Argentina next week! last-minute queries...
 

Wow, I leave on Wed for Argentina! My fingers are crossed (figuratively, anyway, hard to type otherwise) that everything goes well; no hurricanes in Miami where I make a connection, planes on time, everything packed that I need, etc etc ...

You've all been a great help and very reassuring! I'll beg your indugence and ask a few more questions:

Wow!Argentina is taking care of all my transfers to/from airports and is recommending a US$5-10 tip for each transfer. That seems really steep to me (and I have 12 or more transfers, so it would add up). What do you think is a reasonable amount to tip? Is tipping required?

I'll be in BA Sept 11 and 12 and again Sept 29-Oct 5. Is it polo season? Can I go see a match? Where are they held? How does one get tickets? This would be fine to do alone, right? How long does a polo match last?
(I've never seen one, and wasn't all that interested until I started horseback riding, and now I'm amazed at the skill required.)

Any chance of meeting up with those of you in BA? Dinner, lunch, tea, a stroll...?

Iguazu--how long does it take to see the Brazilian side? I'll be at the Sheraton and I have a Brazilian visa. But my time there, which was short to begin with, is now shorter due to flight changes. Not sure what time I'll arrive (on Sept 15), but certainly afternoon, I would think; then I'm there a complete day; then leaving early the next day to make the flight. I do want to see the Brazilian side but I'm wondering about the time required. I definitely want to be sure to leave enough time to see the Argentinian side too!

That's enough questions for now. (I do stop worrying once I'm in the air!)

I called the hotel in BA today to confirm and got to hear that wonderful Argentine accent.

(And I'll let you know how the hotel is, and how the trip in general goes, once I'm back.)

Cindy

Hi Cindy,
Have a great trip, the only ? I can answer is the tipping one, we bring lots of $1s and $5s with us, for the trip from EZE - BA I do tip around $5 or so, for the short trips from BA to the local airport, we've used a taxi as our TA tells me it's more economical for us that way, so just rounded up to the nearest dollar works as a tip for that.

We had 1/2 days at Iguazu Falls, did not do the Brazil side, but my best guess would be to arrange it as soon as you get there the first day, allowing you the full day to enjoy the AR side and take the trip under the falls where you will get very, very, very wet.

Have a great time! We just finished booking our third trip, leaving March 14, can't wait!

Hi, CindyS!

Fridays are pretty busy for me, so I'll be brief.

Tips are NOT mandatory at all and should vary, depending on the quality of service.

Are you sure WOW is talking dollars, not pesos, when they suggest such a tip?

I suggest giving about five dollars or 10% and if they don't like it, well....they know what they can do..

You should most certainly do the polo. It will be the beginning of the season. E-mail me about this. Later on, I'll tell you how to find my e-mail in this forum.

We'll do our best to arrange some kind of forum members' meeting for you.

I believe you don't have enough time to do both sides of the Iguazú Falls. Try to stay there at least one more day.

Have a good flight.

Thank you, owlwoman and av! I'll try to do the Brazil side of Iguazu as soon as I arrive. I know there isn't much time, but not only do I want to see that side, I want to get the visa stamped! It's for 5 years, but becomes invalid if not stamped within 90 days if issue (bureaucracy rules...); given how much it cost, maybe I'll take a vacation sometime in the next 5 years in Brazil!

I'd love to stay another day at Iguazu, but the flights and hotels are all arranged, so it would be a cascade of making changes in Iguazu, Peninsula Valdez, Ushuaia, El Calafate, BA... I'll just have to come back!

Yup, av, Wow!Argentina specifically wrote U.S.$ before the suggested amounts. As I don't have a breakdown of how much I'm being charged for each transfer, I guess I'll go with no tip or U.S.$5 or less. (I'm sure I'm being charged more than if I arranged each transfer myself, but I did opt for the convenience factor, as we discussed in a previous post.)

If you can, av, do tell me how to find your email this weekend. I leave Wed and wasn't planning to spend time in locutorios (that is the word for Internet cafe, right?). Would be easier to exchange emails and info before I leave, if possible.

I saw in another post that you also speak French! Que bien! I'm so used to meeting people who are not into languages (yes, I know, I live in the U.S., land of monolingualism) that I'm always delighted to meet someone who enjoys languages.

Argentina, here I come!

Cindy: please look up my e-mail in the 10th post in answer to my "The REAL Buenos Aires" thread, which is, at this time, in +200th place among the threads I have participated in. If you cannot find it, I'll "send it to the top" for you.