Jester

My wife and I will be making our first trip to Buenos Aires(or South America for that matter) this October. We will be in BA for 8 days. Since its our 1st trip, we will be doing all the tourist attractions, but I would like some suggestions for day trips from BA. I have read a lot about Colonia, Tigre, and La Plata. Would all three of these excursions be do-able in basically a week's time? Any other itinerary suggestions are greatly appreciated. FYI...We are in or late-20s and have traveled extensively to Europe, so we're no "strangers to a strange land"...Thanks for the help!

santiagov

Hi Jester

October should be nice in terms of temp. and weather although BA has been weather unpredictable lately.

Yes you can do all those destinys , but continue your reserach a little more
I suggest:

Five days in BA city and neighbourhoods is just enough or a minimum stay for a few in depth coverage of your prefered spots.

3 days for side tours ( Include a Estancia ,or Martin Garcia Island and skipp La Plata)
The estuary of the River Plate , the Delta and Parana River has been the scenery of all many key aspects of Argentinian history. The Delta Island are for many travellers one of the highligts.

Estancias also have been and still are
the base of Argentinian economy regarding Meet and cereal production.

santiagov

This site might help , its bilingual .
http://www.welcomeargentina.com/tigre/index_i.html

The link is for Tigre Delta , but you may search BA / Argentina attractions from there.

Jester

Would you suggest booking any day trips myself, vai a webpage or would a local travel agent be more cost efficient and reliable? Any suggestions on travel agents, if thats the choice....

santiagov

Jester :

Good question. As your stay only 8 days , i wouldn´t risk a prepaid reservation for a day in a Estancia or the Delta islands . There´s almost always place for attractions and there are many Estancias and tours in the Delta
If it rains skipp Estancias or the river (Tigre Delta).
So you might loose you money, unless they keep it for a future trip
( I work that way with Barbacharters Nautical Tours) .
You may send a some pre-reservation email to confirm when arriving asap.

santiagov

Sorry , couldnt finish answering.

As its your 1 time in BA, i would try booking a hotel before .
I belive you might enjoy places as :
Malabia House
Bobo
La Otra Orilla
In Palermo Soho area ( 5 minutes by cab from downtown / 15 minutes by bus / subway)
Price ranging from U$S 70 / 120 per day. Book directly through their web , in the medium to small segment of Hotels i dónt think you will find better prices through agencys.
But again dón´t anticipate on day tours , basically because of weather.

santiagov

Jester :

Try this web site for further research,in my opinion is the very good and bilingual.

http://www.welcomeargentina.com/buen...s/index_i.html

leah6

We were in BA for one week. We flew to the Iguazzu Falls as a side trip. Also booked a tango show for fun. You will definitely want to take side trips. We used a local travel agent which worked out great for us. Cinta at www.wowagentina.com was very helpful with all details. Loved our trip. We bought leather jackets at Maria... close to the Marriott. Enjoyed great dinners.

Graziella5b

I enjoyed a day in a Estancia. We choose and were delighted www.estancialosdoshermanos.com.ar
a full day is 45 per /p and includes breakfast, a filet mignon lunch with salads , good wine or beer etc and tea time too. They have a pool. But the best are their horse, they go a lot of trouble to match each person with the right horse. And with two instructors there we went, it was a wonderful day galloping in the Pampas. The place is beautiful so peaceful, and authentic. This is I believe a wonderful day experience. they help you with everything, and it is not far an hour more or less from the hotel

santiagov

If choosing travel agents , take care with "canned" ,touristy and non-interesting proposals intended for massive tourism , not the intelligent and selective traveller.

kelgrove

Hi, We were in Argentina two weeks ago and loved it. We went to Tigre and did not think that was worth a side trip to see. We also went to Iguazu Falls, which we highly recommend. You can book a trip there through Cintia at wowargentina. She was able to get us a much cheaper package than if we had done it on our own. Based on her wonderful level of service, I'd ask her about any other types of side trips you'd like to do from BA. Her web site is www.wowargentina.com.
Enjoy your trip!

santiagov

Tigre is a small city with a few attractions that should be visited on a sunny day , as it looses flavour if rainy. Its touristy .Same as boat tours from Tigre Pier.

The key attraction ( not available from Tigre Pier) is a full day tour to jungle like islands and rivers; crossing the Parana de las Palmas river.

Also a visit to Carmelo in Uruguay is an excellent choice in summertime .

In the Delta islands,there are a few authentic hostelrys runned by islanders that will make your visit UNFORGETABLE .

Try searching the web for :

La Pascuala Delta Lodge
Hosteria Los Pecanes

If interested let me know and will provide more info. My small biz is Nautical Tours ( Barbacharters) .
I love the area that deserves a much better positioning as a tourist Off the beaten track proposal.

Had many tourists , specially Europeans
that were delighted in the Delta Islands.

Try for more info
www.welcomeargentina.com.ar

santiagov

Jester:

If you enjoy history reading ( brief )on Buenos Aires , i have found through Fodor´s an interesting link.
http://www.elysium.com.ar/baires/ove...tory.htm#today

Barbacharters

vivir

Jester:

Santiagov gave you excellent advise, I'll just add that for the short period of time you are going to be in BA, do your trip Colonia, Tigre, and La Plata the fifth day of your trip, it will give you rest while you get there, plus is a little relaxing.

Who800

I too will be traveling to Buenos Aires for a short two weeks. Is it easy to book day tours after I get to the city.
I would like to avoid rained out days too?

javasa

They are, and you may add to those either Lujan or San Antonio de Areco (with perhaps a stay at an estancia), you'll find some links at http://www.argentinatravelnet.com

Regards
Javier