Recent trip to Argentina
Nov 14th, 2005, 03:50 PM
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Recent trip to Argentina
I just returned from a 2 week trip to Argentina, traveling by myself to Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls, and Calafate in Patagonia. I used a lot of the advice from here and tripadvisor to plan my trip, so thanks to everyone for all the help. I have a few thoughts of my own that I wanted to add, so here goes:
1. I used Myra Brill ([email protected]) to arrange the hotels, tours, and flights within Argentina. She was quick to respond to all my questions and was very helpful in creating an itinerary for me. I would definitely use her services again when traveling to Argentina
2. I stayed at the Art Hotel in Buenos Aires in their “small and cozy” rooms. The room size is comparable to those in European hotels and has the usual amenities. The hotel itself is on a quiet, residential street, about a 10 minute walk from the Recoleta Cemetery and 3 blocks from the nearest subway station. Though it may not have been in the most exciting part of Buenos Aires, the hotel was located in a safe area, and I felt comfortable walking around there by myself at night.
3. Most people I encountered spoke some English, and there were many who were fluent. It does help to know some Spanish, even if it’s only to be able to recognize numbers and spell your name. About 4 weeks prior to my trip, I bought “Teach Yourself Spanish” and got through about half the lessons. It’s geared towards travelers and came in handy in situations like talking to cab drivers, ordering from a menu or buying train tickets to Tigre.
4. When in Buenos Aires, I took 2 walking tours with an American named Robert Wright (www.urbex.com.ar). He has been living in Buenos Aires for 5 years and had previously been a tour guide for Rick Steves in Spain. The tours were neat because they showed parts of Buenos Aires that are off the beaten path or that the guidebooks don’t discuss in much detail. One tour was of a working class neighborhood called Parque Patricios and the other was of some of the Art Nouveau architecture in the city. These tours also gave a good sense of some of the culture and history of the city, and I would highly recommend them.
5. To get to and from Ezeiza airport, I hired a woman named Ana Luna (www.ana-luna.com), who runs her own remis service. She speaks fluent English, and it was US $20 each way. In the city, I used both regular taxis and radio taxis and did not feel that there was any difference in the service. Because there are so many hotels in Buenos Aires, the drivers may not know yours by name, so it’s helpful to have the address written down, or the name of the street it’s on with the cross streets.
6. If you’re American and want to visit the Brazillian side of Iguazu Falls, I would obtain the visa prior to your visit. If you wait to buy the visa in Puerto Iguazu, it will cost US $140, plus another US $50 to get there by taxi. I read on the message boards that some Americans were able to hire a taxi for $50 to take them to Brazil without a visa, but I couldn’t find anyone at my hotel (the Margay) or in town willing to do this. The people who did all seemed to have stayed at the Sheraton, and the taxi drivers there might be the only ones who do take people over without a visa.
7. If you’re going to see the Perrito Moreno glacier near Calafate, I would definitely do the minitrekking on the glacier. It’s neat to see all the holes and rivers that form on the surface. The blue in the ice holes is the most amazing color. It can be scary walking down the ice at an angle, but the experience is totally worth it.
8. Instead of visiting an estancia, I went to San Antonio de Areco. The town was pretty dead, and except for the Goucho museum, there wasn’t very much to see. If I had to do it again, I would have visited the estancia instead.
9. I had to pay airport taxes when I departed from Calafate and Ezeiza. It was US $6.16 from Calafate and US $18 from Ezeiza.
10. When using the ATM, I would draw out odd amounts of money, like $190 instead of $200, so that I wasn’t stuck with only large bills. I also found ATM’s that used the LINK system confusing. Most of my withdrawls were from international banks, like HSBC, which offered English options and seemed more straightforward.
Thanks again for all the help in planning my trip. I hope this information is helpful to others.
1. I used Myra Brill ([email protected]) to arrange the hotels, tours, and flights within Argentina. She was quick to respond to all my questions and was very helpful in creating an itinerary for me. I would definitely use her services again when traveling to Argentina
2. I stayed at the Art Hotel in Buenos Aires in their “small and cozy” rooms. The room size is comparable to those in European hotels and has the usual amenities. The hotel itself is on a quiet, residential street, about a 10 minute walk from the Recoleta Cemetery and 3 blocks from the nearest subway station. Though it may not have been in the most exciting part of Buenos Aires, the hotel was located in a safe area, and I felt comfortable walking around there by myself at night.
3. Most people I encountered spoke some English, and there were many who were fluent. It does help to know some Spanish, even if it’s only to be able to recognize numbers and spell your name. About 4 weeks prior to my trip, I bought “Teach Yourself Spanish” and got through about half the lessons. It’s geared towards travelers and came in handy in situations like talking to cab drivers, ordering from a menu or buying train tickets to Tigre.
4. When in Buenos Aires, I took 2 walking tours with an American named Robert Wright (www.urbex.com.ar). He has been living in Buenos Aires for 5 years and had previously been a tour guide for Rick Steves in Spain. The tours were neat because they showed parts of Buenos Aires that are off the beaten path or that the guidebooks don’t discuss in much detail. One tour was of a working class neighborhood called Parque Patricios and the other was of some of the Art Nouveau architecture in the city. These tours also gave a good sense of some of the culture and history of the city, and I would highly recommend them.
5. To get to and from Ezeiza airport, I hired a woman named Ana Luna (www.ana-luna.com), who runs her own remis service. She speaks fluent English, and it was US $20 each way. In the city, I used both regular taxis and radio taxis and did not feel that there was any difference in the service. Because there are so many hotels in Buenos Aires, the drivers may not know yours by name, so it’s helpful to have the address written down, or the name of the street it’s on with the cross streets.
6. If you’re American and want to visit the Brazillian side of Iguazu Falls, I would obtain the visa prior to your visit. If you wait to buy the visa in Puerto Iguazu, it will cost US $140, plus another US $50 to get there by taxi. I read on the message boards that some Americans were able to hire a taxi for $50 to take them to Brazil without a visa, but I couldn’t find anyone at my hotel (the Margay) or in town willing to do this. The people who did all seemed to have stayed at the Sheraton, and the taxi drivers there might be the only ones who do take people over without a visa.
7. If you’re going to see the Perrito Moreno glacier near Calafate, I would definitely do the minitrekking on the glacier. It’s neat to see all the holes and rivers that form on the surface. The blue in the ice holes is the most amazing color. It can be scary walking down the ice at an angle, but the experience is totally worth it.
8. Instead of visiting an estancia, I went to San Antonio de Areco. The town was pretty dead, and except for the Goucho museum, there wasn’t very much to see. If I had to do it again, I would have visited the estancia instead.
9. I had to pay airport taxes when I departed from Calafate and Ezeiza. It was US $6.16 from Calafate and US $18 from Ezeiza.
10. When using the ATM, I would draw out odd amounts of money, like $190 instead of $200, so that I wasn’t stuck with only large bills. I also found ATM’s that used the LINK system confusing. Most of my withdrawls were from international banks, like HSBC, which offered English options and seemed more straightforward.
Thanks again for all the help in planning my trip. I hope this information is helpful to others.
Nov 14th, 2005, 06:11 PM
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I stayed at the El Quijote hotel. It was clean, modern, and located in the central part of town (good access to shopping and restaurants). There were tons of hotels in and around Calafate, and they all seemed pretty new. Tour buses would pick up people at different ones to take them to the glaciers. From Calafate, it's about a 90 minute drive to Perrito Moreno and 40 minutes to the boats that go to Upsala and Onelli.
Nov 14th, 2005, 07:19 PM
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awesome report and most helpful. i'm considering traveling solo to BA, IFalls, and Panama city in next few weeks. wondering how long you recommend staying in BA, if you have any particular advice for the solo female-especially at night, and where you stayed in Ifalls. many thanks
Nov 15th, 2005, 12:00 PM
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I stayed in Buenos Aires for 6 days, one of those days I took a day trip to Tigre and another I went to San Antonio de Areco. If you're ambitious and plan to do a lot of things every day, I think you could see the major highlights of Buenos Aires in 3-4 days. If you want to take it at a more leisurely pace, 5 days would be a reasonable amount of time. I spent most of my time walking around and exploring different areas, but I didn't go to a lot of the museums.
Overall, the city seemed pretty safe at night. Any crime that I heard about was theft, ie purses or cell phones being stolen. I would walk or take the subway as late as 11:30 (which is early for Argentinians) and never felt threatened, especially in Recoleta. I was told to avoid the La Boca area at night. Palermo is one of the trendier areas and has a lot of nightlife, but it's safer to use cabs there at night than to walk around. One of my friends travels to Buenos Aires for business a lot, and she recommends staying in the Puerto Madero area.
In Iguazu, I stayed at the Margay Hotel (3 stars, for what it's worth). It's pretty basic and comparable to a motel 6 in america. It was fine for only 2 nights, but if I were to visit Iguazu again, I would probably stay somewhere else. The Sheraton is the only one inside the park itself, but for that reason, it's more expensive than the other hotels around Puerto Iguazu.
Overall, the city seemed pretty safe at night. Any crime that I heard about was theft, ie purses or cell phones being stolen. I would walk or take the subway as late as 11:30 (which is early for Argentinians) and never felt threatened, especially in Recoleta. I was told to avoid the La Boca area at night. Palermo is one of the trendier areas and has a lot of nightlife, but it's safer to use cabs there at night than to walk around. One of my friends travels to Buenos Aires for business a lot, and she recommends staying in the Puerto Madero area.
In Iguazu, I stayed at the Margay Hotel (3 stars, for what it's worth). It's pretty basic and comparable to a motel 6 in america. It was fine for only 2 nights, but if I were to visit Iguazu again, I would probably stay somewhere else. The Sheraton is the only one inside the park itself, but for that reason, it's more expensive than the other hotels around Puerto Iguazu.
Nov 15th, 2005, 12:31 PM
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Great report. We we'll be going to Argentina next week. We are going to be doing the minitrekking on the Perito Moreno. Is it OK to wear just sneakers and jeans, gloves and a warm jacket; or do you think I should get some waterproof pants and more serios hikking boots.
Nov 15th, 2005, 03:13 PM
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Great report! We'll be in Argentina in February and your report is very helpful. BTW, we're booked at the Sheraton Hotel in Iguazu Falls for $185. USD per night which didn't seem bad!
Do you recall if Buenos Aires has a hop on/hop off bus like most major cities?
Do you recall if Buenos Aires has a hop on/hop off bus like most major cities?
Nov 15th, 2005, 07:23 PM
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For Gladyola, it's okay to wear sneakers. The company provides you with crampons, which are these metal spikes that they attach to your shoes in order to grip the ice. The guides will check out your shoes, and if they feel they are not safe, there are extra pairs of hiking boots that you can borrow at the site. I wore dansko clogs, and they had me change into the boots, but I saw several people wearing sneakers with the crampons.
The gloves are necessary not for the cold but to protect your hands from the ice in case you fall. The guides said that no one has ever fallen, but they want to be safe anyway. (If I didn't fall, then that's pretty much a guarantee that no one else will!) A warm jacket and jeans should be okay. I wore long underwear with my clothes, but I get cold easily. There's a lot of walking up and down the glacier, so the exercise should help to keep you warm. The temperature on the glaciers is about 35-40 degrees. Also, don't forget sunglasses to protect against the glare from the ice.
Petlover, I didn't see any hop-on/hop-off buses when I was there. There were some people who would hire a remis for the day to drive them around. I think it's around US $45-50. Overall transportation is pretty inexpensive. The subway is super cheap (0.70 pesos per ride) and goes all over the city. If you ride it, make sure to take the A line, which goes from Plaza de Mayo to Cabalito. It has the original old-timey cars with wood interiors and seats. Robert, my tour guide, told me that if you ride it in off hours when it's not busy, you can get some great black and white pictures. Unfortunately, when we took it, it was packed, but it was still neat to see those old cars.
Public buses, or collectivos, are 0.80 pesos, but you need exact change for those. I don't think you can use the subway card on the bus either. Taxi costs were variable but still inexpensive by US standards-- to go from La Boca to Plaza de Mayo was 6 pesos, Retiro station to Recoleta 4 pesos, and Recoleta to the domestic airport Aeroparque was 12 pesos.
Have fun on your trips!
The gloves are necessary not for the cold but to protect your hands from the ice in case you fall. The guides said that no one has ever fallen, but they want to be safe anyway. (If I didn't fall, then that's pretty much a guarantee that no one else will!) A warm jacket and jeans should be okay. I wore long underwear with my clothes, but I get cold easily. There's a lot of walking up and down the glacier, so the exercise should help to keep you warm. The temperature on the glaciers is about 35-40 degrees. Also, don't forget sunglasses to protect against the glare from the ice.
Petlover, I didn't see any hop-on/hop-off buses when I was there. There were some people who would hire a remis for the day to drive them around. I think it's around US $45-50. Overall transportation is pretty inexpensive. The subway is super cheap (0.70 pesos per ride) and goes all over the city. If you ride it, make sure to take the A line, which goes from Plaza de Mayo to Cabalito. It has the original old-timey cars with wood interiors and seats. Robert, my tour guide, told me that if you ride it in off hours when it's not busy, you can get some great black and white pictures. Unfortunately, when we took it, it was packed, but it was still neat to see those old cars.
Public buses, or collectivos, are 0.80 pesos, but you need exact change for those. I don't think you can use the subway card on the bus either. Taxi costs were variable but still inexpensive by US standards-- to go from La Boca to Plaza de Mayo was 6 pesos, Retiro station to Recoleta 4 pesos, and Recoleta to the domestic airport Aeroparque was 12 pesos.
Have fun on your trips!
Nov 16th, 2005, 10:45 AM
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Hi,
Great report. I am going to Buenos Aires at the end of Dec for 4 days then we are renting a car and driving all around for 8 days. Would you please advise how we should use our 4 days to see Bunos Aires. We are 2 adults and have our 2 teenagers with us. We are used to travelling to different countries and love to see the people and experience the culture more than anything. Thanks.
Great report. I am going to Buenos Aires at the end of Dec for 4 days then we are renting a car and driving all around for 8 days. Would you please advise how we should use our 4 days to see Bunos Aires. We are 2 adults and have our 2 teenagers with us. We are used to travelling to different countries and love to see the people and experience the culture more than anything. Thanks.
Nov 16th, 2005, 03:43 PM
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If you can, I would try to go to a football game. I don't really care for sports and know next to nothing about soccer, but I went to a game to see if people were really as crazy about it as I had heard. They are. American sports fans have nothing on the Argentinians. Even the regular games are treated with as much fanfare as the Super Bowl or World Series. There are streamers, confetti, singing throughout the game, bands playing and feet stomping. Grown men become emotional. It gives you a real sense of their excitement and passion for the sport and can be a good conversation starter when talking to people from Buenos Aires.
I bought my ticket through my travel agent, but lots of people would arrange it through the hotel. It cost 120 pesos. They pick you up, stay with you during the game and take you back to your hotel. I was told that for foreigners, especially women, it was safer to go with a tour company than going to the stadium by yourself.
To learn about the history and culture of Buenos Aires, I would recommend taking a walking tour with Robert Wright. Not to keep tooting his horn, but I really felt like I learned a lot from him, especially when touring the working class neighborhood Parque Patricios.
On Sundays, there are markets in San Telmo and Recoleta. I went to the one in Recoleta, which was a lot of fun. It seemed to be as much of a social event as a place to buy things in Buenos Aires. I also enjoyed walking around the Caminito section of La Boca, which is famous for these colorfully painted corrugated steel houses near the river. It's a bit touristy but a nice walk all the same. Also, Buenos Aires has tons of parks, especially in Palermo, and it's kind of fun to hang out and watch the dogs with their walkers.
One thing that I wish I had done but was too chicken to go by myself was to watch tango. They have a lot of shows for tourists that can be quite elaborate, but there are also places called milongas, where locals go to dance. They take place at different locations each night and can have variations on style or age group. I think it's okay at some of them to go and watch others dance, even if you're not yourself. One milonga that I ran across a lot on the internet and was also listed in my rough guide was Nino Bien, which takes place on Thursday nights starting at 10:30 pm. It's located at Centro Region Leonesa, Humberto 1462.
That's all I can think of for right now. If I think of something else, then I'll go ahead and post it.
I bought my ticket through my travel agent, but lots of people would arrange it through the hotel. It cost 120 pesos. They pick you up, stay with you during the game and take you back to your hotel. I was told that for foreigners, especially women, it was safer to go with a tour company than going to the stadium by yourself.
To learn about the history and culture of Buenos Aires, I would recommend taking a walking tour with Robert Wright. Not to keep tooting his horn, but I really felt like I learned a lot from him, especially when touring the working class neighborhood Parque Patricios.
On Sundays, there are markets in San Telmo and Recoleta. I went to the one in Recoleta, which was a lot of fun. It seemed to be as much of a social event as a place to buy things in Buenos Aires. I also enjoyed walking around the Caminito section of La Boca, which is famous for these colorfully painted corrugated steel houses near the river. It's a bit touristy but a nice walk all the same. Also, Buenos Aires has tons of parks, especially in Palermo, and it's kind of fun to hang out and watch the dogs with their walkers.
One thing that I wish I had done but was too chicken to go by myself was to watch tango. They have a lot of shows for tourists that can be quite elaborate, but there are also places called milongas, where locals go to dance. They take place at different locations each night and can have variations on style or age group. I think it's okay at some of them to go and watch others dance, even if you're not yourself. One milonga that I ran across a lot on the internet and was also listed in my rough guide was Nino Bien, which takes place on Thursday nights starting at 10:30 pm. It's located at Centro Region Leonesa, Humberto 1462.
That's all I can think of for right now. If I think of something else, then I'll go ahead and post it.
Nov 16th, 2005, 05:36 PM
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bluesky4, since you're going to be in Buenos Aires for 4 days have you noticed the thread here on Fodors called "The Real Buenos Aires"? We originally planned to spend time with Alberto but unfortunatly we couldn't work it out since we have such limited time there. Everyone who has gone with him raves about it and he certainly was very responsive to my emails.
Nov 17th, 2005, 04:42 PM
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I got the yellow fever shot last year when I went to Africa. It's good for 10 years, and if you do a lot of traveling to tropical foreign countries, I think it's worth it. The CDC recommends the shot for certain parts of Venezuela. Here's a link:
http://www2.ncid.cdc.gov/travel/yb/u...sNav=browseoyb
http://www2.ncid.cdc.gov/travel/yb/u...sNav=browseoyb
Nov 18th, 2005, 03:17 AM
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I checked with my doc before travalleing here originally and then when I moved here. After a little research with his colleages he told me that a yellow fever shot was unnecessary for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and other further south areas; but that if I planned to spend time up towards the Amazon I should get one.
Nov 18th, 2005, 07:29 AM
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I didn't get any kind of shots before going to Argentina and I returned just fine. Even drank the water with no dire consequences. I was only in Buenos Aires so I can't speak for the rest of the country. Plus, I did have a cold while there and the pharmacies are very nice and I got some great cold meds. I seem to get a cold everytime I travel lately so I've got quite the international collection of cold remedies.
Nov 18th, 2005, 02:09 PM
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>I seem to get a cold everytime I travel lately so I've got quite the international collection of cold remedies.
You sound like me. LOL My husband and I have a saying, "It's not a vacation until Ronda (that's me) gets sick." For this trip with the different climate changes and all(Iquazu to Ushuaia), I'm stocking up on cold meds BEFORE going down.
~gnr~
You sound like me. LOL My husband and I have a saying, "It's not a vacation until Ronda (that's me) gets sick." For this trip with the different climate changes and all(Iquazu to Ushuaia), I'm stocking up on cold meds BEFORE going down.
~gnr~
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