Trip Report-Argentina & Chile
Feb 9th, 2006 | 01:07 PM
#1
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,347
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Trip Report-Argentina & Chile
We just returned from 5 weeks in Argentina and Chile, including Easter Island. This site was so helpful that I feel compelled to report!
Buenos Aires
Flew on the new Continental flight from Houston. We used FF miles--coach down and FC on the return flight. The seats in coach are BAD--about like the seats in a commuter. Also, my seat did not recline. The FA's comment was that she would fix it but is no longer allowed to bring tools with her!! This was not a good flight!
Stayed at the Marriott which I booked on line at their web site. The location was perfect and I was glad we stayed there. We did the usual things in BA which other people have reported on. One day we took the ferry to Colonia and ate lunch at El Drugstore. It's a pleasant trip. Another day we went to Tigre and took a boat trip. We got there by taking the train to Mitre and changed to the Tren de la Costa (air conditioned tourist train).
Iguazu Falls
Purchased RT tickets on LAN on their web site. We stayed at the St George which was o.k. We hired a taxi driver to take us to the park. He stepped to the front of the ticket line, purchased our tickets, and pointed us in the right direction. We took the jungle ride, boat ride and train ride. We were there most of the day and the driver met us outside when we left the park. Next day, the same driver took us to the Brazil side, took our passports and $20US for each of us into the border guard house (I do not know who got the $$$!!!) and drove us on to the Brazil park entrance. He purhased our tickets for us, and showed us where to get on the park bus. We got off the bus in front of the large hotel and walked to the viewing area--about 15 minute walk. After we walked back we had tea at the hotel and caught the bus back to the park entrance. The driver was waiting for us and took us to the Bird Park and then back to the St George.
Ushuaia
We flew back to BA on LAN. We had purchased a connecting flight on Aerolinas for the same day from Mayra, a TA in BA. The connection went smoothly. We stayed at the Albatros which I booked by emailing them. The Albatros is located at the port area and we had a view. We took a boat tour to the penguin island, took a tour to Haberton Estation, and took a shuttle bus to TDF park.
We had an outstanding meal at Tia Elvira's on the water front.
More later!
Buenos Aires
Flew on the new Continental flight from Houston. We used FF miles--coach down and FC on the return flight. The seats in coach are BAD--about like the seats in a commuter. Also, my seat did not recline. The FA's comment was that she would fix it but is no longer allowed to bring tools with her!! This was not a good flight!
Stayed at the Marriott which I booked on line at their web site. The location was perfect and I was glad we stayed there. We did the usual things in BA which other people have reported on. One day we took the ferry to Colonia and ate lunch at El Drugstore. It's a pleasant trip. Another day we went to Tigre and took a boat trip. We got there by taking the train to Mitre and changed to the Tren de la Costa (air conditioned tourist train).
Iguazu Falls
Purchased RT tickets on LAN on their web site. We stayed at the St George which was o.k. We hired a taxi driver to take us to the park. He stepped to the front of the ticket line, purchased our tickets, and pointed us in the right direction. We took the jungle ride, boat ride and train ride. We were there most of the day and the driver met us outside when we left the park. Next day, the same driver took us to the Brazil side, took our passports and $20US for each of us into the border guard house (I do not know who got the $$$!!!) and drove us on to the Brazil park entrance. He purhased our tickets for us, and showed us where to get on the park bus. We got off the bus in front of the large hotel and walked to the viewing area--about 15 minute walk. After we walked back we had tea at the hotel and caught the bus back to the park entrance. The driver was waiting for us and took us to the Bird Park and then back to the St George.
Ushuaia
We flew back to BA on LAN. We had purchased a connecting flight on Aerolinas for the same day from Mayra, a TA in BA. The connection went smoothly. We stayed at the Albatros which I booked by emailing them. The Albatros is located at the port area and we had a view. We took a boat tour to the penguin island, took a tour to Haberton Estation, and took a shuttle bus to TDF park.
We had an outstanding meal at Tia Elvira's on the water front.
More later!
Feb 10th, 2006 | 04:16 AM
#5
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,347
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kodi, we got the taxi driver at the airport when we arrived. I think we paid him $20 for Argentina side and $30 for Brazil side.
cmcfong, we liked Ushuaia a lot--much better than Bariloche. We did not see marine life except for the boat trip. The TDF park has lots of "trecking" places. There is a shuttle bus service that leaves from the waterfront (corner of Maipu and 25 de Mayo) near Albatros Hotel that goes back and forth to the park all day. We also bought tickets to Halberton Estation tour at the same location. We bought boat tickets from Rumbo Sur at the port area. Their tour suited us best from the array of options.
cmcfong, we liked Ushuaia a lot--much better than Bariloche. We did not see marine life except for the boat trip. The TDF park has lots of "trecking" places. There is a shuttle bus service that leaves from the waterfront (corner of Maipu and 25 de Mayo) near Albatros Hotel that goes back and forth to the park all day. We also bought tickets to Halberton Estation tour at the same location. We bought boat tickets from Rumbo Sur at the port area. Their tour suited us best from the array of options.
Feb 10th, 2006 | 07:22 AM
#6
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,347
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Punta Arenas
We traveled from Ushuaia to PA on the bus. I purchased the tickets from an agent in Ushuaia on the internet in advance since this is the high season for this route. The trip took 12 hours and is scenic for most of the way. The reason for going to PA was to fly to Antarctica on DAP airlines. Once a month during their summer, DAP flies 8 people there for an over-night at the Chile station. We signed up 6 months ago. BUT, the weather turned nasty for the first time on our trip and the flight was cancelled--a hugh disappointment. We did not see much of PA because we had to sit around in a ready state for several days. We stayed at the Tierra Del Fuego Hotel ( I booked via email in advance) for 2 nights and Finis Terrae (DAP airlines procured for us) for 1 night.
Puerta Natalas
We took the bus (4 hours) to PN and got a room at the CostAustralis hotel right on the lake without advance reservations. A Shuttle bus goes several times a day from PN to TDP national park and stops at 3 places in the park. We got off and "trekked" for several hours and caught the return bus.
This is a beautiful park and well worth the effort to get there.
El Calafate
We took the bus from PN to EC along with all the backpackers again. Sign on the bus said "Do not take off your shoes while on the bus"!! We got a room at Kosten Aike hotel without advance reservations. The Morena glacier is magnificent. We took a day tour that included a boat ride very close to it.
Another day we took a day tour to the other glaciers in the lakes that were filled with icebergs.
Bariloche
I had purchased tickets on Aerolineas from EC to Bariloche in advance from Mayra, the TA in BA. We had some problems with the Nevada hotel that we had pre-paid on Octopus Travel. They did not want to give us a room when we arrived at 9pm. We were shuttled to another hotel for 1 night and back to the Nevada for the next night. We hired a driver to drive us around the "Circuito Chico".We had not made up our minds about doing the "Lake Crossing". I read someone's report about a 7-hour wait at one of the connections but we went to their agency in Bariloche anyway to inquire. The people there were so rude that we walked out and bought a $15 ticket for the 5-hour bus ride to Puerta Varas. We were glad to leave Bariloche!
Puerta Varas
We first tried to get a room at the BellaVista which was full--but the helpful desk lady called the Licarayen, which is also right on the lake, and we stayed there--had a great view from our window of the snow-covered volcano! We took a day trip to the volcano Osorno, the national park VP Rosales, and Lake TL Santos. Another day we took a day trip to the island of Chiloe which is highly touted but not particularly interesting.
More later!
We traveled from Ushuaia to PA on the bus. I purchased the tickets from an agent in Ushuaia on the internet in advance since this is the high season for this route. The trip took 12 hours and is scenic for most of the way. The reason for going to PA was to fly to Antarctica on DAP airlines. Once a month during their summer, DAP flies 8 people there for an over-night at the Chile station. We signed up 6 months ago. BUT, the weather turned nasty for the first time on our trip and the flight was cancelled--a hugh disappointment. We did not see much of PA because we had to sit around in a ready state for several days. We stayed at the Tierra Del Fuego Hotel ( I booked via email in advance) for 2 nights and Finis Terrae (DAP airlines procured for us) for 1 night.
Puerta Natalas
We took the bus (4 hours) to PN and got a room at the CostAustralis hotel right on the lake without advance reservations. A Shuttle bus goes several times a day from PN to TDP national park and stops at 3 places in the park. We got off and "trekked" for several hours and caught the return bus.
This is a beautiful park and well worth the effort to get there.
El Calafate
We took the bus from PN to EC along with all the backpackers again. Sign on the bus said "Do not take off your shoes while on the bus"!! We got a room at Kosten Aike hotel without advance reservations. The Morena glacier is magnificent. We took a day tour that included a boat ride very close to it.
Another day we took a day tour to the other glaciers in the lakes that were filled with icebergs.
Bariloche
I had purchased tickets on Aerolineas from EC to Bariloche in advance from Mayra, the TA in BA. We had some problems with the Nevada hotel that we had pre-paid on Octopus Travel. They did not want to give us a room when we arrived at 9pm. We were shuttled to another hotel for 1 night and back to the Nevada for the next night. We hired a driver to drive us around the "Circuito Chico".We had not made up our minds about doing the "Lake Crossing". I read someone's report about a 7-hour wait at one of the connections but we went to their agency in Bariloche anyway to inquire. The people there were so rude that we walked out and bought a $15 ticket for the 5-hour bus ride to Puerta Varas. We were glad to leave Bariloche!
Puerta Varas
We first tried to get a room at the BellaVista which was full--but the helpful desk lady called the Licarayen, which is also right on the lake, and we stayed there--had a great view from our window of the snow-covered volcano! We took a day trip to the volcano Osorno, the national park VP Rosales, and Lake TL Santos. Another day we took a day trip to the island of Chiloe which is highly touted but not particularly interesting.
More later!
Feb 10th, 2006 | 07:49 AM
#7
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 1,267
Likes: 0
Hi Jane,
Welcome back. I'm enjoying reading your trip report, sounds like you had a nice time. Sorry you didn't do the lake crossing, we really enjoyed it and Bariloche a lot (we did stay at the Llao Llao after moving around for two weeks, which helps). Glad to see you stayed in P. Varas rather than P.Montt, much prettier, right?
We leaving March 15 for a trip to Salta/Mendoza and Uruguay and getting really excited to go back to Argentina!
Looking forward to the rest of your report.
P.S. Sorry to hear Antartica did not work out, it's an excuse to go back one day!
Welcome back. I'm enjoying reading your trip report, sounds like you had a nice time. Sorry you didn't do the lake crossing, we really enjoyed it and Bariloche a lot (we did stay at the Llao Llao after moving around for two weeks, which helps). Glad to see you stayed in P. Varas rather than P.Montt, much prettier, right?
We leaving March 15 for a trip to Salta/Mendoza and Uruguay and getting really excited to go back to Argentina!
Looking forward to the rest of your report.
P.S. Sorry to hear Antartica did not work out, it's an excuse to go back one day!
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Feb 11th, 2006 | 05:39 AM
#8
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Joined: Jan 2003
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owlwoman, you were certainly correct about P Vagas! That's what I love about this site.
Easter Island
We flew LAN (I booked on LAN website) from P Montt to Santiago, spent the night, and flew the next morning to EI. The hotel in Santiago, Plaza San Francisco, let us store our luggage until our return, but there are places to store at the airport in Santiago.
I bought the RT tickets from Santiago to EI on LAN web site for $500 which is a real bargain. I discovered that flying on Tuesday and returning on Friday gave the best price. It's a 5-hour flight and we were upgraded to BC going over! Three days is enough time on EI which is neither tropical nor expecially pretty. But the statues are magnificant! I was determined to stay at the Hanga Roa hotel and really had a difficult time getting a room on line. Finally I contacted a TA in P Natalas who booked them for me. The hotel is like a 1950's beach motel--no AC but windows that open to the sea breeze. I loved it! However, it is to be torn down very shortly and replaced with an InterContinental Hotel so we were told. We took a day tour and a half day tour. All of the companies seem to do the same tours. We walked and walked along the coast and watched the sunsets over the sea.
Santiago
We returned to Santiago and stayed at the Plaza SF which I had booked on their web site. It's a perfect location--right across from the walking streets. We did the usual Santiago things. Also took a day tour to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar which was interesting. Santiago's metro is new and easy to negotiate. We took the green line to the end, then the blue line to its end, and then a taxi to the Concha y Toros winery for their tour. They have English tours at 10:30 and 3:00 each day for $12US.
Buenos Aires
We flew LAN back to BA and spent the day before leaving for Houston at 10:55pm. We took the shuttle from the airport to downtown and took a taxi to the Evita Museum which was interesting. Then we walked over to Palermo district for lunch, took a taxi to LaBoca, and then back to airport. The flight home was much better--we had enough FF miles for first class on the return flight!! Hurray for first class!!
Easter Island
We flew LAN (I booked on LAN website) from P Montt to Santiago, spent the night, and flew the next morning to EI. The hotel in Santiago, Plaza San Francisco, let us store our luggage until our return, but there are places to store at the airport in Santiago.
I bought the RT tickets from Santiago to EI on LAN web site for $500 which is a real bargain. I discovered that flying on Tuesday and returning on Friday gave the best price. It's a 5-hour flight and we were upgraded to BC going over! Three days is enough time on EI which is neither tropical nor expecially pretty. But the statues are magnificant! I was determined to stay at the Hanga Roa hotel and really had a difficult time getting a room on line. Finally I contacted a TA in P Natalas who booked them for me. The hotel is like a 1950's beach motel--no AC but windows that open to the sea breeze. I loved it! However, it is to be torn down very shortly and replaced with an InterContinental Hotel so we were told. We took a day tour and a half day tour. All of the companies seem to do the same tours. We walked and walked along the coast and watched the sunsets over the sea.
Santiago
We returned to Santiago and stayed at the Plaza SF which I had booked on their web site. It's a perfect location--right across from the walking streets. We did the usual Santiago things. Also took a day tour to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar which was interesting. Santiago's metro is new and easy to negotiate. We took the green line to the end, then the blue line to its end, and then a taxi to the Concha y Toros winery for their tour. They have English tours at 10:30 and 3:00 each day for $12US.
Buenos Aires
We flew LAN back to BA and spent the day before leaving for Houston at 10:55pm. We took the shuttle from the airport to downtown and took a taxi to the Evita Museum which was interesting. Then we walked over to Palermo district for lunch, took a taxi to LaBoca, and then back to airport. The flight home was much better--we had enough FF miles for first class on the return flight!! Hurray for first class!!
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