Help wanted for Argentina Trip
 

Hi
My wife and I along with our 18 year old son have flights on hold to go to Argentina end of December for 2 weeks. We have never been there before. All the posts here re Buenos Aires have persuaded us to try the country. I love cities and BA sounds great, but my wife can't take more than 3-4 days of them and wants to explore places outside BA. Any suggestions re hotels, restaurants, shops etc. in BA and also suggestions re where we should go in the rest of the country (beaches, Patagonia?) and how best to get there would brilliant. Also suggestions for any recommended guide books to Argentina would be appreciated.
I just read somehwre that many places would normally be closed in BA end of December/first week of January. Is that likely and would that be a problem? If you think this is a bad time of the year to go to Argentina, please give me alternative ideas! Thanks in advance.

Hello! I studied abroad in Buenos Aires this summer and had an amazing time. We took a two week trip and went to San Carlos de Bariloche. It was the most amazing 2 weeks of my life. I went during their winter and was amazed at how much there was to do. So I can only imagine how much better it would be this time of year. We skiied, went horseback riding, did a canopy zipline, so much activity. It was breathtakingly beautiful, the centro mitre had great shopping and a lot of local charm. I hope to make my way back to patagonia sometime in the near future. We took a bus which was only about $60 Usd including meals, but was very spacious for a bus, but flights aren't too expensive either. I would highly recommend heading to the lake district for an amazing trip outside of Buenos Aires. hope this helped!

Hi
Thanks for your help. Could you tell me how long the bus journey was from BA to Bariloche? It looks far on the map but sounds worth visiting.

Hi, between Bariloche and Buenos Aires I would fly. It is a very long bus drive.

I believe it's a 23 hour bus trip from BA to Bariloche, or at least a friend of mine who recently was checking it out claimed that was the best he found.

In that case flying is the only option. Any suggestions re how we should spend our 2 weeks? 4 days in BA, 3 days on a ranch, 2 days Patagonia, 2 days Bariloche? Or is that too tiring? Thanks.

I just came back and enjoyed Igauzu falls, amazing-you must see them. We spent an afternoon walking and it was fine, one night only. Bariloche, you have to spend at least 3 full days (visit Cerro Tronador, boat trip to Isla Victoria, and a day trip to Villa Angostura and Villa San Martin). All these trips take a full day at least 8 hrs. patagonia is wonderful and I know you will all enjoy that. You need 2 full days for the 2 excursions, walking on glaciers and upsala explorer, christina ranch. Distances matter. It's about a 2 hr. plane from Bariloche to El Calafate (patagonia)as well as the same to Igauzu. Good luck. Alana

Alana, We shall have a day and aft in Bariloche before we do the lake crossing to Puerto Varas. This is in mid April. What is Cerro Tronador? Could we see it in a day or shorter? Also, mid April may be too cool to do much in that area. Thanks

Thanks very much for your advice I'll look into them immediately.

oneworlder,
I was in Argentina in Dec last year. My husband and I travelled with our sons 16, and 17 years old. You can read our trip report by clicking in my name. Try adding at least 1 day to travel to Uruguay , you just need to take a short ferry trip. You will love Argentine and the people of this beautiful country. Have a great trip.

Hi Fancyh, Cerro Tronador is a volcano in Argentina with some glaciers. There is very nice organized visit from Bariloche, it can be bought in any Travel Agency,,
that takes you by boat through a beautiful lake and then I think by bus or walking ( I do not remember) to the glaciers. Thisa is one day deal.
I would say that is kind of a must to visit Bariloche before or after crossing the Andes by the Lakes route.

We rented a car in Bariloche and drove to see the black glaciers in the national park (cerro Tronador). Take about an hour from Bariloche. A hint: you can only return from that trip at 4 p.m. because the road becomes a one way. We did the boat trip to Isla Victoria on the Cau Cau and some other place. It was very nice, the waters were rough. Make sure you go up the lift for Cerro Campanio (spelling). It's on the way to Llao Llao peninsula. Alana

Seeall: Just read your trip report from last year, many thanks for your help.

I spent three months in Agrentina last year - the thought of doing BA, Bariloche, Patagonia and more in a couple of weeks may be too much. BA is amazing, 3-4 days needed at least(recommend staying in the shopping district or Recolleta, not the center). Bariloche is also great, and a cheap ($100) flight from BA. Lots of hiking, beautiful lake (the 24 hour bus time is exactly right). If you have the money, Llao Llao hotel is spectacular; if not in the budget, go there for high tea. You can also rent bikes and do a great circular route around the water. Mendoza is about 4-6 hours from BA and is Argentina's wine country - there's also decent rafting. Patagonia is the most beautiful place, and you could perhaps go to the jumping off point and see the glaciers, but you would need much more time to explore. I would suggest another trip to focus on Patagonia (and I preferred the Chilean side). But BA is truly a world class city - you should enjoy.
I didnt like Iguaza falls, and it's very far north, but other people like em.
For finding restaurants, shopping, etc in BA, highly recommend buying Time Out Buenos Aires, which was amazing and very up to date. There's a restaurant called Sucre that was fantastic. If you have a chance to see a Boca Juniors soccer game, well worth it. I would expect Dec to be a great time for Arg (summer!) - I was there in late spring and it was getting chilly.

Just to clarify: Mendoza is about 14-16 hours from BA by bus. Or 1h50 by plane

I just returned from Bariloche and Buenos Aires. I have topped my trip report (warning:it is a long one) so you can see how my visit went. I didn't post much about BsAs because there is so much info about it on this forum already.
Buen viaje.

Thanks alowen and cmcfong and others for all the good advice. I think we'll leave the glaciers for another trip as you say. The thought of going somewhere cold doesn't appeal right now!