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Travelling to Latin America alone | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| i_forget Triglot Newbie United Kingdom Joined 4994 days ago 35 posts - 38 votes Speaks: Greek*, English, Spanish | Message 1 of 23 15 June 2014 at 12:04pm | IP Logged |
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Hello. I was thinking about going to 2-3 countries in Latin America for 1-2 weeks, alone, to have fun, vacations etc, and to practice my Spanish.
I don't want to pay to be in a language school, I want to go as an independent traveler. Has anybody done anything like this ? What countries did you visit and how was your experience? I'm a bit concerned about the whole thing. Thanks! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5172 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 2 of 23 15 June 2014 at 12:27pm | IP Logged |
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The Lonely Planet guides are pretty helpful. They make one called "South America on a Shoestring" or something similar. It's about travelling cheap to South America. They also make one for each country. They have itineraries that hit all the "key" places in each country depending on how long you plan to stay there.
You may have very good reasons not to do a school and that is fine. However, I went to a school in Santo Domingo and also for a week in Cuenca, Eduador and I felt it was very well worth it. More for the host family and learning about the cities than the actual Spanish lessons. Whatever you do you need to plan some things out. If you travel alone make sure you go somewhere safe. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| jpmtl Diglot Groupie Canada Joined 3799 days ago 44 posts - 115 votes Speaks: French*, English Studies: Spanish, Russian | Message 3 of 23 15 June 2014 at 11:05pm | IP Logged |
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If you're concerned about safety, why not going to Spain... Andalusia is very inexpensive.
3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| MarlonX19 Diglot Groupie Brazil Joined 3962 days ago 40 posts - 51 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, English Studies: French | Message 4 of 23 16 June 2014 at 2:34am | IP Logged |
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I've thought about that a lot... I just graduated fro highshcool and have no idea what I want to do you know, I've considered travelling the world while I decide my life, I think that would be helpful. Well, I wish I had your courage!
1 person has voted this message useful | |
| sctroyenne Diglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5188 days ago 739 posts - 1312 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Spanish, Irish | Message 5 of 23 16 June 2014 at 3:48am | IP Logged |
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I'm thinking of doing the same this fall. I've been seriously considering Guatemala for a while since it's so cheap and it's pretty standard to get one-on-one instruction if you go to a Spanish school. The drawback is I get conflicting reports on the safety factor: some say as long as you stick to the major tourist routes, don't go out/travel at night, and stay out of Guatemala City (the general rule seems to be to stay out of most capital cities) or the roads by the Mexican border you should be fine. Yet others will say that sometimes they blockade roads and tourist buses get held up. So it's a tough call.
Nicaragua is supposed to be safer. The Spanish schools don't seem as developed as in Guatemala but if you don't mind that, it seems like a good Central American option as it's not as popular with the tourists yet in Latin America. Costa Rica is probably the easiest to travel around alone in but it's much more touristy and expensive. I've heard good things about Panama. I haven't looked into South America much as the airfare would be more expensive for me. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| jpmtl Diglot Groupie Canada Joined 3799 days ago 44 posts - 115 votes Speaks: French*, English Studies: Spanish, Russian | Message 6 of 23 16 June 2014 at 4:43am | IP Logged |
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The most realible reports are from government websites like:
http://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| BrianDeAlabama Groupie United States Joined 4316 days ago 89 posts - 113 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 7 of 23 16 June 2014 at 8:16am | IP Logged |
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I would love to go abroad and eventually plan visiting some Spanish speaking areas but the safety issue is
something that I'm always aware of. I live in the United States and I carry a concealed pistol for self defense. Its perfectly in many states in America. I've never had to shoot anyone but I've had to pull it out and warn a guy that was coming toward me with a knife back in 2006 and I warned a group of thugs on a couple of occasions that I don't want to fight and if they attack me I would use deadly force and that solved the problem...none of them felt like dying. My pistol gives me a peace of mind when I go jogging alone late at night somewhere or if I'm out way off in the middle of nowhere my pistol is with me. When I leave the good ole US of A many places don't allow guns so I'll have to be extra careful. I won't have my 40 cal Glock. :( There are some Spanish speaking areas around here where I live and I have thought of going to spend a weekend with some of the Spanish speaking Mexican guys from church. Heck, I'd even be willing to pay $40-$50 for a weekend and I could supply my own food. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| AlexTG Diglot Senior Member Australia Joined 4435 days ago 178 posts - 354 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Latin, German, Spanish, Japanese | Message 8 of 23 16 June 2014 at 5:54pm | IP Logged |
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The Southern Cone countries, Chile, Argentina and Uraguay, are safe and
highly developed. 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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