Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cash
is a necessity - preferably in small denomina-
tions of local currency. Some countries, including
Venezuela and Argentina, having a flourishing black
market, which should be approached with caution.
CALLING FROM ABROAD
To phone abroad, you must first dial the
international access code of the country
you are calling from, then the country code
of the country you are calling to, then the
area code (usually without the first zero)
and then the phone number. In some
South American countries there may be
different international access codes for
different providers. See below for details.
INTERNATIONAL ACCESS CODES
WHEN DIALLING FROM:
Argentina
T
00
Australia
T
0011
Bolivia
T
0010 (Entel),
T
0011 (AES),
T
0012 (Teledata),
T
0013 (Boliviatel)
Brazil
T
0014 (Brasil Telecom),
T
0015
(Telefónica),
T
0021 (Embratel),
T
0023
(Intelig),
T
0031 (Telemar)
Canada
T
011
Chile
T
00
Colombia
T
009 (Telecom),
T
007
(ETB/Mundo),
T
005 (Orbitel)
Ecuador
T
00
French Guiana
T
00
Guyana
T
001
Ireland
T
00
New Zealand
T
00
Paraguay
T
002
Peru
T
00
Suriname
T
002
UK
T
00
Uruguay
T
00
US
T
011
Venezuela
T
00
COUNTRY CODES WHEN DIALLING TO:
Argentina
T
54
Australia
T
61
Bolivia
T
591
Brazil
T
55
Canada
T
1
Chile
T
56
Colombia
T
57
Ecuador
T
593
French Guiana
T
594
Guyana
T
592
Ireland
T
353
New Zealand
T
64
Paraguay
T
595
Peru
T
51
Suriname
T
597
UK
T
44
Uruguay
T
598
US
T
1
Venezuela
T
58
Phones
The mobile phone is causing
public phone boxes
to
disappear in many South American countries. Where
phone boxes exist, they usually operate with cards,
available from newspaper kiosks. There are, however,
plenty of
locutorios
, stores originally dedicated to
telephone communications, most of which have
now branched out into internet access as well. You
can make direct-dial international calls from most
South American phones, apart from remote areas,
where calls must be made through an operator. Inter-
national phone calls are, in general, expensive from
South America, so you're best off trying to buy inter-
national calling cards where they exist or using web
services such as Skype - most internet cafés will be
set up with webcams and headsets.
Mobile phones
If you want to use your
mobile phone
in South
America, you'll need to check with your phone
provider whether it will work abroad, and what the
call charges are (beware of amassing a fortune in data
charges and use wi-fi wherever possible). Generally
speaking, UK, Australian and New Zealand mobiles
should work fine in South America (but double-check
the band-width compatibility especially if you have
an old model). However, with US mobiles only
tri-band models are likely to work outside the States.
You are likely to be charged extra for incoming
calls when abroad, as the people calling you will
be paying the usual rate. If you're in the country for
a while, and assuming your phone is unlocked
(most contract phones are locked so that they can
only be used on one network - your provider can
usually unlock it for a fee), you can buy a
SIM card
from a local telephone company and use it in your
phone. These are usually pretty cheap and your
calls will be charged at a local rate. If you don't have
a mobile phone and are staying a few months in
one country, consider buying a local phone, easily
done for less than US$50.
Tourist information
The quantity and quality of tourist information
varies from country to country, but in general, don't
expect too much. While almost every city in Brazil
and Argentina will have at least one well-equipped
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