Argentina trip report
 

I gleaned some great info from the forum, so I thought I'd return the favor.

We just came back from two weeks in November 07 that included Iguazu, BA, 3 days in Mar del Plata to visit long lost relatives and a couple of side trips (day trip to Colonia and our last night was spent at an estancia).

Had a great trip. Here are some tidbits: The national airline (Argentina Airolinas?) was having problems, be prepared to have flights cancelled or postponed. If you can't fly, take a bus with the camas (beds) it was the best bus trip I ever took.

The Teatro Colon is closed for renovations till 2008; if that is the reason you are going to BA, wait.

We got a private 1/2 day tour of BA that was great (Lihue Tours). Led by a young professor. We spoke to people who went on a big bus tour of the city and they reported that 1/2 the tour was spent picking people up and dropping them off at hotels.

We stayed at the Loi Suites in Recoleta and it was wonderful (pricey; ~$250 a night, but it was the kind of hotel that would be $500 a night in NYC). Service, rooms, breakfast and location were excellent.

Our three favorite restaurants were Lola and El Sanjuanino in Recoleta and a funky little Italian joint called Guido's Bar in Palermo.

I finally figured out to order my steak rare in order to get it medium rare (the locals like their meat well cooked).

My husband went wild over the ice cream. Try Volta, Freddo and Persecco.

Iguazu was totally amazing. Take out a loan and stay at the Sheraton in the park. Don't eat lunch there, there is a buffet restaurant a small walk away that is one third the price of the Sheraton. You'll be forced to eat dinner at the Sheraton; splurge on the buffet then. Do the speed boat into the falls and get soaking wet, walk all the catwalks which are walking distance from the hotel. We splurged on an early morning birdwatching tour with Daniel Somay ($85 US each) and it was the highlight of our entire trip. He'll come pick you up at your hotel, he also has a table set up on the lower floor in the Sheraton.

We stayed overnight at Estancia "El Ombu de Areco" and loved it. What's not to love about 750 wide open acres filled with horses, sheep, cows, hawks, parrotlets, owls and 13 dogs. A big old manor house with marble floors and high high ceilings. Food and service lovely. Rooms quirky, not luxurious. A very relaxing way to end the vacation. Try to do an overnight at an estancia; much better than a day trip.

I tend to agree with the advice to skip Colonia, though to be honest, we didn't even have time to walk thru the little town. We had lunch at El Torreon (the tower at the far end with amazing views and so so food) and then we got in a cab and bombed out to a combination keychain, pencil, ashtray museum, marmalade factory with farm animals that sounded too kitchy to pass up. Check it out at granjacolonia.com. I have no regrets.

We got radio cabs called for us everywhere we went (even ice cream places) and never had a problem.

Go. Have fun.

Any questions?

Thank you for sharing your experience, lbecker24!!!
When should we expect you back?

Thank YOu, Ibecker24, but you still have a lot to see in Argentina, for your nest trip I suggest SALTA in the NW of Argentina. You will never regret, and toi convince your husband... In Cafayate we have wine ice-cream ( cabernet and torrontes) and also banana with dulce de leche.
Delicious!!!
Best regards,
Flintstones

Hi Avrooster!

Not sure when I'm coming back, I have to go everywhere else in the world before I start repeating.

I forgot to mention that we ate at Cabana Las Lilas and my feelings are mixed about the place. I kept reading and hearing that it was the best steak in the world and my expectations were way too high. We had to wait 50 minutes for a table and the bar was insane; it seemed at 9:00 on a Monday night everyone on the planet was trying to get in there. Then we realized that they didn't take MasterCard which meant we had to go to the nearby ATM and try to figure out how much cash we would need (a lot). Luckily there had been a demonstration nearby recently and there were fifteen cops hanging around so I wasn't to nervous walking around with wads of money. The restaurant did bring us a nice array of nibblies (not free of course) to start which meant we didn't have to order any vegetables, but I had to ask repeatedly for my glass of wine. The generous pour came close to making up for the wait. I ordered my steak jugosa but it came more than medium rare and by that time too much time and stress had gone by to send it back. Then we had to ask twice for our potatoes. On the plus side we had a lovely table outside looking over the water.

So should we have gone to La Cabana in Recoleta for our fancy steak dinner?

One more tidbit before I forget: Uruguay is one hour behind Argentina; figure that in when you are planning your day trip. And El Torreon has tables all the way up the tower, you can keep climbing for that nice view. Drink a bottle of San Juan Tannat, the local red wine.

DULCE DE LECHE!!!

My husband became completely addicted! He ate gobs of it every morning at breakfast smeared on toast, pancakes, french toast, banana bread, you name it.

I just made some at home; took an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk and left in submerged at a low boil for three hours (then let it cool for an hour and voila!). Mmmmmm

Don't let the water level get below the can or it explodes.

Wine ice cream? Yum.

Sorry! You lose an hour when you go to Uruguay so they are an hour ahead

Thank you again, lbecker24!!!

We always tell people here that Las Lilas is overpriced, touristy and not even THAT good. And that also goes for La Cabaña (a different steak restaurant in Recoleta). Not taking Mastercard in a touristy restaurant is just plain crazy!!!

We have many other places where you will get a great steak for much less money!!!

Come back soon to try them!! You'll certainly want to repeat Argentina before you go all over the world!!!

Happy travels!!!

Thank you so much for posting! I loved your report and have taken notes for ourselves!
I think the Estancia sounds great..I cannot wait until we are finally finished with our settling in ( furnishing apt etc) and start traveling around BA and beyond .

I have always heard/thought that Cabana Las Lilas was an overpriced tourist trap..so sorry that it was recommended to you..
But Lola was nice, wasn't it ? :)

We have been eating ice cream every night from a place near our home..I am now hooked on the Banana...sigh :)

So hurry back to Buenos Aires..:D

Thanks for the report ,Iwas there several months back and could identify with much of what you said.

Yes, too bad about the renovations at the Opera House... but it was nice to walk along July 9th avenue anyway wasn't it!

What was your very first impression of the "Devil's Throat Falls" at Iguazu!!

My was just "WOW!!!!"

Hi avrooster how are things in Buenos aires!?

Percy

Freddo's fruitilla flavor. Yummmmm.

Things are great in BA, as usual, Percy!!

We have our "little problems", also as usual, but nothing we won't eventually overcome.

Great report. I share your husband's love of Dulce de Leche. Wow! And Freddo's is wonderful. that's where I first had the Dulce de Leche and a love affair was born. Isn't BA wonderful????

Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Sounds like you had a great trip.
I'm sure it's mentioned somewhere on this forum, but how much is a taxi from the airport to Recoleta area? Is that the best way?

Ahhh, Dulce de leche!! I'm quite sure I'll become addicted. And to the ice cream too.
Angie, banana with dulce de leche??
Mmmm it sounds so good. I can't wait.

Hi Percy: As we got closer and closer to the Devils Throat, you start to see the tremendous powerful waters converging on this one spot and it's downright scary. Once you are there it's all white water and spray and you realize you will never capture it all on film. Awesome.

Hi Kodi: The price from the little national airport to Recoletta is 30pesos (~$10 US). I'm not sure about from EZE airport but I know there was info on this forum (from avrooster I believe) about good ways to get from the big airport. There are no subway stops in Recoleta area but there are buses around. The taxis were comparitively cheap so we relied on them.

Thanks for the report. We are heading to BA and Iguazu in March so your comments will be added to my list of ideas. Your mention of the problems that the ailine is having make me a bit nervous (not the first time it's been mentioned). I am glad now that our travel agent insisted on putting us on the earlier flight from Iguazu to BA to catch our return flight home. There are two other later flights that would get us there in time and he insisted that we leave it at the earlier one even though it means we'll have about 5 hours in the airport.

With all you mention of ice cream, I guess I will have to lose about 10 pounds before I go so I can gain it all back :-P! I knew I'd love the wine and the steak (thanks for the tip on ordering it rare - I will do that), but I didn't know I would face the temptation of ice cream.

We are splurging on the Sheraton. Did you go over to the Brazil side at all? We plan to do that one day (fortunately we still have a valid visa for Brazil from when we were in Rio a few years ago).

Interested in your review on Colonia. We are thinking about going there one day from BA, but we may change our minds once we are there. We will take it under advisement, certainly. The other possibility would be a day trip up to the Tigre Delta. I take it you didn't go there?

Thanks again - I can't wait to go!

Hi Jcasale,

Re: the Brazil side: we didn't go just because we didn't feel like bothering with getting a visa. If you have one already, you may as well go, because I heard the most amazing view of the Devil's Throat is from the Brazil side. You can see the Brazil-side lookout from the Sheraton. Plus of course you get to have your passport stamped and can say you went to Brazil.

Re: Colonia. I'd say go if you have many days in BA and are looking for a change of pace. Also if you like to get your passport stamped. My husband and others on this board say don't bother, but I thought it was interesting. I wish I had more time to wander around the quaint little town. I have fond memories of our lunch in the tower; I ordered the specialty of the house and was presented with a bizarre assortment of food groups topped by a sunny side up egg.

If we go to Colonia we would spend our time wandering around the town and having lunch somewhere, so maybe it will be worthwhile. We have 3 1/2 days in BA, so we may be looking for a little bit of a change of pace by the last day.

Thank you for the useful insights. My wife and I are planning a trip in January. Focusing on BA but also the Patagonia, we are trying to do Patagonia on our own but having a little trouble scoping out a route and the best means of transport. Thinking of seeing Tierra del Fuego, El Calafate, Torres del Paine region and Bariloche. But we are open to suggestions. Any ideas on the best route will be appreciated.

a thought about the ice cream ( because I want some right now )
It might be made with a lot less milk fat here, it is much lighter and I have been eating it every day and have not gained an ounce.
Hope this eases anyones worries about trying Every flavor when you get here :D

On Guido near Junin and Recoleta Cemetery , is a row of cafes and bars.
One of them offers crepes, huge crepes filled with banana and dulche de leche and topped with dark chocolate. I have not had one yet, but I am definitely going to !

Oh Scarlett, what good news about the ice cream. I plan to sample quite a few flavours.

Jcasale, have you made your reservation at the Sheraton yet? I went on their site, scrolled down and got quite a good rate for falls view. It's called the Breakfast Package or something and includes a full American Breakfast instead of buffet.

Oh my goodness Miss Scarlett, you have my mouth watering with the description of those crepes. I had room service one night and they sent up these huge cookies stuck together with dulce de leche and covered with powdered sugar with strawberries on the side. I HAVE GOT TO GET BACK THERE!

Those crepes sound like they are to DIE for!!!! I will definitely have to check them out.

Yes, we have our Sheraton reservations. Since we are traveling with several other people and have had such a good experience with him, South America tends to be the one part of the world (besides Africa) where I have worked through a travel agent. So it is all part of the package that he put together for us and I have no idea what each part costs (except for the airfare which was billed separately). I don't think we'll have a falls view room, but we don't spend much time in the actual room so no biggee.

Sharon, they sell those cookies or something very close .. at the Havana stores :D
You really have to come back, you know...((F))

scarlrett, glad all those trips to the gelateria haven't affected your waistline. perhaps that's due to all the hard work u are doing on your apt eh.
weddind Sat
Honeymoon 29 Dec
can't wait to see Argentina and Bs As!

cheers
AndrewDavid

Lbecker24; I think you can come to Argentina and will not repeat...
You did not see the NW, Purmamarca, the SAlt Flats,Our wine country, you did not taste Miranda`s Wine ice-cream... You did not taste our wines from Cafayate and you did not eat our goat cheese. Youd did not enjoy the weather in the NW and did not get the experience of a saltenian empanada... You still have alot of new experiences.
Flintstones

I have just joined this post and have read some interesting information on Buenos Aires. My husband and I arrive in Buenos Aires Feb.11, 2008 and are looking for places to stay. We plan on staying in BA for about a week and then on to Mendoza wine country for about a week then to Santiago, Chile for a week and home from there. Of course depending on how much fun we are having our time in each place could change. I would love any recommendations of places to stay and things to do and see. We have thought about an apartment rental in BA. Any thoughts on that? We love being in the middle of the action. We could stay home if we wanted to be quite.
Thanks for any information you can give us for BA, Mendoza, Santiago.

Hi Gartin,

Hopefully, by now you have reposted this question by itself so more people can see it. I've read some good posts here about apartment rental.

If I had one wish about our visit to BA, it would be to visit more neighborhoods; especially Palermo Soho, which sounds cool. We go lazy and stuck around Recoleta for the most part.

thanks ibecker24 for your response. I have been in contact with avrooster and scarlett. they have been giving me great info plus reading all the info provided by this forum.
our plan is to try and see every neighborhood. we are making room reservations for just a couple nights when we get there and then check out other places that appeal to us.

Gartin,

Seeing every neighborhood is a very ambitious undertaking. There are over 45 barrios, many of which are divided into many distinct neighborhoods. If neighborhoods are of interest to you...you might want to consider visiting some of the lesser known areas such as Boedo or Caballito in addition to the various areas within Palermo and Recoleta, the most common destinations.

drdawggy, avrooster has told me so much about you. As far as seeing every neighborhood we will keep going until we get sick of it. I'm sure we won't see it all but I'd like to put a dent into it. We like to explore. we have a total of 3 weeks with no diffenite plans. We might spend some time in Mendoza for the wine and we leave from Santiago so we might as well see a bit of that place as well. I'm so plugged into BA right now I can't seem to do my research on the other places. Thanks for your suggestions we will take your advice

just curious - given 9 days in BA (can't leave except perhaps once overnight, probably an estancia)...would you stay in different hotels/different neighborhoods or stick to one home base?

I rented an apartment and was delighted. http://tinyurl.com/2k3tq5 is where I stayed - a bit away from more touristy area but quite convenient.
I would not move to a different neighborhood - it is easy to get around town, and taxis are cheap.

Hi
Regarding moving while you are there...we were here for 2 weeks last Oct/Nov and personally, our thoughts on this are..if you are happy with your hotel/apt..stay put.
Why waste precious sightseeing , Tango, dining time with an apt/hotel hunt, move and unpack/repack ??

You will be shocked at how fast time flies here, the city is huge, no one is prepared for the size or the amount of time it takes to get here, there and do everything you wish to do.
Be prepared to plan a second trip so you can do the rest of the stuff you have on your list of things to do in Buenos Aires :D

There are neighborhoods here that are worth a visitor seeing and there are neighborhoods here that you really don't want to visit nor do you need to.

But there are enough neighborhoods ( they are all very large too) that you will barely skim them in your time here.

Lists...make lists..things you must see and do and then those will become things you hope to see and do then they will become what you want to see and do next trip lol.

Neighborhoods that are fun to visit..though not necessarily where you might want to stay-
Recoleta, Palermo and all the "little Palermos".. San Telmo, Retiro, Congresso, Once , Las Canitas, Belgrano.... a day trip to Tigre, a day trip to Colonia, La Boca maybe if you must :)

dr dawggy will hopefully add to my list .. I know I have left things out :)

thank you scarlett for your sensible answer. i looked into apartment stays but nothing worked out this time. but from everything i've heard and read, argentina is a place i'll be visiting again...

i am attending a special event with my kids that mostly takes place in tigre. i think there's a train that gets me there easily? i really really don't want to rent a car.

and as far as tango goes - i was a professional dancer way back when. do you think it would be worth it to take a class here at home before i arrive? the idea that people are just out and about tango-ing delights me! is it just a tourist myth?

Yes, there is a train .. it will bring you right into town..with one stop to change ( I think) It is the Tren de la Costa ( which is a scenic trainride)..
Tigre has antique shops, waterway restaurants and plenty of beautiful natural sights.

I think it is not a long trip back and forth, my friends were just there Sunday, they took a boat out , had lunch, shopped and they were back here for dinner :)

No - no driving lol...shudder...

Yes, Tango is everywhere, there are Tango Tours, Tango Hotels..you can go to places like Confiteria Ideal and just watch, you can dance or you can take lessons.

Look on tripadvisor.com in the Buenos Aires forums, people discuss Tango all the time there :)

Yes cheryl_b, there is a train which gets you easily to Tigre. You take it in the Retiro Mitre railway station. It takes about three quarters of an hour and is quite cheap. Do NOT rent a car in BA.

The Tren de la Costa is a more scenic train for tourists. It is more expensive, takes quite a bit longer and you have to change trains about half way.

You could take it for fun a couple of times, when you are in no hurry. http://www.trendelacosta.com.ar/site/

Have a great time in our country.

What taxi co did you use in BA?

Taxis in BA are very cheap, but as a tourist ALWAYS use the radio taxis. It is a good idea to have addresses written down for the driver in case Spanish is not your lanaguage. The hotels, restaruants, etc. will gladly call a radio taxi for you. Have small bills available for paying for fares since drivers do not have much change. Would agree with AVrooster not to drive in BA! It is a wonderful city with so much to offer, but the traffic and driving are a challenge even for locals. You will love the excitement, food, wine, shopping, museums, and culture of the city. Enjoy!

thanks scarlett and avrooster. i think it's a great suggestion to (literally) take the scenic route at least once. the quicker train is the perfect answer for our daily treks.

You are welcome :)

We have lived here 6 months now and my husband is just now talking about wanting to drive..the driving outside the city is much more 'sane' or at least that is what our friends tell us but I will stick to hired cars and trains :)

Did I tell you about the Drunk taxi driver we had last night? lol