My husband and I are in the early stages of planning our trip to Argentina in Dec. 2009. We were thinking about taking a cruise from BA to Santiago but have also considered a land vacation instead. Is it possible to do a land tour by yourselves. I know the distances are far between countries and cities but we would fly. We are well-seasoned travelers and are used to planning our trips by ourselves. We will have approximately 20 days of travel. We are very active and enjoy outside activities.

I didn't mind BA and Santiago but not a lot to see there. Most of the stuff worth seeing in South America is in Peru. If you haven't been there, think about changing your destination.

No edit here so another post.

Distances are great in South America so flying is easiest. Cheapest to book your flights before going. BA to Santiago by ship is fairly long and fairly expensive.

The route between BsAs and Santiago is very well served, the flight time is not long (under 2 hours)
We flew last November with LAN, would highly recommend them.

A cruise from BsAs to Santiago seems to take 15 days, this would not leave you much time to do anything else. Instead you could fly to Mendoza or Salta, take in the scenery for a few days then from either of these points it is an easy trip into Chile overland by public transport, organised trip or private guide with transport.

It is also worth taking a look at the southern end of Argentina and Chile, lots of short(ish) cruises available. This could be a round trip or you could end up in Valparaiso, which is just a short distance (70miles or so) from Santiago.

Enjoy your planning the possibilities are endless, all can be organised by yourself or if it becomes too time consuming use an agent for part or all of the booking processes.

Well, I agree with the wbBracknell... Salta is a great option and Disagree with Ciberia because Argentina is a large country and has a lot to show. Not ONLY Peru is worth to visit! It is great MP and Cuzco, but we have our own Marvels and very varied by the way!
Anitas; LAND, anyway is much more interesting...
Flintstones.

Thanks so much for all the replies. I think I will look into doing a land trip rather than a cruise. I don't think taking a cruise will allow enough time to fully enjoy all the sights Argentina has to offer. We would prefer not taking a organized tour. However, I do realize the traveling distances between cities is far and the best way to go is by plane. I would appreciate any suggestions or perhaps good websites I can start doing research on. Thanks

We looked into a cruise four years ago for our first trip to AR., nixed it in favor of a land tour.

For 1/2 the $$$ (17 days) we visited Iguazu Falls (a must for a first time visitor), 1 1/2 days (2 nights) there is plenty, we then went to Ushuaia, Torres del Paine, Puerto Montt (Chile), lake crossing back into AR, Bariloche (at the amazing Llao Llao Resort). It was a fabulous trip.

The 2nd trip we visited the Northwest, Jujuy/Salta/Colume/Cafayate/ had a private driver who took us all the way to Mendoza, saw the two nat'l parks along the way. Then flew back to BA and took the ferry to Colonia where we ended at the Four Seasons in Carmelo.

Just planned our third trip for this March, BA - El Calafate (Argentina glaciers)/Chalten then Villa Angostura for some R&R, back to BA.

With 20 days you can do a really nice trip. Highly recommend using a local travel agent - Mercedes at Argentina Escapes has planned all our trips. We were met at every airport and every hotel she booked us in was great! Loved exploring the towns and the restaurants are great. (something I think you miss a lot on a cruise).

You should also read the various trip reports here, they will give you great info.

Have fun planning!

Thanks for the suggestion of Argentina Escapes. Their website is very informative. It will be fun planning our trip. I have planned several other trips in the past and it takes a lot of time to research. The last big trip I planned was Egypt a few years ago. I think I spent 6 months researching and asking a lot of questions.