ricvac

Hi Guys,
I'm so glad I came across this site whilst doing research for our trip. My wife and I have always wanted to explore a bit of South America, and so at the beginning if this year we booked our flights from South Africa to Argentina! We are going for a month starting the 5th of December.

I have a basic plan in my head of what we would like to see, but this is where I thought you guys could help.

Land in Buenos Aires (BA)-3nights booked there (fly/bus to Iguazu)
Iguazu Falls (fly/bus to Mendoza)
Mendoza (hire a car from there to drive to Bariloche-stop along the way)
Bariloche(drive or catch a bus to El Calafate)
El Calafate (fly back to BA)
BA
Possibly go visit friends in Monte Video (Uruguay)?

The other option is to go from BA to Mendoza, and then do Iguazu after El Calafate, at the end??

So far, I have only booked 3 nights in BA for when we arrive. The rest, I would like to try do without pre-planning too much, as I want the spontaneity and flexibility of coming or going depending on how we are enjoying the place. So for example between Mendoza and Bariloche, it could take us 2 days or 6 days depending on how we like the towns we pass. Is this realistic? I believe high season is Jan/Feb, so was hoping that we could call 1-2 days ahead of arriving in a place to try book?

As I said, we have 1 month and a budget of about 8000-10 000 US$. We are in our late twenties. We don't want to stay in hostels, but self-catering accomodation would be adequate.

Is this do-able, will we have to book ahead and any other advice?

One of my main concerns is finding a car hire company in Mendoza that will allow us to drive it down to Bariloche...

Looking forward to your responses.

crellston

Hi Ricvac and welcome to Fodors

With one month and your budget you can have a great time in Argentina! we spent three month there a few years ago and never ran out of things to do. the best thing to do is to buy a decent guide book and/or map and work out what you want to see and work out the best way of getting there.

Air travel tends to be v. expensive in Argentina and sometimes not terribly reliable. more often than not, flights seem to be routed through BA which is not always convenient. Bus travel, however is very comfortable, efficient and cheap, especially if you schedule the longer trips overnight.

Car hire is a great way to see the country and will undoubtedly provide you with the greatest freedom an flexibility. We rented a car (from Hertz) in San Martin de Los Andes and dropped it off in Bariloche without any problems (most companies will charge a drop off fee). However, do not underestimate the distances involved or overestimate the conditions of the roads! also, do check the insurance conditions and excess carefully.

Iguazu should not be missed and is probably best visited from BA. i know flights do go direct to Salta in the north west, which should definitely be added to your list.

rather than comment on the many places you could go to, have a look at our blog which includes a lot of photos. http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blo...ai/1/tpod.html Argentina starts at entry # 70.

do some research on the "blue dollar" exchange rate as this could save you a fortune - put the name of the legendary avrooster in the search box and lots of info will come up here.

we visited from October to December and again last August and didn't need to book much in advance. we just turned up in most places and found a place to stay. Buses may need booking a day or so in advance as would any flights (probably longer).

Don't discount hostels as some are fantastic places to stay and we didn't find too many self catering places along the way anyway.

Any questions, just ask.

avrooster

Great advice from the legendary crellston, ricvac.

One thing I would worry about is the fee for returning the car to a different location. Ask Hertz, but I believe it may be preposterously expensive.

I would tend to fly and hire a car in each location.

Early December is a great time to travel in Argentina, as we locals only start our summer holidays after Christmas/New Year.

So, I would cancel those first three nights in BA and try to get as much internal travel as possible done before Xmas, which should allow you "the spontaneity and flexibility of coming or going depending on how we are enjoying the place."

The "blue" exchange rate obtained by selling cash dollars in BA, would allow you to save about 30% on anything which can be paid with a credit card, except, I believe, airplane travel.

Have a great time in our country.

ricvac

Hi Crellston,

Thanks very much for your prompt reply. I have already got a guide book, but the first hand info from travelers on this forum seems more valuable to me.

I have already read up on the "blue dollar" rate on the forum, and see that avrooster seems to be THE authority on most things Argentinian!


I will definitely have a look through your travel blog. Thanks for your valuable input.

ricvac

Hi avrooster,
Thanks for your input too. I'm quite surprised you suggested flying from one place to another, as most of what I have read on this forum seems to say flying is expensive and unreliable?

I have unfortunately booked the hotel on a no-cancellation policy, so I will have to spend the first few days in BA.

Between Mendoza and Bariloche, are there any small towns anyone could recommend stopping at. The 2 on my list so far are Junin de los Andes and San Martin de los Andes.

I was planning on staying on the roads close to the Andes (passing Barrancas and Zapala), but would it be advisable to go via Colonia Catriel and Neuquen instead?

avrooster

Since your budget is ample, I suggested how I would use it, if I were you, which obviously I'm not. If you prefer to drive long distances, it's a matter of taste and of the cost of the car drop-off in another location.

It sounds as if you already paid for your hotel. If that is NOT the case, remember you can pay for it in pesos obtained by selling cash dollars at the "blue" rate, saving around 30%.

Have a great time in my country.

crellston

San Martin de Los Andes was one of my favourite places in Argentina ( I could easily live there!) . We also spent some time in San Raphael which is a nice town and close to Canon de Atuel which is worth a visit. About a 7 hour drive from Mendoza as I recall.

MarnieWDC

Excellent suggestions above; I would just add that I too would want to spend those first, post long-haul travel hours in the landing city i.e. BsAs.

And Crellston's recommendation of Salta is spot on....don't miss spending the better part of one week driving around there....and I believe that there is still a flight from Salta just across to Iguazu (albeit only on certain days).

My DH and I go from BsAs to Montevideo every year - either by the BueQueBus ferry first to Colonia (1hour) then bus to Montevideo (after exploring Colonia on foot for a couple of hours) or directly by the BQB ferry (~ 3 hours). There are also short flights between Bs As and Montevideo.

Sounds like a great trip already. Keep us posted, please, as to your ongoing plans.

ricvac

Hi Guys, and thanks for all the comments so far.

So the drive from Mendoza to Bariloche has somewhat been planned...No specific stops planned, but we will obviously be stopping over for a night or 2 along the way down till Junin De Los Andes, where i hope to spend a day or two fly-fishing... Any stop-over suggestions along the way welcome.

Planning to take the RN40 from Mendoza South to Las Lajas, then from there, take the 242/23 around to Alumine (Haven't heard great things about Zapala, so thought we would skip it and rather stay close to the Andes), and head straight down the 23 till Junin De Los Andes. From there to San Martin De Los Andes and onto the route of the 7 lakes, taking us through Villa La Angostura and finally down to Bariloche.

Im sure the main RN40 will be decent road surface, but I'm guessing the smaller roads might be quite rough. Anyone know if a normal sedan-like car will be fine, or if higher ground clearance is needed? Looking to do this in a rental car, so will need to choose accordingly...

crellston

"Im sure the main RN40 will be decent road surface" I wouldn't bank on it! I have driven parts of Ruta 40 in the far north where parts were tarmac and other part were gravel. Both times we had small cars and coped fine most of the time.

We also drove from San Martin down through the seven lakes to Bariloche back in 2008. Then, the drive was a little more "challenging" - snow, ice mud. Had to get out and push in a couple of spots. That said, I seem to recall that they were upgrading the road then so hopefully it will be a lot better now. In "normal weather" an ordinary car would be fine.

Between Mendoza and the South we travelled by bus and were sleeping for much of the time so didn't really notice the road conditions!

San Rapahel was a nice place to break up the trip as I recall. canon de Atuell was worth a visit

Some more info and photos @ http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blo...ai/1/tpod.html entries 71 and 73

I think you will find that 4WD may prove very expensive and may not even be possible if you want to drop of at different location. Personally, I think you will be fine with a 2WD. We found hertz to be pretty good and competitive, especially as they included the fully comp insurance ( definitely go for that!)

dwdvagamundo

Bookmarking

ricvac

Hi all! With only 50 odd days to go, we are counting down the days to our trip!! We have also decided to include Salta to our list of towns to visit.

Avrooster. I was wondering if you could give me some advice please. Firstly, would it be wise to exchange a lot of USD in Buenos Aires for the entire trip, or will I be able to exchange in the other towns I visit (at the blue dollar rate) as and when needed?

Secondly, is it safe to exchange money on the side of the road, and then walk around with a large amount of cash? Do tourists not get targeted in this way? With the chance of counterfeit money, do you have any recommendations?

avrooster

Let's see, ricvac:

IF, I repeat IF I were you, which I'm not, I would change in BA for the whole trip. The savings versus paying with a CC stand at this time at over 40%. I would use the place mentioned in this hotel review:

http://tinyurl.com/pqpj6z3

The risk of counterfeit money is nil, for all practical purposes, because if words gets around a black market exchange broker gives out fake bills, he would be out of business in no time.

If you have any pesos leftover at the end of your trip, don't forget to change them back to dollars before you leave.

You would probably be able to change in the other towns you will visit, but the rate would most likely be worse.

However, if the peso drops a lot during your visit, maybe you would have been better off NOT changing all of your dollars at the start of your trip.

I have NEVER suggested that anyone "exchange money on the side of the road". So, you shouldn't be "targeted" if you exchange at the right place, walk until the next corner or more and hop on a cab which is NOT waiting outside the place where you changed.

Yes, obviously, walking around with a lot of cash implies a risk. You should have a money belt and keep as much of it as possible in your hotel safe.

One thing you could do, to reduce the risk, is paying in advance in BA as many of your expenses as possible. That way, you'd be carrying less money.

Have a great time in my country with your DW. I loved South Africa when I went there, ages ago.

ricvac

Hi Guys,
So it's just over 1 week to go till we finally leave South Africa behind and start our 1 month adventure in Argentina.

Since my last update, the only 2 inclusions to our itinerary are that we would like to do are the Esteros del Ibera (on our way from Iguazu to Salta) and go see the salt flats in Bolivia (travel from Salta).

Getting to the Ibera wetlands seems like quite a mission and added expense, but being nature lovers, we thought this would be a good inclusion to our trip.

Have not done much research on getting to the Bolivian Salt flats, but reading Crellston's trip report made it sound fairly straight forward?

Any advice on either of these?

Can't wait for Steak and Malbec...

crellston

Salar de Uyuni form Salta is indeed pretty straightforward. Get a bus from Salta to El Quiaca via Jujuy ( 5 hours). Walk or get a taxi from the bus station to the border post on the bridge ( 20 mins). Make sure you get Argentine exit stamp AND Bolivian immigration (they are side by side but plenty of people missed the latter and had to visit a police station latter to get their papers in order!). Cross to Villazòn.

Plenty of Cambio on the Bolivian side to change money for taxi etc. But you won't get a great rate for AR pesos. better to take USD. Taxi to Tupiza should cost around 20 Bolivianos and take 1.5 hours to Tupiza or get a collectivo for less and 2 hours.

We used Tupiza Tours in Tupiza. There is also La Torre which seem to get good reviews too. Go for the 4 day 3 night tour. It was fantastic!

Never heard of Esteros de Ibera! Do report back!

glover

Ricvac, you'll love Argentina. Just wanted to jump in here and add that we spent 3 (4?) nights at Esteros del Ibera in Jan/Feb of 2013 and really enjoyed it! Like you, we are nature lovers.
We saw many, many wonderful bird species, as well as capybaras etc. You are right that it is not easy to get to though. After investigating bus/taxi etc possibilities, we hired someone (or our lodge at Esteros did) to drive 4 of us door to door from Iguazu to Esteros. The last many miles to Esteros were bumpy (road bad/under repair) etc. I want to say that it cost us $200 - but will have to check notes to see if that was per couple or for both couples. The driver came in a large cabbed, big wheeled truck!

After Esteros we went back to BA - had a driver again from Esteros to the nearest "big" town with bus service. Then took overnight bus back to BA. Our friend were going back to the states from there. We also went to the northwest (loved it all - Salta is great) - but later in our two month trip.
I posted a trip report on fodors. You can find it under my name. Let me know if you have any other qs re Esteros.