Starting to Plan Trip to Argentina...
 

Hi Traveling Gurus...

I've gotten some great advice from this forum before, so as I begin to plan a trip to Argentina, I thought I'd check in here.

My family (Mom and Dad in their 50s and my 20 year old brother) and I are planning to go to Argentina Aug 2-13 (Yes, I know we are getting a late start on the planning and it's winter there). General advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Some specific questions:

1- We are looking to spend time in Buenos Aires and then take 2 side trips (maybe 2-3 days each). Any suggestions on where to go? We would like to stay in two different nice places, for not too much money (just not absurdly expensive), see beautiful or interesting things, drink good wine/relax.

2- We would like to visit wine country. Would you recommend Salta or Mendoza? I've heard Salta is less explored and might be warmer this time of year. My family does NOT ski. North is warmer, right?

3- Is Igazu Falls worth it? Is that a day in and of itself? Can we get to it while stationed in B.A.?

4- Where would you recommend staying in B.A.? I've heard you can rent apartments? Is that better than a hotel? We are not on a tight budget but also don't need to go through the roof.

5- Any good spa like places with massages, etc?

I know these are a ton of questions, so ANY answers and ANY general thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much!

6- Shopping recs?

1- Day trips- Colonia Uruguay , an estancia or Tigre Delta.
August it will still be cold..

2- There is another post here by PDXWineauxs, she is a wine expert and gave great advice about going to Mendoza. These trips require at least a night over and airplane rides.

3- Iguazu Falls is an overnight ..airplane ride needed.

Worth is personal.. can't say what would be worth it to you : )

4- an apartment sounds best for you,
www.apartmentsba.com
www.bytargentina.com
I keep forgetting the others but this can start you off.

There are also ApartHotels where you can spread out more and get 2 bedrooms.
ArtSuites Hotel is the one I have been to.
There are 2 new ApartHotels,
Ayers Palermo and Ayers Recoleta.

Hope this helps : )

Here is the response from my friend on the other post..

<<
In Santiago, you will be about 2-3 hours from wine country. I highly recommend visiting Montes (the Apalta vineyard site) and Santa Ema. Los Vascos would also be a fun stop.

In Argentina, most of the wineries are in Mendoza, which is a two hour flight (or over night bus ride) from BA. It is worth the trip, in my opinion.

I highly recommend Achaval Ferer (very, very small production, fabulous Malbecs!); Bodega Norton, Kaiken (owned by Montes) and Pascual Toso.

1) Iguazú (2 nights) and Salta (3 nights)
2) Again, Salta.
3) Yes, at least 2 nights. No, not a day trip.
4) An apartment would be a good idea for a family. Check out http://www.byt-argentina.com.ar/

Someone else will certainly answer questions 5 and 6.

In general terms, I would suggest a little more research, both here and in other Argentina forums.

Have a great time in our country.

How did I miss # 6 ??

Shopping for what?

malls -
Patio Bullrich
Alto Palermo,
Paseo Alcorte,
Galleries Pacifico

neighborhoods -
Palermo,
Palermo Soho,
Recoleta,
San Telmo ( if you want antiques )
wherever you go in this city, you can shop.

Leathers
bags and shoes are great
Clothing is trendy, sometimes not the greatest quality but definitely good prices and some places are overpriced and same not so great quality.
Depends on the neighborhoods a lot.

Shopping here is easy, wherever you are, you will see something you Have to Have :)

Wow thanks for the quick responses!

After reading what you had to say, it sounds like the 2 trips from B.A. to Iguazu Falls (2 days) and Salta (3 days). That would give us about 5 days or so in B.A. Does that sound like a good agenda? If so, flying between makes the most sense, right? Do you have any advice on what order we should do this in and if we should plan any scenic driving trips around Iguazu Falls or Salta?

Thanks again.

I think you got it LIsa. Good itinerary. In Iguazu the main attraction of course are the Falls, there are many packages you can get for Iguazu I think they are worth it.
If you stay in the sheraton hotel on the Argentinean side it is locarted inside the National Park and you can walk to all the beautiful falls included in the Falls. Then a trip to theBrasilian side I think is worth it. There are a lot o side things like riding rubber boats close to the falls etc.
You can either get a package or buy them at the Hotel or from a travel agency > Personally I always use WOW argentina., wowargentina.com there are several good agencies to choose from. Wow and other agencies have been highly rated in this forum.
For Salta I would do the same, hire in advance the main excursions from Salta according to your budget .
ANother fascinating destination is Bariloche, but being winter , it is most advisable if you care for winter sports like ski etc.
I think that buying in advance through a travel agency not only will give you good price but they will guide you to enjoy as much as possible your stay in there.

bookmarking - thank you

lisabobby, I feel SALTA are is perfect, the days are sunny, warm during midday, but really cool at night and in the mornings, pleasant in the shade, and dry... the eternal springtime I would say. Many people think it is tooooo Hoooot and it is not like that. It is nice... and very scenic. The lansdcapes are amazing. Do not miss the salt Flats, and Purmamarca, Tilcara and Cafayate and its wines... Donot miss the NW, the only activity you can not do here is skiing, so I feel it would be perfect...
Flintstones

Lisabobbi and her family are coming in early August, during our mid-winter.

Of course it will NOT be too hot in Salta. With any luck, the weather should be wonderful.

Thanks again all. You mention not missing "salt Flats, and Purmamarca, Tilcara and Cafayate and its wines." Are these places close to each other and close to any of the other destinations I am planning on (Salta, B.A, or the falls)?

Thanks!

All those places are in Salta, Lisabobbi.

Flintstones is our unofficial Salta expert, besides being a prominent independent Salta guide.

You can ask her here any questions about Salta you may have or you can e-mail them to her.

If she is on tour, it may take her a few days to reply.

Have a great time in our country.

Hi, everybody, Lisssabodyu... nothing is too close in Argentina. Cafayate is almost 200 kms from SAlta to the SOuth, and Purmamarca 200 kms to the north,the salt Flats 75 kms to the wet from Purmmamarca, and tilcara 22 kms to the north fromPurmamarca... That is why I ususally put together Purmamarca- SAlt Flats and Tilcara to explore in at least two days... overnight in Purmamarca. That is what I usually suggest...
Cafayate is a different chapter, needs two days at least... visit the wineries and gaoat cheese factory...
Have a great time!!!
Flintstones

Would also recommend Salta and Igazu Falls as the side trips from BA. The Salta area is awesome and agree with Flintstones it is not to be missed. The Sheraton at Igazu Falls is more expensive than staying outside of the national park, but the time saved and convenience were worth it to me. Also the Cayafate wines are wonderful, but it won't be growing season in Aug. so the vineyards will be bare brown vines. The wines will still be very available and are excellent! As avrooster states, Flintstones is a wonderful source of Salta information as well as being a guide. The NW is a large area with a wide variety of natural beauty if that appeals to you. It is totally different from BA which is a large international city which is very much alive with activity (sometimes all night)and very friendly people! Argentina is a great destination as well as still a relative bargin.

Lisa, your plan sounds good.
We rented an apartment in Buenos Aires for the first week. It's the most economical way to do it.
Then we left our big suitcases there and took a small bag for our trip to Iguazu. It was worth it to rent by the week, even though it meant leaving it empty for a night or two. We booked through www.bytargentina.com and we were very pleased.

When we went to Iguazu Falls, we took an early morning flight out , stayed one night at the Sheraton ( very expensive, but very worth it) and took the last flight back to BsAs the next day.

The next week, we flew to Salta, and hired Angie as our guide. EXCELLENT idea!
The Salt Flats and the other sites you mention are in the Salta area, but you definately need a car or a guide.
There are reasonable hotels in the area. We enjoyed all our hotels, booked by Angie.

For your flights and other arrangements, I highly recommend Isabel.. I'll have to post again with her email address. SHe is an independent travel agent in BsAs and is very very good. It's much easier to do your internal bookings with her.

Have a wonderful time.. we sure did!

Isabel's email is [email protected]

Angie's email is [email protected]

Both are excellent.

If you wish to e-mail Angie, use ALL of the address posted above by kodi or the one flintstones (Angie) mentions previously [email protected]

You'll have a great time in our country, Lisabobbi.