lbecker24

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?

avrooster

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

flintstones

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

lbecker24

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.

lbecker24

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.

lbecker24

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

avrooster

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!!!

Scarlett

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..

Percy

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

Syl

Freddo's fruitilla flavor. Yummmmm.

avrooster

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

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

SharonG

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????

kodi

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.

lbecker24

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.

jcasale

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 ! 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!

lbecker24

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.

jcasale

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.

Hoyas

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.

Scarlett

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

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 !

kodi

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.