I'm planning to visit BA and Santiago during the first two weeks of June. I've read the previous posts and they are helpful but I have a couple of questions:

My trip will be 10 days (including travel). How much time should I allot for each city?

While in BA I was thinking of taking a day trip to Colonia or Montevideo. Is one day enough or would I end up feeling rushed?

What is the typical weather for June?

Thanks.

June,July and especially August are the coldest months of the year in Buenos Aires. You need 4 days to visit Buenos Aires. One day is enough to visit Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay. The ferry company is www.buquebus.com. Due to the short time you will be staying I do not think Montevideo is worth visiting.

Jorge Daniel Barchi.
Buenos Aires.

Hi Michelec, we have returned recently from Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. Please be aware that prices in Chile are expensive in comparison with Argentina and Uruguay. It is a question of the rate exchange, Chile is on a steady course while both Argentina and Uruguay had big devaluations of their pesos.
Also in Chile they charge a $100 dollar entrance fee. No fee to enter Argentina and Uruguay.
Santiago is a pleasant city but Buenos Aires is much , much more interesting . Buenos Aires has an active cultural life , great shopping and fantastic food at very low prices.
Colonia is a little tiny old Colonial city one hour by boat from Bs As. It is interesting, Montevideo could also be interesting but get to Montevideo either you fly , half and hour flight, or take a bus from Colonia two hours and a half.
I would focus on Buenos Aires, and for instance consider a trip to Iguazu Falls for two days. Remember everything in Argentina is much cheaper and it is the time to take advantage. In other words I would focus in Argentina and do very little of
Santiago .

We spent 10 days in Santiago last March and loved it. Although Santiago does not have as much wonderful architecture or culture as BA, it still was a great city and we had more than enough to do in the city and with day trips to the coast and the mountains. The exchange rate is still VERY favorable in Chile, just not as fantastic as Argentina. Though June is not the best time to visit these countries, I am sure that you will have a great time (be prepared for rainy days). Since the typical flights are overnight I am not sure how you are counting your days. If you have ten full days I would choose 6 for BA and 4 for Santiago.

Thanks for all your responses.

Because my travel budget is a bit tighter than first expected, I decided to save Santiago for another trip down the line. I'm flying down to BA the last Sunday in May (arriving Monday AM) and will be staying until Wednesday of the following week, for a total of 9 non-travel days. Based on what I've been reading I'm sure I won't run out of things to do, and I still want to take a day trip to Colonia.

As far as timing I would have liked to come earlier in the year, but my work is such that late May/early June is the only time of year I can take an extended period off . But on the bright side I'm not a big fan of hot weather, so I don't think I'll mind it so much.