NancyLA

I have been reading many of the threads about Buenos Aires, which are so helpful, and would love to get some advice. We are a family of 4 (w/ 2 college-aged kids) planning our first trip to Latin America. We're thinking of 10 days in Argentina, 10 in Peru and 10 in Ecuador starting around July 1. I have several questions for anyone who would care to respond:
(1) We had tentatively planned for a 5-6 days in BA and then a side trip either to Iguazu Falls or the Northwest for a few more days. Probably can't do both due to time and expense. Which would you recommend? I've read both positive and negative about both places.
(2) What are your favorite day trips from BA?
(3) Should we plan for seriously cold weather - we're from Los Angeles, so reasonably wimpy! Are we talking parkas or pea coats??
(4)We're thinking of renting an apt in BA in order to save a bit. I read about Recoleta and Palermo as the best neighborhoods, but they seem a bit farther away from many attractions. Are there other neighborhoods we should be considering?
(5) Lan Air seems to have to most flights to/from and within Latin America - but the reviews are pretty terrible. Any thoughts or alternatives?

Many thanks in advance for your thoughts.

annetti

Hi NancyLA,

I will just address the weather part of your question. We were in BA in July/Aug 2007. We are from LA, too, though I was born on the Eastern Seaboard, so I know cold weather; my husband on the other hand is a native Californian. I was told the winter that we were there that the weather was especially cold, in fact there was a snowfall (very, very unusual, 2 weeks before we arrived); we were miserable from the cold. We had bought winter coats from Ll Bean with extra linings. In BA, we purchased hats and gloves. We were there for 5 weeks and had about 3 days where we could open our coats and not hurry to enter a building. We were not comfortable. I am sure that others will disagree and say it was fine, but we layered our clothing, wore our winter coats, hats, and gloves and were usually glad to get inside. Again, it may have been an atypical winter, but I suggest you prepare for it. Even though I am an Easterner, I had no more tolerance for the weather than my husband, the Californian.

Although, I said I would address only one part of the question, I will say that we stayed in Palermo and no way did I think it inconvenient. We rented an apartment for our five week stay (had no problems with it) and thought it a wonderful way to enjoy the city. The food is wonderful, people exceptionally friendly, city easy to navigate (we used the subte and buses, contrary to the usual advice of taking taxis) and were very, very pleased with our trip. The only downer for us was the weather, and the last week my husband caught a whopper of a cold that took him several weeks to get over it. I think if you are prepared for the weather you will be fine, but we were not. People told us layering would be enough, it was not that year and certainly would not have kept us warm.

Guenmai

OK. I'm from L.A. County, too. I was just in Buenos Aires a couple of months ago, first time, and thank goodness hit perfect weather...mid 70s to mid 80s.

I liked the city so much that when I got home, I decided to keep the frequent flyer plane ticket ($37.50) that I had issued, many months before finding a cheap airfare down there for December.

I've heard that it can be cold, down there, and the frequent flyer ticket is for August, but how cold are we talking...as in degrees...35? 40? 50?.

NancyLa- I've written a trip report on Buenos Aires, but have put it under the Asia forum. I'll top it for you if you'd like to read it. It will answer many of your questions. I got a base price $557.($559?) rd.trip from L.A.-Buenos Aires and on American Airlines. It was via New York. All of that is in my trip report. I also did a separate trip report in this forum, but not as extensive as the other one. I'm a regular on the Asia forum and the folks over there wanted me to post my trip report as many will be going to Buenos Aires as well.

The title of my trip report is: Don't Bite My Head Off-Guenmai's Trip Report. I'll top it for you now to insure that it's among the first 50 threads. Happy Travels!

NancyLA

Guenmai - many, many thanks for pointing me to your BA trip report. I just read through it and it's fantastic. So informative.

Guenmai

You're very welcome. Happy Travels!

Scarlett

(1) Iguazu Falls without doubt.
I don't really know any negatives.

(2) What are your favorite day trips from BA?
Colonia Uruguay by ferry..
Tigre by train.
San Isidro by train/can be combined with Tigre.

(3) Should we plan for seriously cold weather -
Our first July in BA, it snowed.. but it was the first snow in 94 years. It was a holiday and everyone was out, it was so charming to see the reactions of young and old alike.
I wear a quilted Burberry jacket most of the year ( it is good for wet weather too) or a wool short coat.. remember to bring a scarf , that is what I wear everyday all the time.. all the walking and sightseeing, you will get chilled and scarves and gloves help. Boots too. I wear boots just about all winter. It could be mild and all you will need is a jacket.. Figure on layering for warmth to save room in the suitcases.

(4)We're thinking of renting an apt in BA in order to save a bit.
Palermo and Recoleta are where very many attractions are !
Recoleta is where I live, it is where some of the best hotels in BA are located and museums, parks and the Recoleta Cemetery..
Palermo is the Japanese Gardens, the Zoo, Museums and parks etc.
You can't go wrong with either neighborhood. and they are very easy to get around and to other neighborhoods from them. We walk from Recoleta to Palermo so you can get an idea of distances..
Get a map! you will need it when you are here ..

(5) Lan Air seems to have to most flights to/from and within Latin America - but the reviews are pretty terrible. Any thoughts or alternatives?

Lan is better than AAA. Better reviews also. Not many alternatives..

yestravel

"...a side trip either to Iguazu Falls or the Northwest for a few more days. Probably can't do both due to time and expense. Which would you recommend?"
I think both are great destinations, but very different. IF is better if u only want to go for a couple days and basically explore the Falls. The Falls are just spectacular. We spent 9 days in the NW and fell in love with the area. I read that people do a circuit in 4 days, but personally I would find that rushed and too much time spent in the car getting from destination to destination. I don't think u can go wrong with either the NW or IF.

"What are your favorite day trips from BA?"
We enjoyed visiting an estancia and the town of San Antonio de Areco.


"Lan Air seems to have to most flights to/from and within Latin America - but the reviews are pretty terrible. Any thoughts or alternatives?"
We have flown LAN a number of times for internal flights in both Argentina and Peru and found them to be a very good airline. Nice planes and generally left on time and they give u food even on the short flight! I know if you book LAN for your flight from the US you can get better fares on your internal flights in SA, so u might want to look into that. I think they call it the LANPASS.

NancyLA

Thanks for the great info. Did you stay overnight at an estancia? Would your recommend it? Anyone else with recommendations on estancias?

Thanks!

irecommend

I am looking into estancias at this very minute for early March for an overnight for my husbands 50th. There are certainly a lot to choose from but it is hard to determine what would be just right. I would love some input as well.

rowlesjr

Buenos Aires is AMAZING for college aged kids. Im a little older but could still take advantage of the events.. there are live drumming shows and cool concerts at La Trastienda... check out the agenda at bue.gov for a good list of whats going on

yestravel

We stayed at 2 estancias -- La Bamba which I gather is under renovation for some time now -they do recommend another estancia on their website. They were about 15 minutes into town. We stayed a night there and enjoyed it -- just us staying in the big house and it was like a moment back in time.
http://www.la-bamba.com.ar/

Estancia El Ombu has been written up in the NYT and other travel magazaines. It was right next door to La Bamba.
http://www.estanciaelombu.com/eombu.htm

Our travel agent had recommended Santa Rita and we didn't care for it at all...more like a big resort.

I think staying 1 night is fun -- most have swimming pools and horseback riding. Estancias are a nice change of pace from BA and if you're near San Antonio de Areco its worth some time wandering thru it.

flintstones

Hi, Nancy... I do not know what NEGATIVE you could have heard about the NW, the weather is perfect considering it is like the weather in San Francisco, with sunny winters and wonderful days...Salta is Much cheaper than Buenos Aires and that is an advantage too. You need at least 4 dasy for Salta, and probably you will wish to stay longer.
I usually suggest to spend two days north of SAlta (jujy province) Purmamarca and the Salt Flats, and two days for the south, Cafayate is our wine country andits beautiful scenic road.
Flintstones...