Looking for advice on where to go in South America. I've

>>1247229
>colombia has been boring
care to enlighten me how?

>>1247273
Tourism is very developed, and domestic tourism is huge, so any place nice is super touristy and super crowded.

Plus the food is super bland and boring.

Beautiful landscapes though.

>>1247747
I wasn't that impressed by Colombia either, apart from the women and music/dancing. If you haven't had a colombian girlfriend yet definitely don't leave before that, you'd be missing out. Basically anywhere else in Colombia should be nicer weather than Bogota, maybe check out Bucaramanga (and the extreme sports pueblo nearby) or Medellin if you haven't already.

Anyway, to answer your question - what about Ecuador? It's definitely more touristy than Colombia but IMO the tourist sites are more worthwhile, the nature there is amazing.

The Amazon isn't that amazing to wander around IMO, it just feels like a big, hot, flat forest. The whole amazon region has a distinct culture from the rest of Peru/Brazil/etc though, so that's kinda cool to see. And if you have any interest in Ayahuasca, Iquitos is certainly the place to do it (not sure how you'd get your bike there though).

If you get to Iquitos to your bike, I'd also highly recommend considering putting your bike on a boat to Leticia/Tabatinga, then to Manaus (easiest place to get laid in the world atm), then on to the brazilian coast. The Brazilian coast would be 1000x more fun and interesting than the Peru/Bolivia route down.

>>1247229
what bike do you have, and how do you manage visas?

Also how much cash did you have when starting out?

>>1247922
It's a DR350. Has been perfectly reliable, and not too big for Latin America (huge gringo bikes are an ongoing disaster for those riding them down here). Visa at border everywhere.

Re: boat to Brazil, is it not true that Brazil is really expensive to travel?

>>1248011
I'm planning on doing that trip in a year or two, coming from California. How have your travels been so far? Anything I should avoid? I haven't chosen which bike to use yet, but I'm leaning towards a sidecar setup. I know that a sidecar is far from ideal, but I should be able to make it work. I'm a mechanic and welder so I can fix shit. It's either that, or a small van so we can sleep in it.

>>1248017
Sidecar would be literally the worst way to do such a trip.

The roads are often terrible, super steep, crazy traffic at points, extremely tight corners, etc, etc. To get to a LOT of places you need either a legit 4x4 or a capable dirtbike.

Specifically with a sidecar, nobody here has ever seen one (but they're totally used to little motorcycles zipping around), and vehicles pass wherever there's an inch to do so, so sooner or later someone would plow right into the sidecar not realizing you're not just a motorcycle. Plus you'd have a hell of a time avoiding obstacles. Driving in the developing world is nothing like in the developed; it's a totally free-for-all.

I'd strongly recommend getting a light-ish dual sport: a DR350 or DR650 are the best out of the box (all you really need is a safari tank, although you'll want to raise the suspension on the DR650). A DRZ400 or WR250 would work, but they'll be a lot harder to fix. Lots of people ride KLR650s for this kind of trip, but they just don't have the suspension for it with all the potholes and speed bumps.

There's also the issue of parking. With a small bike you can bring it inside almost anywhere (since that's what locals do overnight); with a bigger bike you'll need to pay for secure parking somewhere, or take the real risk of it being stolen.

...for two people, either ride two motorbikes, or get a 4x4 of some sort. 2-up riding I really wouldn't recommend for how nimble you need to be in traffic, and because you'll need a huge bike to make it up hills (which means you won't be going off the highway).

But with a truck be mindful of how much gas you'll be burning. Also of what parts will be available (shipping in parts costs a fortune). There are a lot of small pickups/SUVs available in Latin America that weren't sold in the US/Canada that'd be better for the job.

Overall vehicle length will make a huge difference when you're trying o find parking overnight. A smaller vehicle opens up a lot more options and will save you a lot of money.

>>1248011
How much cash did you have when starting out?

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>>1247747
>bland food
>in colombia

>>1247747
> Tourism is very developed

loool no. get out of Cartagena.

also, try to find good places to eat. Being a tropical country Colombia has many different, strong and undiscovered flavors.

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How difficult would it be for a US citizen to get his visa to Brazil?

I need it by August and haven't started the process yet...

>>1249368
I got it in 10 days in Lima. I can't imagine it could be more than a month if you get it in the US. Just use one of those companies that handles it for you, send your passport to them, let them deal with it.

>>1248011
>Re: boat to Brazil, is it not true that Brazil is really expensive to travel?

It's way more expensive than Colombia, probably more expensive than Peru (at least outside of Cusco/Lima which is probably similar). But it's gotten a bit cheaper in the recession that's going on right now.

But seriously, having been around Brazil as well as Peru, which way to go is no question, as long as you can pick up portugese.

>>1249481
Oh, I will say, though, that you'd need to pick up a visa to Brazil before moving on... probably there in Bogota, and it might take a couple weeks. Brazil is a country where you won't be able to get it at the border.

>>1249368
only took two weeks for me
i suggest applying at least one month before your flight

It takes that long for a westerner to get a Brazilian visa? WHY?

Also, I was under the impression Colombia was more expensive than Peru, no?

>>1250171
>WHY
Reciprocal policy for the USA not the case for all westerners the UK has visa free travel to Brasil since Brasil gets visa free travel to the UK