Essence of South America Sept. 19

Crackeroo

My husband and I are booked on this tour. It has been a tour we have been wanting to take for years. We are very excited. I have read through all the postings. Wonder if anyone can give some information on what to expect in terms of bus rides, flights (when do they depart and how long), free time at the hotels, etc. Basically anything you wished you had known ahead of time. Also, if anyone took this trip in mid September, what weather should we expect. I will be checking the weather as it gets closer and pack accordingly. However, we recently did Yellowstone and the Tetons with Tauck and the weather we had vs what the national weather stated were entirely different.
Any information is appreciated.
Debi

bj

Hi Crackeroo/Debi
Glad to hear from someone on this tour. My husband and I are also booked for Sept 19. Where are you coming from? We are leaving Tampa and going thru Miami, Will be arriving Santiago at 8 AM. We have never been to South America, although we have been to China and Africa with Tauck. And each had 5 plane trips, and all we needed to do was SHOW UP. Our Tauck directors took car of everything. Looking forward to
meeting you and your husband. BJ

Crackeroo

Hi BJ. So excited to hear from someone on the tour. I don't think this forum gets much activity. We fly direct from Dallas/Ft Worth to Santiago. We are flying in the day before. We land around 0900 on the 18th. This is our first time to South America. It will be our 5th Tauck trip. Only our Egypt/Jordan tour had an internal flight. I remember needing to be awake around 0300 for the flight.
Looking forward to our trip and meeting you too.

TauckTim

Hi BJ and Crackeroo,

I'm glad you were able to meet up with someone from your trip on the forums, and I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip!

-Tim

bj

HI TIM,
SO GLAD TO HEAR FROM YOU! QUESTION: ENTRY FEE INTO ARGENTINA? WE WERE NOT INFORMED ABOUT THIS IN ANY OF OUR INFORMATION FROM TAUCK....COULD YOU PLEASE LET US KNOW IF THERE IS A FEE, HOW MUCH, WHEN AND WHERE DO WE NEED TO PAY? THANKS, BJ

Crackeroo

I am sure Tim will have more detailed information, but we went online and got our Argentina fee completed in about five minutes. There is some information on this forum from others as well.

Crackeroo

By the way, the fee for U.S citizens is $160 per person. Good for ten years. They email the certificate.

MJ Tampa

Hi Crackeroo and BJ,
Lilly and MJ from Tampa also on the Sept. 19 trip. This will be our 5th Tauck tour. Never been to South America and looking forward to the trip. We are also arriving the day before. May be on that same flight from Tampa. Do either of you have an opinion regarding vaccinations pre-trip? Different sources have different opinions. We look forward to meeting all of you. We have always had great groups on our tours and outstanding tour directors. Tauck is the best! MJ

Crackeroo

Hi MJ. Look forward to meeting you and Lilly. My husband and and I got both Typhoid and yellow fever vaccinations at the recommendation of our family doctor. We already had hepatitis A&B shots. We are planning on taking other vacations where they are either mandatory or recommended, so we decided to get them out of the way.
Are you planning any excursions the day you arrive or the following day?

TauckTim

Hi BJ,

U.S. citizens are required to pay a $160 USD reciprocity tax in order to enter Argentina through any of the country's borders. The cost of this reciprocity tax is not included in your tour, and it must be paid by each traveler prior to his/her arrival in Argentina.
The Argentina reciprocity fee MUST be paid in advance online with a credit card at the following website: https://virtual.provinciapagos.com.ar/ArgentineTaxes/
AN IMPORTANT NOTE: You must bring your electronic receipt from this transaction with you, or you will be denied entry into Argentina. Further, each receipt must include a barcode, and you must bring these receipts with you (one per traveler, each with a barcode), or you will be denied entry into
Argentina.
A reciprocity tax applies to any citizen of a country that charges Chilean and Argentinean citizens a fee to obtain a visa.
If you are not a U.S. citizen, please check with the Chilean and Argentinean Embassies or Consulates regarding any applicable fee.

I hope this helps!

-Tim

Crackeroo

Thanks Tim. We already received the Argentinian reciprocity but were told Chile discontinued requiring the fee. Is this correct?

MJ Tampa

Thanks for the info Crackeroo regarding vaccinations. Also had Hepatitis A & B before so probably will get the other two. We arrive at 8:10 a.m. on 9/18 so probably will get some sleep at least part of that day. Let us know if you have any suggestions for excursions/activities on 9/19/14 prior to our welcome dinner. We are really looking forward to this busy and interesting trip! Thanks again. MJ

Crackeroo

Hi MJ. Jack and I are planning a half day (1:30-5:30) activity on the 18th. Haven't chosen the tour yet. Trying to stay awake to get used to the time zone. On the 19th, we are using Santiago Adventures to take us to Valparaiso for the day. You are welcome to join us.

TauckTim

Hi Crackeroo,

I took a look at the Chilean embassy's website, and if you go to the Consular information page linked to there, the US is not listed as one of the countries that require a visa or fee. If you're a US citizen, you should be all set, and no reciprocity fee will be required. If you have any more questions or concerns though, I'd advise you to reach out to the Chilean embassy yourself, as they will be able to get you a final, definitive answer.

I hope this helps!

-Tim

MJ Tampa

Dear Crackeroo,
Thanks for the information on day trips near Santiago, Chile for those that arrive early. We appreciate the invitation. Probably will wait until closer to the end of July to make decisions about additional sightseeing. With family health issues, we never know for sure until close to the trip that we are taking off. Hopefully all will be well. It sounds like the best Tauck trip we have been on yet. Thanks for your posts. MJ

Kishor Kulkarni

My wife and I have traveled in other parts of the world. This will be our first tour to South America and first one with Tauck. We are looking forward to it. We live in Naples, FL. Will drive to Miami and take LAN # 0501 on Sept. 18 reaching Santiago on Sept. 19, 2014 at 7:55 AM. We are generally ready for long walks and trying new food varieties. Will see the rest of the group soon. - Kishor

Tommye Fleming

Kishor -- we live in Bonita Springs, FL; we are traveling to SA October 22. Would love to hear from you when you return. spoonball@aol.com. Tommye

Crackeroo

Hi Kishor. This will be our fifth Tauck tour and first time in S. America. We will get in a day early. Looking forward to meeting you and your wife.
Tommye, we will be happy to answer any questions when we return.

lvtotravel

Thank you Crackeroo for starting this thread for the SA trip starting on Sept 19th. I am coming from San Francisco via Dallas/Ft Worth arriving on the 18th. Also thank you for the idea of taking an excursion over to Valparaiso on the 19th, think that is something I would like to do. I am wondering if they use a car or van? I noticed that the price is per couple so they may not be keen on a single person if it is a car.
The booklet recommends bringing binocs, if anyone has been on this trip -- did you need them?
Look forward to meeting you all soon. Liz

Crackeroo

Hi Liz,
Looking forward to meeting you. We leave DFW on the 17th, arriving Santiago around 0915 on the 18th. We may be on the same flight. Not sure if they use a car or van. We booked through Santiago Adventures.

mikipdx

Hi lvtotravel,

I'm a single traveler too for the 9/19 tour. I'm arriving from Portland, OR via Miami at 9:20 on 9/18. We should try and connect for the 18th and/or 19th. Look forward to meeting you - Mary Ann (Miki)....or mikipdx.

If you want to meet, let me know and send me your email and I'll reply via mine so we can meet at the hotel. I'm an original California gal....