My husband and I are planning a trip to Argentina in April(?) to celebrate my 50th birthday. We would like to spend 10 - 12 days with our time divided between BA, Mendoza and Bariloche. We are looking for suggestions on hotels, tour guides,and activities that will make for a memorable trip. We are healthy, active and not on a "tight" budget.

Have you heard about SALTA and the NW of Argentina? Salta is a safe town with a very active nigthlife and excellent climate. April is perfect and the scenery is amazing.
The wine country, colourful mountains and rock formations make of this area one of the most interesting. Unique...
A birthday is a great occasion to get it as a gift. A gift for the soul...
Flintstones

Thank you flinstones for the reply. Do you reccommend Salta in place of, or in addition to the other locations we are interested in?

We have been to both areas, both are interesting, your plans should depend on your interests.

Mendoza is for the Andes and wineries (little like Napa), Bariloche is like Switzerland, beautiful with lakes. The NW is similar to Arizona, but with an Inca twist and also has very good wineries.

That being said, I would do a little research, read some of the trip reports here and narrow down to three locations for 10 - 12 days. AR is a big country, it takes almost a day to get anywhere.

If you do the splurge in Bariloche, highly recommend the Llao Llao hotel.

We have used a BA TA for each trip, Mercedes at Argentina Escapes. You may also look at their web-site for more ideas.

Happy planning!

I agree with owlwoman about everything she says. The three places max and the brief descriptions.

So, BA and? It depends on what your tastes are. You have not mentioned our Iguazú Falls. Mendoza would be great, if you are into wine tasting. The weather will not be so good in Bariloche in April, but should be good in Salta. So, it's your call.

Flintstones, known as Angie in the real world, is probably the best independent guide in our NW. Don't take my word for it, research her by typing "Angie" in this forum's search feature and in http://tinyurl.com/nw9f4

Should you opt for Bariloche, the Llao-Llao is a great upscale hotel, as owlwoman says. http://www.llaollao.com/

In BA, if you want a 5-star hotel, consider: http://www.alvearpalace.com/v2/home.php

You'll have a wonderful birthday in our country, koshqueen.

weel, yes it is up t your interests, Koshqueen... I love this area and I would not be objective. If you have time see as much as possible. The NW is soooooo beautiful! As owlwoman said, we also ahve wines, salt flats, sesert, colourful mountains...
Good food, great weather!
What else can you require?
FLintstones

Thank you for all your suggestions. We still remain interested in the Bariloche area. It seems that your comments are steering us more toward the Salta area. Is this because of weather? Distance?

Koshqueen

It's because of the weather, Koshqueen. As I said before, it may "not be so good in Bariloche in April, but should be good in Salta".

The distance is about the same.

There is a great site to check out - ArcticTropic. There are links to many Argentine destinations and accommodations. The site specializes in adventure travel,ecotourism and also luxurious lodge sin unusual places. arctictropic.com Once on the site click the South America map and then GO by Argentina.