Salta, again
 

I hope I get reply to this from Flinstones ;o)
What kind of itineary you would propose for a trip to Salta and area if we would stay there only 3 nights? Or would you say that is absolutely too little? Then what would be plan for 4 nights trip?

You said earlier that you would not spend all nights in Salta but could you give more specific information? And do you have any idea about pricess? I got quotation from one tour operator from Buenos Aires and I feel that was a bit expensive. It was 3 nights and included only excursion to Humahuaca and price was 670 USD. That of course included the flights from BsAs to Salta.

If we would buy the flights by ourselves what kind cost could we expect for arragments there in destination?

All the others are of course also welcome to comment if you have recent experience.

Flintstones may be touring some lucky visitor, which is why it may take her some time to answer.

Two questions, to help her and yours truly to answer: What time of the year do you plan to come and is 670 dollars for each or both of you?

We are planning to do this trip either in the end of December (that was the price) or right in the beginning of January.

That price was per person.

I checked the flight prices and in average they were 300 EUR per person so in that sense that 670 USD is not much but still I think there might be better priced packages or it could be cheaper to put it together by ourselves.

Any experience?

Well, considering the cost of the flight, I don't find it expensive at all. However, I would tend to be worried about the quality of the package. We'll see what Angie (Flintstones) has to say about it. As you well know, she's our Salta expert, by popular vote.

Have a great time in our country.

domestic flights are very expensive in Argentina. Does this include hotels?? If so, that doesn't sound expensive at all.

You can check out the price for flights yourself by going to the websites for Aerolineas Argentina and LAN.

If you can spend four nights, please do so!! That would be much better.

I would imagine that Flinstones meant that you should spend a night in the north, staying either in Purmamarca or TIlcara, and maybe a night in the south, staying in Cafayate. Spend a night in between, and around your flight days, in Salta, rather than doing long day trips to and from Salta.

Thanks for the replies. I have checked the flights from both those companies and cheapes I have found for our dates was around 300 EUR. Pretty expensive but as it has been told in this forum, flying here is not cheap. In Europe I would get half around the continent with that ;o)

I have asked this tour operator to modify the itinerary so that we could have nights outside Salta, let's see how much the price goes up.

Does anyone know the company / contact Flintstones work for? I could contact them directly.

Flintstones is an independent Salta guide called Angie Valdez. She has her own air-conditioned transportation.

If you write "Angie" in his forum's search feature, specify Argentina and click on search, you will find many comments about her, including her e-mail address.

Have a great time in our country.

Sorry for the delay...I was out...
Let me tell you that the offer the operators make includes a regular tour in bus starting early in the morning (7 o´clock. menaning that if they pick you up first you will have to go picking people in all the hotels for 40 minutes before leaving) They could or not inlcude an english speaking guide, the trip is in a bus for 20 people and you have a few stops. The lunch is in Humahuaca in a restaurant full of tourist and the return is about 8 p.m. probably too tired to remember the sceneries. It could work, but it is not what you would really enjoy. I recommend to plan a night in Purmamarca, visiting Salinas and Tilcara. Purmamarca really worths the overnight. In my opinion is one of the most beautiful places in the world and the regular tour they only stop for 20 minutes. That tour should be in two days, not less!
You can take one day for Cafayate, but I would prefer two days if possible. I am sure there would not be a better offer for that price as a private tour is for only you the driver stops wherever you want how many time you want and you have a more relaxed trip. No hurry, no crowd, being told about the History, the places, the details you will never know about if you go in a regular tour. The operators pay the whole service with 8 people, all the rest are profits.
So the itinerary would be two days for Purmamarca- Tilcara and SAlt Flats and One day for Cafayate, visiting one winery (the one you choose if you have one you want..)and goat cheese factory.
Flintstones...

Hi Flintstones, thank you for your reply. I sent you yesterday an e-mail, I hope you received it. I pick up the address from this site.

In that e-mail I asked if you could organize us this kind of tour or recommend someone who could. I'm looking forward hearing from you. If you did not receive the e-mail please post here your address and I try again.

Having been in Salta by private car tour, I can tell you it is the only way you want to enjoy Salta since there were often busloads of tourists crowded to see the sights, shopping, etc. Our driver knew the tour bus schedules so we arrived just as they were being herded together to leave. We could enjoy the area at our leisure and without crowds. I would second Angie's suggestion for nights in Tilcara, Pumamarca and Cafayata. We stayed a night in each, and I can't say which was the best since each was wonderful in its own way. Tilcara was wonderful for local market shopping at bargain prices, the views were fantastic in Pumamarca, and the wines were delicious in Cafayata. I would like a return trip to spend a month in Salta!

The internal flights are the most expensive part but also consider you can arrive and return from different cities. Angie has excellent reviews on this forum and can create a trip customized for a very memorable trip for you. Salta is worth your time and money!