Top Menu

Archive | Country Budget Guide

Peru – Budget Guide

Gilles in Aguas Qualientes, near Machu Picchu, Peru

Gilles in Aguas Qualientes, near Machu Picchu, Peru

All in all, we spent on average almost exactly the same amount of money per day as in Venezuela: 33.5 Euros or 47 USD. Yes, the present exchange rate Euro-Dollar is the best thing that could happen to us! Peru is to some extend a very cheap country, especially coming from Brazil, but classic tourist activities can be at times really pricy. Continue Reading →

Brazil – Budget Guide

Santa Teresa Tramway (Bondinho), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Santa Teresa Tramway (Bondinho), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Brazil is definitely no longer a budget destination. This made us actually shorten our stay here and with lots of guilty feelings we decided to skip certain destinations such as the Chapada Diamantina National Parc or the whole Minais Gerais region to spend more time in cheaper countries such as Peru or Bolivia. Continue Reading →

Venezuela – Budget Guide

Boat Tour in the Orinoco Delta, Venzuela - When you do not have any bathroom, you just improvise ! Taking a shower meant getting a bucket full of water and pouring it down on you ...

Boat Tour in the Orinoco Delta, Venzuela – When you do not have any bathroom, you just improvise ! Taking a shower meant getting a bucket full of water and pouring it down on you …

Venezuela is a very cheap country to travel, especially if you use the black currency market that is widespread. The inflation is high and therefore has lead to a de facto strong devaluation of the Bolivares, the national currency. Since Hugo Chavez decided a fix parity to the US Dollar (1 USD = 2.120 Bolivares), a black market has developed for trading the USD, the Euro or the Brazilian Real. This black market is everywhere, and even the police at the airport offers the tourists to change money, even though they do not propose a good rate (3.000 Bolivares for 1 USD). Continue Reading →