Hola - I would like to get some opinions from folks. I've never been to Central or South America and I have two weeks at the end of September to travel. I've been taking Spanish for the past 6 months.

Fun for me is in seeing art & architecture, talking with the locals, and wandering around the old sections of towns (I'm not much into the club scene or into laying around on the beach). I'm a solo female traveler (mid 30's).

Which is more fun and interesting, and why -Argentina or Mexico

Gracias!

Depends on where in each country you go to and what you like to do. Buenos Aires, Salta, Cordoba, Mendoza, certainly have their older sections of town and beautiful architecture, but, so, for example, do Mexico City, Oaxaca, or other Mexican cities.

One thing to consider is certainly time of year - at the end of September in Mexico, you're still looking at a fairly hot end of summer climate almost every day (that does vary depending on where in the country you go). Here in Buenos Aires, we're just heading into spring at the end of winter, it's likely to be a bit cooler, with rain at least part of the time.

Funnily enough, although I have only been to Mexico and Argentina once each, it was at exactly the same time of year - early November. And the weather was fine in both, but as a previous poster said in Sept in Argentina it will be that bit cooler and in Mexico that bit warmer.

But do remember that both countries are big, and have huge variations in climate depending on where you go. Many interesting Mexican destinations are in the highlands - so would be that bit cooler than the coast. And in Argentina I assume the far south would be a bit chilly.

You could do a fine round trip in Argentina from BA to Salta (fly) then over to Iguazu (I went on the overnight bus) and then fly back to BA,

Do you like to fly everywhere? Bussing it gives you more of a sense of being there, and for that reason i would choose Mexico. In 2 weeks you have loads of options for making a round trip from Mexico City and back - go north (colonial cities aplenty and some native culture) - go south (ditto) - but North is probably the easy option with places fairly close to each other.

Loved both destinations. But I think for 2 weeks Mexico would lend itself far more to a travelling experience - ie far less need to cross every i and dot every t beforehand. Much more fun.

Cheers.

SSh,
September in Colonial Mexico is outstanding - fiesta and weatherwise.
Sept in BsAs is still too cold for us.
Your comments are MX beach - related, and agree - we go in late Dec.
We went to AR and CL in mid, late Oct and Nov in '06, but would def go again in mid Nov, but not earlier as it was chilly.
Buen viaje.
M

As always,, well said.... but imo... No contest..re.. I can drive to Mexico from here, and have, many times...\\\

Latin America is different; you should go imo... that's all I can recommend..

I have been to both and found that Argentina was my preference. We were there in late Oct til early Nov..perfect weather, flowers blooming, beautiful.
Art, architecture, museums, friendly locals all wonderful aspects of Buenos Aires..
A fun decision to make! Let us know what you decide

Wow - I really appreciate all the replies! I had completely overlooked the differences in climate between the two places at that time of year, so that will definitely factor into my decision now.

Thanks so much to everyone who posted

IMO Argentina is wonderful in Sept. Was there for 19 days last late Aug./mid Sept., and the weather was wonderfully cool (60-70), but not cold at all. In BA it was comfortable in casual short sleeved shirt and pants in the daytime and a light jacket or sweater in the evenings for dinner. I also agree with the suggestion on Salta region for quaint villages, beautiful mountains, and friendly people without all the hustle and bustle of the big city. As far as seeing art and architecture, BA would offer you more than enough to fill two weeks. At this time, the economics in Argentina favor the tourist which also may be a consideration. You can certainly use your Spanish, but English is also very popular.

CollegeMom - Thanks so much for your post! You painted a really nice picture of the region, and I appreciate the insight.

magellan, no hay dudas Argentina debe ser tu proximo destino. Did you understand me? I can help you. Buenos Aires is wonderful and fun! I mas born here and I can advise you on tourism as a friend. September is Spring, good time. Suerte.

magellan_5:

Greetings and a happy trip where ever you go.

My wife and I have been to Mexico 5 or 6 times and to Argentina twice.

I am predjudiced like everyone else but for me the decision would be a no brainer.

Argentina!

I found in Mexico that I was constantly badgered to buy some kind of junk. Not so in Argentina.

In Mexico I felt like a bank account only to be withdrawn from. In Argentina I felt welcomed and fairly treated, not that they were not interested in money, everyone is.

We used a travel agent in Mexico for a short local trip of several days and was put into a real dump. Of course it was all paid in advance. We booked 9 weeks tour from an agent in Buenos Aires and prepaid 90% of that trip in advance from Canada. Very little problem. I did do a credit check on the Buenos Aires agent as well as checking references which I should have done but could not for that Mexican misadventure.

The food in Mexico was good but I could not eat salad as it could not be cooked. Other foods had similar problems. I had to be careful about the bottled water because I did not trust where it came from.

Argentina? Salad any time, bottled water, no problem and the beef was fantastic. At one restaurant my wife and I ordered filet mignon and a double came for each of us. My wife explained that we each wanted one steak each. [She grew up in Buenos Aires and came to Canada at age 17 so language and custom was not a problem for us.] The wait person appologised and said that this was the only way they came. Our full dinner in a decent restaurant came to $ 7.00 per person Canadian!

The same order in mexico [not the same meal] chewed like it came from goat.

Argentina had a large influx of Italians so Italian food is plentiful and very good.

Argentina and Buenos Aires is safer than Mexico although the famous port, La Boca, Busenos Aires, is not a place to be at night. No doubt this would be the same for all countries. Be sensible.

Gyp joints? Yes in both places, after all, all kinds of people inhabint most countries.

Cleanliness? Although we saw a lot of dog do do on the sidewalks of Buenos Aires, we found Mexico to not be any better. In fact, worse in Mexico because we needed a flash light to come home at night and see the large pot holes in the sidewalks as well as the various unwanted 'deposits'.

I would suggest that you look into a good local travel agent at each place to help you find out what there is to see and do - to your own taste - in addition to all the great advice you get on the web.

We used Mercedes at Argentina Escapes in Buenos Aires and I look forward to dealing with her again, possibly for next January/March.

Good luck and have a great time.

Woodie

Re woodie's comments - I think it may depend on how you travel and where you go. I don't recollect being hassled everywhere in Mexico. Yes, in the main square in San Cristóbal; yes at Teotihuacan. But I have to say it was very low key hassle. Apart from those two places, wasn't hassled at all.

The OP expressed a particular interest in art and architecture, and wandering the old sections of town.

Agree BA is fun to explore and Salta too. But I am not sure Salta has more going for it than some Mexican destinations. I'm thinking San Cris, Queretaro. There are many others I haven't been to. Mexico City centro has some amazing buildings. There is also the world class National Museum of Anthropology; the wonderful, wonderful Palacio de Belles Artes, etc.

The difference between the two is that if you only have 2 weeks you must decide where to spend it. In Argentina moving from place to place generally means flying unless you are into long bus journeys. Whereas in Mexico you could put together a very varied itinerary using the excellent local bus network.

Buses vary from cheap and cheerful to luxe (which are very luxe!).

If the OP wishes to fly hither and thither, all pre booked by a travel agent then go to Argentina.

If, on the other hand, he/she wants an adventure - an easy, low risk one, with the option of changing your mind as to how long you want to stay somewhere - no worries - just catch a bus next day - then go to Mexico.

Budget, or course, if also a factor for most people. Is it for you Magellen?

<i>
If the OP wishes to fly hither and thither, all pre booked by a travel agent then go to Argentina.

If, on the other hand, he/she wants an adventure - an easy, low risk one, with the option of changing your mind as to how long you want to stay somewhere - no worries - just catch a bus next day ...</i>

chimani, one can do the same thing in Argentina.

I think the biggest difference in Mexico and Argentina ( Buenos Aires) to us was that BsAs has such a European atmosphere combined with the South American character..making it unique and wonderful to us

I have to agree with Scarlett. It would be easy to spend two weeks in Buenos Aires alone just exploring the different neighborhoods. To top that off the food is fantastic as is the wine. Everywhere! I never had a vacation where every meal was great.
Do not mean to take away from Mexico but it's just as easy in Buenos Aires. I did take one flight and glad I did. I thought Bariloche and the surrounding area was beautiful.
Pat

Hi - Woodie - thanks for your extensive review of both countries (definitely food for thought!). I'm glad that a few of you posted the info about traveling within each of the two countries - my plan was to spend time in the larger cities, and to travel by either train or bus (I prefer &quot;ground&quot; travel if available, esp. train). Scarlett &amp; mystic - Thanks for pointing out the European atmosphere of BA (and the food!) which I thought was VERY appealing. I had heard once that there is a definite Spanish, even French, atmosphere in BA. Chimani - I really like the idea of Mexico City, but I had heard back in January that it wasn't safe to travel there, so I hadn't even considered it for this trip. I'm wondering if it's safe now, as you make it sound so interesting. All of this feedback is so helpful. Thanks everyone!

I would suggest looking at the State Dept warnings on travel in Mexico City.

Buenos Aires has a strong influence of Italian and French, they were the people who designed and built many of the buildings and monuments there.
The language is not 'regular&quot; Spanish, it is Castellan. ( like Spain) and has a softness to it, I believe that is lunfardo..
Steak is of course the main attraction in Argentine food but in Buenos Aires you can get fantastic Italian and French food..as well as the most up to date and trendiest dishes and drinks in cool hip cafes and restaurants and bars.
Speaking of Cafes...Porte&ntilde;os love their cafes, much like the French and Italians..cafe con leche in the am with a medialuna ( a sweet croissant) and then all during the day..long slow lunches and late late nights with dinner starting around 9:00pm..

I Buenos Aires

Magellan - I prefer land travel too.

Agree you could spend 2 weeks in BA - it is a wonderful city. And yes it reminded me far more of Spain that Mexico City did.

But if you don't want to spend the whole 2 weeks in BA then you have to consider how you are going to travel to the other places and how much you want to spend getting there. There are no trains.

There are no trains in Mexico either.

As for Mexico City - it is perfectly safe. I spent four days there Nov 06 - walked miles, took the metro. I don't know what the US State Dept are on about.

I also took the buses in Argentina. No probs. The point I am making is that if you wish to sample variety it is easier in Mexico than Argentina UNLESS YOU WANT TO FLY.