People often ask us how we manage our money while we’re abroad. Do we just use cash, can we use credit cards, how much do we pay in fees, etc. Although we have a nice little page (ishouldlogoff.com/finance) devoted to how we do this, there are a couple of things left unsaid on that page.
Does it all work out as it should?
For the last 7 months we’ve been testing those financial products we’ve come to depend on to see if they do deliver as promised. We use a Schwab Visa card as well as a Capital One Master Card which both claim to not charge a foreign exchange fee. We also carry an American Express card …

Only three months old, Prodownhill has certainly made a name for itself on the South American travelers circuit. Prodownhill came so highly recommended for the death road by several backpackers on their way north through Peru, we didn’t even consider booking the death road with another agency.
Suiting our group of 7 up for the day, the equipment was in excellent shape and clearly taken care of. From the protective moto-cross quality clothing, to the top-quality helmets and pads, it was clear Prodownhill had our safety in mind. Decked out in flash gear, our bikes were tuned and ready to go without a lot of fiddling around. Our guides were friendly and did a great job of …

We recently used Sunset Tours for our trip to the Pampas in the Bolivian Amazon. We booked our trip upon our arrival in Rurrenabanque, Bolivia without any hassle at all. Before booking we searched around town and interviewed several other tours. We found the people at sunset to offer a similar trip as much lower prices (although we later heard of others paying the same that we paid at other locations). The biggest positive to booking with sunset was the flexibility they showed us when Jillian was ill on what was supposed to be our first day, allowing us to push our trip back without any problems or fees.
Most importantly though was that everything was as described and we had …

Recommended by our guidebook we booked our Salkantay Trail trek through Big Foot Operators mostly because they were the only ones recommended by the guidebook that got back to our online requests for information. Very responsive to our initial inquiries and questions via email, we realized we were paying more than the normal rate, but expected to have a better experience.
The staff at Big Foot was extremely professional and as we signed the waivers, contracts and paid for the tour, they went over specific details of the trek with us and provided us with a written receipt outlining what was and was not included in the trek. We were sure there would be no surprises on the trek and …