Info Source: Lonely Planet, but we found the information to be really bad so we looked at Rough Guide & Footprints
Trip Costs
In general, my costs in US$ were:
For the Whole Day:
40
For a Night's Accommodation:
30
For a Meal:
3-4
For a Beer/Cocktail:
2
Activities & Experiences
Surfing Mancora is definitely the best find. It's a tiny little town on the coast in Northern Peru, just before the Ecadorian boarder. A british couple we met hiking Machu Picchu told us about it. When we got there we actually discovered that it is on the Quick Silver Map, but it's certainly not touristy especially if you stay in one of the local spots. We found an incredible hotel Las Olas Hotel for $30 a night including breakfast and a veranda that overlooked the best break on the beach. The owner of our hotel was a champion surfer. He's now a grumpy old guy who watches the break all day long. When he sees an excellent wave coming through he runs out, has a surf and comes back in to watch for the next one. If you don't have your own board you can rent one for a few $ a day.
Cocktails On The Beach When you are sick of surfing you can have an excellent (and cheap) cocktail at Papa Mo's Milk Bar. It was two doors down on the beach from our hotel and we spent most of our time there enjoying daquaris and other yummy fruit concocktions.
Local Dives There are tons of small little dives in the town. Great food and very cheap. We splurged one night - like $10 for both our meals - and ate at Sirena's. Great lunch & dinner place.
Other The only downside to Mancora was getting there. We took a local bus that dropped us off at 4am. The town was dead still, but it didn't seem unsafe at all. We found a hostel to crash at for a few hours until people awoke. However, next time I would just park myself on the beach and rest until the sunrise.
Three essentials for India:
GET YOUR VISA ORGANIZED AHEAD OF TIME. The Embassy wait can be brutal!
A-Z of Adventure Travel Insurance from World Nomads as you will probably get "Delhi Belly."
Hostelworld was a great help for finding cheap, but decent accommodation in India!
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