Help w/S.A. Itinerary, Please.

Well, how about that , ira, you will be in my hometown

Will you want to stay in a hotel or rent an apartment in BA.
I have a couple of hotels that you might like, in Recoleta.
www.artsuites.com.ar

http://www.loisuites.com.ar/
click on Recoleta to see that particular hotel.

Everywhere you go here, there are nice cafes and they love sitting and sipping coffee or wine for as long as they wish. As long as you are sitting there, that table belongs to you, so enjoying cafes here is a pleasant pasttime.
I have lists and lists of restaurants.. they like to eat out here.
People watching is best done while sitting at a cafe with a glass of wine.. or cup of coffee and maybe a pastry ... everyone here does it ..And on a sunny warm day, they will do it facing the sun. Like flowers, you will see everyone sitting outside, turned towards the sun :- )
There are over 100 museums here.
My goal is to see them all.
The biggies for you might be the MALBA, Belle Artes, Decorative Artes, Palais Glace, the Evita Museum ( wonderful , in a mansion and with a top notch cafe/restaurant) .. there are many many more.

No ... you do not want to rent a car. Really.. you do not.


Speaking Spanish will be good.. but they are so nice here and polite, they will apologize to you for not speaking English and help you anyway...

I've been to BA and Lima--absolutely love BA. Great city to sit and sip coffee or wine or eat gelato and watch the world go by. Lots of nice museums and the people are fabulous. Food is fantastic as is the wine. I think a week is a good amount of time...u can do side trips to an estancia for a day or night or go to Iguazzu Falls which is fabulous. Would need at least a night to go there. We were there this past November and the weather was nice in the beginning but very hot towards the end. It was supposed to have been one of the hottest Nov in 50 years. B4 that we were in BA in Dec and it was really hot which is why we went Nov the 2nd time.

Lima is very different from BA, interesting, but not nearly as cosmopolitan..totally different culture. I spent 3 days in Lima total and that was more than enough. Was never really comfortable there once we left Miraflores (which I will add is unusual for me traveling). I can't imagine spending an entire week in Lima. Have u thought about going to Cusco and the SV? What about MP? If you've never been u must go see MP. We enjoyed the SV far more than Lima. Can't speak to the weather in Nov...we were there in April at the end of the rainy season and it was perfect.

No need for a rental car. Taxis are cheap in BA and Lima if you don't care to walk.

I havent been to Santiago, but have researched going and my impression is that a week would be too much. I'll be interested to see what others say.

The posters above are spot on. BA is just terrific. Lima is a very different place and a good contrast, also with good food. Santiago, however, likely doesn't require the week, or you may want to skip it all together. If you like wine you may want to add Mendoza to your trip, the center of wine country in ARG. Alternatively, Bariloche has incredible scenery. The weather should, i believe, be very nice that time of year. Lots of hotel options in both Mendoza and Bariloche.

Also, Brazil adds a very different flavor to the trip. The country is huge and the people are exceedingly warm. If you can add a few days to Rio to your trip, perhaps flying into BAires and out of Rio, back home, that would be a terrific addition. If you want to spend a week in Rio look to spend a few days there and a few days in Buzios, a couple of hour easy highway drive from RIo, with nice pousadas and great beaches. f you head to Rio look to Ipanema for accomodations.

If you need flights within SAmerica a good option is GOL Brazil. They have a good user friendly website. For ARG look to LAN Argentina. Have fun.

Santiago is often overlooked or pronounced uninteresting. Nothing could be further from the truth. The three cities you mention are all very different, however.
Santiago is easy to navigate and day trips to either vineyards or the coast are simple to do.
I would say Buenos Aires is about cosmopolitan city life, Lima about both the colonial and pre-columbian history of South America and Santiago about easy day trips and the outdoors.
November is a good time for all of them.

Hi Ira

www.latinamericaforless.com

has gets me good internal prices on hotels flights

for me Cusco/MP a do not miss usually fly from LIM

if I DIY find good travel agent prices on good hotels

on www.asiarooms.com like the Claridge BA for $128/nt

BA is my fav Santiago pricy like Valparaiso better

Cusco is prettier than Lima www.casa-andina.com nice there

www.secondhomeperu.com my fav in Lima area...

Would not rent a car shuttles are cheap...

Have fun,

Have fun,

We loved our visits to both Buenos Aires and Santiago. The food in Santiago and Buenos Aires was excellent and we did not have have one bad meal in either city. As a seafood lover, I prefered Santiago and Valparaiso's cuisine, but loved all of the Italian restaurants in Buenos Aires. Of course we had to have a steak in Buenos Aires and it was excellent too, at La Cabrera.
Buenos Aires has several good art museums; our favorite was the new Coleccion Fortabat overlooking the water in Puerto Madero.We also enjoyed MALBA and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.

http://mapadelasartes.com/

This is not open yet, but will be closer to the time you arrive... they sell these little books, each with a page devoted to a museum with photos, info etc.. They are free when you get here, you can pick them up at a Museum.

http://www.phaidon.com/Default.aspx/Web/Wallpaper-City-Guide-Buenos-Aires-9780714846842

Get one of these Wallpaper City Guides. My son left his here with us and I use it .. as I still use the Museum Map.

If you two would like to have a dinner at a Closed Door restaurant, here are two that are popular.

Saltshaker
http://www.saltshaker.net/

And Casa Felix

www.diegofelix.com

Hi all,

Thanks for your helpful comments.

I'm quite busy today, so can't respond yet.

As long as you are feeling well, don't worry about it, take your time

ira, I'm no expert on SA, I do remember a thread a while back where you wrote about travelling around France and eating at upscale resaurants, in the what if you won thread. I get the impression that you are a foodie, try to visit Astrid and Gaston, the resaurant is in a few SA cities, and enjoy a meal there.

Not sure what you'd do in Lima for a week, unless, you plan on flying to Cuzco and visit Machu Pichu, I wouldn't spend so much time in Lima.

Hi All,

Thanks for all of your suggestions.

I am now in a quandry:

Option A:
ATL --> Buenos Aires --> Montevideo (ferry RT) --> BA --> Santiago --> Lima --> ATL
4 nights each stop - 20 nights

Option B:
Same as A except Rio instead of Lima.
I expect that I should spend more time in Rio, right?

Comments?

If u are not going to go to Sacred Valley &/or MP, I would skip Lima.

Forget Lima (unless you want to visit MP), I'd go to Rio.

Besides, Peru and Ecuador fit better than trying to add Peru to the trip you're planning. Maybe consider these destinations for a future trip. The Galapagos IMO is incredible.

As for spending more time in Rio, well if you just want to see the sights 3 days is sufficient. However, if you want to relax and enjoy the beach, etc. after a "on the go" type holiday, I'd add more time here.

I think you can add more nights to BA, take 1 or 2 away from Montevideo .. and then the remainder in Rio.

While in BA, you can take a few day trips.. for example:

You can take the ferry to Montevideo, stay a couple of nights, take the bus on to Colonia, stay one night, come back to BA by Ferry... or do it in reverse, going to Colonia first.
Or just go to Colonia for the day or Montevideo for one night.


Tigre/Delta .. you take the train from BA to Tigre, spend the day touring the Delta, alone or with a tour guide, on the water or walking.. come back into town late afternoon/early evening. ( it is only about a 45 minute ride)

Iguazu Falls.. did you consider that as a side trip? 1 or 2 nights? A shame to miss them. but this involves flying.

Have you considered visiting an estancia?
Have you heard of San Antonio de Areco?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_de_Areco
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-city/Argentina/San%20Antonio%20De%20Areco/tpod.html

To see the sights in Rio, and get a flavor for the city, you can do that in four days. However, if you are a beach person, you can add more time there, or add the few extra days to Buzios, where you really can relax and stroll the town late into the night. Buzos is likely the most sophisticated beach town in Brazil. If you do add Buzios (no I don't work for their tourist board . . . ) one idea is to head straight from Buzios back to GIG airport for your flight home, or onward. That is an easy option and will save you some travel time.

The idea of a visit to an Estancia or El Tigre for a day from BAires is also very good.

Four days just for Lima may be a bit much.

How long would you plan to stay in Montevideo? That is a small city that can be seen relatively quickly.

Hi All,
As I expected - Rio over Lima. More time in Rio.

Roger, wilco.
........................................................................
Hi SC,

>I think you can add more nights to BA, take 1 or 2 away from Montevideo .. and then the remainder in Rio.<

Are you suggesting I cut out Santiago and do just Rio and BA?

Do NOT cut out Santiago. Two more options:
1.ATL-Santiago-Puerto Varas, Chile..Andean lakes crossing to Bariloche,AR to Buenos Aires. We spent three weeks doing this last March plus more time in Chile north of Santiago, coast and vineyards.
2. ATL-Santiago-Buenos Aires ( incl Montevideo/Colonia)-Iguazu/IguacuFalls-Rio-ATL
The Argentine/Chilean lakes district is beautiful, settled by Germans and their influences remain in the local cuisine and architecture.

I like the HappyTrvlr's 2nd choice, you should not miss Iguazu when you head to SA, from BA you can fly there, just need one day/night (or two if you can spare it), then fly to RIO.

We don't like to spend a lot of time in cities (living in NY), so we concentrate on the natural beauty of these countries when we travel, and there are plenty of places in both AR and Chile (haven't been to Brazil yet) that we've seen that fit the bill!

Hi HappyTrvlr on Jul 9, 09 at 11:37 AM

Very intriguing. Thank you.

Thanks all for the help.

I shall now go into "research mode".

HT and Scar,

Is Iguazu Falls a RT from Buenos Aires, or can I continue on to Rio from there?

I don't know about the RT part, I know the airlines out of BA usually come back to BA .. but I don't know about this sort of flight.

You can fly to Rio from the Brazilian side of the Iguazú Falls, but you will need a visa.

Thank you, AV.

We are planning on going on to Tio, so will have our visas.

Am I correct that there is bus service between the Argentine and Brazilian side?

Yes, there's bus and you can also take a taxi.

Hey, Ira! I often read (and bookmark) your posts on the Europe board ... now it's my turn to share with you.

My husband and I (late 50s) spent just under three weeks in Peru this past February. It was our first visit to South America. We had a fantastic time ... I absolutely had no idea how much there was to see and do. The cultural experience was beyond anything I could have imagined.

We spent a few days at the beginning and end of our trip in Lima - actually Miraflores, which is probably where you will want to be. I know many people say to skip Lima, but we enjoyed our time there. We hired a private tour guide for a day-long tour of the city; well worth the time. We really loved strolling along the streets of Miraflores on our free days. Plenty of great restaurants and sidewalk cafes. One caveat, though ... it is my understanding that for much of the rest of the year the city is socked in with a gloomy pervasive fog.

If you are going to be in Peru for a week, it would seem to be a shame not to travel to Cusco and to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. The flight to Cusco from Lima is very short, and there is so much amazing culture and history in Cusco alone, I think you would love it.

We hired a private guide for the time we were in Cusco and Machu Picchu (also traveled with our guide south to Lake Titicaca) ... we used Vidal at Adventure Holidays Peru ... and we thought he was fantastic. We were easily able to customize our itinerary, choosing various levels of hotel accomodations, sites, length of tours. The price was reasonable, and Vidal (who is a native Cusco resident) was very smart and personable, with a great sense of the Inca history and culture.

I think Peru is probably one of the most interesting and unique places I have ever visited. It was especially interesting to me to see the "other side" of the history of European colonialism.

Hi scd,

Well, you have certainly re=whetted my apettite for Lima.

I think Lima is fine for a couple days, but not a week. Lots of people love it and it does have fabulous cerviche and good restaurants. Miraflores reminded us of the coast of California -- very pretty, high rocky coast with beautiful views. Basically there is a park and a big shopping mall in the main part of it. I agree with scd, if u do go to Peru, missing the SV and MP would be a shame.

Today's New York Times Travel section has an article "Buenos Aires Spotlights Its Cafes" that you may find interesting as you plan your trip.

Thanks, HT.

Saw it this morning.

I love BA but I also recommend a stop in Santiago. For that matter if you like the Andes and Malbec I would highly recommend at least a brief stop in Mendoza. You can fly from BA to Mendoza and then Mendoza on to Santiago. The flight from Mendoza to Santiago is a short but scenic hop over the spectacular Andes. Highly recommend LAN over other alternatives.

Thank you, ona.

I shall check that out.

I agree w scdreamer. I really would consider adding Cusco and the Sacred Valley, as well as Lima. I won't address BA since I've never been, just Lima and Santiago. I spent 2 nights in Lima and the same in Santiago, as well as 5 nights around Cusco and the Sacred Valley.

Santiago feels much Anglicized, Lima feels like a South American city, more chaotic. With Lima you'll have to be on guard against street crime (although from the stories I see here and on TA, it almost sounds as if Lima is safer!)

If you want to feel safe and comfortable, Santiago would be the choice. The food is good, but nowhere near as excellent as that in Peru (although they do have an outpost of Astrid and Gaston). There is a nice PreColumbian museum in Santiago, but it pales in comparison to the Larco museum in Lima. If you want to experience exceptional food and the Andean/Inka culture and ancient sites, Lima and Cusco are must-sees.

Thanks, ml.

I'm tilting toward Lima -->Cusco --> Lima --> Santiago --> Buenos Aires.

Sound better!

When you start to get into bookings, consider using LAN if you can, you may get a good deal on internal flights using their South American airpass.

Info is on their website under special offers.

Hi ml,

Thanks for the info. The SA pass looks as if it could be a bargain.

I came upon this thread by accident, but now that I am here, I will comment that I am quite surprised by the lack of mention that Ecuador is receiving. I would certainly advise a few days in Quito with the usual side trips from there by bus or car/driver. The view of the volcanoes alone place this area among the most scenic of those I have seen in South America.

I see no reason to visit Lima if you are not proceeding further to Cusco and sites beyond.. But having been to Lima only twice, for just a couple of days each time, perhaps I did not get the full flavor of the city. I agree that the food is excellent!

In BA, we liked the Claridge Hotel very much. By negotiating directly with the hotel, we got a very good rate on a week-long stay.

I would certainly agree with leaving Brazil for another time.

If u decide to go to Cusco, u may want to fly into Cusco and than travel directly to the SV as the altitude is considerably lower in SV than Cusco. Doing it this way will give u a chance to acclimate to the altitude. We loved Ollantaytambo in SV and took the train from there to MP. Cusco is a charming town too.

To take best advantage of the SA Airpass, you will want to use LAN for the international leg, booked as a LAN flight and not a codeshare!

I would like to see Ecuador next but Quito scares me...and I was fine with Lima...enlighten me...

Thanks for the additional help.