Argentina & Brazil - How to get started?
 

I'm in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Argentina & Brazil this May, so I need a little guidance on how to get started as I've never been to S. America before.

Ideally, I'd like to hit up Argentina - Buenos Aires and Patagonia, and in Brazil - Rio de Janeiro and the Amazon. Can this all be done in 3 weeks? I'm assuming there would be A LOT of traveling in between these places because they're all far from each other. Is my itinerary too aggressive?

fyi we recently returned from 19 on land in Argentina divided equally between Buenos Aires (.5) and Patagonia and Iguazu(.5) we spent 3 days including travel time at iguazu and 6 days in Patagonia at el Calafate and Chalten. we certainly didn't have time for Brasil as well!
cheers
AndrewDavid

South America is a large continent. I would ask; do you want a tropical vacation? If so, go to Brasil. If you just want to get away and have a more "European" vacation at a lower cost, then go to Argentina. I lived in Brasil and have been to Argentina, so I really like both places.
For Argentina-start in Buenos Aires, visit an estancia in the outskirts of BA, and then to Ushuaia.
For Brasil: Rio is a must. Go to Iguacu-although this borders Argentina. And then to Manaus to enjoy the Amazon. Enjoy

Patagonia in May is going to be very cold, but more importantly, very dark. It will probably be dark before or right at 5pm - makes it difficult to get in any long hikes.

In May you could definitely do BsAs, Rio, the Pantanal, Iguazu Falls, and Manaus in three weeks.

hey everyone - thanks for your comments!

franto: i want everything! lol. both a tropical and cultural vacation. what can i say? i'm greedy. :)

thanks for the tip about patagonia in may mistadobalina. my boyfriend loves taking long hikes and was hoping to do that in patagonia, but the cold weather and early nights may pose a problem. hm. what is the best time to go to the patagonia??

now my question is, if were were to do Brazil and Argentina in 3 weeks, is there a travel agency you'd recommend that can help us plan all the accomodations, flights, transfers in between cities/countries, etc? seems like too intimidating of a task for me to tackle. =P