Buenos Aires in October
 

Hi, I'll be there for a week in October. My questions are probably very similar to what people tend to ask.

1. Where should I stay? Palermo sounds hip and interesting, but I've noticed that the subway stops are sparse in that area. So I'm thinking Microcentro? Bear in mind that I'm interested in some nightlife too, so I don't want to be stuck in area at night where it will be a chore to get out.

2. Taxis/Safety. I've the feeling that I need to use taxis a lot, especially at night. Are they safe? I assume so. I don't speak any Spanish. My only other experience with S. America is in Sao Paulo, but I was only there for two nights, I think. I did hail cabs on the street when I was there.

Are there any areas that are unsafe that I should be aware of?

3. Iguazu Falls. I assume that I need to buy my tickets now. What's considered reasonable? Should I consider joining a tour group? I think that I'd prefer to do this alone if possible.

I'm sure that I'll have more questions as I plan. Thanks!

1) "Microcentro" is our Wall Street, therefore mostly offices, which means it's dead at night and during the weekends. I wouldn't even consider staying in that area.

I'm not sure what you are looking for, but I have a hunch Palermo is right for you.

2) There is a LOT of info about taxis in the Argentina forums, some of it penned by yours truly. If you wish to play it safe, you should CALL (not hail) radio taxis, particularly at night. Be sure to have plenty of bills smaller than 50 or 100 pesos.

Unsafe areas? I think you'll feel it right away. Some years ago, I was in a comparatively remote area of Chicago and decided to walk back to my hotel. After a few blocks, I said to myself: What am I doing here? I hopped into a cab. LOL!!

3) For tickets to Iguazú go to http://www.lan.com/country_selector.html and/or research Isabel (the local travel agent I usually recommend) by writing her name in this (and other) forum's search feature.

Thanks. I don't know either. But I looked at a map and it looks like the subway stations are very spaced out in Palermo. So I'm worried that that's more trouble that it's worth.

Are there areas near Microcentro worth considering? Maybe San Telmo?

I'll do a search for taxis, thanks. Well, I think the idea is to know which neighborhoods to avoid before I actually end up in them. :-)

San Telmo could be what you want. Again, some research will yield a lot of info about it, but it will be mostly about the Sunday fair, which you should not miss. It's quite touristy, but a lot of fun (for me). http://www.feriadesantelmo.com/

Thanks. I did a rough search here and so far it looks like Palermo or Recoleta are the most frequently recommended. I'll look at my guidebook and map again and see what I think is best.

I'm interested in trying these two-hour hotels mentioned by Time Out Argentina. (Just kidding! Or maybe not. :-) ) I'm wondering what they do to/if they clean ... er... their toys? :-)

Oops. Sorry, that was Time Out Buenos Aires I was referring to.

Yes, certainly Palermo and Recoleta are the areas most frequently recommended for tourists.

About the per-hour hotels, besides the fact that we call them "hoteles alojamiento", I'm not too knowledgeable on the subject.

Perhaps the Time Out editors would be a good source of info?

Hi
Any hotel in Recoleta or Palermo will be perfect for you. Don't worry about the subway, you'll end up taking taxis everywhere, especially late at night. If you don't speak any Spanish, write down the names of the cross streets you want to go. From your hotel you can ask the concierge to call a taxi for you, and you will be ok hailing a cab in the street. If you dind't have any problem in San Pablo you will be fine in BA too.
As for unsafe areas, maybe La Boca at night, and the areas near the rail tracks in Palermo Hollywood are the ones to avoid.
For Iguazu, you can buy your tickets at lan.com. If you want to do it all by your own the best place to stay is the Sheraton, that is the only hotel inside the National Park from where you can just walk to the falls. If you stay at any of the others hotel in Iguazu, you will need a guide or at least hire transportation to the park.

Thanks. The cheapest rate on Sheraton is around $360 per night. Not sure if that includes taxes. I just got that from the website. Is that the norm? It seems really pricey. Also does that affect a visit to the Brazil side? (I do have a visa for Brazil.)

Sorry if the questions are so vague. I've been doing some reading, but I just haven't looked into the falls yet.

Also would 3 days 2 nights work for this? Not sure when flights would arrive, etc.

Yes, the Sheraton can just about name its price, because it is the only hotel located within the park.

Three days and two nights would be the minimum advisable, IMO, particularly if you plan to visit the Brazilian side.

There are many flights to Iguazú. Of course, if you take an early flight in and a late flight out, that would stretch your stay.

However, that may mean flying with Aerolíneas. However, first see what's available with http://www.lan.com/country_selector.html

The travel agent I usually recommend has just told me that Aerolíneas has improved a little, lately.

I think staying in the Center is a great idea. It may be a little louder during the day time but at night it is quiet and safe to walk around. Especialyl with the subte you can reach any part of the city. However, in Palermo the 3 main subtes, Palermo, Plaza Italia and Scalabrini Ortiz are each about 8 blocks from everyone you wanna go in Palermo. A friend of mine was just staying in the center here and it was a fantastic location although she spent most of her time at my place in Palermo: http://www.buenosairesstay.com/basta...mp;carpeta=ing
She was using a few different companies to find an apartment and she says she chose BA Stay because the agents spoke English and she didnt feel like she was gonna get swindled. All the agencies are lovely, just some are easier to deal with than others.
I hope you have a great time in BA!!! Feel free to contact me with any questions about BA :)

Until what time does the subway run, beccapax?

I found an online interactive map of Buenos Aires in case people find it useful. The orientation is different from the maps in Time Out BA though.

http://mapa.buenosaires.gov.ar/sig/index.phtm

Maps.google.com doesn't have Buenos Aires just yet.

Hotel taxes in Buenos Aires.... I think they are 21%.

I'm checking booking.com and I've made a booking on Don Telmo, and when I click through to the confirmation, I'm told that the city taxes are not applicable and that VAT is included.

On the other hand, on the same booking website, I've checked some other hotels and the info states clearly that city taxes or VAT are not included.

I probably need to ask booking.com and/or contact the hotel to figure out what the rate actually is.

Is there anyone who would like to hazard a guess as to whether the booking.com rate for Don Telmo is really all inclusive?

Thanks!

The first link doesn't work, at least for me, 111op.

Sorry I missed an l at the end. Try this instead:

http://mapa.buenosaires.gov.ar/sig/index.phtml

I'm finding this to be quite useful.

In the meantime I've contacted Isabel for a quote on a 3-day 2-night package to Iguazu Falls. I'm too lazy to do this myself, I think. The LAN airfares seem pretty high. While guidebooks are quoting $250 r/t, some of the cheaper flights seem to be sold out already.

What do people think of Don Telmo's location by the way? Is it safe at night?

http://www.dontelmo.com/ubicacion_ingles.html

I think that I'll stay in Palermo when I return from Iguazu Falls. I still need to look into that.

Becca, thanks for the apt. website. The apts there seem so cheap. $300 for one week? Maybe I should think about renting for a week then. I can leave it vacant for a few days and it'd still be much cheaper than a hotel.

I meant

http://mapa.buenosaires.gov.ar/sig/index.phtm

About your other question, I'd say that if the confirmation says our VAT is included, it is.

Why don't you call Don Telmo, to confirm?
54-11-4115-3702

This online reservation thing is not too advanced, here in Argentina.

And, yes, $ 300 per week for a small apartment is perfectly possible.

Hi av, yes I understood your point. I meant in the link I originally gave, I left out the "l" at the end.

If you add the "l" or use the corrected link, the website works. It will display a map much like maps.google.com or mapquest.com that I find very useful.

Booking.com is actually a third party booking site (not the hotel site). I do plan to call the hotel. It's just that I haven't gotten around to it and I figured someone here may know. I do want to compare with the hotel rack rates.

Regarding the apt. website from Becca, I've realized that it's not as cheap as it seems. First there's a $45 admin fee, and then there's a $15 fee for checkin during weekends (and probably check out too). This will apply in my case. I guess for a full one-week stay with no trips, this is still much cheaper. But for a 5-night stay, a $300 apt. need not be much cheaper than a budget hotel.

Check out both the following website and the comments about it (byt) in the forums:

http://www.byt-argentina.com.ar/

I would not expect them to have any significant extra fees, but some firms do charge a non-working day check-in extra fee.

Isabel hasn't acknowledged my e-mail yet. Granted, it's not even been 24 hours. I just e-mailed Wow Argentina and I got some automatically generated responses that say that they may not respond until late September.

Any other travel agents I should contact to try to plan the trip to Iguazu Falls? Thanks!

Let me ask the question about Don Telmo's location again. It's on Mexico near Bernardo. Map here:

http://www.dontelmo.com/ubicacion_ingles.html

I did some research last night and found this thread on ThornTree:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntre...readID=1393536

I get the impression that it may be in a questionable location. However just a few blocks away is the Grand Boulevards hotel, which also gets decent reviews on TripAdvisor.

I do plan to be out at night and I think that I'll be walking around in the area if I can. I've checked some nightlife options and they are north and east (I think -- Puerto Madero and the water is east, isn't it?), and I may wander out as far out to the Callao subway stations.

Will I be ok? I guess I can try to find something further north or east or closer to Plaza de Mayo. I don't have a strict budget, but cheap and functional is good. I checked some of the more expensive hotels in this area and they are mostly booked.

I actually wouldn't mind staying in Ibis, but it's booked for the Saturday I arrive.

Thanks again!

Granted I'm not an expert on the city since we were just there for a quick visit two years ago, but with everything I read from you, I am wondering why you aren't booking in Palermo Soho?? I believe that's where the nightlife is, and during the day there is great shopping as well. I wouldn't worry about access to the subte, because taxis are cheap! And if it's nighttime safety you're most concerned about, you won't even need them if you stay in Soho at night.

i believe that when we went we only hailed cabs on the street that had a phone number on them to indicate they were a radio cab.

Answering your questions:

Isabel, who runs a one-person operation, could be swamped, but she should reply soon, anyway.

If she is unable to take on your business, you could simply book your flights on http://www.lan.com/country_selector.html
and book the Sheraton online, if you wish to stay there.

There are many other places where you can stay, but the Sheraton is the only hotel located within the park itself.

About your hotel in BA, it's a matter of taste, but I probably wouldn't stay in that area.

Perhaps a little more research on the subject would be useful.

Isabel just wrote me back. Now there's a fee of USD 150 for a solo traveler. She writes that hotel rates are the same or lower than what I can find by myself. She doesn't do packages.

She said my e-mail probably went to her spam folder. I still say that's very quick response and she seems very professional!

I decided to take a look at LAN again. Can I use the Argentine version of the LAN website to book tickets? It seems like the rates there are considerable lower than the US version. I should check again though.

Thanks!

I'm sorry -- let me clarify. It's not that she doesn't do packages, but she doesn't quote a separate price. She quotes prices for each item separately and the itinerary is customized.

It looks like local residents can indeed buy cheaper tickets. Why is this? I got this from the LAN website (which I translated with Google):

Las tarifas aquí indicadas están disponibles sólo para RESIDENTES de Argentina según artículo 4 de la Resolución 35/2002 de la Secretaría de Transporte del Ministerio de la Producción. En caso que alguno de los pasajeros no lo sea, éste puede comprar sus tickets en algunos de nuestros sitios internacionales de LAN.com. Durante el embarque se solicitará documentación que acredite la condición de residencia. Si no la tuviese, aquel pasajero con ticket en esta clase no podrá embarcar.

The rates listed here are available only to residents of Argentina under article 4 of Resolution 35/2002 of the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Production. If any of the passengers is not what it can buy their tickets in some of our international sites LAN.com. During the shipment will be requested documentation attesting to the status of residence. If you do not have, with one passenger ticket in this class will not be able to board.

You were supposed to say your country is the USA, 111op

That's why I directed you to: http://www.lan.com/country_selector.html

Supposing the LAN system accepts that you are an Argentina resident and sells you a ticket at the prices reserved for locals, you are supposed to be caught when you check in, which may or may not happen.

According to the website, if you are caught, you will not be allowed to board the plane.

So, it's up to you.

I've done this in other places -- the most notable is the Eurostar website where sometimes if you pretend that you're a UK resident the ticket is cheaper. I don't know if that's still the case.

Of course if I can do it with LAN, I would. Has anyone done this successfully? The warning is so explicit that I'm thinking that I should book as a US resident. (There's no such warning for Eurostar -- at least not that I'm aware, and I've never had a problem.) For what it's worth, Expedia quotes very similar prices to LAN US.

111op: the point is what happens if you are caught and the outcome could depend on at what point of the check-in process you are caught.

Will you really not be allowed to board the plane, or will you just be told to go pay the difference and come back.

In other words, is the worst that could happen that you'd have to put up more money? If so, it seems a gamble in which the odds favor you.

If you are caught during the last part of the boarding process, will they just let it go, to save themselves the paperwork?

Will they write something in the computer, so they will make you pay upon your return trip? Who knows? LOL!!!

Well I don't know. The Google translation is not very idiomatic. It sounds like they need to ship the tickets, but then aren't all tickets E-tickets by now? What does the Spanish say? I didn't click through to everything. It's conceivable that they will make me leave an Argentine mailing address though, which I don't have.

I don't know. The fare difference is probably around $150 to $200. Of course it's nice to save but if it's too much trouble I think I'll play nice. :-)

For what it's worth, prices Isabel quoted are similar to the US resident prices. So if there's a trick, I think that she would know about it. But then, you never know. :-)

This matter has been widely covered in the forums. I'd say the bottom line is that there USED TO BE some kind of loophole, which does not exist any more.

AV is right, as usual. There used to be a loophole, now closed. It is virtually impossible to pay lower prices than you find quoted on the website for US citizens.

The advantage to using Isabel rather than booking yourself--she will keep up with changes in flight times for you and keep you informed. She will also help with logistical problems making connections created by changes in flight times...and believe me changes occur regularly....

Said drdawggy: "AV is right, as usual."

OMG! This is like getting the papal "imprimatur"! LOL!!!

I think I'm going to take a drink, to celebrate this!

For any new readers, the joke is that I don't drink. LOL!!!

I really need to get on with the trip planning, but in the meantime I also have a reservation at Hotel Ritz for 3 nights:

http://www.frommers.com/destinations...es/H58984.html

Does someone know this hotel? How's the location? I think it's better than Don Telmo's? Am I mistaken? It's pretty far west though. I can find a few positive reviews online but nothing on Tripadvisor.

I still prefer to spend part of my visit in this area, as I said, and I'll for a different hotel in Palermo (most likely) for later.

My fare dropped $200! I guess now I know I booked too early.

It could be related to oil and the markets, you know.....

The LAN airfares are about the same though. I'm a bit pissed. I don't like overpaying for something.

But then in the span of half an hour the fare went by significantly. I think it's because I kept pulling it up and I called Orbitz and AA and they also pulled it up.

I stayed in the San Telmo neighborhood this spring on Chacabuco, at Mexico, and while it was lively and interesting, the sidewalks were rubble--- often difficult to navigate. This time, in October, I'm staying at an aparthotel that I read about called Ayres de Palermo. Despite the name, I believe it is in Barrio Norte between Recoleta and Palermo. From what I saw of these neighborhoods, the streets are in good shape and safe, the subte is nearby, and it should be easy to hail a cab.
I'm sure there are places to stay that are more charming, especially in Palermo, but I wanted a convenient location and a kitchen because I love to cook for my friends--- as well as eating out at the great parillas. Isabel recommended the Bel Air Hotel. But, alas, no kitchen!