thanks everyone for all the great info. I will be visiting Argentina for the first time in late October/early November for about 14-17 days.

1. Single surcharge- As Im travelling alone it's starting to see that buying the air/hotel from the States might end up being only marginally cheaper than buying separately. Anyone else have any good ideas for beating the single surcharge? (I've looked at the packages on Gate 1 and Virgin Vacations)

2. Tentative schedule
-arrive Buenos Aires
-Valdez Peninsula (2 or 3 nights?)
-Bariloche (3 nights)
-Calafate (2 or 3 nights?)
-Buenos Aires (4 nights)

a. is Ushuaia worth visiting or seeing the Chilean side as well?
b. does anyone have any experience with travelling to the Cuyo canyon areas where they found the dinosours?
c. Any ideas as to when the Tren A las Nubes will be running again?
d. has anyone stayed at the estancias in Patagonia .

thanks for any guidance

does anyone know a good place to stay while in the Valdez Peninsula,,,im finding very little in the way of reviews. any estancias?

Wildfire:

I see you are outdoors focused .
My personal recommendation is to spend a few more days in BA combined with outdoors
and overnight stays close to BA .
eg:

Delta Islands and Tigre Nautical tour.
Martin Garcia Island , excellent !
Estancias ( Horse riding, bbq, folk music in some cases.)
Colonia in Uruguay ( A beautifull Colonial city to walked in a sunny day.

This are top attractions while in BA. That through your schedule will be missed.

You haven´t included Iguazu falls !! Although it might be hot in earley nov. , its a breathtaking tour of 3 days.

Good luck !!

Barbacharters

Thanks Santiago. I decided to Skip Iguazu this trip and would really prefer it when its not as hot

Actually I will have a total of 16 days in country, so am presently considering addint a day to BA (total 5 days) one to Bariloche (total 4) and perhaps 2 days in Salta/Jujuy or near Aconcagua. any thoughts?

My main interest on this trip is photography and nature/outdoors.

Any ideas on estancias near Mendoza, Salta or on the valdez peninsula?

is this too much travelling in a short time? from what i have been able to see from the airline schedules I may end up spending a good bit of time waiting,,,no?

Wildlife:

I personally prefer to see / visit less , and more in-depth , focusing on my preferences. Yes,the more you move , the more dead-time in airports / Hotel check in ...etc.

Peninsula Valdez / P. Madryn

I had Spanish tourists on my boat for a Delta Island tour 2 weeks ago and they were very excited about whale watching in Madryn, they saw 4 huge babes floating , in a moment , before submerging one of the whales pushed the boat away , with a WOWWWW...!! of passsengers. Must be quite exciting !
I haven´t been there so I can´t help on Hotel recomm.

I would do some more research on the web before deciding, this link might help
www.welcomeargentina.com

Both Salta and Jujuy desrve a full week .
I would skipp Mendoza if visiting Bariloche.

I you are a exotic natural sorroundings
lover try the Delta Islands and Tigre while in BA ,you won´t regret .

Finally i would stay for a first time 1 full week in BA .


Good luck !

has anyone dealt with LatinDestinations.com before?

thanks for all the great posts. Am working with a travel agent in Argentina. Can the tours be booked locally cheaper? Also im sure that english speaking tours are considerably more expensive, no?

1. arrival -BA-overnight

2. Valdez Peninsula (2)
a. whale watching
b. penguin rookeries etc
3. Calafate (4 nights)-Sierra Nevada
a. one afternoon free
b. Glacier/minitrekking
c. Full day tour Torres del Paine
d. Onelli/Upsalla Glacier tour
would appreciate your suggestions for other hotels in Calafate. Do most of them have a good lake view, so im not paying extra for that?

4. Bariloche (4 nights)-La Cascada
a. circuito chico
b. circuito grande (is this the same as 7 lagos?)
c. i have heard the lake view rooms at Cascada are noisy? true?
d. worthwhile to stay one night in Angostura instead?
e. has anyone stayed at Nahuel Huapi or Tres Reyes? are the downtown hotels really noisy?
-has anyone taken the bus from Bariloche? Im going in the direction of Mendoza.

5. overnight BA hotel Five-becuase of flight schedules.
will try to catch a soccer game if possible.

6. San Juan (2 nights)
a. early flight from BA
b. Ischigualasto
c. Talampaya tour
staying at Finca de la Medialuna in Valle Fertil.

7. Buenos Aires (2 nights)

gracias. anyone will be there at the same time?

Wildfire: Noted you are working with a TA for your trip. Would appreciate knowing who you are working with. I have the names of several and as soon as we get some dates selected will be contacting them and seeing what we come up with for our trip to BA and Iguazu Falls in November/early December.