of
a local naturalist, guests visit
the Charles Darwin Research
Station and encounter
indigenous plants and animals
endemic to the islands, such
as giant tortoises, Galápagos
fur sea lions, and marine
iguanas.
Meanwhile, through its use
of the recently remodelled
Galapagos Legend, Trafalgar
has doubled its inventory
and departures for expedition
cruising in the location. The
two itineraries, North-Central
and East, are seven days long
and offer the same pricing,
with different itineraries
Patagonia – complex, grand, vast
PATAGONIA may be the most
remote South American
destination to visit, located at
the bottom of the continent,
but with mountains, deserts,
pampas and grasslands, it’s
certainly diverse.
Trafalgar’s Alan Cook
speaks of the “grandness” of
the region. “The landscape is
startling, the national parks
are well done and preserved,
and there’s real diversity in
the cities. You walk away from
it with an overall realisation
that you had no idea of its
complexity.”
The region is shared by
Argentina and Chile, and
the highlights of Trafalgar’s
Patagonia trip include a city
tour of Ushuaia, visits to
Bernardo O'Higgins, Torres
del Paine, Los Glaciares and
Tierra del Fuego national
parks, and a glacier cruise.
“Patagonia can be visited
throughout the year,” says
Annemarie Lexow at
Travel Vision. “The most
inexpensive time is between
April and August. Distances
are vast and travellers will
need to fly into destinations.”
Much of the attraction of
Patagonia is the wildlife, and
she recommends visiting the
large colonies of Magellanic
penguins at Punta Tombo
Penguin Rookery or, between
April and August, Punta Loma,
to observe sea lions.
“A visit to Valdés Peninsula
should be included in the
itinerary as it is declared
a Natural Heritage Site by
Unesco. Puerto Pirámides will
give visitors the opportunity
to view Southern Right
whales (from July-November).
In Tierra del Fuego National
Park, visit Ensenada Bay
and Lapataia Bay, the
culminating point of Lake
Acigami, characterised by the
turquoise colour of the water.”
An 11-day tour starting
in Buenos Aires, including
Puerto Madryn, Ushuaia
and El Calafate, three-star
accommodation, breakfast
daily, transfers, excursions,
boat trip and park tickets,
goes for around R19 450pps,
land only, says Annemarie.
DP’s Elisna Bergset points
out that Chile’s phenomenal
glacial fjords, Argentina’s
famous highway passes,
Monte Fitz Roy and Perito
Moreno Glacier are all found
in Patagonia.
“Tours through Patagonia
are surprisingly affordable for
South Africans, with some
under R20 000pp.
“G Adventures has 10
different tours that cover
Patagonia.
Cuba’s back on the radar
THE Central American island
of Cuba has been on the
South African travel radar for
some time and the temporary
resumption of diplomatic
relations with the United
States during the Obama
administration seemed to
signal easier access.
Previously it was always
perceived as a destination
with so much red tape to cut
through, remarks Annemarie
Lexow at Travel Vision. “It was
not possible to include Cuba
when visiting the USA and any
other flight option was just too
expensive and took too much
time to get there,” she says.
Unfortunately, the Trump
presidency has seen
a back-tracking of the
US-Cuba relationship, with
repercussions for travellers.
Illustrating the point, Trafalgar’s
Alan Cook says: “Although
there is a Cuba itinerary in
the 2018 brochure, Trafalgar
has complied with the travel
warning issued by the US
State Department and cannot,
in good conscience, take
guests to the destination while
this in force.”
But the island is relatively
easy to visit and inexpensive,
says DP’s Elisna Bergset.
A visa is required by South
African passport holders
and, as visa rules are everchanging,
she advises doing a
fresh search on the rules when
application is made.
The destination’s lure, says
Elisna, is the 1950’s bubble
that encases it, seen in its
cars, buildings, food and
consumer products. “There are
a couple of places we consider
a must-see and these include
Havana, Soroa, Las Terrazas,
Vinales, Santa Clara and La
Palma. G Adventures has 10
stunning trips to Cuba, each
bringing something unique to
the traveller,” she continues.
Annemarie says Cuba is
about the ‘Yank tanks’, as
those oldie vehicles are
known, big cigars, rum and
Afro-Cuban rhythms. For the
romantics, Habana Vieja (old
Havana), the watering hole of
La Bodeguita Del Medio, where
Ernest Hemingway spent many
a day, and the beach resorts
in Varadero, are the places to
include.
She cautions that roads
in Cuba are not in the best
condition and lack of proper
infrastructure can entail much
time driving to places like
Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad and
Santiago de Cuba. Hotels,
even in the three-star category,
are not cheap. But people are
friendly and accommodating.
Often if the excursions are not
what visitors expect, guides
are amenable to tweaking the
itinerary.
Regent Seven Seas offers
eight cruises including Cuba as
of the end of this year. Ports of
call are Havana, Cienfuego and
Santiago de Cuba. Free and
unlimited short excursions are
history- and culture-rich and
conducted in compliance with
strict regulations imposed by
the country”
