Buenos Aires/Punta del Este
Sep 4th, 2006, 09:46 AM
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Buenos Aires/Punta del Este
Hello, Last year membners of this board helped me have a wonderful February family vacation in Thailand. This year we want to do S. America, because it's summer there. My idea is to land in Buenos Aires, do a bit of sightseeing in the area and then please the women in the family by getting rooms or a condo, on a beach in the Punta del Este area. Nice idea, but I can't find any practical advice as to whether this will work. HELP!! Can someone give me some practical advice. We plan about 8-9 days, Thanks, Russ
Sep 4th, 2006, 02:21 PM
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Hi, this is a good idea. Of course you can get either a condo or hotel. How many days are you thinking of?
Punta del Este in February is very nice, it is high season but less people than in January which is the month many Latinamericans are on holidays,so it will be better.
There are all kind of hotels, you should rent a car to drive around because there are many different beaches and things are spread out.
We stayed once in a Hotel with aparts called Las Dunas, at the time it had a wonderful breakfast and also one meal included. It is on the beach, this might be a good option, although it is located East of downtown Punta. Downtown is crowded .
Punta del Este in February is very nice, it is high season but less people than in January which is the month many Latinamericans are on holidays,so it will be better.
There are all kind of hotels, you should rent a car to drive around because there are many different beaches and things are spread out.
We stayed once in a Hotel with aparts called Las Dunas, at the time it had a wonderful breakfast and also one meal included. It is on the beach, this might be a good option, although it is located East of downtown Punta. Downtown is crowded .
Sep 4th, 2006, 02:26 PM
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Now that I think off we stayed in another similar place that might be better located although it is not on the beach, but this at the end is not important because you will like to try different beaches depending of the wind of each day. So with the car you can choose the better beach for each day. Everybody does this.
The problem is I cannot remember the name of this place, but if you are interest I might try.
This was nice because again it had breakfast included
(continental though) and each unit were very nice in all sizes. This Place was located in an area called
Rincon del Indio in case anyone else remembers the name.
The problem is I cannot remember the name of this place, but if you are interest I might try.
This was nice because again it had breakfast included
(continental though) and each unit were very nice in all sizes. This Place was located in an area called
Rincon del Indio in case anyone else remembers the name.
Sep 4th, 2006, 03:55 PM
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Thank you Graziella for this and any other advice you can give me. Remember since I don't know the area I have no mental picture like you do. The question on getting to Punta from BA is one I would ask. You say to fly but is there ferry service? Should I rent a car in each area or get one in BA and drive to Punta? (by ferry?). I would love your suggestions on hotels/condos in both locations. We would arrive in BA on a thursday and stay to the following saturday or sunday. AA seems to have a great nonstop from JFK. Also what can I do? The girls love the beach but my son and I love to get out and see the culture. And shopping? Is Punta a big city or a sprawling seaside area like Cancun and Playa de Carmen? Ideally a beach resort would be great but close to beaches is OK. Are prior reservations necessary? Thanks for your advice and I hope others jump in. Russ
Sep 4th, 2006, 05:43 PM
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How is Punta? IT is not like Cancun, there are not a row of hotels by the beach for instance. Punta used to be a tiny beach town located in the Peninsula or Punta , it was an upper class resort for a few, let us say in the 1940-50, everything was elegant but low key.Chic but casual.The main asset were the beautiful beaches, there are all kind of them, brave with big waves, "mansas" or without waves.....all have endless wide strips of white sand. There are also many pine forests. A few classy places for dinner, mainly great sea food. A few night clubs, two or three at the most, a couple of casinos. Also a golf club and some tennis courts. There was and still is a club called Countrygrill, where there is tennis. An international film festival for held there for a few years. I remember seen Van Heflin by the pool...
In the last few decades Punta has grown a lot, many more wealthy people built huge mansions , tall appartment houses that before did not exist are everywhere, everything became more flushy, more golden, more
show off.
But the beauty of the place continued in a different mood. Hotels , nice hotels were built and tons of place to eat and many many places to dance by the beach, or not.
One hotel looking like a Miami Beach hotel from the
1960 exists now, it is called Conrand Hotel.
Punta has expanded of course, and areas that in the old days were meant for a day trip are now part of Punta. The more exclusive people moved towards the east and tiny places like Jose Ignacio, before only a distant destination are now trendy places.
To cover all this you need a car as I mentioned before. Is the only way. Without a car you would be limited to a small area, to one beach and definetly you will not get a truthful picture of Punta.
You have not tell what kind of place you are looking to stay in. Moderate or price is no object ?
Las Dunas is moderate. The other place I mentioned too, know that I think about it I guess it was a time share that rented some units. This place has small kitchens that I do not think are worth using b ecause there are many places to eat, is part of the fun, and in the same place they have a restaurant.
If you look into the internet and ask about different places I can tell you what I know. The problem with this one is that I cannot remember its name.
Yes thre is a ferry, but frankly is a waist of time.
The car cannot be rented in Argentina and taken to Uruguay as far as I know. And you do not need one in Buenos Aires as avrooster says.
It will take three hours by ferry from Bs As to Montevideo and then it takes 1 hour plus to Punta.
(140 kilometers) Flying directly seems to me the best option, another option is to fly to Montevideo, and rent a car in the airport which is East of Montevideo meaning it is in the right location for going to Punta.
I noticed that some sites in the internet also rent appartments in Punta. They might be a choice.
In the last few decades Punta has grown a lot, many more wealthy people built huge mansions , tall appartment houses that before did not exist are everywhere, everything became more flushy, more golden, more
show off.
But the beauty of the place continued in a different mood. Hotels , nice hotels were built and tons of place to eat and many many places to dance by the beach, or not.
One hotel looking like a Miami Beach hotel from the
1960 exists now, it is called Conrand Hotel.
Punta has expanded of course, and areas that in the old days were meant for a day trip are now part of Punta. The more exclusive people moved towards the east and tiny places like Jose Ignacio, before only a distant destination are now trendy places.
To cover all this you need a car as I mentioned before. Is the only way. Without a car you would be limited to a small area, to one beach and definetly you will not get a truthful picture of Punta.
You have not tell what kind of place you are looking to stay in. Moderate or price is no object ?
Las Dunas is moderate. The other place I mentioned too, know that I think about it I guess it was a time share that rented some units. This place has small kitchens that I do not think are worth using b ecause there are many places to eat, is part of the fun, and in the same place they have a restaurant.
If you look into the internet and ask about different places I can tell you what I know. The problem with this one is that I cannot remember its name.
Yes thre is a ferry, but frankly is a waist of time.
The car cannot be rented in Argentina and taken to Uruguay as far as I know. And you do not need one in Buenos Aires as avrooster says.
It will take three hours by ferry from Bs As to Montevideo and then it takes 1 hour plus to Punta.
(140 kilometers) Flying directly seems to me the best option, another option is to fly to Montevideo, and rent a car in the airport which is East of Montevideo meaning it is in the right location for going to Punta.
I noticed that some sites in the internet also rent appartments in Punta. They might be a choice.
Sep 4th, 2006, 05:52 PM
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I forgot about shopping, in PUnta there are many exclusive shops, think of a place like Cortina in Italy,
They have all the international brands and also very nice local hand made things, like for the girls, wonderful lengerie for instance, something I found only in Uruguay and for more than reasonable prices also they have great leather items, like wonderful cowboy belts and they have great hand made wool items.
The place I thought that was out of this world for elegant lengerie is called Daura, it is in Montevideo but they told me they will sell their items in Punta
during Jan to March. ([email protected])
They have all the international brands and also very nice local hand made things, like for the girls, wonderful lengerie for instance, something I found only in Uruguay and for more than reasonable prices also they have great leather items, like wonderful cowboy belts and they have great hand made wool items.
The place I thought that was out of this world for elegant lengerie is called Daura, it is in Montevideo but they told me they will sell their items in Punta
during Jan to March. ([email protected])
Sep 5th, 2006, 05:30 PM
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Ok I've been given the go for BA and Punta. How about hotel recomendations for BA and hotels or condo's for Punta. Looks like 3 days in BA and a week in Punta. There's 4 of us so 2 rooms or a 2BR cond. Thanks in advance. Russ
Sep 6th, 2006, 03:13 AM
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Las Dunas will do nicely for Punta, a car is a must though, and for Buenos Aires, I have recently being doing some research for a two bedroom suite for my son and his family. Thanks to drawddy (spelling ??) it seems to me the best bet is Art Suites, and if you pay cash you get a 10% off. A two bedroom suite ,including continental breakfast, comes to 180 including taxes, which in Argentina are 21%( a lot , and this is not for tourist this is the IVA for anyone,also applied on mostly everything and after this they wonder how come they cannot go ahead.!!! With taxes like that on everything....plus a lot of other taxes of course.
In Uruguay there is no tax for tourist in hotels, only for the poor Uruguayans who also are burdened under tax plus tax mainly to pay the huge civil servants population.
In Punta as I mentioned besides Las Dunas there are a couple of places, one in Rincon del Indio, which are I believe Time Shares that rent to third parties. You can may be send and e mail to the Tourist Office and ask for a Time Share in the area called Rincon del Indio and they will surely help you.
It is amazing to me that governments do not realize that the more they burden the people with taxes the less they can spend.Thus the Government at the end collects less. In Uruguay everything shrinks constantly under this blind imposition of taxes.
For Uruguayans everything is awfully expensive like phone calls, electricity, tolls in roads, ......the greedy Government is there waiting to collect and ruin everything in my opinion.
In Uruguay there is no tax for tourist in hotels, only for the poor Uruguayans who also are burdened under tax plus tax mainly to pay the huge civil servants population.
In Punta as I mentioned besides Las Dunas there are a couple of places, one in Rincon del Indio, which are I believe Time Shares that rent to third parties. You can may be send and e mail to the Tourist Office and ask for a Time Share in the area called Rincon del Indio and they will surely help you.
It is amazing to me that governments do not realize that the more they burden the people with taxes the less they can spend.Thus the Government at the end collects less. In Uruguay everything shrinks constantly under this blind imposition of taxes.
For Uruguayans everything is awfully expensive like phone calls, electricity, tolls in roads, ......the greedy Government is there waiting to collect and ruin everything in my opinion.
Sep 6th, 2006, 03:20 AM
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Hi cmcfong, I know that we agree on different subjects in this forum. I like nice lingerie and in Montevideo I have found this place called Daura that I can easily see it is outstanding. They do most everything by hand, and have beautiful designs . In US or Europe if you find something like that the price would be not once but many times more.
I do not know if they sell in Buenos Aires, their e mail is dauralenceria!adinet.com.uy and I talked to Vera.
I found her through the beautiful hotel Beltmont in Montevideo and she has mailed me a couple of things and I bought many more as presents.
I do not know if they sell in Buenos Aires, their e mail is dauralenceria!adinet.com.uy and I talked to Vera.
I found her through the beautiful hotel Beltmont in Montevideo and she has mailed me a couple of things and I bought many more as presents.
Sep 6th, 2006, 03:22 AM
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sorry the e mail [email protected]
phone no. 601 24 73 and 601 56 37 and two cell phones 099 555 775 and 094 242 012. Hope it helps.
phone no. 601 24 73 and 601 56 37 and two cell phones 099 555 775 and 094 242 012. Hope it helps.
Sep 6th, 2006, 07:10 AM
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RN: You mentioned that you and your son enjoy museums. There are some very good ones in BsAs. We visited there for the first time last November and I have a long file that I compiled while planning our trip. If you think it might help you, please e-mail me and I'll be glad to e-mail it to you. We didn't visit Punta del Este so I can't help there, but as she always does, Graziella has given you great advice!
Sep 7th, 2006, 06:00 PM
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Graziella, If this helps in your recommendations I am willing to spend up to US$150./day for the hotel or condo/apt.. Of course I'd love to hear about some great values but don't be afraid to recommend a range of prices, and tell me, if you could stay anywhere you wanted to in Punta where would it be? Russ
Sep 8th, 2006, 06:00 AM
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Hi Rniquette, the name of the place that we stayed once with our grandchildren two or three years ago, we were four, was Rincon del Este, in Parada 22,( big difference in rates between low and high season) this place has small yet well equipted appataments, in low buildings located around a huge, huge green area. They call themselves a 5*
resort which they are not, but it will serve your purpose. They have a small kitchen , better still they include the continental breakfast and the restaurant is simple but acceptable.
Where I would go if I had all the money in the world? NOt very sure, there is new place call Mantra, but may be I would return to la Posta del Cangrejo a place where we stayed with our children long ago. At that time it was very Punta, facing the ocean, n
close to a nice beach, and not luxurios but classy. For instance we would go fishing (renting a boat which I recommend doing) and the chef of the Posta would cook the fish for us. Things like that. The place is like Punta use to be, the other places like Mantra or the Conrad are more international,a different feeling but may be you prefer that. I also like that. A nice hotel but rooms vary a lot, very classy and classical is L'Auberge, there I would stay because again is Punta in a different style than la Posta, this is more refined, inside the forest. (Rooms vary a lot here and should ask for the better rooms and suites)Forests are beautiful in PUnta, the aroma from the pine trees is unique and very relaxing , so you can choose the sea or the forest, both are nice. Again life in Punta is always on the move, from one place to the other
looking for that beach or thar little place to eat.Hope this helps, the other possibility is to rent an appartment but too much fuss for me.This could turn out fantastic or so so.
I rather go to a hotel, may be after going you might let me know how did you find it after all. I am a little or a lot prejudiced because when I was in my 20...we had a constant ball there. Elitist, yes, lots of fun too.
The world was so different, people did not find a need to show their wealth, instead we had fun, swimming, even at night with moon up, riding horses, playing tennis, going to places like a bar called the Museum or el Mejillon where mostly likely we would know the same age people in several of the other tables...having dates, falling in love,
or were at least having Summer crushes.
At night dancing ...romantic music, Brazilian music like sambas, ....well it was fun. Now we live in front of the ocean in Miami Beach, so when we go and see all that materialism, showing off, drugs, etc it comes to us an Spanish say," todo tiempo pasado fue mejor". Have fun, sorry for the cheap philosophy."
resort which they are not, but it will serve your purpose. They have a small kitchen , better still they include the continental breakfast and the restaurant is simple but acceptable.
Where I would go if I had all the money in the world? NOt very sure, there is new place call Mantra, but may be I would return to la Posta del Cangrejo a place where we stayed with our children long ago. At that time it was very Punta, facing the ocean, n
close to a nice beach, and not luxurios but classy. For instance we would go fishing (renting a boat which I recommend doing) and the chef of the Posta would cook the fish for us. Things like that. The place is like Punta use to be, the other places like Mantra or the Conrad are more international,a different feeling but may be you prefer that. I also like that. A nice hotel but rooms vary a lot, very classy and classical is L'Auberge, there I would stay because again is Punta in a different style than la Posta, this is more refined, inside the forest. (Rooms vary a lot here and should ask for the better rooms and suites)Forests are beautiful in PUnta, the aroma from the pine trees is unique and very relaxing , so you can choose the sea or the forest, both are nice. Again life in Punta is always on the move, from one place to the other
looking for that beach or thar little place to eat.Hope this helps, the other possibility is to rent an appartment but too much fuss for me.This could turn out fantastic or so so.
I rather go to a hotel, may be after going you might let me know how did you find it after all. I am a little or a lot prejudiced because when I was in my 20...we had a constant ball there. Elitist, yes, lots of fun too.
The world was so different, people did not find a need to show their wealth, instead we had fun, swimming, even at night with moon up, riding horses, playing tennis, going to places like a bar called the Museum or el Mejillon where mostly likely we would know the same age people in several of the other tables...having dates, falling in love,
or were at least having Summer crushes.
At night dancing ...romantic music, Brazilian music like sambas, ....well it was fun. Now we live in front of the ocean in Miami Beach, so when we go and see all that materialism, showing off, drugs, etc it comes to us an Spanish say," todo tiempo pasado fue mejor". Have fun, sorry for the cheap philosophy."
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